I Like Thursday #103

Welcome to my 103rd I Like Thursday post.

These are strange times and  I know with quarantines, shelter in place orders for many it is difficult to find things to be positive about.

The past couple of days I can hear the cardinals singing.  What a sound, while the world seems tilted mother nature continues on.

I like that there are less planes in the air.  While I live about 10 miles south of the airport there are lots of planes that travel overhead taking off and landing.  I heard a sound the other day which was unfamiliar, but strangely familiar.  I realized it was a plane, and then I realized that I had quickly became accustomed to the lack of noise, and that there was a lot less air traffic.

I like that the daffodils will open very soon.

I like these fun things I found at the store while cruising the aisles....not that I want to, but long story short.  We are not open 24/7 anymore so I have to park over on the SW  side of the building and enter through the garden center when I work early in the morning.  When I go to lunch I have to walk from the NE corner of the store, to the NW corner of the store, then all the way to the front of the store, and around the building to my car to move it to the employee parking lot in the SE corner which is closer to the area of the store I work.  

Peeps Cereal.  Now I am not a fan of The Lucky Charms, but these caught my attention. 

Maybe it was the bright colors, but also Jeff loved peeps, so they made me chuckle.

I saw some beautiful flowers on sale.

Looks like they may be yellow hyacinths. 

These gorgeous pansies.  I love their little faces.

I have no clue what these are, but they were inside in the houseplants. 

There is an old building in Flat Rock which is a wee bit North of me and they recently have started to remodel it.

I don't know if you can tell but the showroom has classic cars in it!  Definitely makes me smile. 

I am currently reading The Northwest Murders by Elizabeth Atwood Taylor.  I stole  borrowed this book from my parents house when I visited this summer.  I was told they didn't like the story so didn't read much of the book.  The story is about a serial killer stalking the backwoods of Northern California near the area where my family lives. 

Also I am reading Frozen Stiff Drink by James Cudney the 6th book in the Braxton Campus Mysteries.

Finally I saw this and it made me really giggle.  I had seen a meme recently how it was like the 97th day of March since it seems like it has been so long.  I will agree while many are practicing the shelter at home, those of us that are essential workers, at least in retail have been dealing with the crazy first couple of hours of each day where people stream into the store to snatch up any toilet paper, meat, milk, eggs or bread that is available---the co- workers that are so anxious they can't function, other co-workers that have chosen to just do a LOA until this is over, which means less people (example: my department which has usually 10 people, and that is still short staffed, currently has 3 employees including myself, that are willing work.) 

I laughed so loud, the Shipt(private shoppers for online orders) girls came to check on what was so funny.  We all had a good giggle together in the aisle. Obviously we were not practicing social distancing. 

Now head over to LeeAnna's at Not Afraid of Color to check out the other I Like Thursday posts.

Making Progress

While it doesn't seem like it,  I have been making some progress, not only on the cleaning front, but moving some projects along.  It is nice to go into my spreadsheet and make a notation of I worked on it this day, or it is a flimsy and needs to be sandwiched, quilted..... you get the idea.  I will share more about my spreadsheet further down in this post.

I shared on my I Like Thursday #99 that I got a peg board.  Well I managed to hang it and it actually is straight!

I have hung a bunch of my larger rulers and the baskets are holding some smaller ones.  I am pretty pleased with it overall.

I also bought a cork strip which I hang things that I love.

I jokingly stated that if I finish something I can start something new.  Well I have actually finished a couple of things lately.  Well almost finished.  I have been really trying to stay on task. 

The Mod Geo Cruiser Jr. I am currently sewing on the binding.   I have a quilt label designed, and I know I need to put on a hanging sleeve.  I work on it when I have time to sit for a few minutes without being pestered by a dog. 

I finished the quilting on a winter quilt I bought from a LQS a few years ago.  I even have the fabric for the binding.

I need to trim/square up the quilt and cut the binding, and get it sewn on.  I will do that after I finish the handwork for the Mod Geo Cruiser Jr.

As I am cleaning, putting away, and inventorying what I have quilting wise I started a spread sheet.  One tab is UFO's.  I count a UFO as anything that I have fabric, a pattern, and started to cut out.  The main theme is it has to had some type of action, other than buying the fabric.  As of March 26, 2020 I have found and charted 96 UFO and have actually finished 4, so I will tentatively say I have 92 UFO, but I am sure I have more and as I find them I add them to the list.  I have different categories of where they are in the process all the way to the final label.

I have a quilting tab which lists the quilts waiting to be quilted.  When I start to quilt, finish, and start and finish the binding and even as far as making a label.

Finally I have a tab for the quilts that I have kits, or have fabric, a pattern and have kitted up myself.  I have 38 as of last count, but I know I have others that are not listed.

I will say it is a real eye opener on what I need to work on.  I have been plucking the low hanging fruit and moving stuff along.  I have mentioned before I hate doing borders for some reason.  But I grabbed those quilts and accomplished a little each day.

I got the borders on the yellow brick road quilt.  I have a batting and a backing I need to pull out to get the wrinkles out, so I can sandwich this one. 

I have the borders partially on the saw toothed square quilt.  I just need to miter the corners.  I have a batting and backing for this one also which I need to pull out so that the wrinkles will work out before I sandwich. 

I  went on a hunt and found the Alletaire Quilt, the directions, and one of the border fabrics.  The final border is just black.

Borders are an easy sew after I get off work, even if I only get one border on a night that is progress. 

Today was a day off for me from work so I sewed a wee bit.  I finished the Dresden Charity Quilt Top for Guild.

I finished the last block of the BOM we were doing for the Tuesday sewing group.

I put all of the blocks on the wall.  I originally thought of setting them on point, but I didn't like it the chevron looking block looked funny on point to me. I think they need something maybe a block to tie them all together and alternating the blocks and adding sashing and cornerstones. 

This quilt was made from my Bonnie and Camille hoard  stash.  I still have enough fabric to make about 10 more quilts. 

Recently I saw this and embroidered a pillowcase for my bed using my embroidery machine. 

I saw a free quilt pattern called Circle of Friend by Robert Kaufman, you can find it on their website,  and decided that I wanted to make it so I have been accumulating the fabric.

There are 25 different purples Kona purples in this quilt.  I don't order stuff from Missouri Star often but I was mighty impressed with how they labeled each and every one.

During this time I have been trying to support small stores.  I found these awesome fat quarter bundles.

I saw this pattern by Gnomeangel and knew I had to make it someday.

I think it would be an awesome way to use scraps.  Oh all the background are pieced squares so I need to start pulling my neutrals from my stash.

I saw this BOM and knew I had to join.  It is called Southwest Sunrise.

I already bought the background fabrics, but I think a lot of the different blocks can be made from scraps from my stash.  Awe heck, I know they can.

During this quarantine time have you seen all the Sew alongs that have been posted.

Edyta Sitar of Laundry Basket quilts has a mystery block a day quilt going.  I have been saving the steps, it looks gorgeous so far, even if I haven't had a chance to sew along.

One of the LQS is doing a block a day also using Moda Blockheads Round 2.  Daily we get a new pattern via e-mail.

Piecing the Past Quilts is having a Comfort and Joy Civil War quilt Sampler which will start in April, you just need to sign up.  I have a lot of Civil war fabrics. 

River's Edge Antiques and Quilts also has a mystery Quilt a long going. 

Have you joined any of these quilt along parties?

Finally I accumulated some cute boy fabrics.

I wonder whatever will I make with these?

I have a charity project on the quilter.  I think I will pull an old project and finish it up, and then choose a new project to start to work on.  Oh the decisions.  

I Like Thursday #102

Welcome to my 102nd I Like Thursday post.  Thank you LeeAnna for encouraging us to find things to like during the week to share.

OK Truth be told it has been a really tough week.  I have been working a lot more than normal.  The stress and fear you can feel radiating off of people, and it is emotionally, as well as physically exhausting and draining.  The State of Michigan has a shelter in place order finally.  It is amazing the difference since Monday.  My road which is usually crazy busy is fairly quiet.  I don't hear the roar of the planes taking off and landing constantly.  Even the grocery store is pretty quiet after the first couple of hours.  We are currently closing at 10 pm nightly, and don't open until 7 am so we have a chance to stock the shelves.

I like that we finally had a beautiful day, I got to enjoy about 1 hour of it after work.  But you gotta love 52 degrees.  The kittens, and Bobbin had an awesome time outside running and playing.  I did wear a jacket and sat out, visited with my grand kids, and daughter while maintaining social distancing.  :D

I saw this young man playing the piano and just had to share.  

I saw this article about art installations in the Tampa International Terminal.  Check it out it will make you smile.
Tampa International Airport

Have you ran out of something and kind of felt uncomfortable buying now?  Somehow I ran out of hand soap.  While wandering the stores I spied these cute hand towels.

 I loved this fuzzy chick.

The cat silhouette.

The Bee Attitudes.

House Rules.

I am thankful for mail.  I have been trying to do a little shopping at small online stores for fabric, patterns, etc.  It is also cheering to get some fun packages.

My book for the week was the 5th Veronica Speedwell installment by Deanna  Raybourn--A Murderous Relation.

Now head over to LeeAnna's at Not Afraid of Color and check out the other I Like Thursday posts. 

I Like Thursday #101

Welcome to my 101st I Like Thursday post.   Every Thursday there are a handful of bloggers that are encouraged to post fun things they have found during the week that we love. 

I know this week was a tough one for everyone.  I will admit that it has been very tough for me, and my family. While my daughter and I are working, trying to keep store shelves stocked, we have been working a lot of extra hours.  The anxiety is palatable and working at a grocery store has been tough, people are afraid, and angry and we get the brunt of it at times.  We have tried to keep positive, to work harder and longer hours to make sure that everything is stocked as fast as we can, and try to be sympathetic and understanding. 

On my days off I have normally social distance---I like to call it hermitting, but I had to go out to pick up a vaccine for the boy kitten.  He needs his 2nd dose of distemper, and I could pick it up at Tractor Supply.  I also met one of the elder ladies from church to see if I can figure out what is wrong with her sewing machine.  Who would have thought that Tractor Supply would have so many cool things?!?!

As I walked through the door I spied this cool glider.

Not only was the glider cool, but check out the pillow with the Ohio Star quilt pattern. 

I went around the corner and spotted this giant metal rooster.  

With some little metal chicks behind it. 

I went down the aisle further and saw these rooster yard lights, the ones you put along your flower beds. 

I looked up an there were these awesome big yard lights with a welcome sign.

The lights were solar. 

The shelves behind held a huge light up chicken.

A super cute piggy planter.

Some tiny metal chicks.

I was good, well pretty good.  I had to buy this cast iron pig for my daughter.

I Like that the weather is getting a wee bit warmer.  The girl kitten likes to hang out by the back door.

She is such a pretty girl.

I Like Atlas Obscura this one shows 8,986 places of interest in Northern America.  It is interactive and there are some awesome things to see.

8986 Places

Finally I had 2 books this week that I enjoyed. 

Stipulations and Complications by Becki Willis.  This is book 3 in The Sisters Texas series.  Did you know there is a whole genre of literature called widow lit?  Madison Reynolds has returned to her hometown, after losing her husband and home.  She opens up a temp agency working doing odd jobs to make ends meet.  In this installment she is in the middle of a remodel of The Big House (A historic mansion) with the help of a HGTV type show called Home Again. A skeleton is found in the cellar in a secret room.....and that is just the start. 

My 2nd book I read this week was Sulfur Springs by William Kent Krueger.   This is the 16th installment of the Cork O'Connor series.

A weird short phone call from his step son Peter, to Cork's new wife Rainy Bissonnette and they are heading out of Minnesota, south to Coronado County Arizona near the Mexican border looking for Rainy's son. 

Now head over to LeeAnna's at Not Afraid of Color and check out the other I Like Thursday posts. 

I Like Thursday #100

Woohoo!  Made it to the big one!  Thanks to LeeAnna for encouraging us to find things we like, or love during the week and share with some other awesome bloggers.

I like the new pet water fountain that I purchased.

It comes with a nifty pad, and it lights up, you can remove the flower so it just bubbles.  So far it is a hit with Lucy and Bobbin.  In one day they have drank approximately 1/4 of the water and it holds 2.5 liters.  I decided to purchase this fountain when I noticed Bobbin does not drink a whole lot.  Since she has urinary problems with the bladder stone, and most recently a really high PH and crystals in her urine I started watching her, and while Lucy drinks a lot, Bobbin not so much.  I thought maybe if I can get her to drink more it would help the urinary problems. My daughter had been reading that many times animals like running water for some reason, and I thought about how crazy Bobbin is about the shower, the bathtub, and thought why not try it.

I like that I got my peg board hung up.  I had purchased some small wire baskets as well as some pegs and they are handy to hold smaller rulers.

I found a couple more rulers that need to be hung up there too when I take the time to travel to the vortex (upstairs quilting room) to retrieve them.

I like my new clock that I got for my sewing room.  Perhaps it is because in many ways to me time stopped when Jeff died.  I really didn't care what time it was, I had nowhere to go, nowhere to be.  But now that I am working, time seems to be very precious.  I like to squeeze in a few minutes here and there sewing, so my sewing room needed a clock.

I kind of love the whimsy.  The little scissors are the pendulum. 

My new space is taking shape slowly. I really need to work on my scraps again and get them moving along into the scrap saver system.  A little at a time though right?

Biola University does what they call the Lent project every year.  There were a couple of pieces of art that I thought were amazing in the past couple of weeks.

Der Schwebende (The Hovering/Floating One)  Go to the about tab at the bottom of the page to read about Barlach's Hovering Angel.  There are some better photos here in an article about the sculpture's travels to The British Museum.


Also from the Biola Univerity Lent Project take the time to study Lynn Aldrich's piece titled Unlearning the Darkness.  As quilters and fiber artists I thought this piece was amazing.  You can see more of this artist's fascinating works at Lynn Aldrich.

I saw this piece about Raphael's 12 tapestries that were returned to be displayed at the Sistine Chapel after 500 years.  The tapestries had been restored over a 10 year period, and only were on display for a week.  Oh to be a lucky person to have been visiting the Sistine Chapel during that time. 

Remember when I shared about the VW car that was in a beetle display at the Cleveland Natural History Museum?  Well obviously those guys that set up the displays have an awesome sense of  humor, even in other museums.....because throughout the Denver National History Museum there are elves, unicorns, angels and even a Millennium Falcon hidden through out the displays.  Hidden Elves.

My current book that I am reading is Rain Will Come by Thomas Holgate.  This is a Kindle First book which means that I received a copy before it goes on sale April 1, 2020.  The story is a good premise a messed up detective puts together two seemingly unrelated murders to discover there is a serial killer out there.  The problem is this killer is killing people who have committed ghastly crimes, and seemingly have gotten away with it.  The language is coarse, the subject matter is very dark, and detective Paul Czarcik is a mess, but I can't seem to put the story down. 

Finally as I was walking out of work yesterday I spied these beautiful flowers.  I call them calla lilies, but if they are known by  different name I am not too sure what it is.

The colors were astounding.  Yellow, purple, a reddish coral, and almost mauve. 

Thanks for visiting.  Now head over to LeeAnna's at Not Afraid of Color and check out the other I Like Thursday posts.