July 2024 – agilejack

We’ve been having really hot weather for about three weeks now. We had a few days of 100 or a little over and then a couple weeks of temps up in the 90s. I woke up this morning to the sound of thunder rolling across the skies and Rico very worried about all the noise. We got enough rain to wet my patio and that as about it.

What we also got was a break to this hot weather. Today was lovely. And the next ten days features temps in the mid 70s to low 80s. It will be so nice to be able to be outside a little more. My boys will be happy to get their afternoon walks back.

I’ve been busy playing pickleball the last week. I played Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, twice on Saturday and Sunday. I’ve entered women’s doubles with my friend who just moved here in two tournaments coming up in the next couple weeks. I’ve also entered one tournament in mixed doubles with my coach. We’re working hard to make sure we’re ready to play well. It will be interesting to see what the tournament life is all about.

I haven’t done much sewing the last week but I did hit my sewing room Friday evening and sorted through scraps and got ten little wallets ready to sew up.

Then tonight I got them all sewn, turned, pressed, folded and sewn closed.

I just love seeing those pretty and bright linings. the linings really do make these!

After out evening walk I got all the snaps installed.

These fabrics are all so pretty together.

I think I’ll probably keep this one for myself. I just love these colors.

Yesterday I played pickleball in the morning for two hours. Came home and grabbed the dogs and headed down to Molalla for Rico’s sheep herding lesson. Then I met my coach at 6:00 and drilled pickleball for nearly three hours! I was completely worn out.

I played pickleball this morning and then got a needed haircut. I went a little shorter this time. It’s good cut, lets my curls shine, and gets my hair off the back of my neck for the summer.

On the way home I stopped at a farmers market and found Boisenberries!

They are my absolute favorite berry. Put one in your mouth and press it to the roof of your mouth with your tongue and the flavor just explodes! t’s been quite a few years since I’ve had them. I cherished every single one of them!

I’m also very happy that my tomatoes are ripening! I’ve been watching these little sun golds quite intently. They are soooo flavorful and I’m really looking forward to some tasty maters in my salads.

With all the heat we’ve had Bender’s skill for finding the coolest place to sleep has come in handy!

That’s the spot where I find him every time I come home.

Another work week. I’m looking forward to working in the mornings with my sliding glass door open so I can hear the birds singing!

I haven’t posted here since June 24! That might be the longest dry spell in many years.

Why? It’s been damned hot. I’ve been playing a ridiculous amount of pickleball. I’m doing all I can to take advantage of the short summer months here in the Pacific Northwest.

I haven’t been doing much sewing since my last post. I have made a few more of the scrappy blocks with the indigo corners. I think I’m up to 36 total. No idea how big this quilt will be.

I still have to trim most of those blocks, Since my injured wrist is feeling so much better I can start trimming them any day now. I’ll just chunk away on this. No hurry to get it done.

In the mean time, I just loved these two blocks.

I also picked up a little project a couple of weeks ago. I kept seeing an ad on Facebook and Instagram for a little wallet that looked really easy to make. They were selling a template to make the wallet for almost $20. I’m pretty cheap and I thought I could probably figure it out after a few tries. Well, I started digging around in YouTube and found this tutorial.

It’s the exact same thing as the template that was too pricey! So I took some notes and made my own template using a priority mail envelope.

Then I pulled out my interfacing, dug into my scraps and got busy.

I cut and sewed a few at a time.

I whipped up a handful of these cute little things in no time.

They are so quick and easy to make. I love having things like this on hand for little gifts when people visit or when I go to lunch with friends. Plus, I have a million uses for little things like this. I have one that I use for my iPhone headphones. I’m going to use one for bandaids in my pickleball bag.

They have the flap with a snap and two compartments inside.

Here’s a few images with some detail.

I gave almost all of these away pretty quickly. I’ll probably make a few more to have on hand.

I keep waiting for my quilting inspiration to come back. It’s not coming back quickly. I’m sure it will be back in full force when the rain starts in the fall. In the mean time I’ll do some small projects and think about what I’ll make when the mood hits.

I was talking to my friend who just moved here the other night. She was saying she needed something for the walls of her sewing room. I shared with her a pattern I’ve had for years that I’ve been wanting to make.

We tossed around the idea of making that at the same time. I’ve seen a few done in all Kaffe Fassett Collective fabrics that are really spectacular and colorful. That might have to be a winter project. My friend has a Singer Featherweight as I do. It would be fun to make them both on those little work horses.

I had my biggest strawberry harvest this evening… just when I was considering tearing out my strawberry plants because they just don’t produce much. I was thinking of putting in some raspberries instead. Maybe the the strawberries knew what I was thinking and kicked it in gear.

You may not know this but I’m a sucker for an estate sale. I was on my way home from pickleball a week ago when I saw a sign in my neighborhood for one. So I stopped by. And by did I score! I got a brand new Olfa cutting mat and a pristine Black and Decker iron for a total of $8!!!

I’ve been meaning to buy a new Olfa mat. I really hate the Fiskars mat I’m using now. It’s really slick and my fabrics slides all over the place on it. It may be on its way out and this one will find a nice home on my cutting table.

And I love a very basic iron. I had an old Sunbeam my mom bought me when I was in college that petered out a few years ago. I bought a new basic Sunbeam but it doesn’t get as hot as my old one. I haven’t plugged this Black and Decker in yet but I’m hopeful that it will be nice and hot.

My friend and I decided that we are going to play women’s doubles in a couple pickleball tournaments in July and August. And my coach asked me if I wanted to play mixed doubles in one of those tournaments. It will be interesting to dive into the tournament world and see if I like it.

I hope everyone is able to stay cool in this terribly hot summer. We’ve had several days over 100 and plenty up in the 90s. We have another week of hot weather and then it should cool down a bit. The good thing is that is cools down nicely at night. I’m so glad I have central air conditioning.

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