Quilters Thread

[cj59]

Hi busybee - Hope you are doing well and the weather is fairly nice. I sure hope you don't get the smoke again like you did last year.

I'm happy to hear that your DD's top fitted perfectly, I'm sure she'll enjoy wearing that to the wedding.

Hope your mouth is continuing to feel better. I had one of those deep cleans once, they are painful. Hope you can figure out what block you want to use for your narrow quilt border.

I went out yesterday and ran some errands so I didn't do any quilting. But I did pull out that bag of scraps from my 2023 end of year projects. I've have them laying out on my table so I need to get them cut up. I'm having a problem dealing with the larger pieces of fabric. They are smaller than a fat quarter, but larger than just 5 or 10 inch squares so I hate to cut them up. But I'm trying not to start a new category of scraps, so I'm either going to have to be tough and cut them or maybe store them with the fat quarters. Decisions, decisions

Take care and enjoy the weekend

[busybee]

Hi CJ: It's in the upper 70s today - a little overcast - could be high levels of smoke from Oregon - but our air quality is not affected. So, not too hot in the house yet. We'll turn on fans as needed - certainly by dinner time.

Yesterday's final fitting for my DD's dressy top became an ordeal - and took at least 3 hours (with a break for Mom to have a half sandwich). Though one of the darts worked out perfectly after being sewn permanently. (It was hand-basted first.) The other one did not. And I had to work on it, over and over again - with DD trying it on each time. Finally, it was good enough - and DD left about 7PM. And I was ecstatic that it was "over." The big problem was that there were 2 silky linings - and I had hand-sewn the lining to the armhole - and I did not want to take that apart. As I told my DD we would have been still trying on and re-sewing until 10PM. She was very patient - and made no demands. Actually, she finally reminded me to iron the dart so the fold lines could be seen for sewing. It worked. The top fabric was a heavy cotton open corded lace - so even that was a very difficult fabric to work with. If she had had time, she would have taken it to a dressmaker - BUT - not enough time. So, Mom came to the rescue. DH asked me,  "Why in the world didn't you just give her the money for a professional seamstress to do the job?" No time!

She's at the wedding now. Hope I get to see some photos of it. Oh, and I gave her my button pearl earrings to wear with the outfit. So, last night from her home, she called me to say that she had "found" the earrings - after she had carefully put them away in a "safe place?" No surprise - and I had wondered about the earrings as I had given them to her a couple of weeks ago.

I'm resting today. And we'll be watching the Olympics every evening. We watched the entire Opening Ceremonies from Paris last night and they were breathtakingly beautiful in spite of the constant rain. Since we did visit Paris during one of our trips - it was really exciting for us to see it once again - and lots of panoramic vistas of the entire city from the air. We loved it.

I'll possibly work on the Magic quilt for a while. And I want to get outside to water my plants and just enjoy this mild weather before it turns hot again. I guess I forgot to tell you that I also made a trip to Joann's on Thursday to find "white" thread for the alteration. I didn't have the right color "white" among my collection of lighter tans, etc... No white! I did find just the right color at J's AND a new Olfa smaller cutting mat and a couple of beautiful fabrics - a half yard each. It was fun actually being inside the store "in person." I've decided on a flying geese block, 2" x 4" finished.

Stay well and enjoy your projects.

[cj59]

Hi busybee - I'm glad your weather has been cooler and I hope the smoke stays away. It's warmer here and the week ahead looks warmer too, but with less rain.

I'm glad you finished the alterations and I hope your DD had a good time at the wedding. I give you a lot of credit for doing that, and I hope she appreciates your hard work.

I haven't watched any of the Olympics, I like the Winter Olympics better. I'll have to watch the opening ceremony on YouTube (I'm sure it's on there somewhere) so I can see the city views. How nice that you were able to go there once. I never went to Europe, just to the England, Scotland and Wales. I would have liked to have seen some of Europe.

I'm glad you've decided on the border block for your quilt and that you found the right thread color and a new mat at JoAnn's. Did your store have a lot of quilting fabric? I was so shocked at the small amount of fabric at the store I went to last week.

I decided that if I have enough of a fabric to fold it up into a 5 inch square piece, then I'll store it with my fat quarters. If it's smaller than that I'll cut it up.

After I went through all the scraps I had from those projects, I had enough extra half square triangles from a few projects to make a bunch of pinwheel blocks, and then I had enough of that gnome fabric that had a Fall theme (you might remember I did a quilt along using it last year) to cut up into 3.5 inch squares and I alternated them with 4 patch blocks from the fabric I used in this quilt along. I made a small table topper that measures 16x19.

This morning I finished trimming up some blocks and I pulled out the aqua and coral fabric bundles I bought to make that large quilt that is just 5 inches squares going round and round in rows. I'm going to get the fabric cut into 5 inch blocks so I'll be ready to start piecing that one. I don't think I'll make it as large as the pattern shows, maybe I'll just leave out the outer row, but I might even just leave out the last two outer rows. I'm going to start with just the first three rows (and the center) and then go from there.

The fabric in these bundles is beautiful, I really don't want to cut it up I won't have to cut the whole piece up, just enough for 8 or 10 of the 5 inch squares. The quilt I'm talking about is Rachael's Garden Paths (you have to scroll down the page and the quilt picture is on the left hand side. I want to finish this project by August, since it feels like a summertime quilt to me, kind of beachy.

www.quiltedtwins.com/free-patterns.htm

Take care

[busybee]

Hi CJ: It's still cooler out here - in the low 70s with a breeze blowing. But no smoke and the air quality is still good. We'll take it. And the prediction for tomorrow is "rain!" Wow - haven't had that stuff coming down on us for this entire month! Sure will be welcomed by all of us - especially the greenery!

I did find that Rachael's Garden Paths quilt - and I see how the white borders help to break up the endless blocks. It's sort of what I'm thinking of doing with my Magic quilt - BECAUSE - then the borders also block the repeating pattern - which if not exactly "spot on" is no longer a problem.

Yesterday, I rested as predicted - and watched a baseball game - and the Olympics NBC Nightly Highlights. Dinner was simple - a frozen enchilada dish and I made a salad. DH wasn't real pleased with the enchiladas - because it didn't meet his "high" standards, to which I've catered for all these years. I enjoyed the dish - and I told him, if he was hungry, he'd gladly eat it. (This is a constant problem I have - of pleasing my DH! The whole family know that he's "spoiled rotten!")

Today, I have the usual gathering of "stuff" for curbside pickup tomorrow - hate this job! And I hope to do a little bit of sewing - making more of the flying geese blocks.

Stay well and have fun with your new projects. Glad you finally solved the storage problem for your fabrics. That sounds like a good idea.

[cj59]

Hi busybee - Hope you do get the rain you need. We got a lot of rain last week, it's supposed to be drier this week but warmer too.

I did some house cleaning and things around the house today and went out for one errand. I'm not sure I'll get to any quilting today.

I did get all the fabric pieces cut for the new quilt so I just need to start sewing them together. The fabrics in the two fat quarter groups I bought is very pretty and a nice quality. I'm glad I'll be able to have enough of it left to use for other projects.

Take care

[busybee]

Hi CJ: Yes, we did get rain Monday morning - with puddles on the driveway and the plantings all had a good drink - then just intermittent showers for a few hours - then, just clouds. And now - no more rain. However, our son and DDIL got a downpour for several hours - which was desperately needed. So, that was a good thing - and so did parts of the Eastern part of the state.

Son and DDIL had a huge scare on Sunday night (early Monday morning) when a fire broke out in 2 houses just half a block away from their home. They were called to prepare for evacuation and to start watering their house and yard. So, that's what they did - and they quickly started gathering important papers/documents, etc... They texted us - and were very obviously in shock and quite fearful for the safety of their home and that of their neighbors. The fire fighting response was phenomenal - almost 20 trucks - and 5 from our city (25 miles away). They were so thankful to see the response and the fire was put out before it spread to any more houses/properties. Thus, the rain was an absolute "miracle."

I picked up a curbside order of groceries yesterday and then, as usual, spent a couple of hours storing, organizing, etc...

No sewing yet - but today is the day. I'll work on the flying geese border.

Watched the Olympics as usual and so happy to see the American female gymnasts team receive their gold medals. On to the individual competitions for both male and female.

I've also finally finished up the legal matters, which we've been working on for a couple of months. Phew!

Weather today is cloudy, breezy, some sunshine - but no rain.

Stay well and enjoy your projects.

[cj59]

Hi busybee - I'm glad to hear you are doing well and that you did get the rain, since you needed it so badly. It's been hot here and mostly dry.

I'm happy to hear your DS and DDIL are alright. It's easy to forget that other houses can be affected when just one house is on fire.

I finished the aqua and coral quilt top today and it's alright, but not exactly how I thought it would look. I had to make a few adjustments. At least I can get over my obsession with wanting to make an aqua/coral quilt now. I think I need to stick to making patterns they way they are written instead of modifying them, since that's when I run into problems.

I hope to update my Temperature quilt tomorrow, so that I can finish the month of July.

Take care

[cj59]

Hi busybee - Hope you are doing well and the weather is nice. It's been very hot here - I can definitely tell it is warmer than it was last summer.

I finished my July block for the Temperature quilt yesterday, so I'm up to date with that. I'm not sure what I'll work on next, I have several things I'd like to do. I'm going to try not to make another large quilt top right now and stick to some smaller ones.

I have a relative in town visiting for a few days, so I've been busy doing that and going out for meals. So it will be a few days before I get back to my quilting.

Hope you find some time to work on your quilt. Take care and have a great weekend

[busybee]

Hi CJ: It's TOO hot - high 80s - and we're back to the a/c units blasting away - and feeling like we're in a vacuum, going on an airplane ride. (Hah - I wish!) Anyway, it's too hot for us to be comfortable outside - that's for sure. And the house stayed pretty warm until early this morning. However, the plus side of the extreme heat (for us) is that my body doesn't hurt as much. My DDD (degenerative disc disease) seems to be somewhat alleviated by the heat - especially when trying to sleep. So - that's a plus.

Otherwise, the cleaners were here yesterday, and I got a grocery order the day before, and I did get into the sewing room one day, with working on the flying geese sashing idea - with finding fabrics and deciding which I'll be using - selecting from all the colors I've already used. So, I hope I can get back into the sewing room today - by using my Arctic Air cooler and a table fan and the cool air coming in from the bedroom hallway a/c.

And we're continuing to watch the Prime Time Olympics coverage on NBC every night. We were so happy to see that the U.S.'s Simone Biles won another gold medal and another team mate won a bronze - this was in the individual - they had already won the gold in the team event. We will continue watching nightly until the games are over.

I also found a quilt pattern on the site that you linked that I'd like to make for MYSELF - whenever that happens. It's called the Mosaic pattern - and uses squares (2" - 2-1/2") and rectangles (bricks) 3-1/2" - 4" so I'll be able to use all my 2-1/2" strips I've precut and never used. I needed a light-colored background fabric - which I don't have. So, I searched to find a suitable color - and found one on the Bear Creek Quilting Co. (Oregon) site, a creamy gold with white dots and I ordered it for delivery. So, I'm excited about that. I can cut squares and bricks as I wish.

Nice you have company but it does take time away from our normal daily schedule - but that's also good for us. So enjoy your company and then, you'll be ready to get back to sewing.

Stay well and cool.

[cj59]

Hi busybee - Hope you are having a nice weekend. How is the weather there? I hope the ACs can help you some. I know what you are dealing with since it was just like it was at my house the last several years. It's still been hot here. I checked the high temps over the last few days and on Friday it was 101!!!

I checked out the Mosaic pattern and it's pretty, I'm really happy you found a pattern you want to make for YOU Hope you can use your fabrics and make it. I love Bear Creek Quilting Company and buy from them several times a year. They have great products and excellent customer service.

I'm enjoying visiting with my relative and she is actually staying with me a few days, which was kind of unexpected but working out alright. I'm so used to being alone, it's strange having someone around.

I'm posting few pictures of my July Temperature block and the quilt so far. You'll see that one PINK half square triangle in July, that was the 100 degree day. I guess I need a pink one for August now. Red is 90 degree days and Orange is 80 degree days.  I really hope that August 31st is at least 80 degrees that day so I can make an orange tree.  

Take care

[busybee]

Hi CJ: Weather is about the same - mid and +80s - with both a/c units blasting away - so it's comfortable enough inside - except for the noise! Skies are blue - and the people in Seattle are celebrating our annual Seafair festival. Today are the hydroplane races on Lk. Washington and the Air Show by the U.S. Navy Blue Angels. The boat race area is lined with log booms that hold myriad sizes and types of yachts and any kind of boat that floats. It's quite a spectacle - and long ago in my much younger days, I would go to the race course too and enjoy the day in the sun, if in those days, we were lucky enough to see sun.

But we most enjoy the Blue Angels and watched their show on TV. We also can hear their roar - and have heard them all week long as they make their practice circuits all over the area.

I did work on my flying geese blocks yesterday and am working on the second 20. I'll need at least 40 of them. I'm glad you got to see the Mosaic quilt - and I'm real anxious to get started on it. BUT - not before this quilt for my DS is finished. (Oh, I might do a block or two of the Mosaic quilt just to see what it looks like. LOL)

Nice to hear that you have company. Wow - that is a change for you - but I'm glad you're enjoying it. And your temperature quilt looks just gorgeous - Lots of hot days in July - just like we have had.

Today is also gathering day for trash pickup tomorrow - it's done. I've watched the Air Show - I cooked last night so I don't have much to do for dinner. I'm going to do some sewing now. I've got 10 pieces all ready for attaching one side of the square blocks to the "goose."

Enjoy your company!

[cj59]

Hi busybee - Hope you are doing well today. It's hot here again, but supposed to get cooler near the end of the week and we might get some rain from the storm that is moving up the coast.

I'm glad you enjoyed watching the air show on TV. I used to be able to hear and see the Blue Angels and Thunderbirds from where I was living, it is exciting to watch them.

I'm glad you are making progress on your quilt and I hope you can try a block for the Mosiac quilt.

My relative left this morning to head south to Florida. Hopefully they will miss most of the heavy rain. I was able to get some things done around the house after they left.

I pulled out one of my storage totes in my craft area where I keep some of the scrap fabrics and I'm working on organizing that before I start a new project. Hopefully that will only take me a few days.

Take care

[busybee]

Hi CJ: We've had a couple of nicer days over here - lower 70s - and today, it's barely reached 70 so far. But the heat will return tomorrow and for the rest of the week. But it's nice to get the house cooled down before the heat starts to  build up again.

I worked on my 2nd group of FG yesterday and started on my 3rd group. Just got a notice from BCQC that my fabric has shipped. So, I can't try those Mosaic quilt blocks until I get my light-colored fabric.

Seafair is over now for another year. It's always exciting to see the Blue Angels perform. We love them.

I called an even older than I am friend yesterday - she's 92 - and we talked on the phone for a full 2 hours. We were sure surprised when we realized how the time had flown by. She's a widow and still lives in her own home - but she's lonesome - and really appreciated the call. We lived next-door-to-each-other when I was a toddler - and always remained close - I was in her wedding, our families also were close. So we share memories of those times, which we really can't share with anyone else. She doesn't drive very much - just to her closest most familiar places. And we do live far apart - from her West Seattle home to mine on the Eastside. Actually, neither of us does much driving any more.

I'll be working on the FG again today. Have fun with sorting your fabric.

Stay well and cool.

[cj59]

Hi busybee - I'm glad you are getting a break from the heat. It's still been warm here, but the rain from Debby will be headed here Thursday and Friday so it will be cooler.

How nice you called your longtime friend, it's wonderful your still in touch after all these years. I understand about being alone and lonesome. Sometimes it bothers me more than other times. I hope she has family that comes to see her sometimes.

Hope you get your order soon so you can work on your new quilt. I cut all the fabrics for the Marble Mystery quilt along today. This quilter likes to have us cut everything before we start piecing. That's different than I usually work quilt alongs, but I think it be alright with this one.

I had ordered some thread and rotary blades from JoAnns and I remember now why they were irritating to deal with. They separated my order into 3 parts, one came in the mail and one was delivered by Fed Ex and the last was from another delivery company. The last box said it came last evening but when I checked it wasn't there. Of course this was the box with the expensive items - rotary blades This morning I checked again and I could tell the picture they sent of it put in my mailbox, but it wasn't my box (I could tell by the car in the driveway). This morning I looked outside my front door and someone had put it there, which was really nice of them, so I did get the package. But I think I'm done ordering from JoAnns.

Take care

[busybee]

Hi CJ: We're back to hot/hot today - high 80s. But yesterday was very nice, high 70s. So, we've got the a/c units blasting away once again. But thank goodness we have them.

Yesterday was my first teeth deep cleaning appt. at UW Dental Periodontal Clinic - 2 hours in the chair - with novocaine. It was an ordeal but mostly pain free. The graduate dental student did the work with the professor supervising. And he was great - especially with the needle. Yay! But, after the novocaine wore off, my mouth was pretty sore - just 2 quadrants were completed. So, I didn't do much except rest, when we got home about 5:30. Heated up leftovers for DH and I made myself some noodles.

We continue to watch the nightly Prime Time Olympics events. We're happy to see so many U.S. athletes achieve gold medals and 2nd and 3rd place too - highest count of any nation so far.

I've been working on the 4th FG units and have a stack to sew today. And I've started to lay them out next to the center medallion on the dining room table. I can see what colors are working out best that way.

I hope your area is spared the brunt of the storm system headed your way. Would hate to be in the path of the heaviest deluge.

What a hassle with that Joann delivery. I wouldn't much like that either. I've pretty much given up on trying to get deliveries from them too. I pick up from the store when I need to - or I order elsewhere. Amazon also does a great job of providing sewing supplies - rotary blades, thread, etc.

Stay well and hope your weather cools down with minimum rain.

[cj59]

Hi busybee - Hope your mouth is feeling better today

We had a tornado warning here overnight, the warning siren was going off. Fortunately, there wasn't one, but it's "different" hearing the siren go off, I didn't have that back at my house.

I'm glad you've been able to get some more done on your quilt, hope that continues.

I haven't down any quilting for a few days, I'm just not sure what I want to do. I'd like to make a small quilt, but I'm just not in a mood to start something new and I definitely don't feel like making a larger quilt. I might pull out my Bitty Houses project and make some of those.

Take care and have a good weekend

[cj59]

Hi busybee - Hope you are doing well today and the weather is nice. It's warm and humid here.

I went out earlier to run a few errands, even though I try to stay home on the weekends.

I haven't done any quilting, but I did order some fabric from Bear Creek Quilting Company today. Pat Sloan has a new Block Wednesday starting in September and I want to participate this time, I've missed doing her Wednesday quilt alongs. The theme for this quilt along is "Ode to Our National Parks" and the blocks won't be national parked themed, but I wanted to use some fabric for the border that looked like trees and I found some at Bear Creek Quilting Company. I ordered two colors - a green and a gold, so once I get them I'll decide which one I want for the border and then I can decide what color fabrics I'll use for my blocks.

www.ilovetomakequilts.com/block-wed-ode-to-our-national-parks.html

Hope you've been able to make some of blocks for your quilt. Take care

[busybee]

Hi CJ: Still in the 80s yesterday, but the heat eased up earlier than usual so we could turn off the a/c by 9pm. We kept the bedroom a/c going longer though. We're having a high cloud/smoke cover which is abating the heat from the sun. The smoke is coming from various fires, here in the eastern part of our state, from Canada, and from Oregon. So far, though, our air quality has remained within normal limits for us. It will be in the mid 80s again today and probably tomorrow. But then, the heat will begin to ease off and we are looking forward to next week and the return of temperatures in the 70s.

My mouth is better - but I'm being careful as I do have some sore spots. I go back on Wednesday to work on the teeth on the "other" side of my mouth.

I got the fabric from BCQC and it's the wrong color entirely. Certainly did not look like "pink" to me on-line, but that's what it is - a pastel shade of pink - which I thought looked more like yellow/gold. So, what do I do. Nothing at all. Except I ordered more fabric from Amazon - and it definitely is NOT pink. So, we'll see what happens. At least it's very easy to return stuff to Amazon. I don't know what to do about the BCQC fabric - except keep it and try to use it - maybe as the back side of my the Mosaic quilt.

Otherwise, we continue to cope with the heat - and watch the Olympics. I completed the 4th set of FG blocks and just have one more group to cut and sew. I'm making these units one at a time - but I'm sewing them assembly line style with placing the square blocks on one side and sewing them all assembly line. Then, doing the same with the other side. And I'm even cutting off the excess fabric assembly-line style. So, it's going pretty quickly. At least it's more accurate and I don't have to worry about squaring up, etc..

Goodness, hearing a tornado siren must have been scary. Had no idea that your region is susceptible to Tornadoes. 

Stay well and cool - and hope you can be inspired to do something fun for yourself.

[cj59]

Hi busybee - Hope you are doing well today. I'm glad the smoke hasn't affected your air quality and hope that continues. Hope the dental appointment on Wednesday goes well too.

Sorry to hear the color of the fabric you ordered is wrong, it's really difficult to look at colors online. I'm glad you can get some new fabric from Amazon and I hope that is better.

still haven't done any actual quilting, but I've been reading lots of blogs and looking at quilts online. I'm going to try an experiment with a different machine foot on my machine to see if I can get a better 1/4 inch seam. I also hope I can do some actual piecing for some projects this week.

I had an appointment this morning to get my car serviced, maintenance type service. They said everything looked fine with the car, but I want to check the oil to make sure they did fill it up. I've read horror stories about not getting the oil filled when the car was serviced.

I was surprised to get charged a 3% fee for using a credit card to pay. They did accept cash, but only the exact amount. I could have done that if I knew how much I'd be paying. This was at the dealership, since I wanted to get this first "big" service done there, but I won't have to go back there for a long time. I'll go to a local oil change place for normal changes.

It seems like they want to force people to use their debit card, and I refuse to use debit cards anywhere. I think there is a much greater chance of being hacked by using a debit card - just my opinion.

Take care

[busybee]

Hi CJ: Our weather has cooled down considerably - into the low 70s during daytime and into the 50s at night. It feels so good to not have the a/c blasting away. And the air quality continues to be in the "good" category. But we continue to have fires burning in many parts of our state and in the nearby areas too. Everyone is hoping to get some rain - but it's not likely just yet - too early in the season for abundant amounts of rain.

Yesterday ended up being a more active day than I expected. It began with the usual gathering of trash and recycle - but then, we got a text from our DS that he and DDIL would be dropping by later in the afternoon. Well, that was welcome news - but we also were getting a visit from our DD. Hadn't really had a visit since our Croatian cousin's visit. DD was coming to get some of the figs off of our tree. We had a great harvest this year after cutting down the tree 2 years ago. We shared with neighbors and DD especially loves them too. (Not everyone does - including DS & DDIL.)

So, we gathered outside - because DS & DDIL brought their 2 doggies - and it's just not a good idea to let them inside the house - certainly because of Molly. But one of the dogs is pretty old - can't see well - and drags himself around - and they keep a close eye on him. But we had a great time - especially talking about the Olympics, which all of us were viewing every night. By the time they left, it was almost 7pm - past the time for me to cook much of a dinner. But I did manage to get some frozen chicken tenders in the oven, and quickly cook some corn on the cob and fix a salad. While outside on our driveway - DS saw the blackberries glistening in the bushes along the property line. He couldn't resist - and picked almost 2 gallons of berries.

Well, that was great - I love blackberry pie. But they also had to be washed and prepared for freezing. Finished that by 10pm. And I was really bushed.

Today, I worked on the final group of FG, and I'm almost finished with those.

Sorry to hear about the 3% fee you were charged - we wouldn't have liked that at all. We always use a credit card - not a debit card either - except for our groceries. 

A different machine pressure foot might help you with getting a more accurate 1/4" seam. I vacillate between a 1/4" foot and my regular foot. It really depends on the project! Hope you get the desired result.

Stay well and enjoy your projects.

[cj59]

Hi busybee - I'm happy to hear your weather has gotten cooler It's been cooler here too, in the 80s with no rain.

How nice that you were able to visit with your family, I'm glad they stopped by. The blackberries sound delicious and I'm sure your pie will be too. I miss having my figs this year. The tree at my old house was always full of them. I hope they don't cut that tree down, since it was very healthy after I had it trimmed way back many years ago.

I went out for more errands this morning - Costco and JoAnns. I only go to Costco about 3-4 times a year, mostly to stock up on paper products and canned green beans. They had everything I wanted there, so I was glad.

I went to a different JoAnns and they had more fabric there then the other store. Pretty much all of it was on sale so I bought some novelty prints, some cream background fabrics and some Fall fabrics. That might be the extent of my crafting today I do need to start my August temperature quilt block though.

I was surprised to see a sign at the fabric cutting counter at JoAnns that said "the counter may close down for 15 minutes at a time to allow employees to restock". I guess they are really getting short of staff if they would make a customer wait while they are restocking. I had to wait at the checkout counter for several minutes before someone came to check me out. I don't really mind either of these since I don't shop there that often, but I sure hope they will keep their stores open.

I think I'm just going to have to accept that I won't always have an accurate 1/4 inch seam. I've tried several feet and they didn't work for me. I may try putting the tape down on my machine again, I did that many years ago, and just see if I like it. Otherwise I'll just keep piecing the way I do, which is usually having the blocks just a bit larger and then trimming them down.

I'm glad you are almost finished with your FG blocks. Take care

[busybee]

Hi CJ: Our cooler weather continues - reaching 70 today - with overcast skies. It's good weather for doing chores both inside and outside. I'm doing laundry and wrote checks and now I'm resting.

I just got a message from Amazon that my fabric order will arrive Aug. 20 - disappointing - since I thought it would be today, Aug. 13. It's coming from a secondary vendor - so who knows why the delivery is delayed. Oh well - I really am in no rush for it - except I would have liked to piece a block of that Mosaic quilt.

I did finish the final FG blocks last night & I'm spreading them around the center medallion block today to decide how I want the colors arranged. And I've got to cut more 1-1/2" black strips too.

Joann's is a work-in-progress, I think. What I noticed at my last visit was that they're using electric scissors now to cut fabric. Their use would definitely speed up the cutting process. And I agree, I sure don't want this store to close up either.

I guess if the block can be trimmed to its desired size - then the 1/4" seam might not be so critical. I have gone through the process of using various pressure feet, and measuring - and using the side of a pressure foot, etc... Whatever works is the way to go, I guess.

Stay cool and enjoy your sewing.

[cj59]

Hi busybee - I'm glad you are still having nice weather. It was pretty nice here today, there was a comfortable breeze when I went outside at noontime to bring the trash container back in.

Sorry to hear your fabric delivery is delayed, but I'm glad you finished the FG blocks. They were using the electric scissors when I was at JoAnns yesterday.

I finally felt like doing some quilting today and I've made a bunch of half square triangles for my Temperature quilt and also for another table topper project I'm making. I had an idea for making these table toppers and doing one for each month. I have a few side tables I can lay them out on. I'm doing a smaller version of the BQ2 quilt pattern and it's going to be like a large 9 patch. I cut the fabrics this morning and that went quickly. So I just need to piece the half square triangles into blocks and sew the top together.

I hope I can keep working on these projects over the next few days. I get spells where I just don't feel like quilting, and then spells where I do, so I take advantage of when I feel like quilting.

Take care

[busybee]

Hi CJ: Weather is seasonably nice - in the mid to high 70s. Got warm in the house in the late afternoon - but didn't need to turn on the a/c - yay! But hopefully, prediction is that rain is on its way in a couple of days. That is welcome news as the greenery needs a good soaking.

And big news yesterday was that my fabric arrived - which was a big surprise. So, either I'm going blind and I'm not reading my messages correctly - or the fabric store delivered earlier than expected. It came from Grand Rapids, Michigan - which isn't really such a long trek! Anyway, it's here and it's the perfect color.

Yesterday was another trip to the U.W. Periodontal clinic and my gums are really sore. I took Tylenol when we got home after 5 pm yesterday and that helped. I ate some soup and ice cream - and later, yogurt and canned peaches. I'll need to stay on soft foods for a while because the abscessed tooth is also painful now. But, after consulting with the Endodontist, no more antibiotic was indicated. And the trip to the clinic is quite tiring for me because it involves lots of walking from curbside to the correct section in the dentistry building - involving long corridors and elevators, etc. But I managed with my rollator. DH drops me off curbside and picks me up the same place.

Today is house cleaning day and I had to pick up and de-clutter last night too. But I've pared down my piles considerably and it doesn't take very long anymore.

Glad you've found some quilting projects to engage you. I won't do anything sewing-wise today - except maybe later, I'll prepare the new fabric(s) for washing.

Stay well and enjoy your cooler weather too.

[cj59]

Hi busybee - Hope you are enjoying the nice weather. It's in the 80s here but not too bad.

I'm glad you received your fabric so it will be ready when you can work with it.

I hope that your mouth starts feeling better over the next few days

I have the month of August started for the Temperature quilt. I'm mostly waiting until I have 6 days at a time to sew together since that's how many half square triangles are in each row.

I also pieced the table topper and have it pin basted together with batting and backing. I also have the strips cut for the binding, just need to sew it together and press it. Hopefully I'll get the machine quilting and binding done over the next few days.

I'm using a smaller version of the Walk About quilt pattern for the table topper and it was quick and easy to put together. It's not the BQ2 pattern which I said yesterday, that was a mistake.

I ordered some fabric from Bear Creek Quilting Company on Saturday and did get confirmation of my order but haven't heard from them since. They are usually pretty quick with mailing out orders, so if I haven't heard from them by Monday I guess I'll contact them to make sure they do have my order.

Take care