Friday, July 4, 2014

Rainy week activities


This has been a dark rainy week....
Sometimes heavy rain with loud crashing thunder and a very trembling, drooling dog at my feet.

A few more four inch blocks were added to my four inch collection. I have yet to decide what I will do with these eventually.  My one-inch box is getting a bit tight to close and these, I hope, will cut the stash a bit. Maybe I should be making the blocks larger but this is just about the right size for take-along work.

I arrange the squares between scraps of thinsulate batting and put them in a zip-lock baggie. This size block can be carried conveniently and finished on a train ride into town.

This week I also finished reading "Sarah's Quilt", the book club read for June by Nancy E. Turner.
I thought I might make the block for this book by copying the quilt on the book cover. Actually, not much of that quilt was shown but it seemed to be a lot of diamonds arranged into hexagons. It seemed a bit complicated to figure out for a 12 inch block.

Here is what I came up with. The dark paisley and white are to represent the windmills that were built to overcome the drought. (The small one was the damaged one and the dark, the new replacement.)

The nine patches represent the close family ties in the story, those homes where the story took place. I thought of using a log cabin piecing but at only three inches, the nine-patch worked better.

The reds are all different fabrics and they are joined to the rest with a small heart print.

The resulting block is rather bright and red but I hope it will work with the others. I have not laid them all out as yet. It is really to dark on rainy days for photos and the flash does not add much to the picture as you may note in the picture above.

Now I am waiting to learn the next book pick. Meanwhile I get the feeling there may be one more book added to this story. I hope so, because Turner can spin a really good tale from the first page to the last word.

The last picture is a "stealth flower".

The Magnolia is one of the first blooming trees in our neighborhood. It is setting buds for next spring's blooming already, and they usually open long before the first leaves appear. All winter we watch those fuzzy buds swell.

I guess some of those buds just couldn't wait for next spring because almost every tree has a bloom or two hiding among the leaves.

The power cord to my laptop gave up working and I am faced with a computer problem. The connector came with the computer from the States and in made in China and not sold in Japan. I can still charge the battery by setting the computer on the "audio station" but it can't be used while in this mode.

I wish Dell had made a stronger wire than the the one connected to the converter. I think the last laptop my husband had, died for the same reason. I can read e-mail on my call phone but I think my computer time has been severely cut.
Time to do some house cleaning? Sigh!

10 comments:

  1. It makes it hard when you cannot get parts in your area and I know the cost of shipping is too much, wish there were cheaper ways to ship. Love your quilt, have been interested in doing irish chain quilts, love the look and there are so many possibilities with color changes. We had a hot week and a rainy day today, as the hurricane passed by. Now it is windy so hopefully it won't be too bad on the water for the rest of the weekend.

    Debbie

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  2. Lovely layout with the squares, superb bloom, and a pity about the cord, can you get a new one where you live? Cheers,Jean.

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  3. I like your four inch collection. The layout you have there is both sunny and cool.
    Your interpretation and the thoughts that go into your book club blocks are impressive. You really need to have some good documentation, list of the books, what each block represents and your choice of fabric to go with this quilt. One day it might end up in a museum and all information about the quilt's background will be valuable.
    Magnolias are 'strange'. I, too, have seen them blooming out of season.
    What a pity about your PC. Time for your children to rally round and present you with a new computer??!!

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  4. the weather may be grim but you are certainly surrounded by colour x Poor pup x they do hate the thunder x lots of cuddles will do the trick x

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  5. oh I just love this layout, the colors are just so vibrant thats a great idea for travel to place them in layers of thinsulate. great new block…
    thanks for sharing, the flower is just beautiful
    Kathie

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  6. I left a comment and it said for me to sign in and then my comment was gone. Love the tiny pieces blocks - and the interpretation for the book club was great.

    Can someone in the US order the part you need and have it shipped to you? It is awful to not be able to get the part you need for an otherwise good computer.

    Love the flower in the tree - what fun to find the hidden flowers in the trees.

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  7. Julie I saw JoAnn's comment - I'd be happy to pick up that cord and mail it to you. Let me know and I'll do it next week. The 14th Jerry and I will be traveling for a couple of weeks but I have plenty of time to do it before I go. blessings, marlene

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  8. We have had a dark and rainy week as well! Unusual for our semi-arid climate. I see the sun is out today though. Love the four inch blocks; such fun colour... and I do love colour. I agree with other comments about the amount of thought you put into interpreting the books through the blocks. I have been frustrated trying to participate in the book club because I find it difficult to get the books, unless I buy them and I vowed a few years ago to stop buying books. I have managed to get about half of the picks through my library but they often don't come until long after the reading time is past.

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  9. Hello Julie! The squares are beautiful. The flower is gorgeous. Hugs

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  10. I'm sorry your camera disappeared and now you're having computer troubles! :( :( I hope EVERYTHING is resolved soon!!

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