100 Degrees and Some Sunday Productivity

It was a hot one out there today, so I got out right after breakfast and gave Bender and Rico hose baths. I think they actually found it refreshing and they both smell so good.

It was so hot that we didn’t get a walk until the sun had gone down. It was about 82 degrees and there was a nice breeze. So it was a good walk. It felt odd to be walking in the dark again!

Before I hit the streets with my boys I had a little productivity in my sewing room. I actually dig in and pieced the backing for my ice storm quilt. I had purchased a piece of Brandon Mablys Octopus fabric a number of months ago with this quilt in mind. And I love it.

The quilt is of a size that all I had to do was cut two lengths of the octopus fabric, sew them together, and then press.

Good grief! I just LOVE that fabric!!!

I decided that the fabric is busy enough that I didn’t have to match the pattern when cut the two pieces for the backing. This picture of the backing hanging on my ironing board shows the seam, and I think it’s hard to find. I doubt anyone will even notice.

So that’s three quilts with completed backings, all ready for my long arm quilter.

I also dug in and sewed a new bucket hat that I cut out last night. A friend of mine who has a huge head wanted one, so I cut out the larger one last night and finished it up tonight.

The fabric on the outside of the hat is Philip Jacobs’ Zany in purple. It’s one of my all time favorite fabrics. It’s really fun!

Bender was, once again, very helpful.

A little eye candy…

Other things from our hot weekend…

Today’s strawberry crop. They are so good! The sun is helping to make them nice and sweet.

I also took advantage of all that sun out there and made a pitcher of sun tea with some fresh peppermint from a pot on my patio.

I had a big glass of it when I got back from our walk. It was really good. That peppermint is so nice and fresh tasting when it’s hot.

Yesterday was hot too. Rico spent a notable amount of time cooling off in the water tank.

After our herding lesson I took the boys to the park with the creek that we go to regularly. It was hot, but they got a lot of nice water time to stay cool.

I used one my my early bucket hats to keep the sun off my head. It worked really well and I was happy to see that the wind didn’t take it off my head. Because of the shape of the brim, the wind just pushed it down, rather than up, keeping the hat nicely in place.

There are tons of pods flying off the Douglas fir trees right now. My patio is covered and they’re getting tracked into the house by the hundreds!

I’ve got some reader Frankenbags to share with you tonight… This first one was made by Rose Lochrie. I love her bright and cheerful fabrics! She said it was her first try at a zipper and she ran into some issues, but kept going and had good success! She said she also used a presser foot she’s never used before. I love that!

This next bag was made by Patsy Jackson. Here’s what she said about this bag: “My first bag complete. Thanks for the inspiration. I’ve already started laying out the second one. Its a good chance for me clean out scraps and practice my quilting skills. (Most my quilts are done in the ditch if throw size or smaller. Bigger ones get sent out). So this has been good on many fronts.” I just love this! It makes me happy when people try new things and try new ways of doing things! And I love this bag! Reminds me of well loved and worn jeans.

These next bags were sent in by Ruth Bass who facilitated a class with her local quilt guild on making Frankenbags. These were made by guild members. I love that the makers definitely made these bags their own. And that’s really what a Frankenbag is all about.

This next bag was made my Maddie Pepe. This bag just screams summer to me! This is the ninth Frankenbag Maddie has made but the first one where she’s added a zipper placket. Maddie included a padded cell phone pocket and some stiffener at the bottom. And look at the little pieces of selvedge that shows Kaffe Fassett Collective. What a fun addition!

The last bag tonight was made by Barbara Brown Unger. I love her gray and white treatment on this bag, and the pops of color are soo good! This makes me think I need to make a gray KFC version now!

Thanks to everyone who sent photos!