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| Old School Forest Preserve |
Chicagoland is officially in a drought but the cloudless skies ("100% of available sunshine") and warm temperatures are the kind of weather I'd like to bottle.
At Van Patten Woods on Friday: sulfur butterfly on New England aster, viceroy butterfly, yellow wooly bear caterpillar.
The viceroy is a monarch mimic. The visible difference is the black band across the lower wing. (Read about other differences in this article)
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A friend moved to assisted living earlier this year. There was an estate sale at her house this weekend. I bought a trundle bed and because I know where the mattresses have been I'm going to use them. My plan is to make Stevens' bedroom into guest room with a more flexible bedding choice than a queen-sized bed. It seems soon to be doing this but trundle beds of this quality (oak, mission-style frame) are a lot more than $275 (and the mattresses would be extra). I could not have gotten this far without the help of neighbors Mike (tools), Ira (truck), and Zac (youth and muscle). Mike said he'll reassemble the frame this week. I'll need to purchase twin-sized bedding but of course I have a quilt or ten that will work fine.
What I accomplishedon my own was getting a new shade for the lamp temporarily on top of the dresser. That was another estate sale purchase. (It's Buchan pottery from Scotland, a design I really like.)
# # # # # In the studio:
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| Two of these are now empty |
Destash! There was a FB post by a quilter showing two quilts she'd made from neckties. I commented that I had a lot of ties that I'd be happy to send her. She said she'd love to have them. I emptied *two* 55-quart bins -- about 400 ties? it's hard to count. I still have plenty to play with.
On the design wall: the Christmas monkey wrench blocks are finished. I hope to get the border sewn on this evening.
Meanwhile, October's RSC is black and brown. Here are the first two Ohio Stars.
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Late last year I read the five Jules Clement mysteries by Montana writer Jamie Harrison. They were great. I found her 2021 stand-alone novel in the stacks at the library. It was even better. It's set in Livingston, MT (where Harrison lives), in 2002 with flashbacks to 1968. Polly Schuster is recovering from a brain injury (caused by a freak accident). She's preparing for a big celebration for her great-aunt Maud's 90th birthday. A young woman whom Polly knew well disappears while out for an afternoon of canoeing. As the search proceeds Polly remembers incidents from her family's past with drownings and disappearances. Family dynamics are all over the place with the cast of quirky characters. Secrets old and recent are revealed. It's a great story. Linking up with Oh Scrap! Sew and Tell Monday Musings Design Wall Monday
Sounds like you had a busy week. I thought you might move your sewing machine and a project or three upstairs - or have you already done that. I like your monkey wrench blocks. I should try making some one of these days. Thanks for the book recommendation. I found that my library carries it and I'll check it out one of these days. (ie -- too many books on reserve are going to land at the same time, again!) We have a couple (or maybe just one) big plastic bin emptied. Hopefully I won't fill it up any time soon!
ReplyDeleteIt's wonderful to have handymen to help out isn't it. I'm sure you will enjoy your 'new' room once you have it all put together.
ReplyDeleteGreat de-stash of some of your ties (wow - you must be the Queen of Ties with such a large collection!). And thank you for the author/book review. I will look for her at our library.
We have had that kind of weather in N. Colorado lately, too. So pleasant for fall! I think you can do whatever works for you in that bedroom - sounds useful to have two separate beds. Pretty lamp, too! Your Christmas monkey wrenches and start on October RSC blocks both look great. And thanks for the book recommendation - it sounds like a good one!
ReplyDeleteI’m so glad your neighbors were able to help you with that trundle bed, Nann. And thank you for sharing those lovely butterflies with us! You are so generous to send all those neckties off to that other quilter, just as you were when you sent me those fabulous scraps with the books. I am still enjoying digging through your scraps and incorporating them here and there. I always think of you when I use them!
ReplyDeleteYou seem to find such great purchases at yard and estate sales. I so rarely do, but maybe it's because I haven't been going to them lately. I don't find if I'm not looking, right?
ReplyDeleteThat's fabulous you found someone who was using neckties and you had some many to send along. That's a LOT of neckties!
Your Christmas monkey wrench top looks great. And I especially like those dark Ohio stars on the cream background.
What a good idea to switch out the queen for well-made twin trundle beds! And long distance thanks to the guys who are helping make it a reality (always reassuring to hear about the many good people out there).
ReplyDeleteYou've been busy. Grad Girl was considering trundle beds for her spare bedroom. But that's down the road a bit for her, she has other things she needs more. The Christmas quilt is coming along beautifully. Sounds like a very interesting book.
ReplyDeleteYou found a great fit to make the room work better for your guests. I am impressed with your destashing of so many ties. I sent off a recycle bag of scraps which feels good!
ReplyDeleteThat is a great deal on the trundle bed and I'm so glad you have good neighbors willing to help. That's rare these days. I'm glad you kept some ties to play with yourself. I love how your Christmas Monkey Wrench quilt is coming together. So pretty! Have a great week. Thanks for sharing with us at Monday Musings.
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