To Do Tuesday 7-26-22

It's time for another To Do Tuesday, where we gather with friends to share our goals, playlists, finishes, un-finishes, and ongoing projects! Join in the fun by clicking on the link below to add your post. If you need more information, just click on the couple above and read the To Do Tuesday Information page. The linkup opens on Tuesdays at 12:01am and closes on Mondays at 11:59pm.

My New Mexico dream house and the view out the windows

Here it is the last week of July, and it seems like summer will never end. Ours began in May, when we were cheated out of our spring by an early heat wave, and it continues with record-breaking high temperatures day after day. With that in mind, I want to move to the above house in the mountains of Chama, New Mexico! It comes with that spectacular view and is only $1,450,000 - lol, if only we could win the lottery! My kids say I'm crazy, but just think what a great place they would have to visit.😉

Here were my goals for last week, and they were easy to complete!

✅1. Rest and recover - Successful cataract surgery on my right eye, with no shiner this time!

✅2. Do whatever I feel like doing - As I get my energy back, I am sewing the rows for the RSS quilt, I completed as many Indiana Puzzle blocks as possible before I ran out of background fabric, but more is in the mail!

Here is the playlist for the coming week:

1. Piece together The Wedding Quilt backing

2. Continue to sew RSS quilt rows together

3. Make more Indiana Puzzle blocks when fabric arrives

4. Stay with The Littles while our daughter has her annual physical on Friday

5. If time allows, start on Moda's new Sew-Along - Letters to Santa!

I don't know is something has changed on Blogger or in my browser settings, but a few of you are now showing up as "Anonymous" in the comments. I am trying a change in my settings to see if it fixes the issue, but if you notice while you are commenting that you are showing up as "Anonymous", please put your first name in your comment, or the name of your blog, and that way I can respond to you. I think I have all of your email addresses in my database, and I love to respond to your comments by email. 

Another issue is an error on my part. Although I receive email notification of most of your comments, some land in the unpublished Comments section of my Blogger dashboard. I often forget to check my Dashboard, so if I missed responding to one of your comments, I apologize!

Now it is your turn! Jump right in and add your link to the linkup below. I highly encourage you to check back later in the week to see posts that were linked up after yours. If your browser is reluctant like mine is to take you to Marsha's Spot, just copy the text below and paste it into your browser:

https://marshasspot.com/

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Life, Reading, And Happenings

Our back yard redo is still in progress. That's a firepit under the black cover,

all ready for s'mores if it ever turns cold again!

Between soaring heat, drought, and eye surgeries, this summer has been pretty far down on my list of enjoyable summers. But there have been some perks, such as a new pergola in the back yard and reading! Today I am joining with Kathryn of The Book Date for a linkup called "It's Monday! What Are You Reading?" I find Kathryn's blog to be a good source of books I might like to read, and Kathryn offers concise and on-point reviews!

I am currently re-reading Tony Hillerman's series of books featuring Joe Leaphorn, a fictional Navajo Tribal Police Lieutenant in Window Rock, Arizona. Along with Leaphorn's murder investigations, Hillerman weaves his respect for Navajo culture in and out of vivid descriptions of Southwest landscapes, a bit of archaeology, and a good mystery. Hillerman shares my love of the mountains, canyons, and mesas of New Mexico and Arizona and makes them a part of the narrative in every chapter!

I am reading the second book of the series, Dance Hall of the Dead. I read most of the series years ago and recently started all over again. My reading is done on my iPad Kindle app in the afternoon with a glass of zinfandel! Although I miss the feel of a book in my hands, the adjustable brightness and font of the iPad makes it much easier for me to read.

Reading the following passage the other day literally gave me goosebumps! It takes place while Leaphorn is surveilling a commune in the cold light of the moon and sees a moving figure, and even Leaphorn "felt the hairs bristling at the back of his neck."

AND IN OTHER NEWS

I am sewing a little bit each day, as my eyes heal and adjust to increased light and clearer vision after cataract surgery! I have 8 rows sewn together, with 7 more to go and should have a finished flimsy this week for the Ruby Star Society Sew-along, and my Indiana Puzzle block pile has stopped growing as I wait for more background fabric to arrive.

During a recent trip to Home Depot, I coveted these plants for next spring!

As you can see from the photo at the top of this post, our back yard is undergoing some changes. We had a pergola installed, and we are in the process of redoing the flower beds behind our house. The plants in the above photo would look great out there!

That's about it for me - what is happening in your world this summer?

I am linking with It's Monday! What Are You Reading? and Melva's Sew and Tell

To Do Tuesday 7-19-22

Welcome to To Do Tuesday, a linkup for you to keep track of your goals and share with others about projects and happenings in your world this summer! Please click on the couple above if you need more information.

I saw an Instagram reel showing acrylic bins used as fabric storage. I found these 12x6x4 ones on sale at Target and bought a dozen. I filled them with fabric and then that led to this: 🢃

After filling the bins, I decided to organize my messy, cat-pawed stash. There is something so relaxing about organizing fabric, and a new appreciation for my stash is gained in the process - although that did not keep me from ordering more fabric!

Doesn't everyone bake during 100 degree+ heat?

These are the potato crescent rolls I made last week - they were so good. I used this Land O'Lakes recipe and substituted a russet potato for sweet potatoes and left out the spices. This is a dependable recipe that I have used for years at Thanksgiving.

My playlist last week:

✔1. Sew backing for The Wedding Quilt - As Diann wondered, if I thought about it, does it count? I found two yards of fabric in my stash to add to the 4 yards I purchased two weeks ago, so that should be plenty to piece a backing. The solution hit me at 3:30am yesterday when Toby the cat woke me up and I couldn't get back to sleep!

✔2. Finish sewing rows together for RSS (Ruby Star Society) quilt - Although not finished,more rows were sewn together

✅3. Post about Moda Block Head block 16 - Posted here

Tomorrow we have to be at the hospital at 6:30am for cataract surgery for my right eye, while my left eye continues to amaze me with improved vision. So my playlist for the coming week is short:

1. Rest and recover

2. Do whatever I feel like doing

And now please share your list at the link below! And if you have time go visit others' blogs for inspiration or squirrel-spiration. 😁

You may have difficulty accessing Marsha's Spot and if so, just copy the text below and paste it into your browser:

https://marshasspot.com/

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Indiana Puzzle - A Moda Blockhead Block

Are any of you participating in Moda's Block Head QAL? I signed up to receive the Block Head posts each Wednesday right here. Although I have not joined in the quilt-along, I do love seeing the blocks, and when this one arrived in my mailbox I was drawn to it immediately, as in - I had to make it!

After auditioning several fabrics for the center I decided on this pop of yellow, and I love it!

The block was designed by Tammy Vonderschmitt of Moda Fabrics, and in her post she shows other examples of her "puzzle" block quilts. Indiana Puzzle is basically a fancy Friendship Star, and Tammy added 4-patch blocks instead of HSTs to the corners, which gives the block a "Snails Tails" look. It is ideal for a fussy cut center but I ultimately chose a pop of yellow.  I used the technique in this Instagram reel for the four patches and really enjoyed the process.

Using one color with a light background gives a "spinning" effect, but you can change out colors and values, and achieve a completely different look. You can see an excellent examples of variations on Robin Pickens blog post right here and you may find the pattern for Indiana Puzzle right here.

Here is my mockup of a quilt using this block with sashing and cornerstones

Most of the pieces have been cut and more background fabric has been ordered to make a quilt of these blocks using the mockup I created above. I didn't already have enough quilts to finish so I decided to make one more - lol!

I am linking this post to Melva's Monday Sew & Tell!

To Do Tuesday 7-12-22

Good morning and welcome to To Do Tuesday! I hope you will add your post to the linkup below and share with others all your creations - quilts, crafts, photos, books, gardening, travel, cooking or whatever makes you happy!

This past week I spent taking it easy after cataract surgery on my left eye last Wednesday. My eyesight has improved dramatically. Thank you for all your well wishes and encouragement. You were right - it was easy and pain-free. There is bruising beneath my eye (my husband called it a shiner - lol!) from injections for stent placement, so I look worse than I feel! Surgery on the right eye is next week. Now that I know what to expect, I'll be much more relaxed.

Indiana Puzzle - Moda Block Head QAL block 16

I've been in the sewing room but only got a small amount of sewing accomplished because of fatigue, but. I did make a fun block yesterday (above) and plan to post about it later this week.

Here is my playlist for next week:

1. Sew backing for The Wedding Quilt

2. Finish sewing rows together for RSS (Ruby Star Society) quilt

3. Post about Moda Block Head block 16

Now it's your turn - show us your playlists! I have coined playlist instead of goals after reading about Soma's playlists at Ink Torrents. Her blog is truly a joy to read with all the creative joy she exudes. All of you are kind and creative and funny and you inspire me so much every week! And you can call your list any name you choose. 😊

Please link up and then go spread the love by clicking on others' posts. If you run into any issues with Marsha's Spot, simply copy the text below and paste it into your browser:

https://marshasspot.com/

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

To Do Tuesday 7-5-22

Welcome to To Do Tuesday! We are officially mid-way through 2022, and time to start thinking about Christmas. There are many who start "Christmas in July" projects, and this year it sounds pretty good to me. If you are experiencing the kind of heat that we are, you know what I mean!

By this time tomorrow, I will be having my cataract surgery.  I started three sets of eye drops yesterday, and they are the most expensive eye drops I've ever used - lol! I was shocked at first at the $240 tab, then I decided to start thinking of it as part of the surgery, so that made it easier to accept. I will have to have the same prescriptions in two weeks, but my eyes are worth it!

I've started sewing rows together for the Ruby Star Society Sewalong quilt!

Here's how I did last week with my goals:

❌1. Sandwich wedding quilt - Still debating how I will piece the backing

✅2. Cut fabric for RSS Sewalong - :Pieces cut, layout done, sewing commenced!

✅3. Finish second table runner and do a post.- Finished and posted here

❌4. Start catching up with Pieces in the Garden Sewalong blocks - No progress

No goals for this coming week other than to recover and see better so that I can comment on your posts!

I can't wait to see what you have going on this week - please add your post to the linky below, then go visit a few blogs and spread the blog-love. Be sure to check back later in the week for those who post after you. If you have any issues accessing Marsha's Spot, just copy the text below and paste it into your browser:

https://marshasspot.com/

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter