Weekly update: beautiful weather

 The weather was glorious this weekend -- temperatures in the mid-70's, low humidity, and lots of sunshine.   We went out both Saturday and Sunday afternoon.

These are scarlet lobelia or cardinal flower.  I've found them in only two forest preserves (here, Sedge Meadow Canoe Launch)  though surely they grow in others.  The red is really red!   

We've visited Volo Bog when we've had enough time for the 26 not-very-direct-mile-drive.  Today was one of those days.  I hiked the entire trail -- 2.75 miles -- which took so long that I didn't take the boardwalk through the bog itself.  (See  this post from our visit this past May).  Yes, I had to push for that 2.75 miles but because it was cool and not-humid it wasn't bad.  

This was a section of the trail.  The floating walkway is very bouncy, it's narrow, and there are no handrails! 

Clockwise from upper left: monarda, boneset, nodding onion, rattlesnake master, elderberries, spotted joe pye weed, ironweed. Center:  sunshine through the trees. 

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I finished one of the wheelchair quilts and I'm quilting the border on the other.  (See Friday's post for the flimsies.) 

Here's where I'm stuck. 

One of my OMGs for August is to make a jumbo tote bag big enough, for example, to take quilts to a guild meeting.    

At the June workshop taught by Jane Sassaman (details here) I made most of the parts for one of the collaged moths.  I neatly folded those parts and all the fabric and put them in a box.  I knew I didn't want to make the entire wall hanging but I didn't want the partial moth hanging around forever.  Aha!  Why not use it for that jumbo tote bag?  

The moth was five pieces -- four wings and the body/head/antennae.  Jane doesn't use fusible web for her applique, but I added it.  ("Windowed" so there's just a ring of fusible around the edges.) I used satin stitch to sew the edges down.

Uh-oh.  The applique comes all the way to the selvage.  I  intended to have a top margin of 1-1/2".  I can't rip out the applique. I can't cut it away.   I'll need to carefully sew a strip along the top edge. 

I couldn't find the jumbo tote pattern I used a couple of years ago so I have been proceeding without one.  However, this evening I found another, similar pattern and I'm going to use it as a guideline.   

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

P.S.  Evening sewing time is TV time. 

We binged two seasons of Under the Vines, a "dramedy" (drama + comedy) about a vineyard in New Zealand.  There's a third season in the works, which is good because the second season ended with a cliffhanger.

It's on Acorn.