I Like Thursday #199

 Welcome to my 199th I Like Thursday post.  Thank you LeeAnna of Not Afraid of Color for encouraging us to find things that we like/love and share weekly in a post.  

I like that I can be foolhardy at times.  Why do I say that?  With everything going on, including a lot of work, and contemplating and supposedly packing to move, I decided to do the Moda Blockheads 4.  What is Moda Blockheads?  It is a group of well known Moda designers that create a block and release it through Moda's website on a weekly basis for about 28 weeks with another 8 bonus blocks released ever couple of weeks. Those blocks will be both 9 inches and 4 1/2 inches finished.   I will admit that I have printed out the Moda Blockheads 2 and Moda Blockheads 3 for "some day" quilts.  

My 2nd foolhardy move instead of using my substantial staff which could last me multiple lifetimes I decided to purchase a half yard pack of Home to Roost by Wilmington.  

While there were 14 different prints I didn't realize one was all stripes which is the one on top.  I am not too sure how often it would fit within the blocks, so I did a stash shop and pulled some other fabrics which match the color registrations along the sides of the top piece.

I have also pulled some scraps here and there.  My background is the white which looks like it has kind of small light blue chicken wire.  Last week on my one day off I cut out both sized blocks, but I finally had time to sew on Tuesday.

This is the 4 1/2 inch finished block.  

The 9 inch finished block, and both of the blocks together.

I love having things prepped to grab and sew.  I have parts for my ribbon star all cut to sew.  It is just picking out the different parts for each block.  I managed to finish two this week.

Ribbon Star block 11.

Ribbon Star Block 12.

My blocks so far.  One star block appears almost violet really stands out, but I used the fabric because there is violet in some of the batiks.  The Bali Pop I used had lots of really dark, almost black purples which are hard to find, and because I want to make the quilt bigger I am trying to match from stash. 

I think I have mentioned a time of two how much I hate exercise.  I am lucky with my job that by about 4-6 hours into my shift I hit my 10,000 steps, but my days off I feel like I work so hard to get my exercise in, that does not include any additional workouts for arms, legs, core, and yoga stretching.  I use BitGym which uses your camera on your phone or Ipad and it is almost as if you are on a trail.  I have finished all the walking/hiking tours and am now working on the bicycle tours, that still can be used if you are walking.  

There are a lot of walking/hiking type tours on YouTube which I have used, but when I saw some virtual challenges I thought maybe if I had to set a goal with a time limit I would be a little more enthused.  I know that there are a couple of bloggers that work to get 2,000 + miles in a year.  So I signed up and paid for a virtual walk.  The first one was The Ring of Kerry through The Conqueror.  The Ring of Kerry is a scenic drive along the Iveragh Peninsula in Southwest Ireland's Kerry County  starting and ending in Killarney.  While you do not get a step by step view, you can do a Google Earth view of where you have ended each day, and some of the interesting sites nearby which you can do Google and Wikipedia searches.  The Ring of Kerry is 124.3 miles, and I set up that I would do it in 70 days.  Obviously I didn't have much faith in myself.  I finished it in 19 days!  I pay for the basic walk and when you are done  you receive a nifty medal.  

 Since I did The Ring of Kerry one, I am now doing the North Coast 500 which is in Scotland.  I set my goal for 105 days, but I am already over 21% completed in 18 days.  The NC500 is actually a 516 mile road around the Northern Coast of Scotland beginning and ending at Inverness Castle.  

On a sad note the drummer for the group The Foo Fighters, Taylor Hawkins died in Bogota, Colombia after playing a concert.  While googling and reading about him, I stumbled upon something kind of cool.  Rockin 1000 which is a group of people that form a rock group of 1000 people.  This clip is the Rockin 1000 playing The Foo Fighters song Learn to Fly, it is amazing!

 Another awesome news item is the National Parks Service announced 16 new sites for the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom.  You can read more about those listings here.

Oh the books for the week!  I got on a Dr. Ruth Galloway kick, and since the stars all seemed to align and I could obtain them either through Amazon Kindle Unlimited, or my Overdrive library app,  I finished all the books in the series.  I can't wait until Elly Griffiths publishes the next one.  

The Dark Angel is number 10 in the Dr. Ruth Galloway Series.   Ruth is invited to Italy to help a fellow archaeologist/TV personality regarding some bones which were discovered on a hilltop near Castello degli Angeli a small town which is slowly dying because all of the young people are moving away to Rome so that they can make a living.  When the priest is found murdered old hurts are unearthed regarding the second World War and the resistance. 

 The Stone Circle is the 11th book in the Dr. Ruth Galloway Mysteries.  The Stone Circle has Ruth and DCI Harry Nelson back where the series began at a stone circle in Dorset where the ancient bones of a young girl are discovered, as well as the bones of a preteen girl which are more recent.  Throw in some letters hinting at DCI Harry Nelson's failure to solve the first crime before the death of the abducted Lucy Downey. 

 

The Lantern Men is the 11th book in the Dr. Ruth Galloway Series.  The Lantern Men are lights that lure the travelers on the salt marsh at night to their death.  When a serial killer offers to disclose the whereabouts of his victims to DCI Harry Nelson if Dr. Ruth Galloway will do the dig.  During the dig though the forensics does not match up. 

The Night Hawks is book 13th in the Ruth Galloway Series.  Night Hawks are amateur archaeologist that hunt for buried treasures using metal detectors.  When one of the night hawks discovers a dead body, and then one of the investigating officers who was first on the scene dies suddenly is it a coincidence?  DCI Harry Nelson does not believe in coincidence. 

The Vanished Bride of Northfield House by Phyllis Newman.  Anne Chatham takes a post as a "typewriter"  typist for Northfield House.  Anne has no family, no money, and no prospects, but what she seems to have is a sensitivity to spirits.  Learning of the disappearance 40 years prior to the Bride of Mr. Wellington on their wedding day, Anne is convinced that the spirit she sees is Eleanor Wellington the vanished bride.  When the beautiful and vivacious Charolette a distant cousin dies during a masquerade, Anne is convinced there is evil lurking.  

 Thanks for visiting.  If you would like to check out the other I Like bloggers head over to LeeAnna's at Not Afraid of Color.