I’m not traveling anywhere until the third week of July! It seems like a long time to stay home but I have lots to do…
Every morning I come downstairs and first I have to tidy up the mess I made the day before. I was taught to clear up as I went along, to go to bed with breakfast set out on the table… Oops! All I can say is that that would be a wonderful way to live but it’s a dream right now 🙂
Sometimes I don’t even bother to put the kitchen in order and I just sit in the chaos. Can you believe it? I don’t think there’s anyone else in my town that lives like that…
Oh well.
Assuming I do clear up… I like a cup of coffee with the Chicago Tribune crossword. I get the print version delivered on a Sunday and that means I can download the digital version the rest of the week. I’ve worked out how to print the puzzle page out and I do enjoy completing the crossword! It gets harder through the week and Friday’s is often a real challenge. I’ve already done today’s.
But there is work to do.
I have a few deadlines I’m working towards at the moment. One involves embroidery.
I’m stitching a series of butterflies. This is the bug of last week, stitched on Kona cotton with my favorite House of Embroidery, 8 weight hand-dyed perle cotton.
It progresses.
Wednesday was the longest day of the year. My friend Sue hosted a get together to celebrate the solstice. Her house is on a little lake so there was a great photo opportunity at sunset… 8.32 PM!
Thursday was our monthly meeting of the Naperville Modern Quilters Guild. We meet at Windy City Sewing in Wheaton (the shop moved from Naperville where it was called Gentler Times…)
Kathy did a demo on the circular sewing attachment and then we had wonderful great show and tell including this kitchen sink quilt….
and this amazing Splendid Sampler, all in Cotton + Steel fabrics.
My other deadline involves a trip to Colorado at the end of August. I booked my flights so now it really is happening! I need to make (and finish) a whole list of things.
Here’s a little look at the project I worked on on Friday.
I do like stitching with Michael Miller cotton couture fabrics.
More details will be forthcoming, but for now I’m just going to be dropping hints!!
On Saturday I headed out early to Rockford for Fairy Festival with head fairy Ruby and her able assistant…
It takes a lot of work to be a fairy?
Not just face painting, your hair needs to be “done” and a head dress stitched in so it won’t fall out…
but it was definitely worth the effort.
The Festival could have been designed by Ruby! There were picture opportunities.
There were crafts. There was story telling. There were balloon animals for everyone, and there was dancing.
Who knew there were so many fairies in Rockford?
On Sunday PAQA held an artists’ reception at the Norris Cultural Arts Center in St. Charles where our quilts are currently displayed. It took a little searching to find the gallery but we did it!
Our Explorations exhibit from 2016 was hanging in one room,
while over in the other room our Intentional Improvisation pieces were waiting for all to enjoy!
I had been involved in organizing the Explorations exhibit but I have long since passed it over to a much more able team who is doing a wonderful job of finding spaces and keeping everything together for our quilted pieces. We are working (or at least thinking) on our next year’s exhibit already!!
Steve came with me to the exhibit and we headed straight from there to the evening service at our church, Community Christian, the Yellow Box location in Naperville. We are learning lessons from the life of Joseph at the moment. Last night was focused on Integrity. Lots to think about.
So that was my week. The kitchen is still a mess. I decided to write this before I tackle it! Maybe I’ll get to it later?
I did book two more trips. I’ve got contracts and everything. I’ll be visiting the Pieces ‘n Patches Quilt Guild in Steger, Illinois in August 2018 AND the Almond Country Quilt Guild in Paso Robles, California in February 2019. That’s something to look forward to?
A box just arrived. I know what’s inside. I think I’ll show you tomorrow. I’m excited.
