Forest, field trip, and a flimsy before flying

 Monday afternoon we returned to Lyons Woods, a forest preserve we've often visited.  

I was intent on trying to see the blue jay that flew across the path and nearly stepped on this little guy.  He slithered away fast. (Young garter snake.)  

This color combination of purple aster, yellow sunflower, and yellow-green leaves against the blue sky -- what a great idea for a quilt!  (It has been hot and sunny most of the month. We need rain.)

Yesterday the AAUW Exploring Culture interest group enjoyed a tour of the Adlai E. Stevenson Historic Home in Mettawa.

From the website:  An influential figure in the political history of the United States, Adlai Stevenson II was born into an already prominent Illinois political family. His grandfather and namesake, Adlai E. Stevenson (1835-1914), was Vice President to Grover Cleveland (1893-1897), and his maternal great-grandfather, Jesse Fell, was a close friend of Abraham Lincoln. 

Stevenson II was Governor of Illinois from 1949 to 1953, ran twice for President as the Democratic National Candidate in 1952 and 1956, and served as Ambassador to the United Nations during the Kennedy administration from 1961 to 1965. 

Though he lost both presidential elections to Dwight D. Eisenhower, it was Stevenson's ideas that are his real lasting legacy. His importance lay in his efforts to raise the level of the public's awareness about the nature of the world, America's place in it, and what the future was likely to hold.

Top: an assortment of campaign buttons.  Bottom: our guide showing us the memorabilia in the study.

The house has many windows and I couldn't avoid the reflection.  This is a campaign textile (a bandanna?) when Adlai I was Cleveland's running mate.  (And tariffs are still a campaign issue.)

 

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In the studio:  it's a flimsy!  32 6" asterisk blocks for a wheelchair quilt.  The setting triangles are one of my purchases from Barb M's estate sale. ("Pablo's Puzzles" by Hoffman -- late 1990's?)

It wills stay on the design wall for a while.  I leave for my long-awaited Road Scholar trip to London and Paris.   The caregiver came for orientation yesterday. She's very capable and understands dementia clients well.  Wish us all luck!

Weekly update: golf, "fringed" benefits, and project at random

The 24th annual Jack McElmurry/Jake Zappa Memorial Golf Tournament on Friday was a great success.   

The weather was beautiful and all the golfers (36 foursomes, a full course) had a good time.

I helped with set up and brought Stevens to the banquet.  It was great to see some long-time friends. 

The old guys: Nate, Phil, Stevens

Jack was a charter member of the club and an avid golfer. He came up with the idea of the golf outing that has become our signature fundraiser.  He passed away in 2003.  His widow and their four daughters and their families continue to be major supporters.  

Jake was Jack's eldest grandson.  Though he wasn't a golfer he attended every outing except 2018 when one of his daughters was born. He served as club president and event chair in 2021 and 2022.  Tragically he died in an accident in April, age 34.  A portion of the proceeds from this year's outing was designated for his wife and four children.  All of them were there and Isaiah, age 8, led the Pledge of Allegiance. 

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This weekend's walks were in two very different sections of the lakefront.  

Friday afternoon:  I found a lot of fringed gentian at Illinois Beach State Park.  You can see the fringes clearly in this photo.  

Sunday afternoon:   It's been a while since we visited Fort Sheridan.  It was an army post from 1887-1993.  When it was decommissioned the Forest Preserves got the open space.   The officers' and enlisted men's quarters have been remodeled as private homes.   (Upscale!  Access to the beach and, across the road, to commuter rail to the city.) 
 

The former beach clubhouse is now residences.  The Chicago skyline is barely visible in the lower photo.

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I gave the demo about sewing with neckties at the guild's Saturday workshop.   It was well-received!   Now I've tidied up all that part of the stash, but because I prepped so many with iron-on interfacing I have a feeling I'll return to them sooner than later. 

But meanwhile, because I'm looking ahead to my Road Scholar trip (departing Thursday!), I don't want to get involved in anything that I'll have to leave for ten days.   I came across the  magazine pattern for asterisk blocks (Karen Griska). I began a batch to keep me occupied during evening TV time (currently on Season 2 of The Bear).  

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

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  

Weekly update, part 2: wildflowers, challenge reveal, and neckties

Be sure to read the previous post about the Wisconsin Quilt Show.

I discovered bottle gentian last year at Spring Bluff Forest Preserve.  I have not seen it anywhere else.

The blossoms grow in tiers along the stem.

 

Bumblebees are the only pollinators strong enough to pry open the flowers.    A bumblebee happened along to do just that.  

In the left photo you can see its rear poking out of the flower.  

Fringed gentian are also in bloom now.  These are behind a dune at Illinois Beach State Park.   I'll have to go back to get a better close up photo.  

Brisk northeast winds on Saturday meant lots of waves on the lake.

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The guild charity challenge reveal was at Wednesday's meeting.  

All entries had to use the square-in-square pattern and ONLY fabric donated to the guild for charity.

Aren't the variations interesting?  

Karen won first prize.  Yes, she followed the pattern. The black corners are square-in-squares! 

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I made this little quilt (mat? runner?) for the necktie demo I'm giving for the guild next Saturday.  I used a wedge ruler.  The sashing and borders were cut from a rectangular silk scarf. The binding used two ties.

There were several necktie projects on display at the quilt show.  More inspiration! 

Linking up with Oh Scrap!   Design Wall Monday

Weekly update, part 1: the Wisconsin Quilt Show

 The 20th Wisconsin Quilt Show (formerly 'expo,' hence my blog label) was held September 5-7 at the Alliant Center on the south side of Madison. This was the sixth time I've gone, and the fifth time on a one-day bus trip chartered by a LQS.   We met at the Kenosha County administration complex and boarded the bus to depart promptly at 7 a.m.  We arrived at 9 a.m. just as the doors opened.  

Bucky Badger and the University of Wisconsin Pep Band rallied the quilters.  

I like to do the exhibits first and save the shopping for later in the day.   

Karen is involved at the state level with Quilts of Valor.  We met in the Blockswappers group nearly 20 years ago.

Anna is one of my Magpie friends.  She and I were joined at lunchtime by Debbie (Time 4 Stitchin).  

I sat in on Jennifer Chiaverini's lecture. (I didn't stay for the book signing because I wanted to go shopping!) 

On to the quilts!

This is the third time I've had a quilt in the show.

There were quilts by people I know.  Upper left by Marge Carhart (quilt guild), upper right by Sue Daurio, lower left by Anna Braun (Magpies), lower right by Sue Daurio. (You can see Sue working on the moth here at the workshop with Jane Sassaman. (Recall that I made a tote bag out of mine.  Sue's is on a whole 'nother level!) 

These are some of the prize winners.

Best in Show went to Margaret Solomon Gunn for Eyes in the Forest (upper right in this collage).

These are some of the smaller quilts that caught my eye. 

(I took pictures of the artists' statements for many of these. If you'd like to know more, let me know.) 

These are some of the larger quilts.

 There were rainbow quilts.

 

 

Challenge category:  Black, White, and One Color. 

 Challenge category:  Modern Miniatures.

Challenge category:  Modern Miniatures.

Special exhibit: the 1876 Quilt.  

Special exhibit:  the Monarch Challenge, Cherrywood's 2024 contest.   

This was fun.

This was unusual.  

Wow!

Double wow.

The lines are sewn in, not appliqued. They are about 1/16".

Neckties!  

As you know they are uppermost in my quilting conscience right now.  

Of course I bought fabric.    P. Carter Carpin (Serious Whimsy) had a booth. I bought some of her fabric at a show back in 2021 and have been using it here and there. Now I've augmented my supply.  Ditto for Kristin Balouch (Little House Cottons) whom I first met at QuiltCon in Atlanta. And other fabric....because.  

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Back on the bus at 4 p.m.   A stop for dinner in Janesville, bus back to Kenosha County at 7 p.m., and I was home at 7:30.    Stevens and caregiver V got along well in my absence.  

Next post:  wildflowers, neckties, and new shoes.