I Like Thursdays Feb 28

Greetings!

We are happier now that the weather is warming up to normal here in Az. I hope you made it safely through all these crazy blizzards and wet weather in the U.S.  Please join us at Lee Anna's site:Not Afraid of Color  for positive, fun "likes".  Here's my list for this week:

1.  Quiltfolk No. 9 

This issue gives a beautiful insight to the people and scenery of Utah.  I cannot say enough how much I enjoy these magazines/books.  Since there are not advertisements in these, I refer to them as  books.  The photos are just fantastic but it's the personal stories of the quilters that I really enjoy. The above  "tied" quilt is so inviting for a snuggly afternoon.

This is a quilt! It was put together by several quilters in the national park area of Utah.

I take my time reading these books -twice- and are usually not done by the time the next edition arrives (quarterly).  These books are such a treat and great reading at bedtime.

2. Backing fabric bought at my LQS sale.

These were $7.80 per yard so I stocked up at 4 yards each. . Aren't they pretty? It's hard to guess on backings for the future but I think these will work.  I've made pieced or even patchwork backings but I find it easier and quicker to use a solid piece if I can. I certainly don't need more stash for quilt tops.

3.  Sew Your Stash 2019 at aquiltinglife.com. Lead by Sherri McConnell, this  provides tips and ideas on organizing the stash/sewing area and getting projects done.

4. becomingminimalist.com for more ideas on reorganizing and removing "stuff'. Joshua Becker wrote a great post on the "convenience fallacy contributes to clutter".  We leave things out in our homes thinking we need them available when in reality it would take seconds to remove the item from a nearby cabinet when we actually need it.  I tried this with my toaster: it's not even used everyday but I'm constantly moving it around on my tiny kitchen counter to use that space.  I love having it tucked away in the cupboard now.

Are you seeing a pattern here?  I'm obsessed with purging and less clutter.

5.  My newly organized dresser drawers. This is just one that I finally got done.

It feels good to have purged and reorganized the dresser. I filled a large trash bag with trash and moved many items to the Goodwill area of my garage.

I'm saving the clothes closet and fabric stash till last in my reorganization goals for our home.

6.  My new eye glasses -they're blue and a bigger frame instead of "light granny glasses".  Love them.

7. Homemade blueberry jam.

It's so easy to make jam on the stove.  Since I can't have skins or seeds I make jam and then run it through the strainer.

 I also spent an entire afternoon cutting up scraps to 2 1/2 inch  squares to better see what I have and can use in the future. They look cute in a little box.
As you can see I've been busy.

Hopefully, you enjoyed a glimpse into my "likes" and will join us at Lee Anna's site. Have a great week.
mary😊

SPRING MIGHT BE AROUND THE CORNER

Greetings!

Just a weather report:

It hailed here on Friday the 22nd!  The video does not work -still, I wanted to show you  the hail.

But, look at yesterday's forecast for the week:

We might even be 78 on Thursday!  We are very excited about this here. 

Things I like Thursdays Feb 20

Greetings!

The rain and wind and cold are still going on here in the desert.  Crazy weather.  Many times you can hear natives of my area complain we don't have four seasons and I agree but we certainly have had a long winter here. The highs have been in the 50's and will continue for another week.  I will cover my plants again tonite because we are having a soft freeze in the morning.  We are usually in the seventies already at this time of year.  I'm not complaining but it is so unusual.

Regardless, I do have some likes to share with you this week:

1. This book from Marie Kondo.

Her book, "You Tube" sharings, blogland, Netflix have been showing up everywhere so I had to see what everyone is talking about.  I do like an organized home.  However, it took me 30 pages of reading to even consider her process of organizing.  I can't accept assigning personal traits to inanimate objects as she suggests.  The inanimate objects do not bring me "joy" but rather fulfill a need.   I'm stubborn though, so I read the entire book and I'm pleased that I did. Just one of her suggestions is to store things vertically rather than horizontally so we can see at a glance what we have plus avoid having to move an item above or below our selection.  I'm surprised I hadn't thought of that more often.  I have been storing my fat quarters vertically in long baskets but not my larger pieces of fabrics, so I'm figuring out how to accomplish that for the larger pieces. I do like purging items in the home that are no longer used while also decluttering  and she has a system for accomplishing those jobs.  I agree with some of her ideas and some I do not- but that's my choice. I did reorganize and purged  all my recipes and books, so that feels good.  I have much more to do but I'm taking it slow so as not to overdo it.

2. My new U.S.  Map Panel.  It just called to me as a pillow at my LQS.

It comes with 2 maps on a panel.  I'm going to guess a 22 x 20 pillow.  It's from Basic Grey Metropolis for Moda.  Contrary to the photo, the surrounding  background of the map is cream  while the actual map is black and white.  I thought I'd make 2 pillows with black on the backing.   Someday.

3.  Being Single.  Once again, Arizona has the dubious distinction of being the worst  in a category in the United States.  First one was child education.  Now, we have the highest divorce rate in the country-67% !  I've been single for 20 years and I'm happy.  Guess I don't play well with others...heehee

4. Endurance Blades from Olfa.  I think Jocelyn of Canadianneedlenana was the one who sparked my curiosity so I bought some.

We'll see how long it lasts.


5. Things not changing ALL the time.  In one day I found out my LQS and Chiropractor were closing.  Are you kidding me? My quilt shop owner will go online but I need to plan on a new WIP- for- a- day location and  I will miss the ladies terribly.
I've been seeing my chiropractor for over 20 years and I was spoiled. Oh well, life goes on.

Other than that, things are fine.

Hope you enjoyed my craziness! Please join us at LeeAnna's post:Not Afraid of Color  for more likes.

Be healthy and happy!
mary

I like Thursdays Feb 14

Greetings!

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!

I hope and pray you are being loved!
Already, we have finished another week. I have been very busy and can't wait to share my "likes" with you:


1.  Laser- cut, iron- on fabric letters.  Happy Birthday Silhouettes from Laundry Basket Quilts.

I have been wanting to make my daughter a pennant she can hang for various birthdays instead of the  paper ones and this will fit the bill perfectly.  Now I just need time to make the pennants.  These look like they are batiks!

2.  Vanilla Coconut Milk Ice cream.

I finally broke down and used my Cuisinart Ice cream maker that I used to use all the time.  Dairy free ice cream at the store averages $5 per pint! I love ice cream but that's a crazy price so I went to  mydarlingvegan.com for the recipe.  It was  good; plus, I know what the ingredients are and I can make it at a lesser cost.

3. Tokyo Train Ride Quilt for Paradise. I finally finished the first quilt for Paradise victims.

Tokyo Train Ride was started years ago made of fabric from Cotton and Steel.

It was one of the few times I purchased a bundle of fat quarters.  But, I just loved the prints.  The sashing is a very dark green.  I backed it with a black on black small flower print and a gray binding. It measured 42 x 57. I forgot to take more photos when it was done.

4.  Winter Quilt for Paradise.

These coin columns were leftovers from my other Welcome Winter quilt and I added side borders of a light blue snowflake print from the stash.
Snowmen and bird houses- very cute.
It's 43 x 40.

I pieced the backing from various stash prints.


These 2 quilts were wrapped, boxed and donated to Paradise victims  in California -finally. Luckily it's still winter !


5.  A split Dresden table topper.

I found these left over , split- Dresden pieces in a bag while cleaning out a stash drawer .  I stopped everything and thru this together in an afternoon.  That felt good instead of moving it around in the drawer.  I don't know what possessed me to grab the lavender background but I love this contrast. It's a 15 inch square.   For now, I just put it on the wall to admire.  hee hee.


I got two WIPS done this week so I feel like I've accomplished a lot. I think there's only 3 left- I still need to  find them and see what more I can get done before starting a new project. I also want to find time to rearrange my stash. Yeah, right.

I hope you are having a "lovely" day.  Please join us at Lee Anna's blog for more "likes':Not Afraid of Color


mary💖

Things I like Thursdays Feb 7

Greetings!

As usual, it's been a busy week but I fit in some sewing. Yay! So, I want to share fun things  and my "likes" with you:

1. Bottles and containers that open easily for this old lady.  I have tendinitis in both thumbs so all of it is difficult, but my brother doesn't have that malady and he finds it difficult to open items also.  The biggest culprits are Advil and Band-Aid type companies.   Really, do you not understand I'm in pain and can't open your product? Ugh. I have helpers and utensils to help but I keep a pair of small pliers in the kitchen and bathroom to open them. Tweezers help too.

2. Dylan Alcott, an inspiring individual. He is a Grand Slam Champ in wheelchair tennis and, a very popular Australian paraplegic. Proud of his disability, he strives to provide an example of success to others who are disabled.   Here's the link to his story:Dylan Alcott


3. An egret continuous painting story:Twitter egret story  ( I can picture my friend Lee Anna taking part in this artistry.)

4. The carpet pattern at the Az. Science center.

I was so surprised at the beautiful block pattern.

5. A Heart Pennant Pillow at Diary of a Quilter blog site

I just saw this and thought it was so cute in it's simplicity. Maybe I'll make it for next year. I've been wanting to make a heart pennant for my daughter's wall, but haven't got to it yet. Maybe next year.

6. Valentines Mug Rugs. I made these with scraps and leftover layer cakes.

I pinned them back  so you can see the other side. I love them. They were harder and more time consuming than I expected- 5 hours. I cut out the hearts on one fabric then I zigzag  appliqued them to the top, batting and back.  I just stitched around the heart  again for depth. A cute red/white dot was used for the binding.  They finished at about 9 inches.  Love them. I kept 3 for me and sent 1 to my daughter.

6. A Woodstock Valentine Mug Rug for Thomas.

Woodstock playin baseball= Precious.  Thomas loves this gift from Gramma.

As usual, that's an eclectic array of likes but that's my life.  I'm happy to share with you.  Please join us at Lee Anna's site for more fun:Not Afraid of Color

As a side note- I hope that the changes by Blogger and Google to my  posts do not affect your enjoyment of this blog. I don't understand it and can't control it.! 

Have a wonderful day!
mary☺

WASTE OF TIME

I probably shouldn't say this but I'm glad the State of the Union is over and I can have my tv back.  What a waste of time and an insult to our country.  I couldn't watch it or I'd lose my mind. But , of course, the lies are  all over the news today. Hopefully, there will be better programs on to watch.