Binding Scribble Scrabble

 

I've selected a dark fabric for the binding of the Scribble Scrabble quilt.

I pinned the binding over to the front of the quilt. I like to get the binding of the quilt pinned all the way around before I start hand sewing it down. It means I don't have to stop sewing to pin it over.

I like to "watch" television while I sew the binding.

Can't ask for anything better than to watch than the Olympics! Now I don't need an excuse to sit on the couch and watch TV!

Updates

 The birthday party was a wild success. The food was terrific, and the company was great. Alas, there were  no photographs. We were all too busy enjoying ourselves.

It's so much fun when you gather your friends together, and even though they may never have met each other, they all get along and have a good time. That's what happened. Instead of cake, I made red velvet cupcakes. They were delicious. I got some nifty gifts (which I didn't ask for) and some positively HYSTERICAL birthday cards. It was great.

My friend Janet-Lee, who does the longarm quilting on my quilts came and brought some custom decorated cookies. ("Too stinkin' cute!" somebody said.) 

She also brought the Scribble Scrabble quilt, which was tricky for a bit because M's wife, N, was attending the party. (M was traveling for work.)

N was talking about the quilts my grandmother made for all us kids. This seemed like quite the lead-in, so I brought out the Scribble Scrabble quilt, told the story and presented it to N, who was appropriately gob-smacked. I have to put the binding on it, and then it will go live with M & N.

My boss also came, and I showed him the office and remarked that I would soon be returning the WFH computer equipment back to the office. "Well, you should hang on to it. We're going to be needing you and this way you can work from home." So I did a bit of rearranging. I moved the big monitor to the corner so it would be available but not in the way. It really opened up the room and I can still work in it easily with my own laptop. Normally I write the blog from the couch, but working on a desk, with a great view, and the TV close by, is pretty cool.

I know I am going to love being retired. 

Party Time

 

I'm having a birthday this weekend, and I've decided to host a party. Yeah, I know, but this way I get to control everything. Who comes, what to eat and what kind of cake. Since I am a pretty good cook I know the food will be good, and I get to have a cake I actually want to eat.

I'm having a salsa and chips party. I'm making a Salsa Board (think charcuterie but with different kinds of salsas and a variety of chips). Since the salsas and chips need bowls, I've already figured out what's going in what, and last night I washed the bowls I would need. Yes, I made a detailed checklist of what groceries I needed to buy and when to prepare what. I've invited about two dozen people and I expect 16 to 18 will attend. It's a mix of family (obligatory) and friends and coworkers. 

I'm quite looking forward to it. I've actually tested some of the salsas I will be making and I absolutely love what is called Taco Truck Guacamole, which is a Salsa Verde made with tomatillos, Serrano peppers and avocado. I plan to have the usual red salsas along with a black bean salsa, a corn salsa, a mango salsa and a tomato habanero salsa (at least one of my guests is a "hothead" and I aim to please.) I'll also have a bowl of Queso (the easy kind: Velveeta cheese with Ro-Tel tomatoes) and a Seven-Layer Dip.

For drinks I've got a bin full of bottled water, small cans of ginger ale and some nifty fruit drinks.

For cake I'm making Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese frosting.

Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy. 

In theory anyway.

I upgraded my phone, and the software that adds a watermark won't work so for now you get to see only one photo.

My retirement date is fast approaching, and I am almost at the place where the number of vacation days I have to use is half the days I have left to work. I do not want to work five days a week and stop working three weeks earlier than my R-date. I've been working four day weeks for a couple of months now and I really like it. I tell folks I am "practicing" being retired. Week after next I will work three days a week until my last day. Feels weird.

The company just moved to an entirely new manufacturing software, so EVERYTHING has changed and it's been quite a lot. I'm happy to be busy instead of bored, but it is fatiguing. I will not miss it.

I now have 120 yellow scrap slab triangles, and I have to figure out what color to do next. 

If my party wasn't this weekend, I'd be in the studio, but instead I've been getting my house ready for guests and shopping for ingredients. I made an excel spreadsheet to work out exactly how much chopped red onion I need (1-3/4 cups) and how many limes (8) and avocados (6) I need. Since avocados need time to ripen, I bought some today so they will be ready for Sunday.

Since it's MY PARTY and I'll cry if I want to, so to speak (RIP to Richard Simmons, who passed this past week) I also ordered a HAPPY BIRTHDAY banner and a BIRTHDAY GIRL t-shirt with silver glitter, because, why the hell not? I plan on having fun.

To whoever who asked for the recipe for the strawberry yogurt ice cream sandwiches, I promise to post it, but I've been kinda busy.

Yellow Scrap Slap Triangles

 

While I listened to the Men's final at Wimbledon (courtesy Radio Wimbledon)*, I made more slabs and cut more yellow scrap slab triangles.

Now I have 90. Since each quilt needs 120, I think I will keep going. I have sorted out the yellow bins and got rid of the stuff that is too small or stuff I can't stand to look at or work with.

This is what I have left. I'll make these into slabs and cut them up into triangles in the next few days. 

I've updated the Scrap Slab Triangle Quilts page. It now shows all the quilts I have made using this technique.

* by the way, now that Roger Federer has retired, Carlos Alcatraz is now my favorite tennis player. He won his second Wimbledon title, and now at the ripe old age of 21, has won three major titles.

Backing for Peonies

 

The backing I selected for the Peonies quilt is a subtle ombre stripe pattern. The quilting will show up very well.

Here's a closer view.

This is the fabric I chose for the binding, green with flowers. But it isn't right. The green of the binding is a cold green. It's closer to blue, but the greens in the quilt are closer to yellow. So I tried something else.

THIS fabric is yellow-green, and close to the other greens in the quilt, so this is the one.

Now the quilt will go to Janet-Lee to be quilted.

The Checklist

The checklist for my impending retirement is shorter. I have been to the SSA, and due to a misunderstanding  (or misinterpretation, take your pick) of their terms, I have to get a special form signed by the HR department at my company, and then go back. I've made two trips already, and I had filled out the form online, so this is rather a big runaround. When the temperature is in the 90's and stairs are involved, I decided to take a break and resume the wrestling match on Tuesday. I am decidedly NOT Superwoman.

However, the wireless printer HAS arrived, and has been successfully installed. Below is a photo of the company's printer that has been taking up residence in my house for the last four years. It is BIG it is NOISY and it is SLOW.

It is also not wireless. I do not need anything this complex, so I cannot wait for it to go back "home." At work though, we are in the midst of a full manufacturing software upgrade, so the last thing our dear IT guy needs is me cluttering up his office with yet another piece of hardware. So it will stay at my house for another four weeks or so, and then I will bring the whole WFH setup back to the office.

This is the printer I selected. I do not like those bubble jet color printers. They use up a lot of ink and the nozzles get clogged easily. I wanted a black and white laser printer. They print faster, the price per page is a lot more economical and the toner cartridges last a very long time. This one doesn't scan either, but hell, I can take pictures with my phone, so that's OK.

Remember I have moved to the Apple workspace. That means my phone, table and computer are all from Apple. What I like about that is they all talk the same language. And anything I can find on one of them, I can see on the other. It also means that everything is wireless. I used to be a Geek, so that isn't frustrating for me. 

Much.

I could not find the drivers for my new printer on line, but in the end I didn't need them. As soon as I got the printer connected to the WIFI network here, all three devices had absolutely no trouble whatsoever printing. (In the photo above the cables you see belong to the work laptop.)

I got it from Amazon (naturally), and I did several searches for "Best wireless printer for Macs." The Brother printers came up every time, as soon as I disregarded the options for Color printing, faxing and scanning.

Several of you asked, so here is the relevant information: The DW means it duplexes (prints on both sides of the paper) and is wireless.

The other hardware relevant thing is my cell phone. I have thought long and hard and I'm going to go with a carrier that has exceptional coverage. If that means I'm a snob, so be it. After discussing it with the IT guy at work, I'll make the switch in early August.

I have also counted all the vacation hours I have coming to me. It's almost three weeks, and although that means I could stop working three weeks before my official retirement date, it also means I can work three or four days a week instead of five. I decided a month or so ago to start working only four days a week, and I have been doing that. I sure do like it a lot, and it is nice "practice." In another few weeks, I'll drop down to three days a week.

Getting to this point has been stressful, and that's a lot of the reason I haven't spent as much time in the studio as I would like. The heat hasn't helped either. 

In the evenings, I go out and sit on the porch, but there is a birdhouse just outside, and the momma bird sees me as a distinct threat. If I am standing out there looking, she flies out of the birdhouse, and then directly at me, pulling up just before she hits the screen. She does this repeatedly, so I have taken her advice, and gone back into the house.

Oh, the things we do!

 

Yellow Scrap Slab Triangles

 

I spent some time Sunday afternoon at the Mall, visiting various wireless carriers, and then had a chat with  a person at the Apple Store. It was very interesting and informative.

After that I went home and went into the studio to cut some yellow (golden yellow) scrap slab triangles. Rather than overwhelm myself with every single scrap of yellow fabric I own, I took a very small selection out of the tiniest bin and made ten scrap slab triangles. I group them in stacks of ten, so it was a good number. I have fifty so far. I know I want to make another quilt with these, and I want to do something special with the blocks, so I have been thinking.  No reveal just yet, I'm still working it out.

After 26 years of one ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) software, my company is going Live with a new one Monday morning. 

Wasn't quite sure I'd ever see it.

It is going to be a very interesting next few days. Weeks, even.

Thinking Pink

 

July is my birth month, and I have decided that pink is my favorite color, so in July I put my pink quilt, Tickled Pink, on my dining room table. Long time readers know I switch out the quilts on my table every month.

In keeping with the pink July theme, I have put the Pink Panther quilt on the back of the couch, and put the pink pillows out.

I'll be retiring at the end of the summer, so this past weekend, I have been "practicing." Practicing what? 

Doing nothing; with no plan for the day.

Now I was lucky, the house was clean, the bills have been paid, the car is gassed up, and the laundry was done. So I slept late, woke up and decided to work on a crossword puzzle. Then I washed the last window that needed washing and cleaned the mini blind for that window.

I have two tasks to do before I do retire. One is to get a printer that will work wirelessly with my Mac and the other is to replace my cell phone. I'd done my research for the printer, and that is now on order. I'll be returning the work at home setup to the office in the next couple of weeks.

My company has been paying for my cell phone for over 20 years. I can have the number, so that won't change, and because my device is so old, I can keep that too, but I do need to get a new plan. Fortunately I have access to the invoices so I know exactly how much data I use. So one of my goals for the next week or so is to shop for a plan. I have a couple of options, so getting that done will happen in the next few weeks as well.

I offered to cook a meal for my Mom and told her I'd go to her house to cook it, or she could come to my place. I was not at all surprised when she decided to come over. I took this picture after we had a dinner of Korean Short Rib Tacos and homemade frozen yogurt ice cream sandwiches.

A good time was had by all.

Borders for the Peonies Quilt

 

I cut the strips for the border of the Peonies quilt, then joined then at a 45 degree angle, and as I was getting ready to sew it to the quilt, I looked over and saw a stack of pinks, and got an idea.

In the stack of pinks I had these strips, which I had cut for the Seminole patchwork dress I made for my granddaughter, but they would make a terrific inner border.  

I cut enough strips, sewed them together, and joined them to the quilt.

I was pretty happy with it, so then I added the lighter strips I had cut.

After I sewed the strips to the quit, I put it up on the design wall and took a step back.

It looked OK, but then I saw the darker strip at the top.

Yeah, that had to go.

So I unsewed it and replaced it with another light fabric from the quilt.

So now it is done. I like the pink inner border. It makes a very feminine and pretty quilt.

This is a scrap slab triangle quilt. You can make one too. You can get my tutorial here, at my Etsy shop. 

Peonies!

 

I have sewn all the blocks together for the Peonies quilt. I have decided to add a narrow light border all around. 

I have been thinking about the backing and binding for this quilt. Finally I figured out it should be green. I thought it should be dark green but when I went shopping I found some of the lime-green, so I have ordered that. There will be a light border and then I have decided the binding will be the limey-green as well. So it's all on order.

Oops!

 

Oops. 

Can't have that!

That's better. 

The blocks are all sewn into rows, and now I am sewing the rows together. The top six rows have been sewn together in the photo above. The flimsy ought to be done by the end of the weekend. 

Mavis's Bird Quilt

A few days ago I got an email from Mavis. Her bird quilt, named "Who's Watching Who?" won 3rd Prize in her category at Quilt Canada. 

Mavis said she worked on her quilt for several years.

Mavis was thoughtful in her use of the fabrics that changed from being in the sun to being in the shadow. It's easy to forget this is patchwork, and the two reds in the bird's breast, above, are two completely different fabrics.

Mavis hid fun things in the quilting. She gave the binoculars the 'brand name' "I C You", as a play on the whole idea of the quilt - who is watching whom?

This quilt has so much to commend it. The creative birds, the concept, the surprises, all the things I love best about quilts. It's why I tell quiltmakers to make their own quilts. Wonderful things happen when you do.

Congratulations Mavis!

If you want to make birds, you can get my tutorial here, at my Etsy shop. 

 

Peonies & This & That

 

Here is the final layout (minus one row) of the Peonies Quilt. As you can see, Cherie, I have arranged a few blocks into diamonds, and there are now 4 light green flowers.

The new refrigerator is terrific except for one thing. Maybe you can tell what it is. The front is NOT magnetic. EEEEEK!!! The sides are magnetic, but that's an awful lot of naked stainless steel. I'm going to have figure out what I want to see, and tape it to the front.

Inside it's almost the same layout as the older one, but it seems like I have more space. It was 101F when this was delivered so emptying one fridge, and filling the new one were exercises in FAST. That means I just threw everything in, and I have to do a bit of rearranging.

I went to see the movie THELMA, and I thought it was great. There is so much of it that is outlandish, but a lot of it is so true. 

My friend Pam and I went out to eat before the movie and got out so early we went to the local Barnes & Noble. I bought a jigsaw puzzle. This was a rug pattern designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. It wasn't a big puzzle, and I got into it. It was appealing because it had some special pieces...

Some of the pieces were quite large. I have put them above the puzzle so you can see. You would think that these large pieces would have made the puzzle easier, but actually it made it quite a bit trickier. I enjoyed it.

My Mom was admitted to the hospital last week. She was diagnosed with AFIB, and they decided to do a cardioversion, which is restarting her heart. Yes, you read that correctly. It is normally a pretty straightforward process, but do remember my Mom is a month short of 91. The procedure was successful, they kept her an extra day. She's home now, but she's really tired. So, keep her in your thoughts, please. The doctor gave her an excellent prognosis, but the older we get the longer it takes us all to bounce back.

More Peonies

I was tinkering with the Peonies quilt and decided to make some light green "flowers." 

I started filling in the side triangles, and decided to make some more light green flowers. I did more tinkering, I rearranged some of the lighter green triangles and I filled in the rest of the empty spaces, but that's going to have to be enough for now.  

The famous heat dome is covering us right now. This was my indoor outdoor thermometer Wednesday afternoon. The 101 is bad enough, but Tuesday's high of 104 really freaked me out. 102 is the highest I had ever experienced before, and that was in August about sixty years ago.