I shared this panel before, but now I have a plan. I think.

I trimmed it and added an oversized red border. I didn’t know when I added that border what the next step would be. But I knew I’d likely have to trim it down to a logical size for the next step.

And I decided to add squares. Two and a half inch squares in red, blue, black, and shirting prints, with the occasional double pink thrown in.

I have a lot more cutting to do and may refine the palette in the process.

I may even cut into this long hoarded bundle.

I’m aiming for a throw size, but I really don’t have much of a plan. Stay tuned.

Have a great day!

On our recent trip to Michigan, I was on a mission to find septarian nodules, also known as lightening stones. Here are a couple as found on a beach in SW Michigan. Would you have picked these up? If I didn’t know ahead of time what they were, I likely would have passed them by.

They are pretty nondescript. Not surprising since they are in fact, ancient mud balls!

But when they are cut open, you can clearly see the lightening.

As the mud balls dried, they cracked inside. Eventually these cracks were filled with calcite.

Here is another one I cut. First you see the outside.

And the inside after polishing.

I liked the red on this one, but there was almost no clue that there was anything at all inside.

But there was!

And one more. I didn’t take a before photo of this one, but I wish I had.

Here is the outside after polishing.

I am fascinated that a lowly mud ball, dried out and cracked, can turn into something so beautiful when the pure calcite is able to flow in, filling the cracks.

Isn’t that how we are? God takes a muddy , broken mess, fills it with His Spirit, and we become beautiful on the inside!

I wonder how often I only see the crusty outside of people and completely miss the beauty within.

So many lessons from rocks.

Have a great day!

Daughter #3 is in charge of online marketing for a large Midwest grocery store chain. Every store has one of these. She loved to ride Sandy every time we went to the store when she was little! It’s fun that they still have them and now she works for the company.

I nearly bought this sign. Maybe a huge pack of stickers would be better….I’m being snarky.

Just one more reason to live in Arizona.

Grand dog Charlie loves quilts.

Have a great day!

I had totally forgotten about this string quilt I finished a dozen years ago or so! The top was pieced by my husband’s grandmother. Enjoy!

String quilt finish

After a long day, I found the energy to bind the beast! Since this top has fabric from every decade from the 1930’s to the 1970’s, I decided to use a 1980’s fabric for the binding! As I worked in that, I couldn’t help but notice again all the funky scraps in this top. I took pics to share them with you.

The above photo shows the quilt before washing. I used JoAnn’s Soft and Crafty 100% cotton needle punched batting. Here is a picture after washing:

If this 40-50 year old quilt doesn’t look fresh and modern, I don’t know what does! I am so pleased with how this turned out and thrilled that it will soon find a home on my youngest daughter’s bed.

Until next time

Our quilt group met this week and I waited until the last minute to get a project together to work on during our sewing time.

So I grabbed my string blocks and put them together without the triangles. Sometimes you make decisions in the interest of time.

The good news is, I got the top together while I was there and on the frame when I got home.

I grabbed this backing just because it was out in the table. I’m very close to finishing this binding.

Have a great day!

One of the suggestions I received, was to add triangles to the corners of the string blocks. I had some blue and white triangles cut, so I placed them on top.

I quite like that. What do you think? Above with triangles, or below without?

I’ve been stitching these as leader/enders.

And I pulled out this block to see if I could make more to work with this panel. I don’t love it like I expected I would.

Have a great day!

Wow! Thanks for all the great ideas regarding the string blocks I shared last Friday. You are all so creative!

I don’t lack for strings, just the will to use them. 🤣

So the first order of the day, was to cut a muslin foundation and make one more block.

Ta daaaa!

Now I have enough blocks for a charity quilt.

This is not the final arrangement. I am now at a point where I can try out some of the ideas you shared in the comments.

Have a great day!

A little more organization going on.

Our weather situation.

I love seeing new growth on our cacti!

And flowers are starting on another!

Powerful words.

Have you seen these? I’ve been collecting them for a new baby coming.

Have a great day!

Daughters #2’s eldest dog crossed the rainbow bridge last Saturday. It is a devastating loss for all of us.

Bambi took care of my girl when I couldn’t be there. I took care of her and her sister, Winnie, when Daughter #2 was deployed. She was a sensitive, old soul. She always knew who needed her and loyally sat with anyone in pain. You can read a bit more about her here.

She was one of a kind. Run free, sweet girl.