agilejack

The Sunday when the clocks go back in the fall is the worst day of the year for me. It signals a long, dark, dreary winter. I know that in a few short weeks I’ll be sitting at work while I watch it get dark outside. I hate it. I love the light in the evenings and get resentful when it’s taken away from me.

Oregon has voted to keep Daylight Saving Time all year long. A lot of states have voted the same way. We’ve been waiting for years for Congress to approve the change. I have no idea while we’ve all had to wait so long. I heard on the radio yesterday that they are considering leaving it on DST all year long… for the entire nation. I VOTE YES!!!

Today has seemed like a crazy long day. Even my dogs found it exhausting. They were out cold at 7 pm!!!

I got up early this morning to play pickleball and was on the court at 9 am. At first it was just me and one older gentleman so we set up a net and started some practice. Within about 20 minutes there were four of us. And by the time we finished our third game we had eight people so it was game on with two courts hopping. The weather was perfect. The courts started out a little damp, but the skies were dry and the sun even came out around 11:30. I wore long athletic pants and a short sleeve T-shirt and it was perfect.

I took my boys with me so when I finished playing I threw the frisbee for them in the park. Of course, they totally enjoyed themselves.

Once we got home I did a little housework since I have a very special visitor coming tomorrow evening… EARNEST!!! I’m really looking forward to having him around for a few days.

It poured this afternoon and rained through the evening. Now that it’s getting close to 11 pm I can hear the rain outside. It’s really raining hard right now… so hard that Rico is a little concerned about it. It’s been a damned wet day and will be a damned wet week.

After dinner I decided to hit my sewing room for a little mindless creativity.

Several weeks ago I ordered some ground walnut shells online because I thought, for some reason, that I needed to make some pin cushions.

Why did I buy two packages? Because that’s just the way I roll! I don’t do anything half way!

So I thought I’d use up a few more Australian Aboriginal fabric scraps and whip up a wonky log cabin block for the pin cushion. I started with pulling out the scraps that were mostly strips of different widths.

I measured a pin cushion a friend made for me a few years ago and decided that 4.5 inches would be a good size. So I cut a piece of fusible batting to 4.5 inches square and fused it to a scrap piece of batik from my scrap bin. I wanted this thickness and the batik so that the pins would have a tendency to stay in place when pushed into the finished cushion.

Then I started with a 1.5 inch square of fabric and built out from there.

Here’s a tutorial I did for a wonky log cabin block that will give you a view of how I made this little block.

This one is on a muslin foundation but it works the same way with the batting.

Here’s the first few pieces. I did keep the iron close to me so I could press every few rows without getting up.

I kept adding strips until all the edges of the batting and batik were covered.

Next I squared it up to 4.5 inches.

Next, I cut a piece of a scrap to 4.5 inches square and fused a piece of non-woven interfacing to the back.

Then I sewed around all four edges with the right sides together and left a small opening.

I’m pretty sure that turning this thing right side out was the most difficult part of the entire project!

Once I had that task done I pushed out the corners carefully, pressed it and then filled it with the crushed walnut shells using a kitchen funnel. It went In really easily.

Then I sewed the opening closed by hand and it was done!

Look! It holds pins!

The fusible interfacing on the back makes it a little more substantial and stable.

I’ll probably make more of these even though I have no idea what I’ll do with them. I might need two for holiday gifts and I’ll keep one for myself.

Have a short work week coming up since Friday is Veterans Day. I like a short work week!

I was supposed to play pickleball at 8 am today before Rico’s sheep herding lesson, but it was raining so that was off the table. It was pretty nice of the way to Rico’s lesson at 10:30, but by the time we reached the farm it was POURING! I didn’t feel enthusiastic about getting out in that field in a downpour. But by the time Rico and I made it down to the big field it had slowed to a drizzle and we even saw some blue sky during his lesson. We really lucked out.

At one point in the lesson I was talking to my teacher and giving Rico a bit of a rest break. And all of the sudden he did this…

He’s so funny. He is very intimidated by my teacher. She’s nothing but kind to him, but she’s firm and makes quite an impression! He needed some protection.

When we were done I headed home and watched way too much of a pickleball tournament on a live stream from Dallas. I did manage to wash my sheets and get my bed made. I had to put a blanket on the bed. It’s just that time of year.

After a dinner of some of the chili I made a couple weeks ago, I hit my sewing room to play with the Australian Aboriginal fabric scraps that have been calling my name. I thought I’d just make another frankenbag so I sorted the scraps and found eight pieces that I could cut to 6.5 x 6.5 inches. With my squares ready I started making them into disappearing four patch blocks.

I ended up with two blocks that are nearly the same.

I squared these up to 11 inches each and then started adding strips to bring them up to about 17.5 x 17.5. And here’s what I ended up with.

Before I start quilting them I’ll decide which way to orient the blocks for the bag. It’s quite possible this will be the design.

I’ve been dealing with a plantar fasciitis on my left foot that has been limiting my walking. It can be pretty painful. But it’s been feeling really good the last few days so we got out for a longer 1.6 mile walk yesterday afternoon. Some of our fall colors have started to fade, but the maples are really something right now.

Two boys who are very happy to be out walking!

Look at all that color!

I love this row of bushes. The colors were so gorgeous.

Look at this in close up!

I saw this one oak tree with the most enormous leaves!

This next photo is taken looking into a cul-de-sac. The property directly behind the two houses at the end is my property.

The red color in the center left of the photo is one of my maples and one of my burning bushes. The tall, colorful trees in the center of the photo are the sweet gum trees that provide lovely shade to my yard in the summer. It’s fun to see my fall color from a different angle.

I keep trying to decide what quilt I’m going to make next. I have so many that I have in mind… even have fabric bundles up to make a few. Then a new idea pops into my mind and I feel myself pulled in that direction.

I bought this pattern the other day. My friend who was here in September has the special ruler that is needed. I think I might make this next.

I’m thinking I’ll do it out of sort of earthy jewel toned Kaffe Fassett Collective fabrics. Maybe something similar to this fabric combo in the Dark Nine Patch from Kaffe’s Quilts In America book.

I’m still having fun playing with AI generated images. Look at this crazy thing I ended up with last night!

I think I asked it to give me a border collie riding an ostrich riding an elephant. This is so crazy!

I’m planning on playing pickleball tomorrow morning before the rain sets in. Then I need to do a little house work.

Ernie will be coming to visit on Monday. He’ll spend six days with me. I got the bad news a few days ago that Ernies co-dog Bogart had died. I still haven’t had a chance to talk to his owner so I don’t know what happened. I hope some canine company will be good for Ernie.

I was supposed to play pickleball this afternoon/evening. It rained all day and my hopes that it would clear up in time for a rousing few games of pickleball were dashed pretty early in the day. The rain continued and pickleball was canceled. I really hate it when that happens.

It looks like the rainy season has arrived here in Portland.

It’s inevitable, but it still makes me sad.

I have a lesson with my coach on Friday afternoon and it looks like the weather will cooperate for that one.

Today is Rico’s 7th birthday! I just can’t believe he’s seven! He’s my baby boy.

I made him a birthday cake during my lunch break today!

He was not yet impressed at this stage.

To celebrate his birthday I asked an artificial intelligence image to make a picture of a border collie riding a sheep to a birthday party. This confusing but glorious image is what resulted.

With all my unexpected free time this evening I decided to hit my sewing room and finish up the last three corner triangles for my Libby quilt. If you remember, this has been in an incomplete state ever since my friend was here in September.

The good news is that I pinned a small piece of each piece of fabric that was needed to complete a triangle.

That made it all so much easier! I’m really glad I thought of this when I pinned these triangles up on my design wall.

Each piece needed to complete the triangles was exactly the same size so it was easy to get everything cut.

I had them sewn and pressed in no time.

More sewing and pressing…

it didn’t take very long to have these pieces done.

So now I have to mark the corner lines on each of these sections, sew a stabilizing line of stitching, then cut along the marked line. I’ll see how fresh feel tomorrow after work. I definitely want to have my wits about me when I strike out on these final, yet crucial, steps.

I’ve been thinking about what project to make next. I have it narrowed down to a couple. Not sure what direction I’ll end up going. There are so many things I want to make!

I got up early this morning to play pickleball at 8:30. It was just above freezing when we started but the sun was out and it was a glorious two hours. I played the first two games with winter gloves on. I had taken a light down jacket with me but was comfortable playing in just a turtleneck and a fleece.

This was the first day I played after officially raising my skill rating from 3.5 to 3.75 and joining in with the higher level open play. I play with a lot of the same people regularly. But it was kind of a big deal to officially declare that I was worthy.

I wasn’t nervous about it because I felt pretty confident that I could hold my own with that group. And I had a great day! Every game I played was close. Not one game was a blow out. And I think my team mates and I won half of the games I played. So that’s a darned good showing!

One guy who is a pretty decent player said that I had improved A LOT since we had last played together! He said I had a wicked serve! That was pretty nice to hear.

I’ll meet my pickleball coach at 8 am tomorrow for a lesson and then we’ll play with a group in Oregon City, OR. I think it’s supposed to be cold tomorrow too.

After pickleball this morning I tossed the ball for my dogs in the park until they almost stepped on their tongues, then we headed off to visit my long arm quilter to pick up the quarter log cabin quilt for my brother and his wife. I also grabbed the three quilts my friend left there when she was here last month.

I’m really happy with how my quarter log cabin quilt turned out! I just love how a quilt top is transformed when it’s quilted and bound. And this one is a real beauty! And it only took three years from start to finish!

This is a queen size quilt and measures 96×96. I made a pretty substantial border to bring it up to the size I wanted.

This is the second quilt where I’ve used one of the Kaffe Fassett Collective wide backings and I’m a huge fan. The prints are large and vibrant, and the feel is so soft and luxurious.

Isn’t that incredible!!! And the best part of it is that I don’t have to piece a backing! Have I mentioned that I don’t like to make backings?

The quilting pattern is large spirals. I love all these circles with all the angles and strips.

Here’s a really contrasty photo to show the quilting really well.

This photo shows the big old border and setting triangles really well.

I’m so glad I went with that lotus leaf in wine! It’s so gorgeous and one of my favorite Kaffe designs.

Here’s a quick look at my friend’s quilts that I picked up today.

First off is this Australian Aboriginal fabric sixteen patch quilt that we made when my friend was here in March. I love this one!

It’s almost impossible to see the quilting on this one.

The backing is a wide back in Brandon Mably’s Onion Rings. I love it with this quilt top! The quilting pattern is called Vidalia. You can sort of see that it looks like onions.

This little quilt is bright and fun and each block is a unique piece of fabric.

This photo shows the quilting pattern really well.

And now this one… I just love it!!! This is the one my friend and I made when she was here in September.

The quilting pattern on this one is Called Malachite and is sort of a wobbly spiral. I used the same design on the Aboriginal fabric quilt I made for my brother a couple years ago. It’s really perfect!

It doesn’t show up much. It’s very subtle, but I love it and I love this quilt!!!

You can’t see the quilting on the backing at all.

I had to get gas this afternoon so I decided to make a stop at Costco while I was out. It was nuts there! When I got home I made a nice hot dinner.

After dinner I headed back to my sewing room to start adhering little pieces of fabric to my lamp shade. I first cut up a cardboard box and put it on my cutting table to keep things clean. And then I just dove in.

I put a little LED lamp on the inside so I could more easily see the overlap of the fabric pieces.

In about an hour I had all the little fabric pieces adhered to the shade and then went over the whole thing with a coat of the Fabric Mod Podge.

I still need to figure out how I’m going to finish the top and bottom, but I put it on my lamp in it’s current state because I want to see what it looks like.

I just love it! Now I want to cover all the lamp shades in my house!!!

I saw a lampshade covered with Kaffe Fassett Collective fabric scraps on the KFC Facebook page earlier this week, and I fell in love with it. It was made by Marge Moeller.

She said she made this using scraps that were affixed directly to the lampshade using fabric decoupage. So I got on Amazon immediately and ordered some of the decoupage. I also ordered some pinking rotary cutter blades. They arrived today.

I’ve admired lampshades covered with yardage and have seen some really cool ones with KFC fabrics. But I thought it would be a chore to get a piece of fabric applied nicely to lampshade with slanted sides, like the one I want to cover. So when I saw this scrappy decoupage method I wanted to do it immediately.

My decoupage won’t arrive until Saturday, I think. So I hit my sewing room tonight and dug into my bins of smaller KFC scraps and started pressing and cutting.

I ended up with enough pieces cut to probably cover four lampshades.

The little pinked scraps are so pretty. The little pinked scraps are in the trash can.

I’m anxious to see how this turns out and am not happy that I have to wait. I don’t like to wait when I get a wild hair up my you-know-what. So I tossed some of these little pieces up on the lampshade on my bedside chest.

This is going to mimic that scrappy trip quilt hanging above my bed nicely. I think it will look great with my bed quilt too…once it gets cool enough to put that quilt back on my bed.

Once the decoupage is delivered, I’m guessing this will go together really quickly. I’ll need to cut some fabric strips to finish the top and bottom edge of the lampshade. I might dig in and get this done this weekend.

If I like the way this turns out I’ll cover the lampshade on my floor lamp in the living room with Australian Aboriginal fabric scraps. That would be a really fun addition to my living room.

I got a call from my long arm quilter today that my quarter log cabin quilt is done and ready to be picked up. I had been anticipating her call.

I’m really looking forward to seeing this monster done! It will be gifted to my brother and his wife. I’ll probably pick it up on Saturday.

I stepped outside with the dogs at the end of the work day today to toss the toy for them before darkness settled in. It was absolutely gorgeous out!

The sky was just wonderful and the colors were so vibrant. But it feels like winter. It didn’t get out of the 40s today. We’re supposed to get down close to freezing next week. It’s a little early to have these cool temps.

The rains yesterday broke early enough for me to get some pickleball in at the end of the day. Darkness and rain arrived at the same time…. just as my team scored our 11th point and a victory. We were wet by the time we got to our cars. I’m glad I got so get out and play.

Tomorrow is Friday. Another weekend is just around the corner.

It rained here all day today. I literally didn’t step outside until after 10 pm when I remembered that tomorrow is garbage day. My poor dogs think this is totally bogus.

There’s Bender. Literally standing on my lap after I finished my dinner. . . letting me know he would appreciate a little physical activity.

It’s almost 11:30 and it’s still raining. Supposed to rain most of the day tomorrow. I’m supposed to play pickleball tomorrow afternoon but I think that’s unlikely. The courts will probably be too wet.

Since I was completely stuck in the house tonight I decided I’d hunker down and finish the tao bags I’ve been working on. The linings were almost completely done so the final assembly went pretty quickly.

These very different. I really prefer the Aboriginal fabric one. Might actually have to save that one for me. The teal and purple is already sold.

I took some Tylenol PM about an hour ago, so this is going to be a photo heavy and quick post. I hope I can stay awake for it!

The first thing I had to do was sew the zipper plackets onto each bag lining.

I had drawn pen lines on each lining piece when I cut the fabric. These lines help me line up the zipper plackets. The pen line will be hidden when I finish the bag.

Once the lining is done and sewn into the bag, it gives birth to the outer bag.

I love that moment!

This is a view of sewing the final row of topstitching once the lining is sewn in.

This line of topstitching is hidden among all the match stick quilting at the top of the bag. Pretty smart, eh?

Once this final line of topstitching is done It’s time for my Agilejack tags to be sewn on.

I used to sew my tags on by hand but then I had the idea to use the machine and they come out really well and it’s so much faster. Sometimes I worry that the thread will show badly on this inside of the bag. But this batik bag lining his those groups of stitches really well.

I just hold the tag in pace using Wonder Clips. Then I select my zig zag stitch and set the stitch length to zero. Easy peasy.

Then I made two zipper pulls for each bag. I just love the little details!

Speaking of details…

And a little more eye candy…

I chose the side with the yellow as the front of the bag. It really doesn’t matter but it determines where I put the tag.

Here’s the other side of this bag.

And some detail from the inside of the bag…

And the purple and teal batik bag…

And some details…

With these bags done I guess I’m at the point where I need to force myself to finish my Aboriginal Fabric Libby quilt. Then I can move onto a new project. That sounds fun!

Just like that my weekend is over.

I was up early Saturday morning to play pickleball at 8 am. It was a little misty and the court was a little wet, but I managed to get a couple of good games in.

After about 1.5 hours of pickleball I was on my way to Battle Ground, WA, for Rico’s weekly sheep herding lesson. We had two weeks without a herding lesson so we felt a little green out there and the sheep were feeling frisky and a little unpredictable. But we all enjoyed ourselves. Well, I imagine the sheep didn’t enjoy it as much as Rico and I did.

All of this and I was home before noon! I really can’t tell you what I did with the remainder of my day.

I got up early this morning and met my pickleball coach for a great lesson. He worked me really hard for nearly 2.5 hours. I was pretty tired by the end of it. We worked on a lot of different skills and he tried some new shots on me to see if I could defend them. I handled them pretty well.

I had taken the dogs with me since it was cloudy and cool and when I was done with Pickleball I threw the toy for them in the park until they told me they were done. Might have been five or six hours! Hahaha!

We were home by about 11:30 and I laid on the sofa with ice packs all over my body for about an hour. Then I took a bit of a stroll around the back yard to pick up, well, you know.

I noticed that my snowball tree has some little blooms on it.

Not quite as spectacular as its spring blooms.

I have four red maple trees in my back yard of two different varieties. The first variety is in full color right now.

When these trees start to fade, the other two will change color. They are the really spectacular ones called October Glory. The October Glories are on of my favorite things about fall.

One of the things I love about fall in Portland is that the minute the rain starts, the moss starts growing. Here’s a close up of some moss on a paving stone.

It’s like a mini landscape.

While I was out there I picked some of the last tomatoes for my dinner salad.

I might have enough for one or two more salads. It makes me sad to know tomato season is over. I just love garden tomatoes in the summer.

Before dinner I hit my sewing room to start putting the linings for my two bags together. I got a lot done.

I sewed and installed the two slip pockets.

I made the zipper pockets for each bag..

I’ve gotten where I can make these now without referring to any instructions or measurements. I used to be so intimidated by these zippers!

I think this is the zipper pocket tutorial that I used way back when. I do make my pockets a lot bigger than the one in this video. They end up being about 11 inches wide and 10 inches deep.

I also finished up the zipper plackets for the top of each bag.

Here’s all the pieces ready to be assembled and then sewn into the bags.

I had planned to finish up the two bags after I had my dinner. But I made the mistake of laying down on the sofa with Netflix on, and that’s all she wrote. What’s left to do is really minor. Just sew the zipper plackets to the top of each lining piece, then sew the side and bottom seams. Then the gussets. And then sew them into the bags.

It seemed like it took me a long time to get these lining pieces all done. And then I realized that’s because I did two linings at a time. I usually only do one. The good thing is that I’ll have two bags completed at the same time.

Facebook has given me some great memories the last few days. First up is this photo of Bender from when he was about five months old. He was handsome even then and definitely still a puppy.

And this next photo is of me and my beloved Forrest… the Magnificent Beast from my tattoo. This was taken on the beach near Cannon Beach, OR, when a friend was visiting a good number of years ago.

I loved that photo. I loved that dog. I miss him every day.

We have a mixed bag for weather coming up.

October can be all rain, so I’m liking that we have some sunny days mixed in with the clouds and rain.

Another work week on its way. Be strong Anne!

After some pretty impressive rain early this week we’ve had some really glorious fall days.

That was this afternoon. My grass has gone from brown to green in two weeks!

There have been more gorgeous moments throughout this week.

Every fall I tell myself how brilliant I was to plant four red maples in my yard!

The clouds are coming back tomorrow and it will be cloudy and/or rainy for the next ten days. Pretty typical weather for this time of year in Portland.

I had a good weekend off and played lots of pickleball. On Saturday I made a huge pot of chili with beans.

I ended up with a few meals in my refrigerator and a bunch of containers in my freezer.

I bought the stuff this weekend to make a pot of “juicy beans,” pinto beans with ham hocks, I’m going to have to clean out and organize my big freezer before I can get any more soup in there! I Called this soup juicy beans when my mom would make it when I was a kid and my entire family has adopted this name! When one of us says “juicy beans” we all know what they’re talking about.

It’s been nearly a week since I hit my sewing room but decided to get in there this evening and start working on the linings for these two Frankenbags that are still unfinished.

I decided to tackle all the cutting of the fabric and interfacing for both bag linings at the same time… sort of make a little assembly line. I had just enough oomph left at the end of the day to get that done.

That’s both linings and both zipper plackets. I do LOVE a bold bag lining!

I also got the slip pocket and zipper pocket cut and fused for each bag.

I wanted to use a contrasting Aboriginal fabric for the pocket that also appeared in the bag body. This green was the obvious choice. I didn’t even try any of the other fabrics, Because green and red. ‘Nuff said,

Here’s the combo for the batik bag.

I really love that big leaf batik. The deep purple background is such a great contrast to the watery green in the leaves.

I’ll start working on the zippers and then get the pockets assembled and sewn onto the linings tomorrow night. It will be good to have these projects done. I have an unfinished quilt on my design wall that is nagging at me.

And old friend of mine that I haven’t seen since 2019 came for a visit on Sunday. She lived not far from Portland while she attended vet school in her late 50s after working for years in academia and in the petroleum industry. We decided to go out for lunch since neither of us have many opportunities to eat out like civilized people. It was fun to see her. We got to know each other years ago through dog agility and terriers.

I’m working on planning a weekend together with my brother and sister in law. The starburst quarter log cabin quilt I made for them should be back from my long arm quilter any day. I can’t wait to see it done! And my brother has made a wooden frame for a large photo of Forrest that I had printed on a canvas years ago. We’re going to coordinate to exchange those projects. Upcoming dog sitting duties for each of us is making that a little more difficult. Yes, Ernie and Bogart will be back here in a couple of weeks!

I brought a cracked pickleball home with me the other day for the dogs. They loved it.

It didn’t last long.

I have three sweet gum trees in my back yard. They are sort of messy trees, leaving little spiky balls all over the place. But they provide wonderful shade for my yard all summer long and their leaves are amazing in the fall. Each leaf is different from every other leaf. This one is a real stand out.

One more work day that I will spend reviewing legal agreements for a new fundraising vendor. Yuck. Then the weekend!

I took today off work for a little recovery from our recent radio drive. All day I kept thinking tomorrow was Sunday. Such a nice surprise to realize my weekend has two more days!

I got up this morning and headed to Oregon City to play pickleball. It was an absolutely gorgeous Portland fall morning. And, of course, I had a good time playing pickleball. I kept laughing because I was the youngest person there… by a good ten years! I can’t remember the last time I was the youngest person in any place I went!

When I got home I played with Bender and Rico in the back yard. They were happy to have me home and the gorgeous fall day continued.

Bender is such a good sport. But he found this next photo difficult to sit still for when I stuck the leaf to his nose with honey!

Once the dogs had a good romp I made some pancakes for lunch and then took a short nap on the sofa. How decadent is that?

When my sister in law was here a couple weeks ago I dug into my freezer to find some soup for dinner. I realized that my stock of frozen soup is dangerously low. So this weekend is going to involve some serious soup making. Today was split pea soup. One of my favorites.

It’s so easy. I don’t even use a recipe. I had a ham bone that my friend gave me (my friends are always giving me ham bones and turkey carcasses!) and I put in a nice big pork shank.

I tossed in a couple of crudely chopped onions, carrots, and celery.

Poured in a couple pounds of dried yellow split peas then added some salt and pepper. Filled the pot with water and put it on the heat.

I love the pork shanks because they have great flavor. They also have more meat on them than ham hocks.

And I just realized that I didn’t add bay leaves… which I love. Well, next time.

When the peas are cooked I remove the bones and meat from the pot to let them cool. Then I use my immersion blender to puree all the soft ingredients until silky smooth. I cut up all the ham and add it back into the soup.

I use the yellow split peas because they are less pea-ey than the green ones. I prefer that milder flavor.

This soup cooks up in a couple hours and freezes really well. I have four containers in my big freezer and that makes me really happy. Tomorrow I’m going to make a huge pot of chili.

After having a nice hot bowl of soup for my dinner I hit my sewing room to work on that Aboriginal bag I’ve been working on. I had wanted to construct the bag body the other night but after digging into my closet I realized I was out of the black vinyl I use for handles. So I had to order some. It arrived today so I opened teh package and cut up a bunch of pieces of it for handles.

I almost always use the dark brown vinyl for handles, but occasionally I make a bag that screams for black handles.

This is one of those bags.

I got the handles made and sewn onto the bag panels.

Once that was done I sewed the bag body.

Ooh. I really like that! And I love how getting the bag body sewn together completely transforms those panels.

The other night I looked at some options for a lining for this bag. I really wanted it to be one of the fabrics that in the bag.

The choice for me was between the red and the green. And I chose…..

It just takes the bag to a different place.

Tomorrow is more pickleball in the morning. Sunday is even more pickleball in the morning and then a friend I haven’t seen for four or five years will be here for lunch.

I think I might actually dig into finishing up the corners on my Libby quilt this weekend.

I’m tired. Even after a weekend I’m tired. Our radio fundraising drive ended Saturday at 5:00. I worked six hours Saturday and was tired before the day even began. But it’s over now and I’m working on getting back to my regular routine.

We had visitors starting Thursday evening and ending Sunday night.

I was sad to see Ernie and Bogart go home. They made our weekend a little more interesting and they were very good boys.

And one of them is a really good snuggler!

He just dives onto me and snuggles in. I really miss having a snuggly dog in the house. Bender and Rico are great dogs, but neither of them is a snuggler.

I’ve been squeezing in pickleball when I can now that we’re seeing some rainy days. I went and played on Sunday morning and it was so foggy on my drive to the courts. It stayed foggy for the first hour of play and then the sun came out and it was pretty spectacular.

It’s funny but I have lengthy online chats with my pickleball coach several nights a week. After I played tonight I was telling him how many people are commenting on how my play has improved. One of the things we’ve been working on is paying more attention to what my opponents are doing…. what kinds of shots they are good at… what they have difficulty with… and then being able to capitalize on their weaknesses. I was telling him tonight that I’m finding myself getting so much better at that part of the game. My skill for making specific types of shots is increasing, but my smarts on the court and understanding of what’s happening is really getting better! It’s so much fun to see. Pickleball Is so much more than a physical game… people say it’s like chess. There’s so much strategy and that’s the really fun part of the game.

I played again this evening and had a blast, plus the weather was cool and perfect for pickleball. When I got home I hurried and got all my reflective gear on and got my dogs lighted collars on and we headed out for our first completely dark walk of the season. I really enjoy walking in the dark and cool evenings. It’s a good thing because we have a good number of months of just that kind of walking coming up.

When we got home I hit my sewing room for a little bit of sewing. During my lunch hour today I finished up the two Aboriginal fabric Frankenbag panels that I started the other day.

I rotated them around several different ways to decide which way was up…

and finally landed on this orientation.

So tonight I cut the backing fabric and batting and made the quilt sandwiches and then got to quilting.

These fabrics are so gorgeous under the LED lights surrounding my sewing machine.

And one more just because it makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up…

I had originally thought I’d quilt these panels using black thread, but by the time I remembered I had half of one panel quilted with gray thread. Next time…

I only got one panel quilted because I got distracted and wasted some time and then was just too damned tired.

I’ll quilt the second panel tomorrow night.

I’m getting closer to being ready to finish up my Libby quilt. I keep seeing the unfinished corner triangles on my portable design wall and they are starting to speak to me. Time to wrap it up!

Some things that make me go hmmm.

These things are all over the place. Forecasters are saying it’s a big year for stink bugs.

I once ate one of these that was the bonus prize in a bag of sunflower seeds. It was not delicious.

And this… I have no idea what he thought he was doing on that chair.

Hahaha! Do you see that warning hanging on my sliding door? Occasionally, the lock slips into place when I close the door and I’ve been locked out of my house a couple times recently! Luckily, a friend of mine a block away has a spare key!

Wishing I could smooch on this little guy tonight.