Photo Play: August Summary

It always takes a few weeks to review my photos from the previous month. August was another hot and humid month, so it wasn't fun to be outside much.  I've been sewing a lot, so have backed off on my photography studies lately.  I'll get back to it eventually.  There are more photographs to share this month as I had a lot of rejects from the last few photography challenges.  Three of the challenges were photography techniques and not subject limited, so I took a lot of photos.  Some of them didn't meet the challenge goals but are still interesting shots.  

All the below photos were shot with a Canon 70D DLSR with either a Tamron 18-400 mm telephoto or a Sigma 105 mm macro lens. Some photos have been cropped.  

One of the photo challenges was "fill the frame".  I took a number of photos of some purple coneflowers. This shot was my alternate pick for that challenge.  I like the soft focus on the petals and the saturated colors, but it didn't quite fill the frame so it didn't make the cut (Sigma105 mm macro).

We had one damp and rainy week during August.  Water on plants is always fascinating to me.  I tried to capture that in various photos during the week (Tamron 18-400 mm telephoto)

I really like the drop at the end of the leaf.  It's not quite at the nodes to qualify for the rule of thirds, but it's close.  

One of the photo challenges in August was "Rule of Thirds".  I took a lot of photos that week. I winnowed that set down to three and selected the one for the challenge. Here are the two rejects. (Tamron 18-400 Telephoto)

The second shot of the honeysuckle is another good example of applying the rule of thirds to photo composition. I could have made the rose fit the challenge, but the composition of the rose photo I choose for the challenge was a better example.  

The following two photos weren't considered for the challenge, they didn't really meet the challenge requirements.  But they stand out as photos on their own. Both photos are cropped.  (Tamron 18-400 Telephoto)

  

The basket flowers are all just about dead, all that's left is the seed heads.  But they have a beauty of their own.  I really like the silhouetted basket flower against that purple sky sunset. 

The last challenge in August was "Narrow Depth of Field".  A macro lens is really useful for those type of shots.  I really enjoy macro photography and took a large number of shots of the fading flowers in the garden. None of them made the cut for the challenge, but some of them ended up being my most favorite from the photo shoots.  (Sigma105 mm macro)

When I showed this shot to My Guy, he wasn't sure what it was.  It's the center of one of the fading roses.  The colors remind me that fall is coming.  I love the spaghetti texture of the faded center. It's not a beautiful shot, but it is an interesting one.  

The basket flowers have lost their color, but gained this incredible variety of textures and shapes.  

When I assessed what my photographic goals were for 2024, one of them was to photograph the small things we tend to miss.  I do love the brilliant colors of spring and summer, but the muted colors that show up in the fall have their own stark beauty.  Hopefully I'm being true to my goal to photograph the little things as well as the pretty things.  

If you've read this far, thanks for hanging out for a non-quilty post.  I'm always interested in feedback.  What photo(s) grab your attention or which photos seem like odd choices for this summary?  

To Do List for the Week of 9/17/2024

Hard to believe we are already more than halfway through with September.  The end of the year always seems to pass so much quicker than the beginning of the year.  There is still so much left on my goals for this year, I guess that's why last week's to do list was so long. 

To Do List for 9/10/2024

1.  Diatom: Finish top prep, send out for quilting ✔

2.  Chilhowie: Add last border ✔

3.  Jewel Box Blocks: Finish blocks ✔

4.  Marble Mystery: Cut fabrics, start September clue ✔

5.  Rhododendron: Make label and binding ✔

6.  Wild and Goosey:  Continue making orange blocks ✔

7.  Sensational Summer Scrap Mystery: Leaders and enders ✔

It was a good week on the progress front.  Several projects hit milestones and will drop off the active list for a bit.  That opens up the in progress list a bit and I had to think what should go on the to do list to take up those spaces.

To Do List for 9/17/2024

1.  Rhododendron (Bonnie Hunter):  Trim quilt, start attaching binding.

The binding is made and the label is printed. I need to soak the label, then let it dry, but that won't take long. I'm changing the name of my version to Azaleas.  Azaleas are rhododendrons and I've seen purple ones, so that works for me.  I should be hand stitching the binding to the back before the end of the week. We have some family stuff this weekend, so I'm not sure that I'll finish all the hand stitching, but it should be close. 

2. Marble Mystery (Meadow Mist Designs): Finish the flying geese.

Finishing the geese completes the September clue.  I'm happy with my fabric choices so far. We'll have to see if the October clue changes that.  

3. Wild and Goosey (Bonnie Hunter): Continue making orange blocks

I'm almost finished with orange, I only need 2 more sets of 4 blocks.  My plan is to keep making the orange blocks until they are finished.  I'm betting that doesn't happen till sometime in October.  

4.  Simply Sensational Summery Mystery (Kevin the Quilter): Continue as leader and ender project. 

I finished a set of blue 4-patches this week and have switched back to my yellow scraps for the next set of 10.  

5.  Learn to Quilt: Read books, watch videos

One of my goals for this year was to learn to quilt by completing a quilt as you go project.  I've got the blocks done so now I need to figure out the quilting part. I'm going to do some reading and video watching, then start some practice sessions in October.  I've had these books for years, but hopefully not much has changed with the basics. 

That's the plan for this week. We have some family stuff this weekend, so I backed off on adding anything new to my in progress list. Linking up with The Quilt Schmilt for To Do Tuesday.

Changing Design Wall

This year has been really good on the progress front. Maybe not as many finishes as I would like, but there has been good progress on multiple fronts.  We are half way through September and I've made good enough progress that I need to rethink my active project list.  Chilhowie (Bonnie Hunter) is a finished quilt top and is off the active list for now. 

The final teal border really calms down all that orange.  Chilhowie is off the design wall and hanging in the closet waiting for it's turn for a backing and quilting.  

The Jewel Box blocks for Cynthia at Quilting is More Fun than Housework made a very short appearance on the design wall. 

These are packaged up and will go to the post office sometime this week.  I used up a few 4.5 and 5 inch scraps from my bin, all of the black fabric and all of one of the white on white fabrics. So now I have a bit more room in the scrap bin and was able to take some odds and ends out of the fabric closet. Definitely a win/win. 

The latest project up on the design wall is Meadow Mist Designs' Marble Mystery.   

The 9 patch blocks are finished, I'm still working on the flying geese. So far, I'm happy with my fabric choices.  We'll see if that holds once we get the October clue.   

I'll need to figure out what projects to add back to the works in progress list. Those decisions will be in tomorrow's post.  Linking up with Design Wall Monday and Patchwork & Quilts.  

Stitching Stuff: Week 37 of 2024

It's been a busy week. I've started going to late night sew at the local quilt shop and that takes some prep time to get ready (it's like a mini retreat each week).  Plus, I had some statistics work to work up for the technical committee I joined back in June. Still, it wasn't too hard to get my stitching time in this week.  

• 15 minute days/week = 7/7 days
• 15 minute days/Sept = 14/14 days
• 15 minute days/2024 = 258/258 days
• Success rate = 100%

I'm still at 100% success rate with my 15 minutes of stitching time each day.  No one is more surprised then I am to be almost to the end of 3rd quarter of the year and to have maintained that metric.  It's going to be hard when I miss my stitching time for a day.  

Absolutely nothing got done on the scrap processing front, well other then filling up the left overs bin. 

This is the bin I use for scraps from the finished projects and scraps from in progress projects.  This was empty at the first of the month. Now it's almost full again. The plan is to empty it by the end of the month.  

Not as much progress on the fabric pressing either over the last week. 

There were only 2 - 4 yard pieces that got pressed this week. I'm so much more interested in stitching then pressing these days.  But I'll take any progress, it all counts. 

Did you make good progress with your stitching goals this week? 

 

 

Week 124 Photo Challenge: Kiss

This week's photo challenge was harder than last week's. Last week both My Guy and I were scratching our heads, this week's definitely had us racking our brains.  

To be honest, I completely forgot about getting a challenge photo till My Guy got home from work last night. He asked if I had a photo.  I'd been so focused on other things that I had completely forgotten.  So I scrounged around trying to find subject matter.  I found two "subjects".  One was too close to what My Guy had submitted, so I went with my #2 option. 

Kate: You May Kiss the Bride

I was going for dreamy with the slightly out of focus on the bride and groom, not sure it worked that well.  Yes this is from our wedding, my bouquet was all yellow roses, which is why the photo is in that frame.  Probably not one of my better efforts, but I did find something for the challenge.  

My Guy had taken other photos, but he didn't take this photo till after he got home last night.  

My Guy: Kiss A Few Frogs

He's mixing toys here, Legos with frog croakers (you rub a stick down the frog's back and it sounds like spring peepers).  I didn't realize what he was photographing. My other option was a Lego bride and groom kissing in front of a Lego city hall.  Maybe I should have used that one and we could have written our own fairy tale? 

Queenie came to Grad Girl's rescue again this week. 

Grad Girl: Kitty Kiss

Queenie isn't a cuddle cat, so I'm sure Grad Girl paid for that head kiss.  Queenie probably took off for her window seat afterwards.  As busy as Grad Girl has been getting ready for her big qualifying exam, I'm just glad she's found time to take any type of photo.  

My Guy pulled the challenge card for the upcoming week. 

Another tough to photograph subject, but that's what makes it fun.  I'm really going to have to think on this one.  Grad Girl is a kitty parent, so she has that option. She's also known as one of the "mothers" in her friend group. So she could surprise us next week.  

To Do List for the Week of 9/10/2024

Just one week into September and it already feels like the month is just flying by.  The weeks do seem to be getting busier and I have more things on my other stuff to do list, my sewing room to do list has suffered a bit as a result. 

To Do List for 09/03/2024

1. Diatom: Prep top for quilting - progress

2. Chilhowie: Finish 1st pieced border, start on second border ✔

3.  Jewel Box Blocks: Finish blocks - progress

4.  Marble Mystery: Cut background fabric, start assembly - progress

5.  Wild and Goosey: Continue making orange blocks ✔

6.  Sensational Summer Quilt: Continue as leaders and enders ✔

Three check marks with progress on the remaining three items.  Not a stellar week, but not a bad week either.  I'm sure to have more of those over the next few weeks as we've got other stuff going on.  I have some technical work that needs to get done, plus as the weather has cooled, there's some stuff around the house that really has to get done.  

Having said all that, this week's list is going to be ambitious.  I'm close to finishing off a couple of the to do's from last week, so adding a couple of new items to take their place.  It's a long list this week.  

To Do List for 09/10/2024

1.  Diatom (Quilting Jetgirl): Finish top prep, send out for quilting.  

I finished pressing and de-threading 3 of the 4 rows of blocks. It shouldn't take long to finish the last row of blocks. The plan is to do that this morning before I head out to lunch with My Guy. Hopefully I can also find a box and get it packaged so it can go out today as well. 

2.  Chilhowie (Bonnie Hunter): Add last border

The strips are all sewn together, I just need to measure the top and cut the strips, then sew them on.  Shouldn't take to long to finish off this top once Diatom is off the cutting table.  

3.  Jewel Box Blocks (Cynthia Brunz Designs): Finish blocks

I finished six blocks, but ended up cutting enough fabric for 16 blocks.  These are pretty easy to assemble so they should be done by the end of this week.  I raided my 4.5 and 5 inch scrap bins for the HSTs. Making these blocks did empty both scrap bins enough that there is room for more scraps (yeah!).

4. Marble Mystery (Meadow Mist Designs): Continue to cut fabrics and work on September clue.

Not the best picture, but I wasn't going to take all the pieces out of the baggies.  The background is all cut and I have plenty left over. I was concerned I wouldn't as I'm a 1/4 yard short based on the yardage charts for the project.  I still need to cut one more fabric before I can start any of the assembly.  That should happen this week sometime.  

5.  Rhododendron (Bonnie Hunter): Make label and binding

Rhododendron came back from being quilted last week.  Trudy did a great job with it.  If I can get the label and binding made, then there is a good chance this quilt can be finished next week.  

6.  Wild and Goosey (Bonnie Hunter): Continue making orange blocks

The RSC color for September is darks. Since all my blocks use black, I'm just going to keep making the orange blocks.  I don't need many more before I'll have all that's needed for this color.  It would be nice to have another color finished off. I finished off yellow last year.  

7. Simply Sensational Summer Scrap Mystery (Kevin the Quilter): Continue as leaders and enders project.

This has been one of the easiest leaders and enders projects I've done.  Progress is slow, but there is progress.  I had to cut a bunch more blue scraps, but completely forgot to take a photo.  

That's my list this week. It's a bit ambitious, but hopefully that will encourage me to spend more time in the sewing room this week. Linking up with The Quilt Schmilt for To Do Tuesday. 

Nothing New on the Design Wall

It was a busy weekend.  We spent some time with the family celebrating my sister's birthday.  So I didn't get much done on the stitching front over the weekend.  Chilhowie (Bonnie Hunter) is still up on the big design wall. 

I finished the pieced border and the narrow orange strip border.  The final teal border is still over at the sewing machine. 

Almost ready to cut the first strips for the last border.  By the end of the week, Chilhowie should be a finished quilt top.  Before I get to that though, I need to prep Diatom for quilting and get it sent out for quilting.  At some point in the next few days I'll need to figure out which to be finished and which to be assembled project needs to be added to the in progress list.  So there should be something new up on the design wall next week.  

Linking up with Design Wall Monday and Patchwork & Quilts.  

Stitching Stuff: Week 36 of 2024

 

Lower temps and lower humidity made for a much more pleasant week.  But it's still summer here, true autumn weather is several weeks off for us.  It's still much nicer in my sewing room in the afternoon then it is outside.  Still easy to maintain my stitching time streak last week.  

• 15 minute days/week = 7/7 days
• 15 minute days/Sept = 7/7 days
• 15 minute days/2024 = 251/251 days
• Success rate = 100% 

I'm still stalled on processing scraps, but I have made a bit of progress on pressing fabric and reorganizing the fabric closet.  

The bin is almost half empty. It's been a month since I started on this refill.  I've not had as much time to press fabrics, so it may take a couple more months to empty the bin this time.  But I'm happy with the progress I'm making, even if it is slow. 

Are you happy with your progress year to date?  Have you had time to stitch or has it been just one of those years?  

1. Frédérique 2. maggie f 3. Karen 4. DonnaleeQ

5. Melisa- Pinker n' Punkin Quilting 6. Jennifer in Indy 7. Deb in Canada 8. Bonnie in Va

9. Andrée at Quilting & Learning 10. Amanda

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Week 123 Photo Challenge: Sleeping

All three of us enjoy this photo challenge.  It's been such fun to see what we each come up with.  But some week's are more of a challenge to find a photo then others. This week was that way for me and My Guy.  

 

This isn't an object, it's an activity.  It would be easy to take photos of each of us sleeping, but to be honest those probably aren't the most interesting subjects.  I struggled all week with getting a photo. In fact you can tell from mine that inspiration didn't strike till this morning. 

 

Kate: I Should Be Sleeping

Actually, I tried this earlier in the week with my I-Phone and that didn't work.  It's amazingly hard to get a good photo in total darkness. I had to go to the kitchen to turn on the lights there to adjust my camera settings to avoid waking up My Guy.  Yes, I did go back to sleep for a bit after this photo.  I'm at the age where sleeping thru the night doesn't happen all that often anymore.

My Guy went with a similar theme, but ended up with a very different photo. 

My Guy: Shhh-the Neighbors are Sleeping

 

Can you see the stars in the sky over the sleepy neighborhood?  Thankfully the worst noise we get during the day and night is the high school kid with the souped up Jeep who guns it as he leaves the house.  Thankfully, we can't hear him in the bedroom.  

You could say that Grad Girl had it much easier this week. 

Unlike sleeping old people, sleeping kitties are cute. Though a black cat can be extremely difficult to photograph. Queenie likes to nap in Grad Girl's closet on the pile of blankets/quilts.  It's out of the way and dark, a great place for a kitty looking for an uninterrupted nap.  

All in all, I don't think we did so bad with last week's subject.  Next week's subject will probably be challenging for all of us. 

 

I have some thoughts. We'll have to see if any of them actually become photos.  

August 2024 PHD Report

With all the hot, hot days in August, the sewing room was the nicest place to hang out most days.  Consequently there was a lot of progress on the various projects.  Now that we've moved into September it's time to link up with P Designs USA for the August PHD Report.

Another finish added to the chart with no new starts. That's definitely a good month.  So I'm up to three finishes for 2024.  The latest finish was my 2024 Stay at Home Round Robin (Quilting Gail) project. 

 

This quilt, named The Shadow Demon, is destined to live at my daughter's apartment and be snuggled by her black cat, Queenie.  It was such a fun project to make and turned out better than I expected.  Grad Girl is thrilled with it and that's the best thank you there is.  It's also nice to finish one of the quilts that was started this year.  

Just one finish, but there was good progress on a number of other projects in August.  

A few more orange blocks filled in the center of Wild and Goosey (Bonnie Hunter). 

It takes so long to get all the blocks up on the design wall, I'm just going to stick with summary shots of all the blocks of the color I've been working on. Since September is dark neutrals, I'm going to continue with the orange this month as all my blocks have black in them.  Still a long way to go before all the blocks are finished, but I'm happy with the progress so far with this project. I'll probably need another year or two to get all the blocks done. We'll have to see what next year's quilt plan looks like, it could become a primary project to finish next year.  

Not a lot of progress on the new leaders and enders project, The Simply Sensational Summer Scrap Quilt (Kevin the Quilter). 

I've been alternating making yellow and blue 4 patch blocks.  So far one blue and one yellow set of 10 have been added to the project box.  

It's definitely been a year for catching up on Bonnie Hunter mystery quilts. Back in February all the blocks for the 2022 mystery, Chilhowie, were finished as a leaders and enders project.  It went back into the project box as I was in the middle of several other quilt alongs. In August, Chilhowie came back onto the active list as my next quilt top to finish. 

The sashing is finished and I've started on the borders.  Chilhowie won't be finished with all the pieced borders Bonnie used.  My plan for the left over blocks is to use them on the back.  

Diatom (Quilting Jetgirl) became a finished quilt top during the month. It's next on the list to be finished.

The backing fabric has been washed. Hopefully, the backing will be pressed and cut soon.  

The 2023 Bonnie Hunter mystery, Indigo Way, became a finished quilt top during August. 

I'm not sure it will become a finished quilt before the end of the year. But I am thrilled to have it to the finished quilt top stage before the next mystery comes out.  

The August block for the Guild's 2024 BOM was finally cut out and pieced. 

Just two more blocks and then the setting pieces left to make, so just three more months of clues left.  

The project tracker is definitely showing more color/longer bars. 

One more finished quilt and two more finished quilt tops are the primary reasons.  I had hoped for more finishes this year, but it helps to see the progress in other areas.  There should be one more finish in September and hopefully another one in October. That would get me to five this year, so better than the last couple of years for sure.  

To Do List for the Week of 09/03/2024

Is it really September?  Seems like it was the beginning of May just yesterday.  Now summer's end is looming. It will be a quick march to the end of the year.  But I should slow down and just take it a day at a time.  

Looking back at last week, the to do list was pretty simple.  

To Do List for 08/27/2024

1.  Diatom: Piece backing, prep for quilting ✔

2.  Chilhowie: Finish sashing, start borders  ✔

3.  Wild and Goosey: Continue making orange blocks ✔

4.  Simply Sensational Mystery: Continue as leaders and enders ✔

The hardest item on it was getting the backing for Diatom finished up.  Next week's list is going to be a bit longer.  

To Do List for 09/03/2024

1.  Diatom (Quilting Jetgirl): Prep top for quilting

The backing is assembled, pressed and de-threaded.  So if I can get the top done quickly it can go out for quilting quickly.  it would nice if it comes back before my girl's weekend with Grad Girl.  

2. Chilhowie (Bonnie Hunter): Finish pieced first border, start on second border

Still have a bit left to do on that first pieced border.  The next two borders will be strip borders.  Those will go faster, but never as fast as I think they should.  

3.  Jewel Box Blocks (Cynthia Brunz Designs): Finish blocks

Cynthia who hosts the Quilting is More Fun than Housework blog has posted the next block drive for Many Hands and Many Hearts.  The blocks are black and white with bright blue, greens and purples.  My scrap bins are pretty full, so this seemed like a great opportunity to pull out a few scraps and make a few blocks for charity.  The white and black fabrics are left overs from other quilts. Using those will make some more space in the fabric closet.  So a win/win for everyone.  So far I have 8 cut out and ready to piece. 

4.  Marble Mystery (Meadow Mist Designs): Cut background fabric and start assembly of for the September clue.

After much dithering, I finally decided this is the fabric pull for the mystery.  I had contemplated doing red, white and blue, but Grad Girl pointed out that I had just finished  RWB project.  I really like purple and I like monochromatic quilts.  Hopefully these will all play well with each other.  

5.  Wild and Goosey (Bonnie Hunter): Continue making orange blocks.

It would be fun to finish off all the orange blocks I need this month.  Doubt that happens, but I have a few weeks to see how much progress I can make.  

6.  Simply Sensational Summer  Scrap Mystery (Kevin the Quilter): Continue as leaders and enders. 

This has been a wonderful scrap buster and easy leaders and enders project.  Still have a ways to go, but I'm enjoying making the 4 patches.  

That's my to list for this week. Linking up with The Quilt Schmilt for To Do Tuesday.