Weekly update: Christmas week, visitors, and an unexpected project

 My internal calendar was thrown off with Christmas in the middle of the week.  We went to the 5 p.m. Christmas Eve service at North Prairie UMC (the "other" Methodist church in town because we didn't want to go out at 9 p.m. for the service at our church).   My sister came for lunch on Christmas Day.  (Her husband is an HVAC guy and had several service calls (gotta have an operating furnace!).)  She and I talk fairly often but we hadn't met in person since last spring.  

On Thursday Bob posted that he was enjoying Christmas in Lake Forest with his foster family I promptly sent a message asking if he could come to visit.  

In 1981 Stevens hired Bob to be the government documents librarian at Pittsburg State University.  We moved in 1982.   After Stevens' immediate successor as dean left PSU Bob was appointed dean and held the position until he retired.   Though I've seen Bob at ALA conferences (most recently 2019), it had been more than 30 years since Stevens and Bob had met.

Mild temperatures meant we got out for walks.  

Fungus at Lyons Woods and a dormant but still green prickly pear at Illinois Beach State Park.

The ornaments I hung on Tuesday were still there on Saturday but the paint was stripped off.  

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 Part Six of the Old Town mystery dropped on Monday.   Another easy step.

I haven't begun Part Seven (released Friday).  Instead I concentrated on the project I began last week.   

I was inspired by a quilt by Deb (here).  I think I found it when I was looking for half-rectangle block designs.  

My quilt gave me the opportunity to use the Studio 180 Half-Rects ruler.  (The cut-big-and-trim method results in perfectly-sized units.)    The blue background is Kaffe Aboriginal Dots.  I used virtually every bit that I had, which required piecing scraps and then recutting.   The brights are some Kaffe, some Serious Whimsy, and a few others.  

Blocks are 4 x 8 finished (the largest the ruler makes).  Quilt is 48 x 56.  

The splashy orchid print on the back is a Hoffman from 1985 (selvedge has the date) that I got at Barb M's estate sale. The other is a newish Kaffe. 

I quilted it in diagonal lines with the serpentine stitch. 

Next up will be Old Town.  

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

P.S.  We streamed four movies this week.
  

I'd never seen Christmas in Connecticut (1945)--fun.  It had been years since we last watched Home Alone (1990).  (I didn't realize that Catherine O'Hara, the mom, was Moira Rose in Schitt's Creek. Quite a different mom!)    

No photo: we also saw Elf.  Some funny parts but not cute or charming.

A departure from Christmas fare:   The Six Triple Eight, now on Netflix.  It's based on the true story of the Black WAC unit who cleared up the backlog of 17 million pieces of undelivered mail (incoming and outgoing) during World War II.  It was decades until the women received the recognition and honor they deserved.   I recommend it.   

P.S. 2   Our New Hampshire family sent gourmet treats from Stonewall Kitchen. Almost as good as the food are the boxes and hamper they came in.  Never turn down a sturdy box!