Weekly update: catching up in the studio

My t-shirt says Free People Read Freely

I hope you all had a pleasant holiday.   

It rained briefly on Friday morning but the sun came out before lunchtime.  It was a beautiful evening for the Fourth of July festivities at Shiloh Park in Zion.   There was a big crowd for the concert by a band called Mike & Joe (80's rock).  They played for two hours without a break.  

 

The fireworks  began at 9:30.   My phone camera captured a couple of them. 

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My quilting goal for the July is to keep up with a variety of projects.  I got a great start!

The yellow stars were made from HSTs (1.5" unfinished) from a 2023 project. I began assembling them before I went to the ALA conference.  They're now a flimsy.  39 x 44.  

I surprised myself that the border blocks fit precisely.

The final block for the guild BOM was released midweek. It's the shooting star in the center.  

 The BOM designer suggested a straight set with sashing and cornerstones. I'm contemplating other ideas to camouflage the imbalance of the blocks (variance in complexity, light/dark, etc.).

I made 8 nine-patch blocks in purple for one of my Rainbow Scrap Challenge projects.  

The other RSC project is to make 20 9" Ohio Star blocks in the monthly color for a wheelchair-sized quilt.  

I used darker, dustier purples with gold.  The purple/gold border print was a serendipitous discovery in the stash and there was enough of it! 

This is month #2 of the guild round robin. M.N. provided FQs of Cherrywood solids plus a blender and asked that we use only those.I can't show you the entire quilt-in-progress because it's a surprise, but you can see part of the border I added.   I used the Split-Rects ruler by Studio 180. 

Now I'm working on blocks for Jasper, the Running Doe Topalong for July.  I'm using shirtings supplemented by some homespun plaids.  

Linking up with RSC at So Scrappy  Oh Scrap! Sew and Tell   Design Wall Monday  Monday Musings

P.S.  On my evening walk in the neighborhood.  There was no sign of the mate.

#alaac25 in Philadelphia (quilts included)

 

 I've been to five ALA Midwinter Meetings (January/February) in Philadelphia, most recently in January, 2020. This was the first Annual there since 1982.

My first ALA Annual Conference was in 1984. Since the I've missed two (1991 and 2016). 2020 was cancelled and 2021 was virtual. By my reckoning that means this year was #37.  I go to the conference to learn about issues and new books, hear interesting speakers, sightsee, and see friends.  My main involvement nowadays is the Retired Members Round Table.

 Issues:   ongoing threats to access information (from kids to researchers), 

federal budget cuts, 

and the firing of the Librarian of Congress.  

RMRT sponsored a panel about the ways that retirees can (and must!) be vocal advocates for libraries in their communities.  

I popped in for a few minutes at a session of ALA Council, the governing body.  I served on Council for 16 years.  

Books (new and nearly new):

The Carnegie Awards are the adult equivalent to the Newbery/Caldecotts.  (James is my book group's August selection and now I have a signed copy. I look forward to A Walk in the Park)

Left: two of the Literary Luminaries were audiobook narrators so instead of a book there were cards with QR codes for a free download.  

Upper right:  the HarperCollins book buzz is always fun.

Lower right: the Gala Author Tea on Monday afternoon is my last conference event. 

I read The Amalfi Curse by Sarah Penner on the flight home.  Like her first novel, The Lost Apothecary, it's magical realism set in two centuries. 

Interesting speakers:  there were many.  I couldn't coordinate my schedule to see all of them, but I did get to hear Dr. Brene Brown.

The RMRT President's Program was given by the librarian/archivist at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.  She told us how their resources provide documentation and background for the museum's exhibits, using their current special shows about Surrealism and Marcel Duchamp as examples.  

Ann Marie, Nancy, and I thoroughly enjoyed a screening of Rebel With a Clause moderated by writer (and star) Ellen Jovin and filmmaker Brandt Johnson.   They traveled to all 50 states where she set up her grammar table and talked to people, answering their grammar questions and listening to their comments.   

You can watch the trailer here.Theatrical release will be in 2026. Don't miss it!!  Meanwhile, you can read Jovin's book of the same name.

Sightseeing: 

Ann Marie (my roommate), Nancy, Lisa, and I went to Independence Hall. Tickets are free but are timed-entry.  

Lower left: the Assembly Room of the Pennsylvania State House, now called Independence Hall, where the delegates deliberated and then signed the Declaration. Lower right: Congress Hall where Congress met when Philadelphia was the capitol.  (It was originally the county courthouse.) 

Upper right: a bust of Franklin surveys the House chamber at Congress Hall.

We did not see the Liberty Bell. No tickets needed but the line is very, very long.  We contented ourselves with the replica in the visitors' center. 

RMRT sponsors a tour/field trip at each annual conference.  This year we went to the  Rosenbach Library

The tour is open to any conference attendee, hence the younger-than-retired in the group.  

Everyone enjoyed it.

Upper left:  a clock.  Center left: Jane Austen.  Center:  James Joyce (the Rosenbach celebrates every Bloomsday (June 16: Ulysses). Lower left:  the Rosenbachs facilitated the sale of several First Folios but never owned one. These are Second, Third, and Fourth Folios.  Lower center:  the royal charter for the Drury Lane Theatre specifying that women can play women's roles (in Shakespeare's time men played them). Lower right:  British and American first editions of Moby Dick.  

Friends:

Just a few....Nancy, Ann Marie, Carrie, Katharine, Larayne....

and a special meet up!  

Late Friday afternoon I took the train from downtown to the suburbs.  Marsha met me at the station and took me to Nancy's house.   (I met Nancy through blogging and Marsha because she is a librarian and a quilter.  They have been good friends (same church, plus quilting) for many years.)  Nancy served supper.  I met her husband Joe.  We four had a wonderful evening.

Nancy wrote about the flag quilt in this post

One quilt leads to another -- in this case sixteen of them.

This year's auction raised $4180 for the scholarship fund. My records only go back to 2013.   2013-2025: $44,513 (plus the 12 years before that). 

From left: Antipodes (one of mine): $500.   Cats: $500. School Colors 1: $175. School Colors 2: $175. Art Class: $100. One Fish Two Fish (stack 'n' whack): $175. Mrs. Tomte: $150. Dragon Reader: $475. Winnie the Pooh: $400. Tall pumpkin (partially hidden): $100. Short Pumpkin: $175. Wreath: $80.

You can see Ann Marie, Lisa's back, and at the far right Nancy's back.  The easels are for artwork donated by illustrators/graphic artists, also to benefit the scholarship fund.

I made these four.  The Beacon: $150. Morning at the Marsh: $250. Churn Dash: $275. Indigo Stars: $500.  

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And then it was Tuesday morning. Time to check out, get to the airport, and fly home.  The return trip went without a hitch. I walked in the door at 2:45.

I shipped just one box of books and swag. It arrived on Thursday. 

I miss having my first reader to greet me . . .

Midweek: stash report and OMG

 I had a wonderful time at the ALA conference in Philadelphia, quilts included. That report will come in a day or two.  

Rabbit, rabbit -- this pair is dressed for the occasion and posed on a quilt.  (I grabbed the photo from a Google images search. I suspect it's a Chinese-made DWR.)  

I made the July block for the guild BOM to take to tonight's meeting.  It's the heart in the center surrounded by the prevous blocks in the series.  

Stash report, June: 

Fabric IN:  126-1/2 yards, $36.  That's .28 per yard.  Lots of rummage sale bargains this month.    Fabric OUT:  63 yards. 

Fabric IN, YTD:  759 yards, $285.00, average .38 per yard.  If I can't keep myself from acquiring fabric then I'd better get good deals, and I certainly have.   Fabric OUT, YTD: 608 yards.  Net gain: 151 yards.  I'd better get sewing! 

My One Monthly Goal for July is to keep up with the BOM, the guild Round Robin, Running Doe Topalong, and RSC purple.  

Linking up with Wednesday Wait Loss and OMG at Stories from the Sewing Room  

Midweek: wildflowers, placemats, OMG

You can't hide from birthdays in the age of social media.  I'm grateful for all the greetings and good wishes.  

Erika treated me to brunch (crepes benedict, which provided supper as well), with a cinnamon roll from the restaurant and some P.E.O. daisies.  

I spent much of the afternoon in air conditioned comfort with a Zoom call and paperwork for Stevens' estate.  It is not at all like the BBC dramas where the lawyer brings everyone together and reveals the contents of the will.  In this case, there are IRS forms, new accounts to open, and at least another Zoom conference to come.

Last week I took all the books off the bookcases in the living room so that the housekeeper could dust and vacuum behind them.  I did some consolidating (his Maine books and my Maine books now share a shelf) and some weeding.  

Yesterday I took the weeded books to Half Price Books.  Yes, I could have dropped them off at my library or any area library, or boxed them up for an AAUW sale, but I wanted to do some shopping at the mall across the road from HPB.   The "half price" is what they resell books for, not what they buy them for so I didn't get much -- and I turned around and applied that to three quilt books. 

And while I was in the neighborhood, relatively speaking, I had a good walk in the shade at Old School Forest Preserve.  83 degrees meant there wasn't much competition on the trail.  

Dogwood, meadow-rue, beardtongue, pagoda plant.

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In the studio:   I made three placemats from the leftovers from  Gator Party

I came across a bag of  4" stars that I made from scraps from a 2023 project, according to the label.  Last evening I sewed a bunch of yellow four-patches for alternate blocks.  I'll add borders to make it baby or wheelchair size.

It's time to report on my June One Monthly Goal:   (a) sort and file recent fabric acquisition -- yes, some but not all!   (b) give fabric away  -- yes, but not a lot!  

This is my last post until next week. I'll be at the ALA Annual Conference in Philadelphia--depart tomorrow, return Tuesday. I look forward to seeing friends and getting new books.

Linking up with OMG Finish and Wednesday Wait Loss

Weekly update: celebrating, a field trip, rummage sale, a finish + reading

 

Happy birthday to me!  I look forward to a *prime* year.  

I caught the sunrise (5:17) at the marina this morning. I stuck my toes in the water at the north beach. 

On Friday I took advantage of an unscheduled day and went downtown. "Dressed in History" is on exhibit at the Chicago History Museum featuring items from their costume collection. The garments were donated by Chicagoans, some of whom wore them.   Quite a variety!

The white Dior gown in the center is so elegant! (Worn by a debutante in 1949.)  The donor of the 18th century court dress (lower left) purchased it in the 1920's for $150 ($2700 today). 

The Yves St. Laurent Poliakoff dress, lower center, is timeless.   

Remember how scandalous the topless bathing suit was in 1964?  

CHM used have an endless-loop video of Sally Rand dancing with her fans.  Stevens remembered when we saw it, not so much because of Sally but because we watched two boys (maybe 8 years old) watch, agog when Sally's fan slipped and revealed a glimpse of Sally! 

Lincoln Park Zoo is just north of the Chicago History Museum. I hadn't been to the zoo in many years.  LPZ is a unit of the Chicago Park District and admission is free.  

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I went to the last day of a church rummage sale on Saturday.  $5 for a big white trash bag.  I filled it with two dozen packages of vintage cotton trim (bias tape, mostly), some quilt fabric, and a lot of men's shirts.   

The shirts have been deboned and put in the bin.

Majesty was Ben Franklin brand. Trueworth is labeled McCoy Jones & Co., Chicago. 

In the studio:   the scrappy squares quilt is finished!  

Serpentine stitch quilting following the zig zags. 

I used three different prints on the back. 

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  Our AAUW book group will discuss Real Food Fake Food in July.   From Parmesan vs. Parmiggiano (quite a difference), all the varieties of olive oil, kobe/wagyu/Angus beef, and of course wine -- there are a lot of false claims for the food that we eat. 

I've listened to all the Cork O'Connor series (in order!). This is #20, the 2024 installment.  "Dependable," as Stevens would say, and very good.

Linking up with Design Wall Monday Monday Musings (thanks for the shout out, Brenda), Sew and Tell  Oh Scrap!

STAY  COOL!