Posted on by agilejack

Frog Weather and Getting Stuff Done

I slept in until 10 am today. It felt really good. I needed it. And then I had pancakes for breakfast. It was a good way to start my day.

After breakfast, which finished a little later than breakfast should, I loaded the dogs in the car so they could have the illusion of an outing, and headed to my local quilt store to pick up three yards of fabric.

I already had a yard of this fabric for the sashing on the quilt I’ll make when my friend visits next month. But I decided to get enough to do all the sashing from the same bolt. I have had significant dye lot differences before and wanted to avoid that.

They had some new Australian Aboriginal fabrics but I didn’t buy any. I showed great self control. I figure my friend and I will go out there for some shopping while she’s here and I’ll go wild then.

When I got back from the fabric store I got myself and the dogs ready to go for a nice long walk. It wasn’t raining but it was still damp. Pretty typical for Portland this time of year. But the temperature was just a little over 60 degrees. It’s so odd when just a few days ago we were up to our butts in ice!

This is frog weather in Portland. They love warm and wet weather and on our walk they were singing their hearts out. You’ll want to turn the sound up for this video.

We saw a lot of fallen trees around the neighborhood. This one was so big!

It was actually up past my waist! It fell across the street and smashed a house. The woman who lives in the house was home at the time but wasn’t hurt. You can see the downed power lines to the left of that section of tree. The lines were on the ground all along that street. I assume the power company will come back later and clean that all up.

My boys were so happy to get out for a walk after being cooped up all day yesterday.

Look at those smiles! We actually walked just a little over three miles!

It’s so nice to have my foot feeling so good that I can walk that far. But I need to work on my average pace. I was down around 18 minutes per mile before my foot acted up. I’d like to get back to that in the next few months. It doesn’t help that I’m stopping and talking to people about fallen trees! That might be a big part of that slower pace!

When we got home I decided to spend some time in my sewing room before dinner. I counted my finished blocks, did some calculations and figured out how many more blocks I need to make to have 80 blocks for my blue quilt. Of course, I needed 48 more blocks. Then I dug in and cut all the centers I need, followed by the sashing strips and the sharks tooth triangles.

Heads up: I will be writing up a tutorial for these blocks once I have them all done. So keep an eye out for that.

Then it was time for dinner. I treated myself to some of my home made chili verde. It was very yummy and comforting.

After dinner I sat down at my machine and chain pieced all the sashing strips to those 48 center pieces. Followed by a good pressing.

That’s all 48 of them all stacked up.

I thought I might be done for the night. That was a lot of accomplishment for today. But I decided to put the corner triangles on ten of these pieces so I could even up the blocks on my design wall.

I need one more row for the width and four more rows for the height.

I have to say, that morning glory fabric is really something! Just little bright spots of sparkle.

Like sparking little fire works in a field of blue. I love them.

Here’s two fabrics that haven’t appeared in the blocks until tonight. The two in the center of this photo.

So, with the ten blocks I finished after dinner, I only have 38 to go. They will be really fast to finish because all I have to do is add the triangles and square them up. I wonder if I can get them done tomorrow. I really should spend a little time on my house tomorrow. But I wouldn’t be surprised if I actually do finish up the blocks for this quilt. If I do, this will be a fast damned finish!

I’m playing pickleball tomorrow afternoon. Since pickleball was canceled this morning because of rain, it will be good to get out and move around. First, I’m helping with teaching some kids how to play, then I’ll play with the club. I’m also playing Monday night.

My boys will be happy that the weather tomorrow will allow a nice walk. I hope to get up early enough to get us all out before pickleball.

42 Replies to “Frog Weather and Getting Stuff Done”

  1. I turned the sound up to make sure that I could hear the frogs singing.LOL! My cat went crazy trying to figure out what the sound was and where it was coming from.

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  2. Loving the quilt Anne! I was not a fan of the Shark’s tooth until I saw your quilt coming together. It is beautiful!B

    I cooked a batch of your Chilli Verde…and it was great! Alas, getting some of the ingredients in Germany is going to be difficult (I bought and used the batch of ingredients I’d purchased when visiting my sister in Dallas last year) but I’m back to the UK next month, and there tends to be a more international range of foods in the supermarkets…so I hope I can restock.

    Have a good Sunday.

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    2. The sharks tooth on it’s own is ok, but all those waves can do amazing things in a quilt. I think it’s essential here… really adds interest and movement to the quilt.

      Nothing makes me happier than knowing I have several containers of chili verde in my freezer!

      Anne

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  3. Aaahhh getting the boys out for walks is great. I loved the frog video. So cool to hear them! Again your quilt is going fast. You really get a lot accomplished every day!!! Enjoy those walks when you can. With good thoughts for continued walking weather. Ice, no bueno!

    PJ Kytlica 805-660-4400

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    1. I can really go in fits and starts with periods of sort of crazy productivity. then I can go days or weeks without much desire to get into my sewing room. So it’s nice to be able to take advantage of those moments And really get a lot done,

      Anne

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  5. I was surprised to find that my Apple Watch is not just measuring my pace but also if I favor on foot and the length of my pace and if I rock from side to side when I walk. You can see all this data in the fitness app on your phone. It’s pretty interesting. I’m loving this blue quilt. It’s terrific

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  6. This will be a beautiful quilt. I look forward to these directions as I loved the last one, but would like a larger block. I’ve fallen hard for these Aboriginal fabrics and recently bought a small kit called Whirlaway. Unfortunately the quilt store was out of one of the fabrics and substituted a solid black without notifying me. I was disappointed but will get something on my own and proceed. Loving all your posts! Have a great week.

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    1. You could make the block any size you want. you’ll just want to figure out how big to make your sashing strips and triangles. it’s pretty easy to figure out. Plus, once you think you have it figured out, make a block out of fabric you don’t care about to see if it works.

      Anne

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  7. Thanks for the frogs. In a state with snow cover it was a great treat. I have no doubt you’ll whip through this quilt. It does seem really quick and easy. Definitely on my to do list.

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  8. Hi Anne, What brand of watch do you have? Looks like it gives you great feedback for your efforts. I love the new quilt you’re working on, as well as the scrappy one before. Thanks,Ann

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    1. It’s an Apple Watch. I got it with points on my credit card. I use it all the time… mostly for a timer, to track walks, plus I’ve always worn a watch so it’s been great.

      Anne

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  9. Oh how sweet, those Frogs singing their little hearts out! Thanks for the video – made my day! Such a big beautiful tree – makes me sad it fell. Beautiful wood – I hope someone can make something beautiful out of it. The quilt is looking amazing 😊. I am impressed with your self control waiting on the Aboriginal fabric! Enjoy pickle ball. 🥰 hi Rico and Bender♥️

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  13. Anne those frogs are amazing. We don’t experience anything like that here in Calgary. I think they all hibernate during the winter🤷‍♀️! And of course that quilt is going to be GORGEOUS!

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  16. I think that might be my favorite quilt so far but then I have a thing for anything blue!!! Great job….what is your fabric store….if I am ever in the Portland area, I would like to visit it!!

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    1. Thanks! blue is not my favorite color but I’m really liking this one.

      My favorite local quilting store is Pioneer Quilts in Milwaukie, Oregon. it’s a suburb of Portland and easy to get to. They ave a good selection of Kaffe fabrics as well as Aboriginals.

      Anne

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      1. I have looked everywhere for the Blk Utopia fabric.

        It is out of stock everywhere.

        M&S only sells wholesale. Any idea where to get?

        thanks, Pat

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  18. I do believe this quilt will be one of my favorites I have seen you do! I can’t wait to see it finished and see the tutorial! Love your posts and look forward to seeing your quilts and adventures!

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  19. I’m so glad to hear that there will be a tutorial. I actually woke up in the middle of the night a couple of nights ago and thought about your new project. I read the email again about how you cut the shark tooth fabric and searched for the size of the starting square. I have a fat quarter of the shark tooth in orange and want to try it out!

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    1. I really want to see this done in different color combos! there are some fun combos of sharks tooth. My tutorial will have clear instructions on cutting the triangles so the swirly works!

      Anne

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