Mediterranean Trip

We are throwing the last things into our suitcases so we can start our trip to Italy and the Mediterranean.  We'll have three days in Florence, three days in Rome and then off to the Greek islands for a week.

So I did finish a red polar fleece backing for the Lego quilt, and both will be deliver to my long-arm quilter tonight by a friend.  So that quilt is out of the sewing room.
I'm taking some socks to finish knitting as we drive to and from Chicago's O'Hare Airport, and then I'm leaving that stuff in the car.  No handwork for two weeks, just looking and looking at the scenery and antiquities.

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For those who wondered: SaraRachel, DGD aged 13, developed an abysmally low platelet count, no blood clotting whatsoever.  She is in St. Louis Children's Hospital for two days at least for improvement.  She is not in pain and is enjoying their fulsome attention.  Mom is frazzled.

Sara

Gratitudes:

Have good enough health for this trip
Have enough wealth for this trip
Have Road Scholar [Elderhostel] to do all the arrangements and teaching

Wordless Wednesday

Sara

Retiring a phone

This phone is going into retirement.  It has been eligible for retirement since May we found out.

Since we are on a Family Plan phone contract with our son and DIL, I had to get permission from my son to change phones, and I had to get two different passwords.  So there were about five phone calls between the Apple Store and Peter before I was able to walk out with the new phone in my possession and working.

My new iPhone, shown resting on the old phone, is NOT the just issued version, but a previous edition at a much lower price.  Nevertheless, it does a kajillion things that the old phone did not do.  And I am in deep technologic ignorance.

So far I have entered all the phone numbers from my old phone, but today all but six of them are gone.  On the other hand, all six that I have kept, now have their email addresses listed, which I did NOT enter.  Hmm.
Ain't technology wonderful?

I did, I think, manage to record three songs that the Women's Chorus was practicing last night.  And they did download to my computer, where I could name them, and delete the most incomplete. [The director keeps interrupting us!]  But then I couldn't/didn't find the way to "sync" the tunes back onto my phone so I could listen to them.

Enough talk of that.

I finished up the light strips going onto the Lego quilt as the first border.

It worked out to be four strips on most of the sides.  I saw a royal blue fleece at JoAnn's that I think I will use on the back.  Maybe I will turn it to the front also for the binding.  So what to go between those light strips and a royal blue binding?

I think I'm going to see what red and orange strips I have that are already cut to 3 or 3.5 inches.

Sara

Gratitudes:


AAA membership took care of last night's flat tire
Anticipating two week trip to the Mediterranean
A few nights of no late-night baseball
Childrens' Hospital in St. Louis taking care of granddaughter Sara Rachel

Lego - first border

But FIRST of all, here is the drawer that held all my 1.5 inch strips and squares.  The squares were in the inner box, and the strips were PACKED around that.

And now the first border:

At the suggestion of one of my blog readers, I pulled out a bunch of the light strips and saved them for a border.  I am sewing them around and around until I run out of them, which hasn't happened yet.

What, if anything, will happen after that is yet to be seen.

And here's the current state of the project, lying on the living room rug, which is 6 feet by 9 feet.

Sara

Gratitudes:

An empty drawer!
Leftover lentil soup for lunch
Going to Lake Michigan this afternoon

Lego conundrum

I'm now sewing the Lego blocks together.  Here's what I have so far:

I have more blocks to add on the bottom.  I was planning on having ONE non-railfence block in the next row. Either another checkerboard:

Or this other block:

Whichever one I don't use on the front can go on the back.  Or not.

Maybe I need one more row to make this long enough to cover an adult person.  Do I have enough 1.5 inch strips to make more? [Can always cut 3" strips in half.]

And on the subject of the back..... I'm thinking that this is going to be pretty HEAVY with all those seams, so I'm considering a fleece back and no batting.

What do you think on all these heavy decisions?  Go ahead and weigh in!

Sara

Gratitudes:

None of these decisions are life threatening
Breakfast with old friends
Tigers won last night!

LEGO continues

These blocks are not yet sewn together, I just wanted to see how they looked laid out.  Each block is 12.5", so this would make a 36" X 48" piece.

What I DO have sewn together is this piece which is 24" X 48":

I'm aiming for something like this:

which would be about 60" X 72.

Need to make some more blocks.  This is good because I am finally seeing the drawer of 1.5" strips getting closer to EMPTY.

I have given up my idea of quilting this "As You Go", or even doing it myself at all.  This is going to the LA quilter when the top is done!

Sara

Gratitudes:
That I have a LA Quilter
Survived another exercise class
Mixed pesto into the lunch salad dressing, and WOW, that's good!

Wordless Wednesday

Sara

Lego progress

So I have put together four of the 12 inch Lego blocks, and I have sewn them to two sides of the large "inchie" block.  I am gung-ho to add more on each side, BUT maybe I should quilt this much before adding anything more [?].  I'm not sure which to do next.  This piece is 24 inches wide and 48 inches long.  That seems to be a good size to get quilted.

Guess I'll go watch the Tiger-Yankees baseball game and leave this decision until tomorrow.

Sara

Gratitudes:

Warm, sunny day with leave beginning to turn
Spent about an hour downtown looking at Art Prize entries
Tigers are ahead!

Wordless Wednesday

Sara

Inchie center

The center of the Lego quilt is put together.  I only have to decide in which rotation to sew these four blocks together.  [One of my blogging friends commented that she calls these little squares "inchies".]  There are a few HSTs and one 9-patch in the mix.

My plan at the moment is to frame this in some shades of gray-- a subtle frame that might go unnoticed for a short while.  I'll have to see if I have the right grays for that plan.  OR I might use a pile of red and white HSTs, left over from a Bonnie Hunter romp, and make the frame out of them.  Not so subtle.  Then the Lego Blocks will go around the outside.

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We accomplished a lot of music learning and eating and fun at the Women's Chorus two day workshop.  Next Saturday there is another workshop in choral singing by a local expert in which we can individually participate;  not using OUR music, of course.  I'll go and see what more I can learn.

Sara

Gratitudes:

Sun twinkling on the frosty grass and leaves this morning
A dog who likes cantaloupe rinds
Tigers beat the Yankees!