2024 February Fabric Patch Virtual Retreat

 This weekend was my virtual quilt retreat.  It started on Friday morning and ended on Sunday afternoon. 

This time, the lesson was 3D magic.  

Using light and dark colors to create the illusion.  It was a difficult technique for me.  

90 quilters were there on zoom. We had class every morning & every afternoon.

It was fun,  I learned a lot. I ended up making a table runner. It's not perfect but much better than I expected.  I started out by cutting 21 triangles, all the wrong size, and those went in the garbage.  That set me back.

In the end,  I'll have a useable runner once I add some backing and binding.   I sewed and unsewed a lot of little seams,  almost the whole thing is triangles about the size of a tostito corn chip.  

Crazy hard.  

The pattern is called Arches and Asteroids.

My starter.
I have never sewn so many small seams, made for a lot of 'starts'.

The piecing is done.

Construction photos below.  

The work starts at the bottom of the page.

Attaching the columns

Final layout

Saturday night's game was Wheel.

I didnt get to play becuase the repairman (brother Glenn) showed up to reattach my dryer vent.  I logged in again just in time for the fjnal round.

Trying to figure out how to fit these blocks together.

Trying see a table runner

Lots of seam ripping.
Lots! And Lots!

Half hexagons starting to look 3d ish.

Sometimes looking at my work in black & white is helpful.

Trimming the tips off a zillion triagles makes for a lot of confetti. 
I am finding these little triangles all over the house now.

Starting to se a pattern

Triangles are us. 
I made a little project board out of cardboard & the left over design board flannel (the back of a plastic tablecloth).
Vety handy for holding all the pieces.

More confetti.

I was not impressed.

This is what the picture shows.

Started cutting triangles from my strips. 21 triangles later, it dawns on me that I'm not doing it correctly.  Ugh. 21 triangles got tossed out.

Strip sewing, starting my process.

Watching to class tutorial.  Not understanding anything,

I was supposed to figure out a layout, but nothing is making sense to me.

I thought I picked the easiest pattern, and decided making it small might be easier too.

Well, after talking to others in the group, I think I picked one of the hardest patterns as it was all triangles and most of the other cubes, like the ones above,  had larger rhombus shapes that sewed together with less seams and less points. 

So it goes.

I enjoyed the weekend of sewing.

I will join the group again when they gather in October.

🪡🧵✂️

2023 12 19 Luck Varsity vs Turtle Lake

 I knew I was behind on editing photos, but I didn't realize how behind I was.  Here are a few shots of Stella from the Turtle Lake at Luck game played on December 19, 2023.

Better late than never.

I'm ready for deck time

 My cushions for the back deck furniture need recovering, they are gross and fabric is shredding. 

I kept thinking that I should take off the old covers and sew new ones,  but it seemed daunting to take on such a huge job, it would take a ton of fabric too. 

I tried buying a new cushion, planning to replace all 7 cushions, but it did not fit and was not firm enough.  

I considered an upholstery shop but figured that could be very spendy.  

 Finally, I considered having the junk man haul off the old set and starting over new,  but that involves logistics and $ too. 

 Anyway,  an ad popped up on the internet for cushion covers, meant mainly for dog owners. But then I found some that are waterproof.  

So,  for $60, I ordered 6 covers, which is one short of what I needed,  but the 7th cushion is on the rocker that I never sit on.  

Anyway,  they came yesterday and when I got home today, I opened them and tried them out. 

It is the PERFECT solution. I can't even believe it.  I might cinch up the elastic as they are a little loose, but it is such a wonderful solution,  I'm just amazed.  And they easily can be pulled off and washed or hung to dry.  Amazing. And $60. 

 It's a good day. 

National Honor Society

 Stella invited me to join the family at the National Honor Society ceremony installing new members. As an existing member, Stella had a role in the program.  An italian buffet dinner was served and then we were witness to the ceremony.

The guest speaker, Mr. Harelson, had a message that I have been thinking about. He challenged everyone, students and families, to spend time thinking about values. Specifically he challenged the listeners to think about each of their personal values.  He talked about the words that describe the values he aspires to, and he talked about the values statements of large corporations.

I walked away thinking about my own personal values, and I've been noodling on this topic ever since. I haven't quite settled on my list, but I'm working on it. 

It was a nice evening shared with family. 

Heather, Jens, Kyle, Stella, Auny Jessica, Jude, Ruby, Grandma Lous, Great Aunt Wanda, Great Aunt Lois

The great aunts & Stella

Sisters, Ruby & Stella

Jude & Stella

Mom & Dad with Stella

❤❤❤❤❤

On my drive over to Luck,  I noticed a flock of about 20 swans in the open water near Cumberland.  I'm hoping that they will still be there when I drive over today, on my way to basketball.  I'll try for a few photos.  There are quite a few swans that did not migrate this year,  the warm winter must have confused their internal calendar.  It's fun to see them in fields and in the open water. 

The Year of the Dragon

 I was born in the year of the dragon.  

It means nothing except that it is usually on the placemat in a Chinese restaurant,  and I was always glad I was not born in the year of the rat. 

And, I thought that this was an interesting illustration of a dragon. 

Dragon

Chinese zodiac sign birth years: 2024, 2012, 2000, 1988, 1976, 1964, 1952, 1940, 1928, 1916, 1904

Like their fiery mascot, folks from dragon years want to be in control and tend to exhibit a confident, decisive spirit. They have ample amounts of energy, which rubs off on—and inspires—those around them. Because they don't like being told what to do, dragon signs stand out in more individually-focused careers, like finance and architecture.

Parents night at Luck

 It was Parent's Night at Luck.  

The athletes and managers recognize the contributions and dedication of their parents by way of a flower, a note and sometimes a candy bar.   It is nice to see all the parents there for this night of recognition.  It is not easy for all families to have parents in the gym for ballgames.  The Johansens and Chivers are lucky that schedules can be arranged to have a supportive family in the bleachers at most games.

Ruby plays JV girls this year, Stella is in her senior year on the Varsity.

Owen plays JV boys this year and Jens is the manager of the boys JV team.

Heather, Ruby, Stella and Kyle

Angie, Owen, and Aaron

Stella, Jens and Kyle

Before & After

I decided I wanted new bathroom faucets in the Master bathroom. The ones that were there, I had installed when I first moved in the house, fifteen years ago. The one that was getting the most use, was showing some bad corrosion and I was fearful of a leak.

It is nice to have a plumber here when it is not an emergency. I met another of the team today. And he was another very nice young man. He was happy that I decided to do these faucets now, as when he put a wrench on one of the supply lines, it broke right off. 

Now, I have new supply lines and new faucets.

Before

Ooh, la, la.... After

January was warm

 Such nice weather is winter.  My hail damaged siding was replaced on January 30th.  Almost all of the hail damage is repaired now.

Saturday was basketball at Luck for the 4th grade boys.  They were missing some of their players, so a couple of the 3rd graders filled in.  For me, it was a bonus because I got to see great nephew August, #4 and great nephew Jude, #1 play 2 games.

August on the dribble

Jude on the tip off

🏀 💖🏀

Life is good.