Sunday, October 31, 2021

2021: Week 44 of 15 Minutes to Stitch

 

I continued taking lots of photographs this week, and have gone through my October folder to see if there were any other photos to show you. 

 

Most of these photos are taken with an iphone. Since I am taking so many photos, I thought I would try to submit some to Shutterstock. 

 

They rejected all of the ones I submitted, mostly due to compression and focus. It's okay. I am not upset. I figured that if they were usable, I should try. If they aren't, I can share them on my blog without worrying about it. 

 

I think I need to take photos with a better camera, but these are fun photos that happen when I am walking my dog, taking advantage of the situation.  


 I tend to take the photos pretty quickly, with the  leash in one hand and the camera in the other.

 

After I decided which photos to include in this post, I loaded more photos from my phone, so I will share those with you later.

 

I really liked the clearing in the clouds after the rain.

2021:  Week 44 of 15 Minutes to Stitch


Did you see the eye in the clearing clouds photo above this heading? 

This week, I finished the purple postage stamp block, pressed it, and started the red one. I got sidetracked a little bit with thinking about ideas for a mini quilt, but in the end, I decided I was more interested in making progress on my current projects.


I'm still enjoying my work and trying to get back to the habit of sewing every day. I managed to do it this week.




15 minute days this week --7 out of 7
15 minute days this year -- 262 out of 304 days
Success rate  = 86%
 
 


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Tuesday, October 26, 2021

2021: Week 43 of 15 Minutes to Stitch

 

With the shorter days and cooler weather, I have been focusing on getting my house ready for the winter. Even though I have been spending most of my time at home anyway, I feel the need to be ready to continue to do that for the winter.

I am also working full time, doing my favorite part of the project.

Most of the photos in this post were taken while I was looking for closeup photos.

2021:  Week 43 of 15 Minutes to Stitch


Another wimpy report. I started the purple postage stamp block. I have the rows done, just need to sew them into a block. I have also chosen the next color. Just like the photo of some gravel looks like a rocky beach, the tiny squares in the postage stamp block gets special attention.


15 minute days this week --3 out of 7
15 minute days this year -- 255 out of 297 days
Success rate  = 86%
 
 


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Saturday, October 23, 2021

Weekly Photo Challenge




 The theme of this week's photo challenge is Extreme Close Up. I took several photos, and decided to submit this one. It had rained at night so I was able to get another photo of  my neighbor's roses while they are still blooming.



Tuesday, October 19, 2021

2021: Week 42 of 15 Minutes to Stitch


 The solids I have in fat quarters are pretty calm, browns and beige. I made the green block from the fat quarter. 



I like the mood of the fat quarters. Mature and sophisticated. But it doesn't entice or motivate me to make the blocks.


I have some yardage of solids which are brighter which entice me more.  They look fine in this picture, but when I was looking at them earlier, I decided that I could use the tamer fabric, and stay sophisticated while adding a little zing. So for now, I will keep the fat quarters in the mix and add the yardage starting from the calmer fabrics. This photo doesn't look too bright, but maybe it was the Tuxedo Vest post that made me feel like I would prefer a little less zing.

At this point, I think a checkerboard sashing would be good. I have to decide the fabric for that so I can start making it now.


2021:  Week 42 of 15 Minutes to Stitch


Another wimpy report. I finished the green postage stamp block.


15 minute days this week --3 out of 7
15 minute days this year -- 252 out of 290 days
Success rate  = 87%
 


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Saturday, October 16, 2021

This Week's Photo Challenge

 The theme of this week's photo challenge was "Stranger".  I haven't seen many strangers the last couple of years so it is difficult for me to show you a recent photo. I have taken photos of strangers though, so I thought I would show those to you instead. It was a part of a 365 photo challenge in 2010. There was a Waterfire show in Columbus.  I asked strangers if I could take their photo and post online, and most people said yes.

The all said yes, except this guy.





Next's week challenge is "extreme closeup". I think I will be able to give you a fresh photo for that one.

Sunday, October 10, 2021

2021: Week 41 of 15 Minutes to Stitch

 

Fall is in full swing here in Ohio.


 The temperatures are cooler, and the rain pools on the colorful leaves.

 

I've shown you silver dollars before. This one made me think of a ghost with the two eyes.




2021:  Week 41 of 15 Minutes to Stitch


This week, I sewed up the columns of Tuxedo Vest and completed the quilt top. I also completed a block for the Postage Stamp quilt. I pressed both of them and photographed them and showed both of them to you in my last post. Then I started the next Postage Stamp block.


15 minute days this week --7 out of 7
15 minute days this year -- 249 out of 283 days
Success rate  = 88%
 


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Saturday, October 9, 2021

Weekly Photo Challenge


 

The photo challenge for this week is something that starts with the letter A. As usual, I wanted to make it easy, and looked in the refrigerator for an apple. Luckily, I still had one left. I also grabbed the almond milk to make the photo a little bit more interesting. There is not a lot you can do to make an almond milk container and an apple interesting, so I went for a pink background and a closeup. 

Next week's challenge is "A stranger".

Thursday, October 7, 2021

Quilty Content

 For the last few weeks, I have been telling you that I stitched a seam here, I stitched a seam there, but didn't have anything noteworthy to show you. I have finally reached a point where I have "finishes" to share and want to show them to you now. 

First up is a finished postage stamp block. This is the third block. I am now thinking about what color / fabric to use as a constant for the next block.


I also have a finished quilt top. Tuxedo Vest.I had to take the photo from this angle to avoid it looking skewed vertically. This is a baby quilt / wall hanging quilt size.

Sunday, October 3, 2021

October Pictures and Weekly Stitching Recap

 

 We are just a couple of days into October, but Zeus and I walked a different route, so there are plenty of photos to share, even if some of them are weeds.



I was able to fit even more burgers into the pan after I took this photo. So nice to be able to make the whole batch at once. 

My go-to recipe is to smash one or more (usually precooked) grain (oatmeal, quinoa, bulgur, bread, etc) and one or more type of beans (chick peas, black beans, kidney beans), and some spices or sauces.  The spice combination determines whether it is a good batch. Can add some flax seeds or other egg substitute to make it more sticky. Shape them like burgers and cook.

This batch had ketchup, smoke flavor and hot sauce. I should have added some spices, but I made up for it by using barbecue sauce on the sandwich.  I should write down the recipe when I come up with a good batch. The last batch was really good and had ketchup, garlic, ginger, Italian seasoning, fennel and a microwaved potato.

I eat them like burgers or crumble them to make spaghetti sauce.







2021:  Week 40 of 15 Minutes to Stitch

 

As the days get shorter, I need more sleep, which cuts into sewing time.  

I cleaned up more of the sewing room.

I also worked on the Tuxedo Vest, making the trip around the world trade to have the squares be in the right space. I found another set of strips I had already prepared so sub-cut them and sewed them into columns.

 I pressed the rows for the Postage Stamp block so they are ready to join.


15 minute days this week --5 out of 7
15 minute days this year -- 242 out of 276 days
Success rate  = 88%
 

I was at 81% at this time last year, so I guess I can't complain. I will have to be careful to not take too many days off though.

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