Sunday, April 14, 2024

Weekly update: wildflowers, inspiration, and progress

 

AAUW-Deerfield Area and AAUW-Waukegan Area branches hosted their annual Fellows Luncheon yesterday. We heard from three outstanding women who have benefited from AAUW grants and fellowships THIS is what we do with the money we raise -- help women change the world!

Sofia Abukar Faroli joined us by Zoom. She is a professor at Portland State University, researching African women in elected office. Thallyta Laryssa Cavoli is a PhD. candidate at the University of Illinois. She is from Brazil and her research area is poverty and inequitable access to resources. Hanin Elathram grew up in Benghazi, Libya. She received a BSME at UNC-Charlotte and an MSME at Georgia Tech. She is a design engineer at Caterpillar in Peoria.


Waukegan Branch attendees posed in front of the spring raffle quilt. The drawing is at the conclusion of the state convention next Saturday.

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Wildflowers are in bloom! I took these photos at Old School Forest Preserve this afternoon.

Clockwise: bristly buttercup or swamp crowfoot, trillium, bloodroot, a woodland pond, wood anemone or thimbleweed.


Sunday dinner:  it seemed that half the town turned out for the Razzle Dazzles pasta dinner.  Our local baton troupe has won the world championship twice!


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My sewing machine was acting up so I took it to the shop last week.  Jim was able to get it to behave.  I only had to buy a new bobbin case ($35).  This interesting antique was on display.  


Here is more about the Moldacot Sewing Machine


In the studio:  

I finished 11 daisy mug rugs. My P.E.O. chapter sells yearbook covers to other chapters.  The covers are small 2-ring binders. A coupon for a mug rug is tucked into each shipment of 10 or more covers.  (I realize we could just put the mug rug in the box but this way they have to make an effort.) 


Since I'm between obligatory projects I pulled out the batik slabs.   I'm up to 55 blocks out of 72? 80? I'll stop when I run out of steam. 





It takes time to build a slab.  I piece a few, press and trim, then sew those units together. Repeat, repeat, repeat.  When I get a big slab I cut it into 7" strips. I'm using the Studio 180 V-block ruler which requires cut large/trim down and these are 6-1/2" unfinished blocks. 


Linking up with Oh Scrap!  Sew and Tell  Design Wall Monday


7 comments:

  1. Gracious, what a tale!

    “what perfection has been brought to the art of counting chickens before they are hatched”

    There were three American trade papers devoted to sewing at the time? Incredible!

    Thanks for that link to a delightful tale of skulduggery (that sounds only too familiar).

    Bird 'Pie

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  2. i love your slab blocks and those mug rugs are so cheerful...anxious to get back to MD where it is definitely spring!

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  3. You've had a busy and interesting week!!
    It does take time to make slabs !! I iron all the seams as I go, too...my "confetti" type blocks (using bits and bobs left over) take a long time...but they are fun to make. Hugs for another good week Julierose

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  4. You pack so much into a week! Those daisy mug rugs are really cute. I've been eyeing my batiks recently but haven't made a final decision on what I want to do with it. I don't buy too many batiks but for some reason they almost always are given away at some of the retreats I go to. So the pile keeps growing.

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  5. Fun projects on the go, Nann! It must feel so good to be doing such a great job with using scraps on the Slab project. LOVE those darling Daisy mug rugs!

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  6. Sounds like a busy but productive week. Those mug rugs are really cute.

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  7. Those mug rugs are very cute. Looks like there's a lot of stitching goes into those slabs but they're so effective when they're put together.

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