Weekly update: an unexpected gift, stash report, OMG finished and planned -- and reading

The 2021 ALA Midwinter Meeting was held virtually from January 22-26.  FLOTUS Dr. Jill Biden was the closing speaker on the 25th.  She was so vibrant!   The remarkable young poet Amanda Gorman appeared in a clip just prior to Dr. Biden's talk. 

 

Just a year ago I'd heard of Zoom but I'd only attended one meeting.  It does it much easier to convene groups of people who live both nearby and far away.  A perfect example:  on Saturday morning AAUW-Michigan convened a regional meeting with participants from 18 states. There was lots of good information and idea-sharing. Few would have been able to afford the time or the expense to travel (let alone risk winter weather conditions). 

Saturday evening the Magpies had their first Zoom meet up.  We all agreed it will not be the last.  (And we've begun -- with optimism -- planning for a 2022 in-person meet up.) 

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 I took Code Name Welcome Home to Barb-the-quilter on Wednesday.  "A friend gave me some quilting things she isn't able to use," Barb said.  "Can you use any of it?"  I told her I'd be happy to make it disappear.  

The top photo shows all the loot before I began to go through it.   

The original owner's name was on some of the things. I know her both from the quilt guild and AAUW, but I haven't seen her for a long time. (Barb said she is all right but slowing down and has realized she won't be able to use all of what she has.  Sounds familiar, doesn't it?) 

There were four different mini-irons, a bag of fiberfill, and notions -- including an unopened 6.5" square Omnigrid ruler that I actually had on my shopping list.  There were a couple of magazines and books.  And there were UFOs, and un-begun kits, and fabric.  

Fabric?  58 yards by weight!  The photo shows the pile of batiks on the right and all the "regular" fabric on the left.  

Look at the prices on these Keepsake charm swatches. [Tiny print at the bottom of each label.]

[I am not showing the kits or UFOs because I am finding new homes for them.]

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How did the gift affect my stash?

Here's January stash report, short and sweet:

Fabric IN:   58 yards, cost: zero

Fabric OUT:  61-3/8 yards

Net:  3-3/8 reduction  -- the right direction 

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My January OMG was  to make a mini-quilt for the Modern Quilt Guild swap.  This is Toward the Morning.

(You can see what my swap partner sent me here ) 

I pulled out a finished quilt to donate to an online auction and realized it wasn't labeled.  It turned out that I have a stack of finished quilts that aren't labeled.  My February OMG is to sew on those labels!

I'm joining other bloggers on these link parties: January Finish Link Up    Oh Scrap!    Monday Making

 Design Wall Monday   I found a new link party -- Favorite Finish hosted by Cheryl at Meadow Mist.

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This week's reading:   The Searcher is a very absorbing mystery. Retired Chicago cop Cal Hooper moves to a small village in Ireland to get away from it all.  He finds himself back in the detecting business when a local kid asks him to find his missing older brother.   

I've been gradually listening my way through the Cork Corcoran mysteries by William Kent Krueger.   David Chandler is a great narrator for the series.  Sulfur Springs is #16.  Cork and his wife Rainy go to southern Arizona when her adult son calls to say he is in trouble.  Immigration, drug smuggling, murder, and small-town politics combine for another case for the sheriff-turned-P.I. from the Minnesota Iron Range. 

P.S.  Six inches of snow Saturday night/Sunday morning.  Glad we didn't have to go anywhere today!