Suffering the DT's

 As in a Dire Tickle to play with fabric! 

Other than doing one paper piecing block for a Guild project, I haven't had the opportunity to sew for almost a week....maybe longer! I am preparing for our big trip, so I have been busy collecting things and finding a niche for everything in the RV. I've packed a Singer Featherweight and threw in a bit of fabric for a wall hanging...but wanted to have something more on hand...just in case I end up with time on my hands. I wanted to play with fabric now! 

The owner of Bold Notions Quilt shop sells APQS long arms and has a delicious stash of wide backings and quilting threads. She also has some collections of quilting cotton. She also posts frequent videos of quilts she is making or quilting as inspiration!

A few weeks ago Lauren posted a reel on Facebook making this happy scrappy quilt. I saved it as I have a lot of scraps! I decided that I'd try making a few of the blocks today, and if I liked them, I could cut the fabric to take with me on our trip. 

The blocks are easy to make and don't require any special rulers. That will be nice on the road when my cutting space will be limited to a 12" square mat.

After a few hours of cutting...tada! I'm ready for the road!

Does my stash look much smaller?

You'll have to take my word...it doesn't! I used a some 2 1/2" squares I had previously cut, and some 2 1/2" strips from earlier projects, as well as wider strips I have cut and stashed away elsewhere. I did pull out some of the pieces you see behind me, and I cut a strip or two off of them...but most all went back on the shelves! 

I feel better now. I am prepared! And, if I don't get to it on the trip, I have an easy project to tackle when I return! 

Paw-di-cures

 

Our momma tricked us the other day.

She asked if we wanted to go for a ride.

You bet! 

Then she took us to PetSmart.

The last time we went there we got a treat.

This time.....

some lady played with our toes. 

Bleech! 

Don't let the cute decorations fool you. This is not a happy place!

...even if I look kinda happy in this picture! 

I wonder... if I choke myself on this strap, will she let me go?

I am not having fun! She musta been a wrestler,

she has me in a cross body block! 

Oy, now she's touching my back toes - no, please no!

Hah! It's your turn!

She's gonna hang you from that noose!

Excuse me. I'm kinda private about my toes. 

Wheee, I can do an arabesque! 

I see you mom. I'm giving you the evil Corgi look of death and dismemberment!

I'm never, ever gonna forgive you! 

You are so on my doggy poop list! 

Don't let them fool you. No Corgi was harmed in this session, except perhaps their dignity! 

Sure, they weren't thrilled with their paw-di-cures

...but they sure loved the bones we picked out

...and the love and attention from just about everyone in the store! 

A Magical Meal

We had lunch at the Ocala airport a while back. The Elevation 89 restaurant's food is fantastic. The service...not so much! (This was my second visit) Our waitress was MIA. I needed a glass of water. This waiter had just finished clearing a table near us, and, as he walked by our table asked if we needed anything. I inquired about a glass of water, and off he went. 

In a bit he was back with my requested water. I still have no idea how we began talking about magic with the young man, but he smiled his delightful smile and declared he was a magician! 

Meet Ezra Delucca. Magician! 

We talked about our favorite magicians; David Copperfield, Piff the Magic Dragon, Murray Sawchuck, Penn & Teller,  all of whom Ezra has met, studied and/or socialized with. Ezra apologized for not having his cards with him. He left the table, grabbed a handful of the restaurant business cards from a display at the register, and returned to perform a trick for us. We enjoyed the trick. He was very good...even with business cards! 

We know we will see Ezra on stage some day. Can't wait! 

I Absolutely, Positively Will NOT Buy Any More Fabric

 

So she said when she went to the sewing guild meeting.

The meeting where they had the "Fabric Frenzy".

...with lots of fabric for sale that had been donated over the year,

at great prices. 

Both of the larger pieces are 8 yards long.

They'll be used for quilt backings.

The small piece is a yard in length.

17 yards of fabric for $17.

What's a girl gonna do?!

Give me some credit for practicing restraint! 

The tables ran the width of the room and around the corner...

and there were 5 more boxes that hadn't been unpacked.

The remaining fabric was offered to different charitable sewing groups.

One makes pillow cases.

Another sews shorts and jackets for kids.

A group that sews items for nursing homes also collected fabric.

Patriotic themed and colored fabric went to a Veterans' quilt group.

The rest will be boxed up and passed on to other sewing groups that make sewn items for charity.

This is for the birds!

 

Little Bird Little Bird

When I was in high school our English teachers took the class to NYC to experience some theater. It was a wonderful introduction to Broadway and off Broadway shows, city life, Radio City Music Hall, Carnegie Theater and the dark sides of city life. One of the shows we saw was "Man of La Mancha". It became one of my favorite musicals. I will still sometimes break out in one of the songs from the show....and know most of the words of each one! 

A few weeks ago our tiny little community theater put on Mary Poppins. I thought it was quite an ambitious show, and the cast and crew did a marvelous job. 

Feed the Birds

But, this post isn't about theater...it's about birds! This morning as I contemplated getting out of bed I heard an owl hooting in the woods nearby. At least I was pretty darn sure it was an owl...but if so, what kind? I downloaded the Merlin app (it's by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and identifies birds that it hears). My owl was a Great Horned Owl....and, according to the app, rare in this area at this time of year. 

Here are the birds that Merlin detected in 10 minutes, as the sun approached the horizon: 

We do feed the birds...and the squirrels...and the corgis who graze under the feeders 😟

Working on the Little Stinker

 Thursday was a sew day for a group of my friends. I found a project I began 3 or 4 years ago, or 5 or 6 years ago... to take with me. 

I decided that since it was just plain sewing, no fancy stitches needed, I'd take one of my featherweights.  I haven't used the white one in...well, I can't even remember when I last used it! The white one is named "Flower". That wasn't always her name! 

I pulled the machine off the shelf first thing in the morning and decided that she would probably like some oil. But when I opened the covers of the machine, I realized she needed a bit more than oil!

I grabbed my WD-40, oil and a bunch of Q-tips. The only thing I was missing was the grease that is used in the motor and in the gears. It's on order now! 

It is always gratifying to work on the machine and be able to hear a difference. When I was working on the head of the machine, I had the machine running as I sprayed in the WD-40. The sound changed dramatically, and I could almost feel that the motor didn't have to work as hard. After the WD-40 bath I oiled everything. Flower purred! 

Look What I Found!

We went to Ocala for a meeting and stopped at the Hobby Lobby store. I am going to be taking a beading class in a week and stopped to pick up the materials. As I perused the beading and jewelry items my eyes spied these:

I had to buy them... I had to buy every one they had (4 packs). it helped that they were 40% off! I wasn't sure what I'd do with them...but I would find something. When I came home I looked in a beading kit I bought recently, and it had crimp thingies. Aha....on the suggestion of my BFF, I can make bookmarks. Better yet, I can add the charms to the ribbons I put in the journals as place markers. I checked to see if the crimp thingie would work...that's why I have the lavender ribbon... I was testing it out.

I had to drop the Mister off to pick up his truck after it was serviced, so I ran by the local Hobby Lobby. They had four more packs of the charms. I was able to order three additional packs, which will let me put a charm on the ribbon of each journal. Hobby Lobby didn't have any of the crimp thingies in the right size and color, so I ordered some from Amazon. I can't wait for them to get her so I can embellish the journals! And of course, it will be nice to have something else to do, because, as you can imagine, I have practically nothing to do to get ready to leave for 3 months! 😂😂😂😂