August 2021 … here but not there?

I started the  month off in good style. Julia and the family came for the weekend and left behind Benjamin and Ruby…

This time last year I had hoped that this year’s visit would include some trips beyond the subdivision but it was not to be… next year?

We kept ourselves busy with some Lego building…From a Christmas elf house to Winnie the Pooh…Then we had to watch multiple Winnie the Pooh movies which somehow morphed into MORE screen time…Grandpa decided a brisk walk was in order. He said it would be “around the block” but it was a very big block 🤣The weather didn’t exactly co-operate with temperatures in the low 70s but we still visited the pool every day… It wasn’t very busy!My idea for making a sculpture out of the dead tree Matt cut down didn’t last long… I thought it would be fun?But the strawberry, ice cream, brownie, chocolate whipped cream sundaes were very well received.We’ll try again next year.

It was time to get back to work. STITCHES Expo went well. I taught four classes  over Zoom.

Pre-wrapping 100 feet of clothesline makes for a good Instagram worthy picture and comes in handy in my Wrapped in Scraps class…Here’s my Dorset Feather Stitchery Needlecase class in progress.I’m continuing to make new Shirtlace buttons. I do like this multi-color one.We were booked to go to Gulf Shores in Alabama and meet up with Jonathan and James and their families… but Fred had other plans. Our flights were cancelled. There were no flights at all on the Monday we had planned to travel and we were only staying two nights… so no trip to Gulf Shores this year. Lauren and Sarah arranged to share their photos with me… almost 500 of them. I had to upgrade my iCloud plan! It looks like we missed out on some fun times.

Ever onward…

I used the time to fill out proposals and catch up on things. I assembled 20 kits for the September edition of STITCHES at Home.
I think it’s a pretty good kit. Everything you need for success!! Hand dyed threads, Indian sari silk, my stitch guide, I’m even including a little needle threader to make up for not being there in person to help out.Everyone gets three designs to choose from as we explore Folk Art Stitching together. Full details are over on the STITCHES website .

I really do like making those Sue Spargo Stitched Storage Pods. As it says on Sue’s website, one is not enough!

I used some of that sari silk for this one.This sashiko style pod posed nicely with one of my butterflies that hasn’t found a home yet.And I made a set of coasters. Don’t you sometime just want to make something?I finished another small shawl. I think it looked better laying out to block than in use.I ordered 35 yards of printed fabric from Spoonflower for future kits. I’m always trying to come up with new classes. I had three yards of a cotton/linen blend printed with the outline of my elephant, bird and butterfly design. Here’s the elephant, colored with regular Crayola crayons and then embroidered. (press with paper towel to remove the grease, after coloring and before stitching)I think it could be a fun way to spend a day with me in an embroidery workshop? I’ll be adding it to my classes and lecture page soon.

Thinking of getting out on the road… International Quilt Festival announced that masks will be required in all public places in October. I will be in Houston for eleven days… new masks needed. Julia came and collected fabric to make them for her family and offered to make some for me. She made me eleven!! I made new ties. The Clover tape maker made pressing the one inch strips so much quicker.I had 24 ties finished in no time at all! (well, really it took several hours but they look quite nice, even if I do say so myself.)I’m out and about in print again. This time you can find me in the September/October edition of Quiltmaker magazine.It’s a machine quilting issue and my article on Hi-def Quilting was relevant for inclusion.If you think it looks familiar you must have been reading the 2020 QuiltCon magazine which is where it appeared first!

My new haircut is here to stay so it was time for a new headshot. A little different to the last one, taken in August 2019… I’m not going to include it here… I’m sure you can find it if you were to look ☺️

And, just because I can, one more Storage Pod. I finished it this morning!

It uses a vintage Marcia Derse print that has been in my drawer for at least 10 years?Less hand stitching on this one made for a quicker finish.

That was August… September tomorrow. My diary looks full. I have stitching trips planned for the next two months to Indiana, Missouri, Northern California and Houston and a quick family outing to see the Wisconsin families too. There are also Zoom events across the nation to keep me out of mischief. Find the details on the calendar page.

I’m hoping!