We are down to the last week of summer. Julia, as is the desire of most teenagers, is trying to cram as many activities into it as possible. She has been to the movies, we went to the river last weekend, the fair yesterday (and will be there again on Sunday) etc. I think this is because she knows her precious free time will be given over to homework after school starts. She is also trying to get through her summer reading assignment which is a boring book on the evils of fast food. Probably not the her top choice in books.
Last weekend we were up in Downieville and it was the weekend of the Downieville Classic. This is a mountain biking competition that is well known for its grueling, technical course. The first competition involves riding 29 miles with a 4000 foot elevation ascent and then a 5,200 foot elevation descent into the town of Downieville. I can’t even imagine. (Especially since I don’t own a bike, but still…) Julia and I were walking around and watched several riders complete the course. They were covered in dust, head to toe, with little racoon masks on their faces where their glasses had been. Day two is the downhill race over rugged mountain trails where speed and technique are critical.
We certainly weren’t there to ride but it was a great weekend for people watching. The little town of Downieville is usually very quiet and it was nice to see so many people up there enjoying the river and all that the town offers. Especially the river jump, which is a tradition at the Downieville Classic each year. Riders sign up to ride down a ramp and jump into the river, bike and all. They use BMX bikes though, not their mountain bikes. It was crazy fun to watch. I kept thinking they were going to land on top of someone but that was just the angle that I was watching from. They had plenty of room.
With all that has been going on, I haven’t accomplished a whole lot in the sewing room. I did bring my pink stripes up to Downieville for hand stitching. This project is a bit of a lesson in patience. I love the look of the chunky stitches with Perle cotton but every once in a while I will wonder why I am doing this when it would take 10 minutes to machine quilt it. Patience isn’t a strong suit of mine, so this is a good lesson for me to work through.
I have made some progress on my nephew’s wedding quilt. I am thinking of calling it Harmony. It is a sweet name for a wedding quilt and I am really happy with the look of the colors that I am using. At one point, it came to me that the colors looked so harmonious, hence the name.
I have had a couple of migraines this week which is always annoying. Yesterday I was sort of between headaches and tried to get a bit of sewing done. It just never works out. I should know better by now. This is how things turn out while in headache mode. Not once, but twice!! At least the seams match up nicely. 😉
Playing with Quiltography is a better bet when I am in this state. At least I don’t have to pull out a seam ripper if things go south on me. Rachel over at Stitched in Color is hosting a challenge called 30 Days of Quilt Designs. She is encouraging all of us to either sketch, doodle or electronically create quilt designs. Just to get your creative juices flowing. I am having fun with it and it is a great way to play with the Quiltography app that I wrote about here. I have finished several designs so far.
I made one using hourglass blocks and court house step blocks with limited colors. I really like the movement in this design.
Here is another one using hourglass blocks and square in square blocks. With this design, I love that it appears to be set on point but isn’t. What do you think?
If this challenge is new to you, check it out here. There is plenty of time to join in. The 30 designs don’t have to happen in 30 consecutive days – I believe she is holding this through October. Giveaways are involved which is always fun. There are lots and lots of designs posted on Instagram, #30daysofquiltdesign.
Hope you are all enjoying this last bit of summer before school starts (at least those of you with kids at home!) Let me know if you are into the 30 days of quilt design challenge. I will go take a peek at your designs.
Linking with Needle and Thread Thursday and Can I Get a Whoop Whoop. Find the links at the top of the page, under link ups.
Oh I love your perle hand quilting. Enjoy the slowness of it and make it your go to when sewing at your machine isn’t convenient. I’m trying to remember if I’ve seen previous posts about your nephew’s quilt. I will have to go back and look. I like what I see. (And your mistake is so precise!) Way to go with the quiltography app and the designing. I’m having fun following what you’re doing on Instagram. You will have a ton of neat patterns at the ready next time you need a quilt! Feel better so you can keep enjoying those last summer activities. Summer headaches are the worst.
I totally understand headache mode, and trying to get something done between headaches. I hope yours lifts ( and stays away soon!) I really love your pink stripes project. That hand stitching is so sweet in pink. Stick with it. It’s going to be worth it! And your second pattern design…that is sooooo tempting to me. I noticed it in Instagram the other day, but didn’t comment. If you write up a pattern for this, I’ll be your tester!
Tell Julia I wish her an awesome last few days before school starts. We are winding up, here, too. I have a week of teaching Jumpstart next week, then a few days the next week in meetings and junk. Then we officially start on Sept. 1. I wish we had just a little more time. But , there’s a lot to look forward to this year, too!
Thank you Tami. I love that quilt design too. I’ve never written a pattern up before. Hmmm…..
Hope you and the girls enjoy the last couple of weeks before the school routine starts. Julia got her class schedule yesterday and was pleased so things are looking good!
Love the hand quilting! It looks fantastic. I totally understand the impatient part, which is probably why I haven’t taken up hand quilting yet! Sorry about the migraines. Sewing when I don’t feel well seems to end up with the same kinds of mistakes. The quilt designs are wonderful though … Well done!
I got into a rhythm with the hand quilting project over the weekend. We had people for the weekend and it was nice to be able to stitch while we were all sitting around and chatting (It was my son and his girlfriend) I made good progress on it. It is a bit soothing and mindless to hand quilt.