Friday check in: catching up, something unexpected + reading

 

It's been sunny and hot all week. We really need some rain!  But it's been great for walks:  three sections of Illinois Beach and one forest preserve. 

Here's a closeup photo of fringed gentian.  You can clearly see the fringes at the edges of the petals.  The blue is such a heavenly color!  I found several clumps at the middle unit of Illinois Beach State Park.  

 Left: blue wood aster.  Top: apple, primrose.  Center: New England aster, white heath aster.   Bottom: purple lovegrass, hairy aster. 

I saw something move in the grass.  It was a frog.

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In the studio:   

A new guild BOM has begun.  Here are my blocks for September and October.  The instructions call for 2 yards of background fabric.  I'm using a print left over from another BOM (the resulting quilt was finished and donated long, long ago). 
 

This is month four for the guild round robin.  Because it's a secret I can't show you more.  Two rounds after this.

And here's the unexpected -- thought about, started, and finished this week.  I wanted a lightweight fall-ish top that's a little snappier than the shirts and tees that are my standard travelwear.  I pulled out the box of garment patterns, realizing that not only have styles changed but also there's a lot less of me than the last time I sewed clothing.  Despite that I went back to a reliable design.   I first made it in 1998 (!) and again in 2006 (!) and I still wear both jackets.  

I recall that I agonized over fabric selection back then.  This time it went easily.  Eight batiks for the front and back (the back has the same arrangement) and another batik for the lining.

And it's done! 

 Here are the other two.  

  

A very unusual approach to presidential history!  Engagingly-written and very informative.  I learned a lot, from the famous (Washington, Lincoln, JFK) to the lesser-known (Franklin Pierce).    

The author points out that a lock of hair was a tangible link to a person (loved one or celebrity) before photography.   

I got the ARC (advance reader copy) at ALA Midwinter 2020 -- the irony of a travel book published in April of that year!  In 2014 Knighton dealt with a romantic breakup by visiting ALL the national parks in the U.S. and documenting them for CBS Sunday Morning.   That helped him get over his heartbreak as well as launch his subsequent career.   

His approach is thematic rather than geographical.   There's Sunrise (Acadia), Animals (Everglades, Channel Islands, Pinnacles, Death Valley), Mystery (Crater Lake, Congaree), and so on -- ending with Sunset (Grand Teton, Yellowstone).  He talks to rangers and fellow travelers. He relates historical, geological, and other interesting information.  I enjoyed the journey.

Linking up with Finished or Not Friday