Weekly update: Bunco returns, a berry nice walk, and a new start for month-end

We performed our civic duty in this year's important election and voted at Zion City Hall on Friday afternoon.  

On Friday evening the Zion Woman's Club fall Bunco party returned after a two-year Covid hiatus.  (There's something about rolling dice in a church fellowship hall....)  We enjoyed dessert, renewed friendships, and met new people.   I contributed this quilt to the silent auction.   I spent $20 on put-and-take (bag raffle) tickets and won a bottle of flavorful olive oil packaged in a ceramic bowl, two rayon scarves, and a travel tote bag.  We'll find out the proceeds at our club meeting tomorrow (Nov. 1).  

Saturday afternoon was beautiful. We went to Raven Glen  (specifically, the west entrance). What I noticed were the fruits--berries of all sizes from honeysuckle to crabapples.  

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In the studio:  I have a three-ring binder with all the Addicted to Scraps blocks from Quiltmaker. When I filed the new block  I looked back at the series.  (Bonnie began ATS with the Jan/Feb 2010 issue.  Nov/Dec 2022 is #78!)    

Ladder Star was #42 (Nov/Dec 2016).  I decided to give it a try and in the process use some browns and tans.   The blocks are 8-1/2" unfinished.

The block is a variation of Free Trade.  (Photo:  upper left, Marsha McCloskey; upper right, Patchwork Place perpetual calendar; lower left, Bonnie's version.) 

I'm not sure how many I'll make or how I'll set them. For now it's a nice exercise in color combinations.

Linking up with Design Wall Monday   I add a shout-out to Beth Shibley at  Love Laugh Quilt for hosting the Monday Making link up. According to my blog tags, I posted on 354 of them.

Friday check in: meeting Edith + a finish!

 

Costume designer Edith Head visited the Clara Cummings Book Club luncheon on Thursday.  Martina Mathisen gave an interesting and informative portrayal. Head was awarded 8 Oscars over the span of her 60-year career, mostly with Paramount and later with Universal.   

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In the studio:   it's a finish!

Here is Spare Parts V.   72 x 80.  I estimate 8 yards used. 

  Last week I posted photos of the border/sashing I was considering. I searched further and found this gold batik. It's a Christmassy print (pinecones and sort-of poinsettias) that I got when we were on vacation in northern Minnesota way back in 2011.  That was a year I was really, really good about not buying but this batik was on clearance and I bought the rest of the bolt -- 6 yards.   After finally cutting into it for this quilt I still have 4 yards!  

I used more spare parts on the back as well as some larger pieces of batiks that have such large motifs that they lose a lot when cut up for blocks.    The project used up many odds and ends (some of which I'd completely forgotten about).    

Linking up with  Finished or not Friday

P.S. More words of advice from Edith Head.   (And, yes, Martina Mathisen did refer to Edith as the inspiration for the animated character Edna Mode in The Incredibles.)

                                                                             

Weekly update: golden autumn woods, lunch with friends, and piecing the back

 Here's the commemorative medallion I got for completing Hike Lake County 2022. That's a rusty-patched bumblebee which is a critically-endangered species.   

I do not have a wooden hiking stick to which to nail it, nor do I have an RV to which to glue it, but I do have a bulletin board. <g>

And I'm still walking!

There cannot be too many golden autumn woods photos.

These were taken at McDonald Woods (Thursday) and Lyons Woods (Sunday).  

Such a beautiful time of year!

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On Friday Stevens and I took our friend Pat out to lunch.  The restaurant, Walsh's Bar and Grill, is a decades-old tavern that was the scene of a mob killing in 1939 back when now-affluent suburban Westmont was just a spot on the highway.   Though Pat and I chat by phone often it's even better to visit in person.

"Family Reunion" was the theme for the P.E.O. Lake County Round Table Founders Day luncheon on Saturday.   The 13 chapters in the county usually hold this event in April but six months ago an uptick in Covid led to postponing until now.  I've gotten to know many P.E.O.s in other chapters over the years (I've given quilt history programs and book talks to many) and it was so good to see everyone.  Lynn Rymarz portrayed founder Franc Rhodes Elliott in 1919 looking back over the years.  Franc was an accomplished artist and art educator in Chicago. 

With friends Jeannine and Susie.

Ann is the 2022-23 state president. We've been friends since we served on a state projects committee.

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And, finally, the quilting part of this week's post. 

I have assembled the batik spare parts flimsy. Piecing the back has become complicated.  I'm going to have to turn these two big panels on their sides which means I will rip out two directional blocks and reorient them. (Would anyone know?  I would and it would drive me crazy if I didn't.) 

Linking up with Oh Scrap! Design Wall Monday

Midweek: having fun getting there

 I'm behind with working on non-quilting responsibilities but while I procrastinate on those I'm having great fun with the batik parts and orphans.  

The panel on the right is 68". That's the length I'm aiming for with the other three.  

The pile on the table has possibilities for the sashes/border. (Side borders only, I'm thinking.)

The brown strip on the wall was just a thought. Now that I see it in the photo I kind of like it.  But this is a constantly evolving design so the end result may be completely different.

I will not use up ALL the parts and orphans with this project.  

Linking up with Midweek Makers Wednesday Wait Loss

Now: to the to-do list!

Weekly update: it's a finish!

Fall colors at Van Patten Woods on Friday afternoon.  Left: sumac. Right: white snakeroot or bone set (gone to seed).  Center:  hickory nuts.  Bottom: Virginia creeper, fungus on a log. 

We enjoyed oldies sung by the Saddle Shoe Sisters on Friday evening at our church.   (The acoustics are better in the sanctuary than in the fellowship hall. And the pews are more comfortable than metal folding chairs.)

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UPDATE:  Linking to the Elm Street Quilts  OMG Finish

In the studio:  it's a finish!  

The pattern is Entwined by Evelyn Sloppy from her book Forty Fabulous Quick-Cut Quilts.

I used a batik and two hand-dyes (all gifts from a friend) for the back.  

There's a new project on the design wall.  The  Parts and Orphans Dept. has a subset for batiks. That bin was filling up so I put a few units up on the wall.  One thing led to another and another.   I'm thinking of piecing three or four panels separated by long sashes, The sash width will depend on what I' have on hand.  

Linking up with Oh Scrap!   Design Wall Monday

Friday check in: a quilt show

The Southport Quilters (Kenosha) and the Women's Journeys in Fiber (Chicago) joined their annual shows at the  Anderson Arts Centeron the Kenosha lakefront.  I went up on Wednesday afternoon.  

This bright crumb quilt has a wonderful scrappy pieced back.  

The quilts on the upper right are meant to be shown as a pair. One makes the other look out of focus, on purpose.   

A charming vintage rescue.

Women's Journeys in Fiber had the theme Pathways: Dream Explore Discover.  Some of the pieces are quilted and others are, well, fiber.  

As Libby once said, local shows are especially inspiring because of range of quiltmaking on display.

The bonus for the show is that it was free of charge. There was no vendor mall (=no temptation).  

Linking up with  Finished or Not Friday 

Weekly update: complete, twice over

 

Temperatures in the high 50's and abundant sunshine made this a brilliant fall weekend. 

On Saturday afternoon we went to Ryerson Woods.  The Ryersons were Chicago industrialists who built their weekend farm on 257 acres where they raised Arabian horses.   In 1966 they deeded the property to the Lake Co. Forest Preserve District.  There are several activity centers, including barns and open pastures with a demonstration farm,  Brushwood (the Ryersons' house) used as an event center, several cabins used for environmental education, and miles of trails in restored woodlands.  

How many sunlight-filtering-through-the-leaves photos are too many? 

Left: joe pye weed.  More asters, a bridge, interesting fungus, and a burl. 

There was a concert on the steps at Brushwood. We don't know what the occasion was, but their voices were beautiful.  Stevens listened as I hiked.

I have completed all the designated hikes for Hike Lake County 2022.  I sent in the form and will get a commemorative badge.  (They've had HLC for 25 years.   I began participating in 2020 as a Covid stress relief, so this is my third year.)  I assure you I'll keep on walking and taking photos in the months to come. 

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The second completion:  ALL the blocks for Entwined.  I will correct the turned block on the right.  

There are a few scraps to refile.

Linking up with Oh Scrap!  Monday Making

 Design Wall Monday

Friday check in: a few flowers, Ado Annie, and OMG declaration

 

This praying mantis was on the wall along the front walk at the library yesterday.  

In the library garden:  end-of-season zinnias (Zion's official flower) surround a rose.  Colder weather came in last evening. 

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I've concluded that I am the Ado Annie of fabric -- I can't say no! At Wednesday's guild meeting Barb gave me a big bag with more of Dorothy's fabric.  (Mostly FQs and a few half yards this time.) 36 yards by weight.  

There are a few blocks, too. 

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I've had a week to determine my One Monthly Goal for October.  I'm going to go easy on myself because I have two fairly big non-quilting projects that I **have** to get done.    

I'm going to finish Entwined -- that is, quilted, bound, labeled.  I have the 16 big blocks completed and 30 out of 48 medium blocks.  After that are 36 small blocks.  They're not difficult but they are fiddly -- lots of cutting, lots of sewing. 

Linking up with OMG at Elm Street Quilts and Finished or Not Friday

Midweek: something completely different

 

I have dozens of quilt books that, I admit, have provided more inspiration than actual projects.  On Monday evening I took took Evelyn Sloppy's 40  Fabulous Quick-Cut Quilts off the shelf.   "Oh, I don't want to....oh, I can't..." became, "Of course I can!"

....and here's what's underway.  [Neutral batiks, of which I have many yards, and inky-dark purple batik.]

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Yesterday afternoon I took a quick walk in the ravine/nature trail at the end of our block.  Look who was in the yard at a house on the other side of the ravine.   

Linking up with Midweek Makers

Wednesday Wait Loss

Weekly update, part 2: woodland walks and playing with scraps

 

This early fall weather is glorious -- lots of sunshine and blue, blue skies.  We went to Waukegan Savanna, Independence Grove and Old School, three of the designated sites for this year's Hike Lake County challenge.  

This is prairie dock, also known as Lucy Braun's prairie dock. Had the flower and the spent flowerhead not been on one plant I wouldn't have known they are the same.

Here  is more about the eponymous Lucy Braun.  

This pretty purple flower is brown knapweed, also called French hard-head (!).  I've only  seen it at Wadsworth Savanna.  Since it is invasive it can stay there! 

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In the studio: 

 I've made several red rails quilts over the years. 

This one is from 2016. (There's a label in the side bar if you want to see all of them.)  

I've kept 1.5 x 3.5 rails in a two boxes -- one with just red and the other with everything else.  

Lynn's recent finish Klein Meisje "thirteen" gave me an idea.  

These 18 blocks (9-1/2" unf) have nearly emptied the "everything else" box. 

I'm going to take my time replenishing the box so this project will simmer for a while.

.,,,but I'm considering using the red rails for a scrappy sashing.....

Linking up with Oh Scrap!   Monday Making Design Wall Monday