Johan's quilt is coming together. The center (main part of the top) is finished.
I just need to sew on the borders. I decided to use the same green fabric for the inner border, so it will come up against the dark blue with dragons that will be the outer border. It will be touch-and-go to have enough. They may still have the fabric at Joann's, if I don't. I've measured through the middle vertically and horizontally, so I know the length of each piece. Fingers crossed!As I did with Soren's, I took photos of each block. Then I put them into a file and arranged them based on the fabrics used in each. I didn't want the same fabric side by side. When I was satisfied, I took a screenshot.
Then I added the green setting blocks and triangles, sewing them together in diagonal strips.
Soren's quilt has gone to the quilter for edge-to-edge quilting, which is what they call a pantograph here. I drove to her place, which is on the other side of town. We looked at the patterns she had, and I decided on something that sort of mirrors the diagonal placement of the blocks. It's going to be less expensive than I expected, not much more than I used to pay in Utah, and she says she can do Johan's quilt, too, in time for Christmas. I was hoping to drop both of them off at the same time, but there was just too much going on. However, I'm getting close and can give it to her when I pick up Soren's.
I finished the first sleeve of the Kultainen Käki Cardigan, although I'll have to check it when I get the other one finished and am ready to connect them to the body. Top-down is so much easier for getting the sleeves the right length. I have a good start on the second sleeve.
I wrote another story for The Doll's Storybook, but it isn't ready yet. I just have to take the photos. Instead of a new one, I reedited the next story from the list, added some photos and republished it. (See below.)
We had a mystery. It might even be considered a murder mystery. Sandy had taken his toy, Snowball, out to play in the mud. I wanted to go out by myself to fetch him, so I locked the dog door and went out. As I was bringing Snowball from the far end of the yard, where he was pretending to enjoy lying in the mud, something fell from the tree a few feet away. When I looked at it, I realized it was a dead bird. Missing its head. I found a lot of feathers on the ground at another place in the yard, clearly the scene of the crime. Now I pondered, who committed the crime. I think if the pups had done it, they would not have wanted to come in and leave it, and how could they have gotten it up in the tree? Raptor? Cat? After much consideration, and lacking further clues, I began to suspect a neighborhood cat, although I didn’t see one. And why just eat the head and then let the body fall to the ground. A raptor could have dropped it on the tree. A cat would have had to leave it balanced in the branches. We need Sherlock Holmes to clear it up.
On a more appetizing topic, we only had a little bit of candy left after the trick-or-treaters left on Halloween.
It was fun seeing the different costumes. Two of them had the same costume and came at different times, but I noticed the second one was shorter and had a different bag, so it wasn't a child double-dipping!
We've had several days of rain but managed to walk with the dogs almost every day, although some of the walks had to be short. Saturday we were expecting more rain, but we thought we would have about a two-hour window, so we jumped in the car and drove down to Alpenglow Park. We really wanted to take the pups to Good Dog Trail again, but the trails at Alpenglow are paved (so not muddy) and the park is much closer. We spent some time at the all-dog off-leash area. There were a few other dogs, but not as many as last week.
Charlie threw the ball. Sandy even brought it back once.
After the dogs had taken the edge off their energy, we walked the trail, first the part that's inside the fenced off-leash area. They have a nice agility course, and we showed Sandy how to use the equipment. I think he would be really good at it. We finished our walk on the trail outside the fenced area, with he pups leashed. We got back to the car just as drops were starting to fall.
One of my chores this week was to put Snowball's stuffing back into his head and sew him up again. I really should do the bear, too. Sandy really loves the stuffed toys.
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If you have a few minutes and are willing, please go to Amazon and B&N and search for "Our Favorite Verses: Poems from The Doll's Storybook by Peggy Stuart". Every click on the page for the book makes it more likely they will keep a good supply in their warehouse and stores. If you are outside the US, you may have a separate website for these retailers. If you have a copy of any of our books, including Emil, Mariah or Classic Tales Retold, please leave an honest review on the websites, especially if you bought from them.
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What's on my loom: I didn't make any progress on the placemats this week, but I'm thinking the scraps from the backing for Soren's quilt will be good to use, because it's batik, and the color goes all the way through.
What's on my sewing machine: Johan's quilt.
What's in The Doll's Storybook: In "You're Special," Billy notices that each of his sisters has something special that they do. He talks to each of them about how they figured out what was special for them, and each one has something different to say.
What's on my iPad/iPhone: Still listening to Die Unendliche Geschichte by Michael Ende. I listened for a bit while working on the quilt, then had to pause it. I accidentally hit the wrong button (I don't know what) and ended up with offers to buy more books, with suggestions. I couldn't figure out how to get out of that window, so I closed the app. When I tried to get in again, it wanted my password and user name. Both of those changed after Amazon took over Audible, and I couldn't get back in. I gave up. Later, when I was done sewing, I called Audible. They promised to send me an email to change my password. It never came. Finally, I went to Amazon and changed my password there. I was able to use that password to get back into Audible, so I can listen again.
What's in my wine glass: Not actually in my wine glass but someone else's. Sounds good. Deceniza, a 2021 Pinot Noir from Loncomilla Valley, Chile. "Aromas of vanilla, chocolate, and hints of fruit, a deep garnet color, with flavors of sour cherry, blackberry, and hints of thyme, with a medium body. This is a tasty lighter bodied red." I'm going to look for it. (Photo credit: @TegesPaludis on Spoutible.)
What's my tip of the week: I love my Eversewn Sparrow 15 sewing machine, but if I have to move the needle by hand, it's hard to hold onto the hand wheel with my stiff fingers and weak thumb, because it's smooth plastic, no grooves. I read a tip on Spoutible for opening jars. If you put a rubber band used to hold fresh broccoli around the lid, it's easier to turn, sort of like my piece of rubber shelf liner I keep in the drawer. It's a lot more trouble for something you may only open once, but I thought I would try that on my hand wheel. I'm happy to say it works! It was a struggle to get it on, and I'm sure it will need to be replaced someday, but I'm really glad for the tip.
Where are my books: The stories in each book first appeared in the blog and they are reproduced with a few changes.
If you don't get free shipping from Amazon or B&N, buy from the BookBabyBookshop, because 50% of the price goes to St. Jude. Other booksellers pay much less.
Note: This blog post was produced on the iPad and the MacBook, using the iPhone for some photos and some photo processing. No other computer was used in any stage of composition or posting, and no Windows were opened, waited for, cleaned or broken. No animals or dolls were harmed during the production of this blog post.
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