My Latest Fabric Adventure Ala Rose Hughes

The photo in the book shows what it's going to look like. Size: 24x32 inches. The solid green is a velveteen and the other is a cotton batik. I've already made some of the felt flowers decorated with beads and embroidery that will go on the art quilt, which will be a wall hanging.

I could not find the velveteen in any greens so finally simply sent Rose Hughes an e-mail. Within the day she told me what brand it was. I went on line, found it and ordered it from a store with an interesting name: Sacred Moon Dance. It's in Chicago.

So today I cleaned off my sewing table and am ready to start. Hopefully in a few weeks I'll show you the finished product.

My Dad and Me Many Years Ago

He died in 1982 so this photo was taken before that. He was a tough man to love, but I still did. Not around much when we kids needed him, but he is our father. As you can tell, I got his hair.

An Oriole, A Loud Cat And Weight Watchers

An Oriole is huge compared to a humming bird but both like to drink from the same feeders. A couple of years ago I bought a special Oriole feeder that would accommodate his size (the males are the beauties) and where I could make the nectar he likes (different proportion of sugar to water than the hummers). He never got a chance to try it because the hummers drank his nectar first. By the time he and his drab-hued mate showed up only hummer food was left. So they balance precariously on the small feeders and slurp away. I also put out half an orange and some grape jelly, which they like. Again, the pair disappeared for a few days so the ants got there first. So the special feeders are in the garage and everyone eats the same stuff. I haven't heard any complaints.

Now onto the cat tale. Giorgio has been yowling right next to our bed at 2 or 3 in the morning. Very annoying. For such a skinny cat he is really loud. He wants access to the outside night world. No, no that's where wild things live; Giorgio would become a meal, all be it a Weight Watchers meal, but nonetheless, a meal. He would keep us awake with his yowling until he got tired and went back to sleep. This was not the way we like to sleep so had to come up with a plan.

We have now declared my sewing room way at the other end of the house as the animal dorm. Harleen sleeps in her crate, Nora sleeps in one little padded cubby and Giorgio sleeps in the other one. We close the door to the dorm; the cats still have access to water, food and their littler box. Access is denied to our bedroom. At first we had to catch the two cats to get them in there, but now they pretty much put themselves to bed when Harleen does, around 9:30. If Giorgio yowls in there, we can't hear him. It took two humans to outsmart a ten-pound cat.

More later on my new fabric pattern ala Rose Hughes. It involves pipe cleaners. Check back in a few days for samples of my new passion.

Teeny Tiny Quilts For Practice

This is what I've been doing lately. Each square is 6x6 inches. Fabric on top, then batting and then fabric for the backing. I've been practicing my free motion quilting, painting on fabric with different types of paint, beading and doing overlays.

I do whatever comes into my head; trying to free up the artist inside me. The photo should enlarge if you click on it so you can see the bead work.

I'm planning on making a small wall hanging out of it but need to put borders on each square before I can figure out the background fabric.
I also think I'll do three more whenever the muse visits me.

Rain 0 Heat 91

91 is the high predicted for today. The humidity is 49%, which doesn't mean a damn thing in
my book. It's still too hot; we haven't even hit the highs in the mid-100s.

So yesterday I went searching for all the fans that I had gleefully tucked away last fall. We have overhead fans in every room (none in the bathrooms). I use the smaller fans strategically. When I get out of the shower, I have one on the counter so I can get dry before I start to sweat again. That same fan goes on my side of the bed on the floor so I can get an additional breeze during the night. I have one in my sewing room that I can place in many spots where needed.

As I write this I realize that I am on the verge of crankiness. This calls for a fabric day. It's hard for me to be cranky when I'm touching fabric.

Yes, we have air conditioning but it's very expensive to run due to the size of our house. Our highest monthly bill came a couple of summers ago: $600. It doesn't come on until it inside temp hits 80.

Went to a party last night put on by the 911 Porsche Club that Kerry and I joined. Great food and nice people. Harleen stayed home alone for the first time without being in her crate. NOTHING WAS DESTROYED.

Today is the anniversary of a good friend's death. Fourteen years after having breast cancer, she found out it was back with a vengeance: liver, lungs and bones. She wanted people to hear this from her so she met with friends individually over wine and told them. We were planning a big party so she could say good bye. She never got to attend because she had a stroke and died a few days later. Her name was Nancy; she loved tap dancing and ceramics. She was very good at both. I think of her often.

My tomato plants and basil love the heat.

Strawberries

There are many strawberry farms in our area; they are tended by Asians who every year produce the most spectacularly sweet berries. We have a farm less than a mile from us. We took some to the Memorial Day camp out. Rave reviews. I bought some yesterday. The ones I bought were picked that day. The aroma in my car was so wonderful. Once home I cleaned and sliced the berries. Some went into a dehydrator so we can have fresh berries in the winter. The others went into freezer jam that is made with lots of Splenda.

Summer is such a spectacular season for everything. It is, however, hard to put up berries or other things when it's really warm. I set up fans in the kitchen today so I wouldn't sweat on the food.

I will probably do one more batch of dehydrated strawberries and another batch of freezer jam. It's also great on ice cream, plain yogurt and biscuits.

I love summer.

Tonight's dinner is barbecued brined pork chops and oven-roasted kohlrabi, green garlic and leeks with Parmesan cheese. Kerry's tummy is a little off so not sure how much he will eat. He goes to the doctor next Tuesday.