How Do You Spell R E L I E F ?

 

 

 

The Hot, Humid days have finally turned to
cooler, less-humid days...what a R E L I E F !! 

Ryan Hall Y'all, weather man extraordinaire 
says 6 to 10 days of this lovely weather! 
We're not finished with summer, but this is a nice respite. 

 

These lovely, cool mornings are perfect for yard work. And, Let me tell you....my yard needs some T.LC.!  After unprecedented Spring rains, and a flooded back yard, then grubs and moles, and unprecedented heat, and another flood in the back yard, and then moles AGAIN....it's been like a mole family reunion!  My yard looks like "H-E-double toothpicks!! "

So, I'm taking this opportunity to pull out all the perennials, use my pick ax to loosen up the soil in the beds, change the positions of the stepping stones, etc. and prepare everything for a better looking yard
down the road, I hope.

 

 

 

After a morning of all this physical work, when evening comes I'm pretty-much done for the day....

 

 ... I want to sew, but I don't want to think....
Just put pedal to the metal and listen to the hum.

 

 

 

 

 

I resurrected an old project, Scrap Crazy 6  not even included as a UFO on any of my lists, 
just sitting in a box on the shelf.

 

As a "Thank You" gift quite a few years ago, Miss Mary Mello gave me a set of acrylic Templates. From these templates you cut left-over fabric and assemble a scrappy quilt.

You can still get these on Amazon.  HERE 

 

 I had cut some fabric scraps way back then... not many....didn't do anything with them...So, out they came!

 

 

 

Laid out on the design board.

 

 

 

 

 

I have to admit....it was relaxing and kind of fun.  

Looking at each of these fabrics brings back pleasant memories of past projects.  

I think I'll do this again tonight.

Scrappy or Not Scrappy:  
Look what you can do with these Templates:  Click HERE
 

  

 

 

Notice, too, I'm sewing on Miss Ellie right now.  (Millie is at the Spa.)  Miss Ellie is so dependable and easy to sew on.  

I want to remodel and rearrange my studio so Miss Ellie can be out all the time. Ready to sew on when the mood strikes.

 

 

 

 

I'm auditioning pre-wound bobbins from The Featherweight Shop.  I like them!  No skipped stitches or thread jams... Certainly worth the money.  (Which really isn't much.)  I like the thread, too, Wonderfil.  

If you have a Featherweight, check out The Featherweight Shop! They do tutorials on YouTube and they'll even answer questions via email.  All their materials and tutorials are FREE!

 

 

 

 Finally, happy birthday to my mom...she would have been 91 today.  I still miss her.

 

 

Inquiring Minds Want to Know

Well....WAS it a successful, productive three days???

Mostly "YES."  I did cross off quite a few items from my ToDo list...but I also took a bunch of naps and
spent some time with my baby sister....so, it was a very pleasant, relaxing three days.

However....

Mother Nature had her own ideas of what this weekend would bring, too:

 

Lot's of tornadoes touching down all around Paducah, from the Texas panhandle up through the plains states and traveled all the way across to the edges of the Eastern Seaboard.  It WAS Mr. Toad's Wild Ride...thanking the Lord that He controls the weather.
(Psalm 147:8, 148:8)

Anyway, nasty weather did mess up one a whole day and evening...glued to Ryan Hall Y'all weather guy on YouTube. 
(I like him because he's a Kentucky guy.) I do feel bad for Eastern Kentucky, Eddyville and Dawson Springs.  They were hit pretty bad.  *
People will be talking about "The Memorial Day Storms" for years to come.

 

But, I didn't do a thing in the studio...not a stinkin' thing.  
I did sew the binding on Hat-on-a-Cat for June.  Other than that, no real sewing happened this weekend. **

 

I hope to change that TODAY!!

Finally work is at a slower pace for the next couple of weeks so I can relax more during the day and recharge.  I need to start with a good "tidy up" in the studio and get  encouraged to actually sit down and sew!!

Karen Brown calls this a "Reboot." ***

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*Video of the Tornado in Eddyville, KY.  HERE 

**Something I learned from the FMQ class I took earlier this month....how to release the pressure from the Presser Foot shaft....I'm hoping to NOT have quilting puckers in the next "Hat" door hanger.

***One of my favorite Sewing Ladies, Karen Brown, on "The Reboot" HERE

The Tyranny of the Urgent

 

When I was in my 20's I worked at Campus Crusade for Christ* at Arrowhead Springs, their headquarters in the foothills of the Southern California mountains.  I think they have a good ministry, especially on college campuses.  But, back then, working at Headquarters, honestly, it felt like a big click.  It makes me chuckle now, we were young and oh-so serious.  

One of the click-ish things we did was read certain books...everybody read the same book.  At the time it was The Tyranny of the Urgent.  In a nutshell, as best as I can remember, it was nearly 50 years ago (wow...50 years!)...it was  a book is about things that feel Urgent  and may be stealing your time and keeping you from truly important things. Kind-of like "The Squeaky Wheel Gets the Gease" whether it's the main wheel or not.

 

As we wind down 2022 I'm feeling anxious and urgent....what must I finish before the end of the year?!   I want to finish something -- need to finish something -- end this year, 2022, on a positive note. 

And, so I did, well, almost.  Who knew anxiety would drive me back to the sewing studio.  I've left this quilt top in a good, positive place.  But it was NOT easy getting even this far...Jack and I have spent some quality time together lately....dontjaknow.  (Don't look too closely, let's just say "done is better than perfect.")

 

 

Hummmm....hastily thrown up on the design wall...this is NOT turning out the way EQ8 and I envisioned....oh, well.....it'll be perfect to the young lady who will receive it.  Of course, there will be many adjustments before the final layout is stitched together.

Reminder of the general idea of the layout.

 

Now I can fly off to California (leaving the chilly KY weather behind**) and spend time with The Babes.  

*Now called Cru  Arrowhead Springs Hotel history.  HERE

**In case you're not following Ryan Hall Y'all on YouTube....BIG arctic cold front moving down across most of the lower 48.

*** From the kitchen of "My 'ol Kentucky Duplex": French Onion Chicken Skillet HERE. This is a yummy chicken skillet. 
Served with roasted vegetables, it was a big hit with the Baby Sis and her D.H.