Quilting · Weekending

Weekending

Vicki6 Comments

It’s a funny one. It’s supposed to be one of my long weekends, but I ended up working on Friday (half-day) & today, too, because my co-worker’s mom had heart surgery on Friday.

I had Ginny, Malina & Davy overnight on Friday — Junah was otherwise occupied! There was painting, coloring, game-playing, K’nex building, jigsaw puzzling, movie watching, plenty of eating, and time on the iPad (which they love, but I limit to :20 each, once or twice a day).

A child stacking blue game tokens while sitting at a wooden table, with a board game featuring playing cards in the foreground.

If you knew how wiggly my old kitchen table is, you’d understand why I was bracing for a disaster as I snapped this pic while Ginny & I were getting a game of Sequence underway. She got them all stacked up without mishap! Whew.

A boy sitting on a bed with a laptop, and a girl sitting beside him on the bed using a tablet, surrounded by a colorful quilt and soft furnishings in a cozy bedroom.

Davy, patiently awaiting his turn in my sunny & bright bedroom, holding the empty iPad case while his sister tests her limit. haha.

It happened to be Eagle Days on Saturday (plural, even though it’s only one day… I guess “Eagle Day” sounds dumb) at 1000 Islands Environmental Center, our local nature center. They had a live presentation by the National Eagle Center (HQ in Wabasha, MN) featuring Latsch, one of the centers “eagle ambassadors,” who was found on the ground near an eagle next nine years ago, and discovered to be blind in one eye.

A smiling man in a blue shirt stands beside a bald eagle perched on his arm, while an audience watches in the background.

One of the day’s presentations was timed perfectly, so we met Ali & Junah at the nature center. As far as those types of programs go, this one was pretty good — not too long, informative, entertaining, and interactive. Plus, live bald eagle! Oh, and it was standing room only. We ended up standing right next to the tarantula cage (aquarium) and he/she was very active! Ew (shudder), but also wow!

I didn’t leave the house all day yesterday. I putzed, tidied & napped, watched some Shetland (catching up on the last few seasons) & the Grammys, and pressed & cut some fabric for the next two quilt blocks.

A quilt square featuring a patchwork design with nine sections, incorporating various patterns such as spirals and polka dots in shades of pink, purple, and red.

This will be a Disappearing 9 Patch, and will undergo a bit of a transformation during construction. I’ll have an update on this one, for sure, on Wednesday.

A colorful quilt block featuring a central diamond shape surrounded by squares in various patterns including polka dots and zigzags, predominantly in red, navy, and pink colors.

I also auditioned & cut pieces for the fourth block, which is called Squared In. As soon as I cut the piece for the middle, I knew it wasn’t going to work very well — it’s a stylized hydrangea but the scale is all wrong.

A colorful patchwork quilt square featuring a central floral design surrounded by polka dot and zigzag patterned fabrics in vibrant colors.

I just happened to have more of that Big Blooms fabric (two or three cuts in different colorways), so why not another pansy? There are a few more “centerpiece” blocks in this sampler quilt… not sure they’ll all feature pansies. But maybe. If all goes well, I’ll have an update on this one for Wednesday, too, though it won’t look much different (just more put together).

GOOD THINGS

Good Things

Vicki7 Comments

Whoa. I just had a deja vu moment typing those words… GOOD THINGS was always the first (and sometimes the only) section of Martha Stewart LIVING that I’d turn to, back when I had a subscription (my mom gave & renewed our subscriptions for years).

Anyway.

I’m joining Kym’s Happy Hour this week, sharing something GOOD!

I recently wrote about redoing the art on our living room walls and shared some photos of a painting that my husband made in 1991.

A framed painting depicting a serene beach view from a porch with wooden flooring, featuring a chair, ocean waves, and seagulls flying in the sky.

I neglected to share a part of that story. The painting had been sold to a client 35 years ago, and that client recently retired & sold his business. He contacted Rusty with questions about what to do with it… he didn’t really have a place for it elsewhere (i.e., at home). They set up an appointment to meet, and Rusty was considering buying the painting back, but by the time he met with the client, the client had decided to just give it back… he’d loved it & enjoyed it for all those years in his office and it wasn’t really about money… he wanted Rusty to have it.

And that’s how that painting came to be back in our possession.

I’d also shared a couple of detail shots from the painting, including this one:

A watercolor painting depicting a colorful mug placed on a wooden floor, surrounded by plants and flowers, with sunlight casting a shadow.

The model for that was the very For Better or For Worse coffee mug that I used every day back then, and I was so sad when it broke. (I don’t know how Rusty has used the same mug nearly every single day for the past 41 years, but he has… it’s faded almost beyond recognition!)

Well, look what he sprung on me for our anniversary!

A coffee mug with a cartoon illustration of a woman in pajamas saying 'After my coffee...' with a dog, sitting on a wooden table next to a watercolor painting of a house by the sea, while snow can be seen outside the window.

I haven’t used it yet; it’s just been sitting on the kitchen table… where I see it & enjoy it every day!

3TT: Three Things on Thursday

3TT: Camera roll

Vicki7 Comments

Three on Thursday this week.

Thing 1. 

A boy wearing glasses smiles at the camera while sitting at a table with a blue and white cake decorated with a snowman on top.

This guy had a Golden Birthday on the 12th! We were all finally able to get together 10 days later, and it’s another week before I’m getting around to posting. Who cares? The kid who made me a grandma is a dozen years old!! Crazy. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JUNAH!! (They are only blue-light glasses, he just likes wearing them.)

Thing 2.

I had a vague recollection of someone taking my phone when they were over… Malina! I think she even flashed it in front of my face in order to unlock it. That explains the random photos I found alongside the birthday pics.

A vintage painting depicting a woman in a long dress and headscarf, walking along a path while carrying a basket of flowers, surrounded by trees and a building in the background.

I have at least three versions of this print — Flower Girl in Holland (1887) by George Hitchcock — including one that isn’t cropped like this, as they so often are, which also crops out the artist’s signature. I first became aware of this print because my sister Sharon had one, which I inherited… but not before I already acquired one of my own (the uncropped version) and maybe another besides. Anyway, naturally, Sharon’s always the first to come to mind whenever I see one and, though I don’t always have to have it, there are times. This one is different. I don’t know if unframing it would give me more context, but it’s almost like it was a “coloring page” of sorts and someone interpreted it for themselves — but didn’t sign it themselves. It says “Flower Girl in Holland” on the bottom left and “Hitchcock” on the right. Anyway, for $10? Nicely matted & in a frame? Yes, please.

A collection of whimsical snowman figurines made of felt and other materials, featuring one snowman with a scarf and stick arms, another in a tall hat, a small snowman, a wooden tree, and an additional figure holding a shovel, arranged on a yellow table.

“Winter tableau.” Actually, all of these, except for the gnome candle, have resided year round, for many years (hence the dustiness), on the top of the doorway header between the living area & kitchen (living room side). They were displaced with the great artwork re-hang a while back. I’m not sure I’m ready to be rid of them yet.

Thing 3.

I bought a LEGO set… for myself.

Two assembled flower designs made from colorful building blocks surrounded by various loose pieces in different shapes and colors on a wooden surface.

I have been an Assistant LEGO Builder/Scrounger for years… it’s been ages since I took the lead.

A pair of handmade sunflower models made from colorful materials, displayed in a clear glass bottle on a wooden surface.

Again, the need for color in my world, I guess. This was also last Sunday, so something to focus on for a few minutes other than the incomprehensible (still) murder of Alex Pretti that happened on Saturday in Minneapolis. Sunflowers were also my mom’s favorite flowers, and she’d have celebrated her 88th birthday this Saturday.

Quilting · Unraveled Wednesday / Knit & Read

Unraveled Wednesday: QB2

Vicki6 Comments

I’m joining Kat & the Unravelers for Unraveled Wednesday!

KNITTING:

Well, there really hasn’t been much knitting lately. I don’t know what I’ve been doing, except that I’ve been busy & wildly distracted (and should probably reapply some limits to my phone use). The new Crossplay (think Scrabble/Words With Friends) on NYT Games is fun, though, and I have numerous matches going at any given time with Kate, Ali, Ann, even a couple of random strangers.

I am on the home/decrease stretch of the Sophie-esque scarf I mentioned a little while ago, though, and I’ve been feeling the urge to knit!

QUILTING:

I made my second quilt block last night!

A colorful fabric quilt block featuring a central floral design with pansies, surrounded by various geometric patterns including polka dots and circles in purple, pink, yellow, and blue.

The block is called Churn Dash — I used the center square to highlight a pansy (still one of my favorite flowers). I don’t think that’s a very traditional choice, but I think you can probably tell that “traditional” is not where this is all going. haha.

A selection of colorful fabric swatches, featuring intricate patterns including spirals, dots, and floral designs in vibrant colors.

These are my choices, more or less, for the third block, which is Disappearing Nine Patch. I’ll be trimming & cutting pieces for that this weekend, and likely choosing fabrics & doing the same for the block or two that follows.

READING:

Bedtime reading continues to be No Time on My Hands by Grace Snyder, and that will likely be the case for a while.

I was so excited for the release of George Saunders’ Vigil that I had it on my calendar & pre-saved in Spotify, so I had alerts galore yesterday morning and… we’ll see where it goes! So far, I’m enjoying the “performances” immensely — perfect casting, while still figuring out the story. I’m very curious about how much Saunders is involved in the actual production and/or direction of the recording. Anyway, we’re off! It’s been ages since I’ve listened to a book and this is the perfect way to get back to it.

Uncategorized

Something good

Vicki11 Comments

It was Australia Day yesterday…

A smiling woman with short, wavy hair stands in front of a banner featuring a coat of arms. She is wearing a light-colored outfit and a crossbody bag, with a tattoo visible on her left arm. In the background, there are trees and vehicles.

…and Maddy officially became a citizen!! She is now a dual citizen. I’m so happy for her!

Group of five people posing together outdoors, with one person holding a certificate, smiling and celebrating a special occasion.
Mayor of Orange, NSW, Tony Miletto; unknown woman; Citizen Madeleine; Viv; local Member of Parliament, Phil Donato

I have inquired but haven’t had a reply yet about what Viv is holding — I think it’s eucalyptus. A little googling reveals that new Australian citizens often receive a native sapling at their citizenship ceremony. Love that.