Weekly update: rain, shine + goals met + reading

Wildflowers at Pine Dunes (Saturday) and Ethel's Woods (Sunday).  Top: monarda (bee balm), purple coneflower, pickerel weed. Center: compass plant, Queen Anne's lace, false sunflower.  Bottom: butterfly weed, Culver's root, swamp milkweed.

 Just as forecast, thunderstorms rolled in Friday afternoon, rolled out, and more rain overnight. Saturday dawned sunny and I had a great 2-mile walk at Pine Dunes in the morning.  Later in the day the rain returned and the temperatures dropped.  I didn't want to bundle up and sit on wet grass (even in a chair on wet grass) to watch the Zion festivities (concert and fireworks).  Instead I watched 1776, the musical, which was filmed in 1972. It was the first time I'd seen it.  Fun! ** see below

As I watched I sewed, of course.   Here's what I finished.

A July goal:   Double Delight, this month's Top-along pattern.  No shirts in this one -- all cut from yardage.   4 yards used. 

Another July goal:   coin blocks in aqua, the July RSC color.  You can see the pattern in the photo.  It's from Quiltmaker.

Sunday evening's sewing included making four mug rugs for the ongoing P.E.O. project.  I had the basket blocks, the fused daisies, and the green backgrounds on hand. 

I've finished four of the books I brought back from the ALA conference.  All the authors are new for me.  

Things in Nature Merely Grow -- awarded the Carnegie Medal for nonfication.  Li writes about her sons' suicides not to ask for pity, or sympathy, or any external acknowledgement (especially from people she doesn't know) but to express her pain, grief, and love.  Achingly beautiful, profoundly vulnerable.

A Plea for Freedom -- I chatted with the author who wrote the story of his ggg-grandfather, a Revolutionary War soldier.  It was engaging.

The Spirits -- one of the Library Reads selections. (Publication date: October.) A riff on Dickens' Christmas Carol, set in rural Michigan.  The Whitby family uneasily deals with their individual reactions to the accidental (or was it?) death of their abusive father/husband nine years before.  Many twists and turns.

West of Loveland -- publication date November 3.   The story begins when Rocky and his aunt/guardian Helen discover a revolver by the side of the road.   Whose is it?  How did it get there?   The answer is spun out over 356 pages with an interesting cast of characters, each of whom has a backstory.  The writing rambles aimiably and, just as in real life, it gets to the conclusion eventually.    WOW!!   This is the fourth in his (fictional) Grouse County series.  I wish I had discovered Tom Drury years ago -- I've got a lot to catch up on and I know I'll enjoy every page.

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

**  Pennsylvania delegate John Dickinson was a significant character in the musical.  He abstained from signing the Declaration of Independence.  I wasn't familiar with him (other than guessing correctly that Dickinson College was named for him).  The Sunday Chicago Tribune republished a NYT story about the recent discovery of a cache of documents by Dickinson. They'd been among family papers handed down to his gggg-nephew in London. "The new material might help counter the prevailing impression [from the musical] that Dickinson was a "piddling genius" [John Adams said]."   

Friday check in: June statistics and July goals

 Yes, it's hot!  I'm grateful for central air conditioning and my basement studio these days.  I've taken early morning walks except for Wednesday when I mowed the lawn (at 8 a.m.).  

Sunrise photo taken at Spring Bluff Forest Preserve, Thursday.

NEWS FLASH!  Easton John DePrez was born at 1:40 this morning.  Mother and baby doing well.  I'm a great-aunt!  

What I made in June

# # # # # My June goals:  make 10 placemats and finish two quilts.  I accomplished that and more.

STASH REPORT:  I got a lot of bargains, including a stack of batiks at the guild sale and a lot of shirts at rummage sales.  Fabric IN, June: 166-5/8 yards, $113.13.   68 cents per yard.   Fabric OUT, June:  78 yards.  

January-June fabric IN:  192 yards, $237, average $1.23 per yard.  January-June fabric OUT: 380 yards.   Net decrease: 188 yards!

GOALS for July:  (1)  label and donate the wheelchair-sized quilts I made last year. (2) make the July top-along (once I choose the fabric it will be easy to put together).  (3) Make the July aqua RSC blocks for my ongoing project.  

And while I'm at it, I'll get the design wall project to the flimsy stage.  Here's where I left off last night. 

Linking up with Finished or Not Friday  OMG 2026 

#ALAAC26 #ALA150 : the quilts!

 

The quilts were prominently displayed at the convention center. 

Connie and I started the ALA Biblioquilters when we met at the ALA conference in Washington, DC, in 1998.  For some years we planned a fabric-shopping excursion at the conference city. Now we make quilts (some collaborative, most individual) that are sold in a silent auction to benefit an endowed library school scholarship.  

This year the bids were the highest ever -- $7951!

I contributed these five.

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But wait, there's more.

This quilt was  on display (not in the auction).    

I don't know if you can grab the QR code from this photo.   The link goes to Laura Guertin
and you can see her other science and data themed quilts.

This patchwork caught my eye.

Look again!  It's paper collage made from catalog cards!   

Here's more about the artist.  

She donated these pieces to the silent auction (but not part of that $7951).  

I was the successful bidder for this one.  It's now on display on the mantel.  

#alaac26 ALA Annual Conference

In 1876 103 librarians (90 men and 13 women) met in Philadelphia and, on October 6, founded the American Library Association.  Of course they're busy celebrating another major anniversary in Philadelphia this summer so the #ALA150 festivities were in Chicago, which has been home to ALA since 1909. 

This was the 40th Annual Conference I've attended since 1984.  (I didn't go in 1991 or 2016 and the 2020 conference was cancelled.)   I'm retired from the job but not from the profession!  I go to see long-time friends, listen to interesting speakers, learn about issues, and of course to get new books.  

As it turned out, there wasn't extra time to go to issues-based programs (many of which dealt with the threat and the opportunity of AI).   But I managed all the other aspects just fine!  

Rachel Maddow was the Opening General Session speaker on Friday.

Dr. Jill Biden was the President's Program speaker on Sunday. 

Both were passionate and articulate!  

I had several responsibilities for the Retired Members Round Table.  I coordinated a group dinner Friday evening (no photos).   On Saturday morning I arranged for a guided tour of  Driehaus Museum.  Financier Richard Driehaus purchased the Gilded Age Nickerson House for his collection of late 19th/early 20th century decorative arts.  I hadn't been there for many years and it was new to the others who attended.  

The RMRT board meeting was Saturday afternoon, followed by the RMRT book club.  We meet by Zoom every fifth Sunday but in person at the conference.  The prompt for this session was "education" and as usual our interpretations of the prompt were varied.  (I chose Yale Needs Women and Good Morning, Miss Dove, both of which I've reviewed on this blog.) 

Monday's RMRT program was "Words Matter:  an Introduction to the Dignity Index ."  The presenters were my friends from the AAUW Batavia-Geneva-St. Charles Branch.  They are certified Dignity trainers. When I heard them at the AAUW-IL convention a couple of years ago I knew the idea would be great for ALA, and it was. 

I didn't get any really good pictures at the ALA150 Bash, the big party on Saturday evening.  But I was there! 

Books, you say?   Just a few -- and honestly not as many as previous years.  I shipped a small box home and was able to repack my suitcase to accommodate the rest of them.  

(And, I'll have you know, as of this writing -- a day and a half after I got home -- I've read two and I'm halfway through a third.) 

The Gala Author Tea was Monday afternoon.  I was able to get the 4:32 train.   It was a hot half-mile walk from the Winthrop Harbor depot, but I walked in my front door at 6:15.  

NOLA 27:  it's on my calendar. 

Next post:  the quilts! 

Friday check in: birthday thanks, two new projects, conference ahead

I turned 74 at 3:47 a.m. Tuesday.   I appreciated all the good wishes from Facebook friends.

I indulged in a little retail therapy and a short walk at Half Day Forest Preserve.   (Water lily, wild morning glory, and bladderwort.)

In 1990 Amelia and I celebrated our June birthdays in Northbrook.  I was staying at my parents' for the ALA conference and Amelia and her mother (my sister) were home for a visit.   Amelia greeted me at the door excitedly:  "Nann!  Grandmother and I baked you a lemon cake!" 

My big birthday gift came yesterday.  I traded the 2018 Forester (bought in 2017) and Stevens' 2020 Nissan Kicks for a 2026 Forester.  Subaru won the beauty contest (as S would say) over Nissan Rogue and Honda CRV.   Now I have Apple Car Play so I don't have to hold the phone in my hand to see maps.  

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On the front door now.

Modern Quilt Studio (Bill Kerr and Weeks Ringle) designed We the People for America 250.  The pattern is on the MQS website.  It was easy to make -- the letters are fusible applique. The hard part was figuring out how to hang it.  I had to dig into the Christmas decor boxes to find the wreath hanger. 

The deboned shirt bins are overflowing! 

On the design wall, but not for long:  thrifted shirts, 9" blocks.  I'm going to set these aside and consider an alternate block (sixteen patch, maybe).  

I was looking through Bonnie Hunter's Scraps and Shirttails and rediscovered this pattern.   A way to use not-blue shirts!  

Six blocks so far.   For the rest I'm going to cut the patches and units separately and keep them in the snapware boxes, then mix/match to assemble the blocks.  That way I'll get maximum variety. 

But all that is on hold until next week.  As soon as I publish this post I'll finish packing for the ALA Annual Conference.  It's in Chicago and I'm taking the 11:30 train downtown.   Home on Monday evening!

Linking up with Finished or Not Friday  Brag About Your Beauties

Weekly update: solstice, rummage sale + VRD challenge complete

 

Welcome summer! 

I was up really early on Sunday and caught the solstice sunrise over Lake Michigan.  

In the afternoon I took a nap, rather than a walk, to compensate for the early morning. 

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I did get a 2-mile walk on Saturday.

 Water lily, nodding thistle, blackberries, St. John's wort, elderberry, self-heal, white avens, coneflower.  

The walk came after I went to the final morning of a church rummage sale.  I bought two bags for $5 each and filled them with a lot of men's shirts (23) and ties (44).   If they were cotton or silk I put 'em in the bag.  I may not keep them all.   

I also got three Longaberger baskets (on the right in the top photo) for $32.50.  They were in the rummage sale "specials" section, not eligible for the bag sale.  

Lower photo:  deboning underway.   I do not keep cuffs, plackets, or collars.  

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Sewing success!  

 I've met the Villa Rosa summer challenge.  (See Friday's post for the first three projects.)  I sewed ahead to accommodate summer traveling and other obligations.  These truly were quick to make. 

#3, "pillow."  Due 7/10.  I made a pattern called Good Luck.   Bonus!  I'm counting it as my RSC pastel project for June.  

 

#5, "table runner."  Due 7/24.   The cute little block is made from 5" squares.  I did not fuss over color placement.  

#6, "snack mat duo."  Due 7/31.   Bigger than a mug rug, smaller than a placemat -- 8" x 14". 

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

RSC June

Friday check in: wildflowers, VRD x 3, potato chips + reading

 

Mid-June wildflowers on my walks this week. Clockwise:  coneflower, purple meadow-rue, beardtongue foxglove, wild indigo, more beardtongue, clover, field bindweed.  Center: the trail at Lyons Woods.

Spangled fritillary and what I think is celestrina echo (I enlarged the snapshot of this little blue butterfly). 

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I've made three of the six projects for the Villa Rosa summer challenge.  Week 1:  "under 50 x 50" which I interpret to be "under 200" perimeter."   That's because I added a narrow border to stabilize the edges for my entry in this category.  That border boosted Split Charms to 43-1/2" x 52-1/2" but the total is less than 200".

I used thrifted shirts and some other quilting cottons.  The inserts are a mix of Grunge and other tone-on-tones.  

 

I quilted it with straight meandering.  

Week 1 entries are due 6/25.

The Week 2 challenge, due July 3, is "tote bag." I chose Tabitha Jane.  It's reversible.

The pattern calls for six FQs but I used four.  It was easy to put together.  I added orange rickrack on the seamlines.   The left photo is one side and the right photo is the other side.   

If I made this again I'd change it so much it would hardly be this pattern -- the defining feature being using two prints on the outside.  I wouldn't make it reversible (one print for the lining), the handles would be narrower, and I'd box the bottom.   But I pretty much followed the instructions for the purposes of the challenge.

The Week 4 challenge, due July 17, is "scarf."  I chose Inessa Jane.  It's an infinity scarf meaning it's a big tube.  I used a cotton lawn that I got at a thrift store years and years ago with the idea that I'd use it in something art-quilty.  It's just the right weight for a scarf.

I have patterns in the queue for the other three weeks in this summer..  I'm sewing ahead to accommodate my travel schedule for the summer.

 But meanwhile, I've begun potato chip blocks for Cynthia's recently-announced block drive.  (Read all about it here)   

Will the FQ/chunks bins get any emptier?  LOL!

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"Remember the ladies," Abigail Adams told her husband John.   Thanks to Norah O'Donnell's research and engaging presentation I know more about some women I'd heard of and a lot more about women new to me.  

Linking up with Finished or Not Friday  Brag About Your Beauties