A Little Stitching And Some Boo

Nothing is so fatiguing as the eternal hanging on of an uncompleted task. 

~William James

I'm in the middle of three projects and two of them need to be completed within a week.  I have no fear that I will get them done but it is going slower than I anticipated.  I don't know why I don't start these projects earlier in the month - it's not like I don't know they have to be done.  I guess because what I'm working with does not excite me.  I'm a great procrastinator when it comes to un-fun things.  I am already looking forward to next month's Loving Hands quilts as I will be working with new little squares but this month I did a repeat of last month with the jelly roll race quilt and I'm not all that fond of the fabrics I selected.  They still need to be made as there are always new preemies in the NICU, so I'm off to finish up the three little quilts I'm making. 

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PHOTO FACT OF THE DAY

National Navajo Code Talkers Day - August 14

Sunday is the day chosen to honor the Navajo Code Talkers.  Code talkers was a term used to describe people who talk using a coded language. It is frequently used to describe Native Americans who served in the United States Marine Corps whose primary job was the transmission of secret tactical messages. Code talkers transmitted these messages over military telephone or radio communications nets using formal or informally developed codes built upon their native languages. Their service was very valuable because it enhanced the communications security of vital front line operations during World War II.

The name code talkers is strongly associated with bilingual Navajo speakers specially recruited during World War II by the Marines to serve in their standard communications units in the Pacific Theater. Code talking, however, was pioneered by Choctaw Indians serving in the U.S. Army during World War I. These soldiers are referred to as Choctaw Code Talkers.

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LINT REMOVAL

I forgot to share this pictures of the lint and thread that I removed from my sewing machine after I finished with the Colors Thru The Window quilt.  Would you believe most of this was under the bobbin case and from just one quilt?  This just goes to show you how important it is to remove your bobbin case and clean out underneath it.  Don't just brush out the top of the case and call it good.  It wouldn't take long at all for this lint mess to clog up your machine.

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TABLE RUNNER SWAP

Wednesday I finished up a table runner for the Quilted Table Fall/Halloween swap that I'm involved in.  For this swap, you send your swap partner 9 fat quarters of your fabric and they in turn will make you a table topper or table runner.  Joan sent me some wonderful fat quarters to work with and I created this table runner.....

Joan included a note with the fabric that stated Halloween is one of her most favorite time of year.

The colors are bit off in this picture (took it inside under artificial light) but you can see the quilting I did.  For the body of the runner I just stitched 1/4" away from the seam allowance.  In the border and border triangles, I did a echo straight stitch.

Again with the poor color and inside lighting but this shows the fussy cut I did for the center block.  I hope Joan likes what I created with her fat quarters.  I need to buy a couple of little extras and put a label on the back and then this will go out in the mail next week.

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A COUPLE OF STITCHERIES

I have been diligently working on the Gardener's Journal stitchery blocks.

This block is called Potting Plants and will end up to be 4 1/2" X 5 1/2".  I have been over sizing the blocks so that they fit in my hoop easier and will cut them down when it is time to assemble the quilt.

These three little seed packets were fun to stitch.  And, not surprisingly, this is called Seed Packets.  This block will be 2 1/2" X 4 1/2" when cut down to size.

Annie Downs includes a fun little story with each block that has me giggling each time I read them.

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TWO MORE PRACTICES

You are probably getting bored with all of these FMQ squares.  But I want to document them so I can look back and see how I've progressed or regressed, depending on the situation.

Wednesday was Hardwood Floors (I almost wrote/sewed Hardwood Floods).  Some of my wood planks were rather rough cut and you could probably lose something valuable in some of the spaces between the boards.  Oh, and I wouldn't have to worry about water puddling with the slope I ended up with - LOL!  At least it didn't tax my brain and I felt rather comfortable with this practice.

Yesterday was Dresden Daisy.  This was a fun practice.  Some of my daisies are really original in their shapes but it was still fun to make and my lines across ended up fairly straight.

I have decided to skip some of the designs that I know I will never use and seem to be repeats with just a slight variation.  I want to practice but I don't want to be bored.

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TODAY'S GOAL

Today I hope to finish quilting the three Loving Hands quilts so that I can maybe sew the binding on over the weekend.

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GIVEAWAYS

Everyday Beautiful is having a giveaway.  You could win a bundle of Heirloom fabrics in the Amethyst colorway.  This giveaway ends Wednesday, August 17.

The House on the Side of the HillWant it Need It Quilt.  This giveaway ends Wednesday, August 17.

Hawthorne Threads is having a giveaway.  You could win a Farm Fresh layer cake.  This giveaway ends Wednesday, August 17.

A Quilting Reader's Garden is having a giveaway.  You could win a copy of Poster Quilts by Patrick Lose.  A winner will be selected Wednesday, August 17.

Country Creations by Denise is having a giveaway.  You could win one of Denise's Happy Halloween trees.  This giveaway ends Thursday, September 1.

The Drawing Board is having a giveaway.  Here is another chance for you to win a GO! Baby cutter.  The winner will be drawn on Monday, August 15.

Jackie's Art Quilts is having a giveaway!  You could win a surprise bundle of fat quarters.  This giveaway ends ?

Random Thoughts do or "di" is having a giveaway.  You could win a Little Apples Jelly Roll from the Intrepid Thread.  This giveaway ends Thursday, August 18, at midnight PST.

Woolie Mammoth is having a giveaway.  You could win a sweet kit I put together with Coffee fabrics.  This giveaway ends possibly Saturday, August 13.

Have you entered my Blogiversary Giveaway?  You only have a couple of days left to enter.  This giveaway ends Sunday, August 14, at 8:00 pm PST.

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FINAL THOUGHT

The weekend is once again upon us.  So much for the relaxing weekend like we had last week.  Saturday is a go-go day.  Many little errands that have to be done along with an ALS Support Group meeting and getting some blood work done (hopefully I'll get somebody that can draw blood with the first stick).  Sunday will probably be a stay at home day but then there's those loads of wash to do and general picking up around the house that I let slide during the week.  I hope to get some hand sewing time in - it might be a must just to keep me awake in front of the TV.  Do you have big plans for the weekend?  Are you going to do something fun?

There aren't enough days in the weekend. 
~Rod Schmidt