Ocean Waves Blocks Ready

9  Kind of Blocks

Sewing has saved me this week. I find it calming, and when life gets to be a lot--and it has lately, I dodge into my sewing room at home for some therapy. To explain, I mainly longarm quilt in my studio, but I also come home to sew after work. If I have a quilt with an edge-to-edge going on the longarm, I can sew at work too, but often I'm engaged with other client work. At home I can do my own thing. It's more conducive to be creative when I'm not listening for an empty bobbin. 

Ocean Waves In Progress

Ocean Waves

Getting back to sewing was good, but I still wasn't in the creative mood just yet. There's still a lot on my plate. Grabbing a kit I had sitting on my shelf for some years meant I could sew, but didn't have to think much. Pure therapy.

Simply Sparkly Quilt Top

Simply Sparkly

This is a free quilt pattern available at Robert Kauffman Fabrics designed by Kay Koeper Sorenson. It has the vibe of a Gees Bend style housetop quilt, or that same style you see in many Nancy Crow quilts. 

Nancy Crow lives in Baltimore, Ohio, while Lunn Studios is just south of her. Some of her earlier pieces were made with their hand-dyed and surface manipulated fabrics. The fabric featured in the pattern is Pointillist Palette by Lunn Studios, coincidentally, and shows an ombré effect. One of my year's goals is to use fabric that's been aging in my studio, and free up space. This was an ombré yardage bundle I purchased from Craftsy years ago when they had the Boundless line.

The Sabbatical Is Over

Sanibel Bridge in the fog

A Long Time Away

Our roles in life change fairly often--perhaps more as women, but more so as care givers. While our families are young, we look forward to the day when each child becomes independent. Ours all did, thankfully, and afterward there were several carefree years. I had time to grow my garden, sew for myself, and quilt for others. I look back at that now as a blissful, golden period. 

Summer Quilt Catch Up

Simple Summer Quilt

Life has been anything but simple for nearly 2 years now. I know I'm in good company across the planet when I crawl out of bed after midnight because I can't sleep--again. My neck and shoulders are sore from canning apples and making applesauce all day. My head is full of swirling thoughts like, How the heck are we going to get through this mess? (Certainly not by depending on the government!) 

My last post was early August when I was still working on the quilting of this summer quilt. I needed an uncomplicated project to stitch on, and I loved having something in the frame to pick up for even a few minutes at a time. But August turned into a difficult month healthwise here, and funneled us right into September and a local outbreak of Covid. We were included as well as many friends and family, but thankfully all came through without serious complications. I was out of the studio more than a month, though, and feel like I'm still catching up on sleep.

7 Year Blogiversary & 700th Post

A Quiet Celebration

If this past year has taught me something, it's that we should celebrate milestones, and keep with traditions in our lives. So you and I will celebrate this together. (Cue the horns!) Seven years is nothing to sneeze at. It's ancient in the world of blogging! I know I'm here, though, because of you all, and because I'm still fully in love with life! And the things that make me most happy are quilting, surely you knew that, my garden, and sharing my enthusiasm for both. Helping people learn is important, too, but encouraging people to just try something is the big one. 

I hope we all continue to be friends. You are important to me, and the many back channeled conversations that go on among us makes my--and I hope your life rich. Thank you so very much for sharing this wonderful journey!

Bees & the New Summer Quilt

A Simple Summer Quilt

This has been a good summer. Those of you who know me well will think I'm nuts for saying so, but after last summer, well, it is good. To top that, this has been a doozey of a week, and without explaining the gory details everything panned out well. The involved party is recovering, and it's almost nice to have a slow down for a few days. For one, it's given me time to sit, to stitch, and to write. I really want to tell you about this new quilt for summer--for just me.

Easy No-Knead Bread Recipe

Easy No-Knead Bread Recipe

I am a gluten free gal with a gluten loving husband, who needs a homemade loaf of bread once in a while. Carefully stirring the ingredients vs. kneading and tossing flour helps keep my kitchen as gluten free as possible, and still delivers the goods. And remember, there are hundreds of simple bread recipes out there if this isn't just what you're looking for, but it's a good place to start. Experiment! 

The Kitchen Garden in July: Preparing

The Kitchen Garden: July 2021

Pictures of my kitchen garden are helpful to me in spiritual ways. I see such a difference week to week in change, in growth, and it feeds my soul knowing I had a part in this. Yes, there's a lot of work and planning, but the payoff is sweet.

One of my major goals this year was to grow food my family could and would eat, and to put some of it up through canning, dehydrating, or freezing. I believe food security is a real issue facing us. Last year's struggle to source food and basic supplies was a lesson to many of us, and should not be wasted on those who think it's past. The supply chains everywhere are fragile, and each of us should think in terms of what we need or want to be comfortable in our homes. How do we maintain our lives in case of future shortages and scarcity? It wouldn't be the first time in history people have had to ask this question, but perhaps in many of our own short lives. This is what I'm doing.

Spindrift II: It Floats

"It Floats"

I have some amazing, supportive friends around the world. I traveled young, and am lucky several of those friendships are still strong. But the blogging world has also been a road onto itself connecting me with other like-minded souls. I am grateful for that. One dear friend who hails from Australia, Jan, said, "Oh, Julie! It floats!" about this quilt. I think she summed it up well. It Floats is together, and the class at Berlin Quilter's Gathering is just around the corner. I am hoping to have it quilted by then, but if not, there is a lot to learn by looking at the back. I'm not worried.

By the way, there are a few spots left in Thursday's class, and one in Friday's. I'd love to see you there!