My favorite photos from this week are mostly birds (big surprise there).  First a black-capped chickadee at the finch feeder, and he was serious about getting some lunch:

He sang a little song for me:

And then he suddenly had enough of my company, and flew away:

Our next visitor was a goldfinch. I was going to say they are my favorite, but I guess I say that about lots of birds.  This female had a seed in her beak:

Then I had to laugh when I saw Vicki W’s blog today, because she posted a picture of a bunny.  I took pictures today of bunnies in our backyard as well.  These young bunnies truly are everywhere!  With all the rain we’ve had recently, our grass must be pretty tasty.

–Sue

lands you at Terry Atkinson’s site.  In case you don’t recognize her pattern company name, Atkinson Designs, take a look at her patterns and you’ve likely made one or more of them (Lucky Stars, Yellow Brick Road, etc.)  I have many of her patterns and at least one larger pattern book, and her designs wonderfully easy to put together.

Check her out on Tuesday and see what’s going on at her site.  (ED NOTE:  Today Terry is sharing a pattern/tutorial for a small bag that can be use for sock knitting projects, or for anything you want — a sock sack!)  Be sure and leave a comment on her Blog Hop posting for a chance in her drawing; leave a comment on all 10 participating Minnesota Blog Hop hostesses for a chance at the grand prize!

–Sue

Done: 

Six guild BOMs (six to go) in Asian fabrics, gift for DIL

First Weds Block Exchange block (Aunt Sukey’s Choice in red, white, and navy blue).  I liked this block from the guild BOM so well, I made it for the Block Exchange as well.

To Do This Week: 

My present personal UFO Challenge is to finish the Shine On Bayou Cane of Judy Laquidara’s design.  The block under “UFO” is done, 59 more to go!  I have the components ready, so it will be just like sewing 9-patches together.  My goal for the week:  Do the eight additional blocks laid out here.  And OOPS, I see I have block all messed up.  Can you find it? 

I was going to make two quilts, 30 blocks each.  Now I’m going to make it queen sized.  This is for DS #3’s 30th birthday, which is past, but he really won’t need a quilt on his bed ’til fall (says the Queen of Rationalization).  I am really challenging myself to complete, complete, complete quilts!  I really love this one; it just got put into a bucket, which could just as well have been a coffin.  Now that it’s back out in the light of day, it will stay out until it’s done!

9-Patch Block-a-Day quilt from CrazyMomQuilts; I have 50 out of 90 blocks done (all fabric is from my scrap bucket, except the sashings, not seen here).  Seven blocks pinned up ready to piece this week. 

Finished the family reunion signature quilt (except for some final touches):

Lots going on, but I must like it that way.  The really big news:  I finally fit in a haircut today!  You know you’re busy when you can’t even get a haircut.  I had to apologize to my hairdresser for nibbling away at my bangs with my little Ginghers.  She forgave me and fixed it all better!

I really love having a design wall.  And it was so simple, I should have put one up much sooner.  Thanks for the inspiration, Judy!

–Sue

What do you mean, it isn’t Sunday any more???  I’m playing catch-up, and thought I better confess post ‘cuz I was naughty stimulating the economy this week. 

IN:  20 yards for an unplanned brainstorm quilt (that’s what happens when you go shopping with Pam B — “Oh, look at this fabric, you could do a wholecloth quilt for the Fair!”)  I never think of doing a wholecloth with a printed fabric, and of course this one was a gorgeous yellow and blue floral on white with a coordinating border stripe (Pam says that’s still a wholecloth, and I ALWAYS believe Pam), plus a little apple-green check for the binding and the backing, all cute as can be.  And with my coupons, got it for $2/yard.  Oh, you want to know the yardage?  20 yards in.

OUT:  This weekend at the family reunion, first-cousin-once-removed Kurt’s wife Sandy (who’s the only other quilter in this branch of the family) mentioned she had been asked to make a pink quilt for a breast cancer fundraiser, but was wishing she had some of the authentic fabric.  WELL!  I happen to have a kit, all authentic fabric, pretty as you please, includes backing and the pattern, sitting on a shelf.  Bought it from our LQS when it was the end of this fabric line’s run and they had it @ half price, and I thought I might want to do one in my spare time (yeah, right!).  It is now off the shelf and boxed up, on its way to Sandy!  8 yards out.

So the downward spiral continues…

Friday was our 38th anniversary (how could that be?  I’m not even that old), and since we had company during the week and I was gone all weekend, we’re going out for an early dinner tonight at a local steakhouse.  I better start getting ready.  I’m just glad I don’t have to report everything I eat during the week . . .

–Sue

No, my calendar didn’t stop — I’m just late!!!  I’ve been enjoying some out-of-town company and then we were out of town for a weekend family reunion.  What fun!  And I’m so tired!  This Photo Friday post will be short and easy.  I’m going to talk about a couple of purchases you may want to make for your camera.

First off, the memory card digital cameras come with holds very few pictures (as I’m sure you know).  The first purchase to make (and you’ve probably done it already) is to get an additional memory card so you can take a decent number of photos before running out of space and having to download them. 

The second point I wanted to make is you may want to get an extra card beyond that.  If you haven’t priced memory cards lately, the prices have come waaaaay down in the past couple of years.  I hate being in a bind where I’m looking for pictures that I can delete on the camera so I can take a few more pictures!  Now that never happens to me. 

The second item you may want to consider is an extra battery for your camera.  I have two batteries for my Lumix, and that is really wonderful for vacations and days you are taking a ton of pictures.  I don’t have an extra for my Canon, but I consider that camera more of an in-my-purse camera.  If you find that a fully recharged battery doesn’t last as long as you’d like, check Amazon or other sites/stores to see what an additional battery would set you back.

(A note about batteries.  A quick check on Amazon.com, I found there’s a replacement battery for my Powershot for about $15 that does not say “Canon” on it.  For myself, I would spring for the $35 or so battery that does say “Canon” on it.  It’s up to you.  It may be that a battery is a battery, but I love my cameras, so I’ll get the original.)

While I was writing about the memory cards, it made me wonder if you know that you can take your memory card right out of your camera and take it into a Target, Walgreens, Wal-Mart, etc., and choose which photos to print and then print them yourself on the spot at those little individual monitors they have. 

I used to do that a lot.  I have a Super Target about a mile from my house, and now I go through the Target site to send my pictures to the store.  They send me an e-mail back when they are ready, and I go pick them up.  Oh, excuse me.  To be totally honest, I usually send DH to pick them up!

You can also send them to a Target (or other store) close to, say, your mom’s house, if you have pictures you want her to have.  Then let her know when she can go to that store and pick up the pictures.

–Sue

Today, visit a new-to-me Minnesota designer, Kari of New Leaf Stitches!  Take a look at the flying geese tool she designed, as well as an excellent tutorial for making no-waste flying geese.

Then be sure to leave a comment on that posting for an entry into her drawing.  If you leave a comment on all 10 Minnesota Blog Hop sites on the appropriate post, you will be entered in the grand-prize drawing!  (I have posted a link to each site in previous entries on my blog.  We have visited six bloggers so far; it will continue through this week.)

Sue

is running a little late this week . . . like a couple of days late!  My Aunt Bertha is visiting from Huntsville, Alabama, and we’ve been busy having too much fun.  Wednesday night we saw the show Always, Patsy, at the Chanhassen Dinner Theater, and it was fabulous!  By the end of the show, you feel like you’ve met and enjoyed the singing of Patsy Cline.  What a treat!  If you live in the Twin Cities metro area, I highly recommend it.

Bertha had been wanting to learn how to quilt, so we had a little quilting lesson yesterday.  She made a Dutch 9-Patch, which she then made into a hot pad.  A+ student.

Today was some sewing, some shopping, and tonight we went to Canterbury Downs and watched the horse races.  It was an absolutely fabulous summer evening to sit outside and enjoy the ponies, the music, and the company.

Tomorrow we leave early to pick up my mom and head out to western Minnesota for a family reunion.  There are over 100 people expected at the reunion, held at the farm of a 1st cousin, twice removed.  If I remember relationships right…

I’ll be back soon.  Looking forward to more sleep and a haircut next week.

Sue

ps:  If you’re looking for Minnesota Designers’ Blog Hop information, it appears it runs Monday thru Friday for two weeks, so the next blog-hop stop will be Monday.  Click here for a list of all the designers/bloggers involved in the blog hop.

with a stop at Sheri Falls’ blog.  Sheri’s line of patterns is under the name This & That, and I have made a few of her patterns.  They go together easily, and have a fun fresh look.  She has a free pattern on her blog today for a Bird Watching pillow.  Check it out!

Visit her blog and leave a comment to be entered in her drawing.  Leave a comment on every one of the participating Minnesota designers’ blogs to be entered for a grand prize.

Sue

Today’s the day to start finishing!

As I was thinking about working on my UFOs, the phrase “Thursday’s child has far to go” kept creeping into my mind.  Aha!  That’s why I have so many UFOs!  I must have been born on a Thursday!  I checked the perpetual calendar and found – nope, I’m a Saturday’s child, and Saturday’s child works hard for a living.   Well, obviously I’m an honorary Thursday’s Child, judging by the large number of unfinished projects in my sewing room, but I am going to work hard at finishing up some UFO (unfinished objects), PhDs, WIPs, PIGS, or whatever you call them!

It’s so much fun to get together and sew with friends, but we aren’t able to do that often enough.  This is our chance!  We can work on our UFO busting together, post pictures of our progress, and be supportive and encouraging to one another!  Here’s the approach I’m taking:

1. Choose an unfinished project; pick one that you still like!   I chose Shine On Bayou Cane by Judy Laquidara.  I have a lot of the components for the blocks made, but not the blocks themselves. 
2. Regardless of how much or how little time you have to work on this project, try scheduling a specific time each day or each week — whatever you can work out.  Mondays are going to be my UFO Busting Days. 
3. The most important thing is to make steady progress.  Don’t put your project away out of sight.  It will die again.  Keep it alive!

Contemplating finishing a stack of UFOs makes me think of the old question:  “How do you eat an elephant?” Answer:  “One bite at a time”!  That approach will work for us too!

I’ve set up an album on Flickr where we can record our progress on a weekly basis.  Start by posting a photo of your chosen project showing whatever state it is in.  You can do that at any time, but today would be good!  Also add some information in the comment area about your project, including approximately when you started, why it stalled out, and any other info you’d like to include.

Each Thursday will be a Thursday’s UFO Challenge post, chat a bit about our UFOs and remind you to post another picture showing your progress.  Actually, you can add photo updates on your progress as often as you’d like.

So what do you think?  Are you in?

This Thursday’s Child has far to sew, and I’m going to start working on my UFO on Monday!

Sue

Today’s  stop along the Minnesota Blog Hop is Rosebud’s Cottage.  Enjoy the information Roseann shares about wool, and be sure and leave a comment to be eligible for the drawing.

Sue