One of Those Weeks

Happy Friday! Just a little post today, since I have had endless computer/ internet/ and photoshop probs all week! Couldn't edit photos, couldn't answer emails, on and on--and then my mouse died. Computer mouse that is. Left click was entirely gone...Son fixed it so left click functions went to the right click button, but then I had no copy/ paste/ spellcheck or editing. Fixed that now, so by Monday things should be back on track with a real post.

It wasn't all bad: Mo's beloved groomer has apparently gone off to the Hamptons here for the summer. The new guy was good, but cost a whopping $75.oo. Remember Mo gets no clipping or trim at all, so that was, to me, sky high. My haircuts costs less. And I certainly don't get my hair cut every 4 weeks.

But Mo looked lovely. He was a bit puzzled by the lack of a greasy forbidden jerky treat, our regular groomer's reward for good bath times.

And my friends and I had some fun doings to share on Monday, I hope.

Other thoughts--if you joined the police force ,would you be upset if this was your squad car?  It isn't very manly, is it? I'm sorry but we did laugh at the poor guy. Maybe it is good for patrolling the big boardwalk? (The town's other police cars are --or were!--Dodge Chargers [big sedan] or big beach-capable SUVs, like Chevy Tahoes or Yukons.

Tomorrow's pot luck brings for a BBQ dinner:
*hot bacon / vinegar slaw.

*Tomato salad with balsamic dressing and zucchini curls, corn, tiny new potatoes and fresh basil. Feta on the side for dairy free.

*Dessert is fresh strawberries and coconut milk ice cream, dairy and gluten free.

*I plan to bring my own wine, I can't drink the red everyone is liking this summer. Whispering Angel rose` for me. Have a great weekend!

love

lizzy

gone to the beach...

Hurricane Waves

Hi! Storm, what storm?

Hermine was a bit of a disappointment, I must say. Not that I want us to have a huge awful hurricane but there is something pleasantly soothing about a nice tropical rain storm after a long hot and very sunny summer. I did not do a big ''preparedness'' thing because it was pretty obvious Hermine was not a threat. I did finally charge my second Kindle [ya never know!] and I was all set to sit down and sew at my machine for the first time since May.
Lifeguard stands were taken off the shoreline.

But really---no. Bright hot sunshine as Hermine meandered out to sea to our south.

Photos sent from the beach by friends, for us here on my blog.

Some dune erosion and overwash at high tide.

Dear little Gully!

Today, as the waves became bigger, I was tempted to walk on down the boardwalk to check things out. I went about halfway, not wanting to overdo with my hip issues.

It looks pretty!

Then a lovely sunset with a rainbow!

The rainbow is far away, embedded in the storm far away.

Sunset against the storm cloud sky.

Not ONE drop of rain fell, not one puff of breeze blew. Just big waves, hurricane waves.

This would have been Mo's first hurricane! He got a lovely bath/ brush/ groom to celebrate the season's finale.

It was , he said, exhausting! [Mo selfie!]

love 

lizzy

gone to the beach...

PS Here are my two Westering Women blocks I completed on Saturday morning, before the storm wandered away.
This is "The Platte River": the brown center is the muddy water, the purple, the river's banks, the bright edges are the prairies in bloom across Nebraska.

This block is "Hills and Hollows", referring to the rolling landscape of central Nebraska.

I used a few of my antique blue fabrics in the center, they may date to about when this quilt story is supposed to take place, in the 1850s.

[This block made absolutely no sense to me. Too many colors and triangles. I just sewed each square slowly, matching the photo on Brackman's blog. In the end it could finish exactly 12 1/2" or all the points could match. But not both.]

I mocked up a collage of the Hills and Hollows, it would make a very interesting allover quilt. [I don't have a symmetrical collage template but you'll get the gist.]

Welcome Spring! And Pokeberry is Done!

Yay, Pokeberry! 

But first things first, Happy Spring to everyone.

We are expecting snow here at the beach. Love the Alert's commentary:

The Equinoxes often bring stormy weather, and snow in late March is unfortunate but commonplace. One last chance to make hot chocolate and snuggle under the covers while the snow flies. I enjoy winter so I don't mind.
This week I finished my Pokeberry Quilt! Yay! Here's a link to my very first post about Pokeberry, back in June: click here  with credits and explanations, because as my friend Lisa pointed out, not everyone who visits here is a quilter!

I had to piece the backing. I inserted a strip of the  robin's egg sawtooth fabric. The solid is a soft flannel, a very pretty violet/blue/grey. Nicer than the photos look.

The label will go under the line of sawtooths.

This is a label someone gave me, I've been saving it. It looks very Pokeberry-ish, I think.

I learned a new to me trick making this quilt. I love learning new skills, and never having taken a class I sometimes am not clued in to what everyone else knows. Like: how to make large amounts of sawtooths! My previous method was to piece long bias strips of the two colors then laboriously cut each HST [half square triangle, my non-quilter friends] with a template. Time consuming but very accurate. Not fun if you need about 150 hst's for a big border. Thank you, Jan Patek!

One last press and it's off to the quilter in the morning, depending on the snow accumulation, of course. I asked for allover Baptist Fans and I am sending black batting. My quilter agreed with  me that black batting was a good idea for this quilt. It's Hobb's Heirloom 80/20. I could not find 100% cotton batting in black. I'm petty excited that this project is done! And I still love the funny weeds, the pokeberries.

Next I went back to poor neglected Summertime. I quickly pieced the Four Patch /Nine Patch cornerstones. I had to sub yellow on some of the corners so that there was not pink on pink making an odd visual.

Because of this I suddenly last night realized these blocks are directional in an odd way. The navy squares slant off parallel instead of pointing to the center. I'm pretty sure I did the earlier cornerstones wrong! Oh well.

I hope the colors come together. They're not as ugly as the pix seem but a bit sad. My idea was "blueberries/ raspberries/ lemonade", very summery. Looks like a drought to me though.
The applique border will have brilliant rose red yoyo flowers and blue and yellow birds, on green stems and leaves. Perk things up?

I also remade my second block for Westering Women. I couldn't bear to use more of my beloved hoarded turquoise, so I subbed. The new block, on the right, is the correct size but to me it lacks the snap of version one.

...
Yesterday was Mo's birthday! He is two. Happy Birthday, Mo!

Have a great week.

love

lizzy

gone to the beach...

I love the sun rays here,
like a child's drawing