Our Favorite Walk

The assistant and I love the walk on the bank of the Erie Canal.  I sometimes take for granted that we live by this man made marvel but I never fail to notice the beauty on our walks.   The assistant even says it's lovely for a quick dip on a hot day, but I'll have to take her word on this. 

This year we started up again in early March when it was still empty.   The first day we walked I noticed a solitary white duck waaay down just floating around in the dirty puddles on the bottom.  I figured it was just a fluke and it was passing through.  It was still freezing at night and snowing many days but on and off we would walk on nice weekend days through March and April.  Every time I walked I noticed the duck all by himself.  I started calling him the solitary duck and I looked for him every time we were there.  I came to depend on seeing my little friend and I always wondered about him.  Why is he alone?  Is he a farm animal gone astray or a pet that was abandoned?  Does he like being alone? 

Two migrating geese stopped by one day this spring and he tenatively swam over to them and floated around in their company for a while.  I was so happy for him that day! 

It's the end of July now and he's still out there.  Now he has taken up with some wild brown ducks and their brood.  He looks so sleek and shiny and happy this summer.  I don't like to think of him wintering out there again ....

I'm leaving for vacation on Sunday so I'll leave you with some pictures from our favorite walk on the Erie Canal.  When I get back it will be August and my favorite time of summer will be beginning.  Ya know ... the end of summer when even though it's still hot out the nights start getting a little cooler and a little longer.  There is a slight change in the atmosphere and I keep saying, "I can smell fall in the air!"  Ahhhhh .....  pretty soon......it will be sewing weather again. 

This is my favorite picture of the solitary duck

Lots of Queen Anne's Lace out now

I'm so glad he has some friends now

Gratuitous picture of The Assistant carrying a big stick

My solitary duck in March. Doesn't he look lonely??

I've got a mule, and her name is Sal.
Fifteen miles on the Erie Canal.
She's a good old worker and a good old pal,
Fifteen miles on the Erie Canal.
We've hauled some barges in our day,
Filled with lumber, coal and hay,
And we know ev'ry inch of the way
From Albany to Buffalo.

Low bridge! Ev'rybody down!
Low bridge, 'cause we're coming to a town;
And you'll always know your neighbor,
You'll always know your pal,
If you've ever navigated on the Erie Canal.

Light Bulb Moment

I learned something MAJOR this week!  I love doing this sampler quilt a long because I'm really trying to expand my skills and neaten up my sewing.  I've made two projects with half square triangles and I have trimmed them up to the same size but my triangles were always uneven.  My pinwheels quilt came out OK just because the squares were pretty big and the uneven triangles weren't that noticeable.  But making these fussy little squares really made it obvious I wasn't trimming them evenly.  Amy was showing us how to trim but I just wasn't getting it.  I was ready to give up but decided NO, this would not defeat me.  I googled half square triangles and found this awesome video that showed someone trimming them with a square and the 45  degree line.  Wow!  I got it!!  I love learning from the Internet but sometimes I just need a person here showing me what to do.  How simple.  Now when I read Amy's instructions it all makes sense.  She explained it perfectly! 

Here are the squares from the last two weeks.  The log cabin looks huge because it came out too small so I added one more set of logs so I could trim it down later.  One challenge I'm working on is my 1/4" seam.  I got my machine all set and marked the spot where my needle should be for the perfect 1/4" and it works for a little bit but I swear the needle moves back.  The slider is in the exact same mark under my sharpie line but my seam is bigger again.  If I turned the machine off and on and move the slider down and up and reset it at the line it's 1/4" again but soon I can tell it's back to the default. Does anyone have trouble with keeping their needle in one spot?  I think I'll just learn to adjust my cuts to work with my slightly bigger seam allowance.  It really hasn't been a problem until I'm making these squares that require precise measurements.  

Sunday I'm off on a vacation with my honey for eight days.  I can't wait to get away for a while and just R.E.L.A.X.  I'll be all refreshed and ready to catch-up when I get back.

Processing process

I'm getting ready to start my next quilt and I'm super excited about it!  Months ago I found some novelty Michael Miller fabric that was just PERFECT for someone in my family.  I'd love to post a picture of it but, even though I'm pretty sure no one in my family reads this blog, I don't want to take the chance of blowing it.  My challenge was getting this fabric first and then trying to come up with a design that involved biggish blocks to show off the large prints.  Hmmmm .... I want it a little jazzier than a plain patchwork but I can't cut the fabric too small.  I finally came up with the idea of these snowball squares with some colorful borders. I find it is much easier to come up with a quilt idea and then find the perfect fabric for it than the other way around.  

As rudimentary as this drawing is it really, really helped to figure out my square sized and layout.  Designing my own quilts has been my goal since I started quilting.  Although this isn't terribly original I had to take the material pattern and colors into account.  Of course, now that I'm designing my quilts everyone in blogland is now designing their own original FABRIC!  Baby steps .... baby steps ....

I'm plugging away at the sampler quilt and this week's blocks were fun.  I love how I'm working on honing the basic skills.  This week it was all about half square triangles and strips.  Can't wait to see what we're doing next week! 

Gotta go! I'm taking the assistant down to Petco to have her portrait done.  Yes .... I'm one of THOSE people ....

Humidity kills the spirit

It's funny how my mood and my productivity are tied directly to the humidity level.  This week has been cooler and the humidity is down to normal so my mood has skyrocketed and my mind is just brimming with new project ideas.  A big change from the week before when I was wallowing around crying and contemplating getting rid of all my fabric since I was never going to sew again anyways.

I started a sampler quilt a long with Amy and am somewhat pleased with how my squares are turning out.  I have had a red and white quilt rolling around in my mind for a while.  They are just striking to me and I've been itching to make one.  Amy's sampler quilt came along at a good time too ... it's two blocks a week and I think I can handle that during the summer.  It finishes at 58 x 58 and I'd like it a little longer so I'm making two blocks of my favorite one each week so I can stretch to out a little. 

The part I'm disappointed is finding out that no matter how careful I am I am still a very imperfect quilter.  Before I started I did the tutorial on sewing a perfect 1/4" seam.  I figured out exactly where to set my needle with my new 1/4" quilting foot with the guide.  Perfect!  Well, I'm still not getting the exact size and sometimes my seams don't match.  Oh well .... this is good practice for me and it will certainly enhance my skills, even if it's a tiny enhancement.  Why wouldn't everything be perfect though?  Still puzzling to me. 

Not perfect yet ....

Perfect!!

I've got an ambitious day planned today.  Humidity stay away!  I've already got some bread rising and I've got a list of things to do:

1.  Organize my fabric and clean up my sewing area
2.  Get laundry done
3.  Make two days worth of dinners
4.  Sweep and mop the kitchen floor (it's getting crunchy again)
5.  Lose five pounds and try on that bathing suit that is still sealed in the mail order package

I'll let you know how I do!

Can you get behind on a hobby?

I've been feeling so out-of-sorts lately with the hot weather, long days, outside work, etc. and I've been fretting about getting behind in my sewing.  Then a read a post from Greta about how she was getting stressed out from getting behind on her sewing and a light bulb went off in my head.  This is a HOBBY!  It's supposed to be FUN!  Can you even "get behind" in a hobby??  Jeez! 

 

In three days I only managed to sew one column

 I'm trying to sew together the hexagon quilt top but I have to keep it laid out or I'd be sewing everything the wrong way.  It's been laying out on the living room floor for three days and we are all just walking on it. 

The last straw was Saturday when we came back from our afternoon walk on the canal and I found Jada snoring peacefully on it while still dripping wet.  I admit defeat.  My Honey is coming for a long weekend and I'm taking a break from it until I can devote a whole day and just get it done.  The house must be at least semi-clean ... there must be some food in the fridge ... I must be reasonably well rested ... I must not fret that I don't have a quilt top sewn together. 

Ok ...  I actually snapped a picture before I shooed her off .... but it was too late at that point anyways

Uh oh ....  Look what came in the mail today ....

I better get a bathing suit soon or I'll be draping fabric around myself on the beach!

My newborn baby quilt

I finally finished my brown and orange wonky star.  It's so fun to make a little quilt!!  I think the idea originally started when I saw a beautiful orange and brown quilt on a blog last FALL, then I found a bundle of Katie Jump Rope fat quarters in the bin at Joann's (score!!).   Ok, an orange and brown quilt in June is a little out of place but I think she shines in comparison to all the pretty florals and summery colors.  I love the hint of robins egg blue I added to give it a little contrast. 

I originally used the brown and scraps of orange to piece a back, but then decided I'd like just plain blue.  I love the way the quilting shows up and it's my best quilting job yet. Of course, quilting a small quilt is a million times easier and way quicker.  Quilting is still where I struggle so I think I needed to make a small one to get my confidence up. 

Final size:  33 inches x 44 inches

I found out the girl next door to me is having a baby and I was thinking about giving this quilt to her as a gift.  I have a soft spot for teenage girls having babies since I was one myself.  But now I'm wondering what young teenage girls think about handmade quilts.  Will she be "Cool!! A handmade quilt!"  ... or ... "Ewwww!  A homemade blanket!"  I'm suddenly feeling very protective of my little baby quilt.  I hope she ends up with someone who loves her and appreciates her.  Does anyone else worry about their quilts when they go to their new home?

Jada also makes a wonderful spot to place a quilt during a photo shoot.  I wonder what my neighbors think of us?! 

Here's what happens when I go online to buy a bathing suit .....

 Weekends in Gray and Pink  PLUS a free fat quarter from Sew Mama Sew!   Lots of kona cotton solids from Fabricshack. 

I know I should be shopping for a bathing suit since I'm going on my first vacation in years in July.  But as soon as I start looking them over and imagining how I'd look and thinking about finally measuring my body  so I can find my size I find myself slipping over to fabric sites.  Ahhhhh... so much more pleasant!  

Still no bathing suit.