I often see “Wordless Wednesday” on blogs, and think I should try it. Do you think I could be wordless? Nooo. Maybe a Reduced-Word Wednesday. Love this kind of weird picture of a hummer, half illuminated by the late afternoon sun and half silhouetted against the out-of-focus crab apples and leaves. And as a puzzle (click on puzzle to begin):
–Sue
PS: I’m going back to the MN State Fair tomorrow, rain or shine. Will take pix. And eat fair food!
She looks so innocent, doesn’t she?
Aunt Bert came visiting from Huntsville, AL, last week, and we had a wonderful time (yes, she’s a young aunt — my dad’s baby sister…I love saying that!). It was while we were sitting at the kitchen table that we noticed the hummers were back in town.
We did some sewing. We did some shopping. We did some dining out. We took my bees quilt to the fair. We went to DayStitchers and visited with the ladies. We played cards (Hand & Foot). We really enjoyed our time together.
But she exposed me to something so desirable, I just had to have it, no matter the cost. In fact, I NEEDED it. I CRAVED it.
So I ordered it. An iPod Touch.
Honestly, I had no idea what these things could do. I thought they were just for music, and I didn’t realize you could get these features in a hand-held device without paying a monthly fee.
Bert could check her e-mail (we have wi-fi in the house), you can store tons of photos (two uses that would be great for travel), and of course you can download games, music and movies. I understand there are lots of apps for the iPods as well. You can keep your calendar in it.
As an aside, this will be a great complement to my no-frills pay-as-you-go phone ($20 from Target). I use T-Mobile’s pay-as-you-go plan. You buy the phone and purchase minutes as you need them. For $100, I get 1,000 minutes, and they last me about nine months. (The $100 cards are good for 1,000 minutes or one year, whichever comes first.) I’m a big fan of this plan. I have it, DH has it, and I got it for my mom as well. Check their coverage in your area, though, if you’re interested. A different carrier might be best for your area.
Can’t wait to get my new toy absolutely essential, non-frivolous appliance (sometimes I forget hubby reads my blog)!
–Sue
That’s how they bill the Minnesota State Fair, and we do get TOGETHER:
We set attendance records for opening day: 119,145. Now, considering weekends will likely go over 200,000 per day, I shouldn’t be complaining, but that’s still a lot of people!
I went with my friend Margaret (after dropping my Aunt Bert off at the airport who was bummed that she was leaving Mpls on the first day of the fair). Bert and I had a wonderful week, did some sewing, a little lunch, a visit to a quilt shop, played a lot of cards.
Margaret with her ribbons (that’s her hockey-playing grandson, plus an original needlepoint tea cozy made to match a special teapot):
My three little wall quilts and my quilt on a stick were passed over, although I know the judges really WANTED to give them all ribbons! My bees came through for me though; I entered them in the Bee & Honey division, so they’re in the Ag-Hort building.
I’m going back next week and will take lots more pictures; this was a quick trip to see how the “important” quilts did — Margaret’s and mine!
This hexagon quilt was a personal favorite of mine so far (I’ll note the quilter’s/artist’s name next trip). Besides being beautiful, I find it very restful and calming, something we can all use more of!
A number of my other friends won ribbons as well, and I will post about them later in the week. Also, I’m feeling a repeat of “What Did Sue Eat at the Fair” coming on. I saw so many yummy things Thursday, but Margaret and I were pretty sensible, having Walking Tacos and Iced Lattes. Capital letters…that’s how good they were!
–Sue
It’s truly becoming more autumn-like here in Minnesota. We had the house open yesterday with the cool breeze (70s) billowing through the house, slamming the occasional door. My allergies are reminding me today that I shouldn’t have done that, but it was so pleasant at the time!
The Minnesota State Fair starts tomorrow. I have three little wall hangings in the Creative Activities Building (my beach skinny quilt, my hand-appliqued flowers, and a paper-pieced mariner’s compass – ribbon from Dakota County Fair), my bee quilt is in the Ag-Hort Building in the Bee & Honey area, and I finished my quilt on a stick in time (the theme is mosquitoes):
I also ventured out to the wildflowers in back and caught a new (to me) dragonfly in pixels (can’t say I captured it on film any more!)
It was late in the afternoon, and I love the golden light that sweeps through the flowers and, well, I guess they’re weeds:
Including tons of goldenrod.
I always thought goldenrod was a big-time allergen, responsible for a lot of hay fever problems. Turns out, it isn’t. Rag weed is the big offender. Goldenrod is pollinated by insects, and rag weed is pollinated by the wind. How nice, I don’t have to hate the goldenrod any more!
My Aunt Bert from Alabama has been visiting, and we’ve had a wonderful time. We’ve done some sewing, card playing, visited my mother, ran some errands, lunched, and I’ve really enjoyed her company…and I’m not just saying that because she’ll be reading this blog later this morning on her iPod! It’s been a lovely week.
–Sue
Okay, since Carol asked for it, here’s a photo of the back of the Quilt on a Stick (8 x 9 inches, on a paint stick)…if you can’t wow them with fabulousness, tickle them with humor…
(a little quilt, a little nature, and a little give-away reminder)
QUILT: My latest completion is a strippy baby/toddler-sized quilt.
If you read Mary’s (Heartstrings) blog, I’m sure you’re thinking you’ve seen this quilt before — and you have! Mary generously offers many free patterns on her blog, including this one (look about halfway down her list on the left — this one is “Quick Strippie”).
This is such a cute, easy, no-fabric-waste kind of pattern, I just couldn’t resist trying it out. Then when I was looking for a juvenile print focus fabric, I saw the same cute monkeys that Mary used, so of course I knew that green and rust would perfectly complement the monkeys. (what a copy-cat copy-monkey I am!)
I plan to make more of these quilts (I have a pink one with teddy bears sewn up, and fabric for one with puppies) so I can have some ready to wrap up in a big bow and gift to the new babies in our lives. Well, I guess that isn’t on my design wall since it’s done, but I hadn’t shown it to you yet. This Quick Strippie pattern is great for those cute children’s novelty prints. (It would also work great for a holiday/theme/seasonal quilt to throw over a banister or the back of a sofa. Hmmm….)
Sewing plans for the week:
> Finish my “quilt on a stick” for the Minnesota State Fair (I can show it to you next Monday)
> Do some catching up on my Farmer’s Wife Sampler blocks
> My Aunt Bert will be here in a couple of days, and I have two fun patterns (a bag and flip-flops) in mind for us to work on together. Doesn’t that sound like fun? And we might need to visit a couple of my favorite shops.
NATURE: The heat has taken its toll on the wild flowers behind us. This purple cone flower has seen better days, but I love how the purple is morphing into orange.
GIVE-AWAY: This is the last day for my give-away. If you haven’t already entered, click on the Monarch Butterfly at the top of my site to go directly to the give-away post. That is where your comment needs to be to count for the give-away. Comments on that post will be closed tonight, Monday, August 16th, at midnight CST.
Have a great, productive week, and to inspire you, pop on over to Judy Laquidara’s blog to see what other quilters are up to.
–Sue
The templates I’m giving way are by Elisa’s Backporch. I have cut up 28 fat quarters using the combination of the 7″ template and the 3.5″ template. Elisa includes a pattern with each of these templates (the 7″ template includes the pattern I’m using). If you have both templates, you have very little waste out of your fat quarters — that’s why I decided to give both templates to one winner, along with the little rotary cutter.
Elisa has a great little video on her site showing two methods of sewing these curves. One method uses only three pins (the method I used), and the other method uses NO pins! Elisa says these templates are addicting and she is right. I bought the 7″ one first, and the next day I drove the 10 miles or so to Quilt Cove to get the 3.5″! Whoever wins these is going to love them.
So, to get to my give-away post, go to the upper right column of my site and click on the monarch butterfly.
To get to Elisa’s videos, click here.
–Sue
At least hat’s what my Mom SHOULD have named me! I’m working on an item for the Minnesota State Fair. We have a fairly new category, a quilt on a stick!. It’s a little 8″ x 9″ quilt with a vertical sleeve on the back to accommodate a paint stick. I can’t show you this year’s yet, because the entry days go through next Wednesday, but I can tell you that this year’s theme is the Mosquito! Here is my entry from last year (which totally underwhelmed the judges):
Last year’s theme was The Fair. I liked my little black-faced sheep. I even used a thin wool batting, and I named her Wool-ma. (Makes me think of the time when my boys were in high school, and one of them told me, “Mom, you’re not nearly as funny as you think you are”. Ouch! Of course he was right, but it doesn’t matter because I keep myself amused! In a few days I’ll share my mosquito quilt-on-a-stick with you (I know — you’re just itching to see it!)
If you haven’t entered my give-away yet, please go to the top of this page and click on the monarch butterfly button. She will take you directly to the give-away post.
–Sue
P.S. Today my Dad would have been 82. We always loved it when his birthday fell on Friday the 13th. Happy Birthday, Dad.
I’m three blocks behind on my Farmer’s Wife Sampler blocks, following the Yahoo! group schedule. I did get the bow tie block done:
It’s been added to the Farmer’s Wife tab at the top of this page. I will have the other three done by day’s end and added in also.
The rest of this week I’m going to be working on my drunkard’s path circles quilt (this photo is a little too orange):
The blocks are made. I have a plan in mind for quilting it, so now I’m ready to get back to work on it.
An unsolicited not-affiliated-in-anyway plug for Adobe Photoshop Elements 8. The top photo of the bow tie block was edited in Photoshop. I was able to get the photo to absolutely match the actual fabric in color. The second photo was edited in my old software that came with a previous camera. I remember struggling to get the colors to look right, and just giving up and settling for this orange-ish version.
I need to look around for an on-line class to learn all of its features. A big THANKS to all of you who recommended getting the Photoshop.
Be sure to check back on Wednesday — my 500th Post Give-Away will be starting then (this is # 497)!
To see what other quilters are working on, check out JudyL’s Design Wall Monday post!
–Sue
Oh, I’ve been a delinquent blogger lately. Our county fair just ended, and of course I had to go to see how I did on my entries, plus our Wednesday afternoon group went and quilted as a group on Friday, plus I went a couple of extra days to keep a friend company while she had volunteer shifts. With the initial drop-off trip, it was a total of FIVE times at the fair!
The fair pretty much dominated my life for a week, and it’s amazing I had time to cook a dinner for my Dear Husband. Oh, wait — I didn’t! And that worked out perfectly because our fridge was dying a slow death. (Yes, the new fridge came Monday, and I LOVE IT!!! The deliverers just need to make one trip back because they put a handle on upside down! Oh, how wonderful to be back in the days of modern refrigeration again!)
Do you enter fairs? Competitions of any kind?
You never know how you’ll do, especially because the judges are pretty much volunteers at the county level, and my hope this year was to just not embarrass myself. Well, I was a little embarrassed, and I’ve been holding off on posting about it because I pretty much didn’t know what to say.
So I’ll show you…
You could have knocked me over with a feather! The two big dark pink ribbons were cash awards donated by local guilds or businesses (thank you, Prairie Sky Quilting [for best machine quilting -- the back is under the ribbons] and New Prague Prairie Quilters [for best wall quilt]). Silly things like my pot holders did way better than I deserved (blue, plus reserve champion for small kitchen articles), and I placed on five out of six photos entered. My Opal socks got a second, which I was thrilled with as there were many pairs of socks entered. Anyway, it’s all stuff you’ve seen before, so I thought I would just show you the goodies! Throw in an apron, a bag, some knitted dishcloths, my first real applique’d piece … and that’s what I took to the fair.
Go figure. I just know that next time around, the pendulum is going to be swinging the other way and I’ll go home empty handed, so I’ll just bask in the “glory” a little bit longer. And such is the puzzle of judged competitions:
–Sue
Socks: I made some progress on my socks using Opal Harry Potter yarn (“Harry Potter” just refers to the color). I am enjoying knitting these — the yarn is so nice, and the self-striping yarn is behaving itself and the two socks will actually look like a pair! You’ve seen them several times before, so I won’t post another pic ’til they’re done.
Sewing: I’ve had a couple of patterns I’ve been itching to try (speaking of itching, my hives are much better!): Atkinson Designs “Cash and Carry”, and Lazy Girl Designs “Claire Handbag”. It’s so much fun working from a precise, well-illustrated pattern, and both of these patterns are great. The Claire Handbag has lots of pockets inside, as well as tall pockets on the front and back. You also have the option of adding a Velcro closure to the Claire bag, but since I’m going to use mine for knitting, I didn’t want anything that the yarn would catch on — or anything on which the yarn would catch!:
I used some cute retro-looking fabric from The Sew It Book Collection by Amy Barrickman from Red Rooster (purchased locally at Eagle Creek Quilt Shop. Not all the fabrics in these bags were from the line.)
The Cash and Carry pattern makes such cute little zippered bags, and it would be easy to modify this to make different sizes. And don’t be afraid of putting in a zipper. If you can piece, you can put in a zipper (with these nicely illustrated directions).
I’m having an out-of-town guest next month who’s also a quilter…we may have to make some of these!
–Sue
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