Did You Guess?

Sew, what was it? A few weeks ago I teased with this photo and challenged you to guess what I was making with these low-volume strips. If you guessed 7 journal covers, then you would be right! 

I recently participated in a low-volume swap online; these quiet background prints are one of my obsessions, I can't ever have too many. I will soon have two LV quilts in the works. As I cut pieces for the swap, I saved the strips that didn't quite measure up~ there were LOTS of them! And sew, assembling those into like color groups, I was able to put together a few gifts. 

Hopefully the recipients can put these to good use. 

Was I able to use up all those gathered strips and strings?

Well, I just might have a few left over. 

I don't believe I'm going to run out of things to do for a good long, while. 

Life is Good!

For the Love of Journaling

Do you keep a journal? I do, I have for years. Back at least twenty five years ago I read The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron and began the habit of "morning pages", although I don't subscribe to that discipline as strictly as I used to, I do still find that putting my thoughts down on paper first thing every morning helps me clear my mind and to organize my thoughts and plans. I have always used simple, garden variety notebooks, nothing fancy, to continue this habit. Sometime before Christmas last year I stumbled upon an Instagram post by Simply Eilene, a crafter who explained the simple way that she gathered fabric strips, leftover batting, a hair tie and a button to create lovely covers for dime store composition books. You know the style of books that I'm referring to.
The beauty of these is that the covers are reusable! Brilliant! I quickly pulled together the supplies (had everything on hand) and made a stack of these as Christmas gifts for friends.

I added a pen and a few Christmas sweet treats, placed them in clear cellophane bags and sent them off. Time marched on over the last few months and I remembered, when I was writing in my dog-eared spiral notebook a few weeks ago, that I was planning on diving deep into that strips and strings bin and making more of these cute journal covers for others, plus one for myself! 😉

I created the dark red one at the top of this post and these over the course of the next few days, they've all been gifted. The recipients seemed to love them! But, I still didn't have one for myself.

Until yesterday. 🍓 Using the stitch and flip method and a 45° drawn line onto a scrap of batting I sewed strip after strip until I'd covered the base. I trimmed it up, cut 4" off one side (to add the hair tie into a seam) and then machine stitched binding on each end using a contrasting fabric.

At this point I laid a composition book open on top of the backside of the cover and folded those ends in and over for size. I attached a few Wonder Clips to hold the ends and added the top and bottom binding in the same manner as the short ends, stitching it all into place by machine. 

At this point I added my notebook by slipping the covers into the pockets on each side, closed it up and pulled the elastic tie onto the front to measure for the button placement. 

Voilà!  

My own journal cover sewn from strawberry prints that I've been hoarding. Once I began making these and had pulled all the necessary supplies onto the worktable it took me about an hour start to finish for each one. The only hand sewing involved is adding the button. If you're looking for a quick and easy gift you might want to consider this idea. I've made a few of these for children and have placed an unruled notebook inside so that they can illustrate their pages unhindered by lines. In fact, I'm going to switch out my new cover to an unruled notebook as doodling and drawing can only add to the depth of my morning pages; these can also be utilized as project books and/or planners; my journals also have endless "to do" lists. My new cutie-patootie notebook won't be gathering dust, rest assured. 

Life is Good!

EPIC Road Trip-- Wrap Up!

There were quilt shop stops that I couldn't fit in to the previous five installments; we can't forget those. I will attempt to place this wrap-up post in a timeline that is logical and makes sense without appearing too disjointed. The stop at this shop, The Quilter's Corner in Sacramento, CA was on Saturday, the 13th of August. I found this shop to be well-stocked, bright and organized. The owner was highly energetic and friendly, she recommended  a wonderful local restaurant for a pizza lunch that lived up to the billing. Later on this day we learned that our daughter-in-law had been admitted to the hospital for an emergency appendectomy! I don't know that I had ever felt so far from home. We were worried about my mother-in-law before we took off, but never had even considered that one of our children would be hospitalized and in need while we were gone. She did just fine, although the appendix did rupture upon removal which, sadly, added to her recovery time. The troops were called in to help from near and far to help with the children. Certainly, for me, this was the low spot in our adventure.

This is "Grass Lake" somewhere in the Wilamette National Forest, one of the most scenic rest areas I have ever visited. There were benches situated beneath large shade trees where one could sit and gaze out on this peaceful scene. If we hadn't been on our way to another stop (Crater Lake) this day it would have been the perfect picnic location.

This is Quiltmania in Richland, WA. This small shop was literally crammed full of fabric bolts, filling every square inch of space. I helped them clear out a bit by taking some with me! A longarm machine was located right up front near the cash register, occupying the remaining floor space. This shop stays busy with their quilting service. Something that I had not seen before: Quiltmania had an alcove filled with precut extra-wide backing fabrics of every shade and hue, customers for the quilting service can choose backings right on the spot when dropping off their quilt tops. 

Also on this day, we drove for a long time between Oregon and Washington alongside these trees: planted in perfectly straight rows, perpendicular to the highway and identified as Pacific Albus. I found the sight noteworthy and looked it up after returning home as I was curious as to the purpose of this intentional forest. You can read more about it here. (Photo credit to the indicated website.)

This is Quilting Bee in Spokane we were here on the 18th of August. This was not my first visit here, it is an absolutely beautiful shop in every aspect. I was impressed to find both the Bernina longarm and the Bernina 16-needle embroidery machines being demonstrated while I was there, that was fun. This shop is a destination in and of itself. 

On the 23rd of August we traveled through Theodore Roosevelt National Park very early in the morning, we were traveling between Glendive, MT and Minneapolis, MN that day and were already homeward bound at this point. This National Park is one of our favorites for the rugged landscape, abundant wildlife and peaceful serenity (especially just after dawn).  

Passing through some areas called "Prairie Dog Towns" these energetic critters are everywhere! When we stopped to view them they alert each other with a chirping cry and scatter as they dive and disappear into their burrows. I know this is a rodent, a kin to my nemesis squirrel; I shouldn't love them but I do. Who can resist that face?

We had visited this park two years ago and one of my most vivid memories from that time were the Pronghorn and the large herds of feral horses. This time we saw only a lone horse and no Pronghorn at all, they must have been hiding. 

The Bison were not in short supply however! 

The drive home was direct and without a lot of stops from this point forward. Two overnights: Minneapolis and Indianapolis along the way before we rested our weary heads on our own pillows again. Dorothy was right: "there's no place like home".

The wrap-up stats and the low-down on traveling with a pup-- 

Miles traveled: 9, 221. Quilt shops visited: 9. Days gone: 23. National Parks explored: 8. State Parks/Memorials/Monuments visited: 9.  States traveled through: 22, countries: 2.  Pies consumed: 2. State Forests traversed: countless. 

I kept track of each days' details through a journal. Constructed years ago, this journal cover holds a composition notebook making it the perfect size for travel. There are two large "pockets" front and back where the cover slips in which accommodate the maps, brochures and literature accumulated along the way; it secures with an attached tie keeping everything contained, neat and easily accessible.  We stayed exclusively at La Quinta Inns and Suites; they are pet friendly. No, we did not camp along the way! The corporate policy of LQ is two domestic pets per room, unless prohibited by law. We never found that to be a problem and all of our room reservations were made prior to travel, we only needed to adjust on one occasion because we drove farther than anticipated and rebooked that nights stay in a different location. Sadly, dogs aren't allowed on the trails in National Parks, he was carried on occasion. However, leashed pets were welcomed in every State Park we visited. We normally managed dinner by picking up carry-out and bringing it back to our room after we checked in for the evening, that way Hannes wasn't left behind; likewise we alternated getting our breakfasts and bringing it back to the room each morning. While in the car he rode in style, securely harnessed, on his elevated platform in the back seat. 

This was the last road trip for this car. Our 2000 model Mercury Marquis has served us well over the past sixteen years. We traded it in on Tuesday this week with this staggeringly high number on the odometer: we like to drive!

Yes, that is 342, 166 actual miles. All good things must come to an end. We are grateful for the service. 

Here's the odometer reading on our new car: 7.4 miles! Time for new adventures and more memories!

Thanks for riding along~

Life is Good!

I See 700!

Do you remember the Magic Eye craze? We found a book of Magic Eye postcards that belonged to our son when we were cleaning out the attic. I remember both of our children studying those images by placing them right up against their noses and then slowly drawing the page back until the 3D image appeared. I had trouble seeing what they did, I do admit to a bit of 'Emperor's New Clothes' thinking at the time and going along with their findings as a way of escaping what I felt was visual torture. I would squint and cock my head one way, then another, but all I could ever see was a blurry image of the cluttered page before me. I can clearly see those hidden images now. What's changed? The pages and the pictures are the same as they were back in 1994. Have I opened my same old eyes to new possibilities? Perhaps I have, what an exciting outlook! This post is number 700, a milestone. I have a former giveaway debt, as of yet, still unpaid. I will settle that one (hear that, Kiddo?) and offer another one here today in celebration of this occasion. I will be drawing a random name from comments to this post on Saturday, August 15, and offering a handcrafted, personalized, patchwork journal (similar to this one, but with YOUR initial!) to the winner. Thanks for stopping by, thanks for taking the time to see what I see; even if you do feel the need to squint and cock your head every now and then.

Life is Good!