Big Book Summer Challenge

This summer I will be participating in the Big Book Summer Challenge over at Book by Book for the first time.  This is her tenth year at this and I am glad I found Sue!  We not only have reading in common but CFS/ME too.  Before I show you a few of the big books I have coming up this summer I wanted to show you the mail day that made me cry last week.

One of my high school ASL students, Kira, just finished up her first year at college.  She was involved as an officer in PAH club and I had her for three years as a student.  Her mom was the room mom and did so much for my classroom (she was an ex Math teacher) and we have kept in touch.  Kira made me this "I love you" diamond painting and wrote me two cards and sweet stuff on the back too.  I miss teaching so much and immediately moved stuff and gave it a prominent place on the mantel.

Now on to books.  I got this book cart from Target and Kathy put it together for me.  This color was not my first choice, but it was 50% off!  I also had over 15 dollars worth of Target bucks so this was less than 5 bucks.  Winning!  I wasted no time in filling the cart.  

My sweet granddaughter fell asleep while I was rocking her the other morning.  She is the light of my life.  I save all my energy for this girl--it may not be much energy, but she gets it!

And here are some of the more than 400 page books I will be reading this summer!  I am sure there are more...I plan to start "House of Sky and Breath" tonight.  I came back to edit this post after reading someone else's...she wrote what the books were about or why she wanted to read them and I realized that would be nice to add here.  

I am participating in the Off Your Shelf Reading Challenge on Discord and my partner, Amanda Reading & Writing Life, picked fifteen books for me to add to a spin and start reading (from the TBR I provided her) and "A Column of Fire" was the first pick.  I read book one and two over a decade ago.  Loved them but they are epic and after reading the first two books I took a long break.  I read the prequel the end of 2020 and now and ready for the conclusion.  

I will be reading "Beneath a Scarlet Sky" the end of June and into July for the Up to No Good Bookclub from Booktube.  This is a fun group I stumbled onto who are my people!  We are reading "Young Mungo" this month and then onto that one.  

Booktube (which I only found this past year) has introduced me to the remaining authors and books. So I want to get to them this summer too.  Nevermoor is on the June TBR as is North and South.  The others will find their way in in July or August.

I am also reading "Katherine of Aragon" in May/June (I am three chapters in since the discussion is the end of June) and I am pretty sure it is over 400 pages too.  

Here is my Pile of Possibilities for June...the books under "Upgrade" are all for book groups or my spin from the Off Your Shelf Reading Challenge.  The books above that I am hoping to get to.  I also have some books on my Nook from way back when that fit the June Austen read so hope to read or DNF some of those.  I also have "The Widow" for AJ Dunn's read from the library on audio.  

If you came here for sewing I will write another post here in a few!  If you are a reader or want to join in (and maybe when a prize) head over to Sue's blog and check out the Big Book Summer Challenge and leave me a comment here so I can follow you!  You only need to read one big book to participate !  Happy reading!
 

Ruby Jubilee and Lori Holt Block Progress

Finished up Ruby Jubilee part three I think it was.  Barb's is looking great in green.

Becky's is looking great in purple too!

The UFO # for this month brought up my Lori Holt blocks...I finally came up with a plan to make these blocks to put between those.  I will be making two quilt tops, but no rush.  Hoping to get these blocks made this month.  I started out by using four patches and cut up squares that were already waiting for a use.  If I am not happy with them I may switch them all up for the more modern fabrics.  Not sure yet.

These are all the books I read in April.  I do listen to some or go back and forth or do both at the same time.  Lots of reading happening since I spend a lot of time in bed or with my feet up.  Thankful I can read and it does not seem to tire me the way almost everything else does!

 

Grassy Creek Take Two!

Here is the kit Barb sent me and the other two patterns I already had...I am likely nuts but I am thinking I want to make about eight birthday/party table runners for Christmas gifts.  I may still wind up combining these patterns into what I have in mind, but I like a pattern so may just pick one!

Barb sent me all the parts for her Grassy Creek quilt since she decided she did not want to finish it.  She had one block made and the colors are turned around.  This turned out to be a happy accident...

The above is the correct color placement (she also oopsed on the dark blue in the center which was supposed to be lime green) but after some studying I decided I liked it better flipped around so that is what I did.

I sewed up all the centers...

Then sewed them into the blocks...though not all are pictured here.

 Now I am working on the light blue string parts.  I am a little more than half way done with that.  I cleaned out all my strings and have had to raid my blue strips too since I used this same color for mine and they are quite depleted!

I am liking the bright and happy spring colors...now if spring would arrive.  Raining out today but the sun was shining yesterday.  Good things are coming!

Chickie Art, Working on a Border and Quilty Gifts!

Hazel loves to do art so she painted a paper plate and got almost no paint anywhere else!  We are thinking she might be a leftie (or ambidextrous) as she seems to go back and forth some but has a preference for her left hand.  This runs in our family a bit--my great grandfather Clarence Rushman was able to write with both hands and my mom's generation does many things with their non dominant hands.  My youngest son Jay is also primarily left handed but he could not decide until he was about five with the help of OT at school since neither was more dominant for him. Here she is with her chickie (Gramala, or LaLa as she calls me helped put the stuff on in the right places since the paint was still wet).

I have been sick since about Feb. 20th.  Hazel brought me a cold (she goes to daycare three days a week now and is a walking petri dish) and it almost went away before I caught her new cold.  This one has lingered and so I went to urgent care Tuesday night and I have sinusitis so they gave me antibiotics and steroids.  I am sleeping in the recliner since the drainage wakes me up coughing all night long.  Looking forward to getting back to my usual sick self.  Speaking of which, I found out I medically passed the hoops for getting disability.  My claim is on the last step where they determine if I get back pay and how much I get per month if my income didn't exceed the limits while waiting (believe me, it didn't).  So relief is coming which is good since we have about run through savings in the past two years with me not working.  We decided to not move this year too since there was just nothing in the area we want that allows four pets.  We did not know for sure about disability at the time we had to give our notice and we did not want to increase our rent budget so...our current plan is to save money each month (one DA starts) so we can hopefully have a down payment and buy a house in the area we want near my daughter.   Then we can settle.  So crossing fingers that will work out or we are likely to struggle to find a place next year too--though we would have more of a budget at that point.

I have not done much sewing (and even my reading has slowed some) since I am so ugh!  This morning I am feeling pretty decent no doubt due to the steroids so may sew today!).  I made and attached the inner border on Packer Bliss and made and sliced up and joined into pairs the outer border.  I would love to get that completed and on today if I can.  

Barb (my sewing bestie) sent ma a FABULOUS box of sewing goodies!  I have not taken pictures yet, but it made my day yesterday.  She sent some red scraps in case I could use them for Ruby Jubilee, a few Eye Spy squares, An entire tablerunner kit and pattern of the type I want to make several of for Christmas gifts this year (I have two other patterns and may try to combine elements of them to use as one uses applique and one uses foundation piecing to do the bows).  She also sent her Grassy Creek parts that she had done up to the reveal.  She decided she did not care for it and did not want to finish it.  I love the colors and will be working on that soon!  She did not want to make the string pieced sashing so that was a huge factor for her.  I could buy the right kind of fabric to avoid doing that or change up the layout, but likely will just make a pieced one since I have plenty of strings.  She also sent me two pair of new hospital slipper socks--I love them and she hates them, lol.  There was also a Quiltmaker magazine which I never got and a few patterns.  Will share pics soon!
 

Sewing, Reading and Life Update

My UFO for March was my Packer Bliss (Quiltville's Winter Blues).  I grew it row by row slowly!

                                                  

I was planning to make this originally in green and then decided I would do a pair so I could do them with green and yellow.  The pieces are VERY SMALL and in the course of making one I decided I really did not want to make the pair--though the green sixteen patches are done and the sashings and cornerstones are cut. I thought maybe I could use those sixteen patches in the border, but them realized what I LOVED about the quilt was the braided border of Bonnie's pattern so I will eventually continue along and make that.

These are the 27 books I read in March.  Glad to have "War and Peace" off my TBR and enjoyed exploring many middle grades for middle grade March!

We got Hazel a little baby doll to celebrate being 18 months old!  She loves it.  She signs and talks really well now and can say her own name as well as all of ours.  She is the light of our lives!

The Rainbow Scrap Challenge color is pink this month so I whipped my blocks up yesterday for that.  Here is Log Cabin Love.

And here is Butterfly Bush. I accidently made two sets of four again instead of two sets of two as I did in yellow.  Oops!
                                         

My cousin's husband had a serious accident the end of March. He fell off a forklift and landed on his head.  He is forty something and is a great husband and father.  He has a long recovery after a seven hour surgery and hopefully will walk again one day.  He is hard working physical guy and I am praying for his full recovery.  Life turns on a dime.  

In other news, we gave our sixty day notice here and plan to move to Waukesha before summer.  We are going to look at a place today.  Smaller than here (oy!) and not as nice but only five ish minutes from Hazel and her parents which is our goal.  We hope to be able to save money up and buy again in a year or two in that area.  Still waiting for my DA hearing results--and much depends on that.  

                                                                                                

Ruby, Emerald and Amethyst Jubilee!

I managed to get my Ruby Jubilee part two clue done in the past week or two.  Moth in the Window above and Grandpa's Star below.

Spinning Stars.

Jack in the Box.

All the part two parts.

Stacked up clue one and clue two.

Bonus hst's.

Becky joined late and whipped up clue one followed rapidly by clue two. Love her purples!  

Even Barb beat me on completion (which she is still shocked about) with her Emerald green version.  

Not Quite Spring Here but some Sunshine Yellow Sewing Going On!

Kathy's cat Singer used to stay out of my quilting studio since she does not care for my kitty Stash....but since we moved they are both ranging the whole house for the most part instead of keeping to their specific areas (that they imposed).  So she is loving laying in my scraps.

I am trying to do a Christmas Through the Year project each month, but did nothing in February so I made five pillowcases (they are folded) though four of them are going for birthday gifts--I am counting it.

I love the way I organized the log cabin blocks so that I can just go to the next piece without thinking too hard.  I still managed to get a few sewn on incorrectly this time.  My brain fog really makes everything seem more difficult.  I just need to remember that each new piece goes over two seams and they it all works out.

These above are Log Cabin Love from Quiltmaker--Bonnie Hunter's addicted to scraps article, and these below from the same but are called Butterfly Bush.  They will go into two doll quilts.  One for my adopted Granddaughter Lily and one to keep at my house.  I decided to give the second H is for Happy doll quilt (which I had wanted to keep at my house) to my best friend's granddaughter Harper who just became a big sister to Briggs.  He will be getting a Chunky Churn Dash baby quilt.

This month's UFO pull was number 3 which is my Packer Bliss.  I had all the parts sewn (but still need to cut sashing and cornerstones) to make a quilt in green but decided I should make all the parts in yellow and make two Packer Bliss quilts (pattern is Bonnie Hunter's Winter Bliss).  So goal is to get one done for the UFO and then down the line get the other one done.  Finally made a dent in the yellow scraps!

 My disability hearing is on Monday.  It has been close to two years since I applied and more than two years before that since I got sick.  Five years ago this month I hiked the Grand Canyon and was in such good health.  A year later reactivated Epstein Barr Virus which led to all of this.  My fatigue is barely livable.  People have this worse than me, but I am not sure how they go on.  It is the biggest challenge of my challenging life.  So hoping I get disability since I am really unable to work.  I can sew for a few hours at a time again and I can read a lot because I am laying down and/or listening at the same time I read or only listening.  I just finished OT and am still in PT where they are trying to get me stronger, but it is slow going because more activity means more sleep and more pain (lactic acid in legs from two minutes on my sitting elliptical type thing).  It is crazy!

Currently reading "War and Peace" and "Jefferson's Sons."