THUMB SURGERY

 I've had a cyst in my right thumb.  So, I had it removed today.

That was fun.

But, the big question is: what am I going to do for the next week or so without the use of my thumb?

CATS IN PAJAMAS IS QUILTED

 I got the rest of the Cats In Pajamas quilt quilted.

It's off the machine.

OLDIES BUT GOODIES

 We are rearranging furniture and getting rid of some to make room.  One of the things that wasn't needed was a quilt rack.  But, I'm keeping the quilts.  Here are four older quilts that have been hanging on that quilt rack for quite a while.

This first one is one I made right after the opening of Pieces Quilt Shop in Renton.  There were very few customers and I had time to sew.  This was made from the first collection of fabrics I bought for the store. 

It is titled "All That Madders" made in 1996. 65-1/2" x 83"

The back - 

The next is one of my favorites, made from Kaffe Fassett Shot Cottons.  I love how they are so soft.  This pattern was taken straight from one of his books.  It is titled "Square Diamond Quilt", made in 2003. 79"x86"

Even the back is Kaffe fabric.

This one was made from fabrics I collected while we were visiting Denver Colorado in 2009.  I made and finished the quilt in 2011.  78"x90"

Backing made from leftovers and some hand dyes I made for it.

Then there's this one.  It has no label ! 

I know I had these diamonds cut out and laying about for quite a few years before I sewed them together.  It is 95" x 95", too big for my design wall, so it's curled down to the floor.

I appliqued the leftover diamonds onto the backing.

IMPROV BLOCK 40

 Here is this week's improv week from Cheryl Arkison's Quilters Playcation 2024.  She is in her new studio space and is very happy.

SPRUCE RAILROAD TRAIL

 We headed up to Port Angeles yesterday where we spent the night. 

We had a nice breakfast at Shirley's, which is completely packed with collectibles - license plates from everywhere, photos and memorabilia.  Plus it was decorated for Halloween.

 After breakfast, we drove west towards Lake Crescent.  

We went for a walk on the Spruce Railroad Trail in the Olympic National Park.  It was raining when we started out, but the rains receded a bit after a while. It is a Rain Forest afterall.

Coltsfoot

The lake's water is this very interesting blue color, apparently because of low nitrogen levels which inhibits the growth of algae.

A Rough-skinned Newt - they have a bright orange belly, which this one didn't show us.  Also, don't touch - their skin secrets a toxin.  Yuck.

Then we drove back into Port Angeles so we could stop at the Ranger Station and get our Passport Stamp.

Then it was time to head home.

PORT ANGELES

 We drove up to Port Angeles this afternoon. We are going to visit a little bit of Olympic National Park.

 When we arrived we needed a walk, so we drove out onto the Ediz Hook. 

There we several feral cats living here

There are these rusty rails leading out to the beach.

MAKING MUSHROOMS

I'm participating in this year's Fodder Challenge - a month of artists showing us different projects.

This first one, presented yesterday, uses powdered pigments.  I'd never heard of them and now am enamored of them.  They were great fun to use and I can see how they can add something wonderful to future projects.

 

STARTED IN ON THE PAJAMA CATS

 I loaded the Cats in Pajamas quilt onto the longarm, set up the program and started quilting.  

I got the first row done.

I wasn't sure about whether I should just quilt this design in the background, going around the cats.  But, in the end, I went with the allover.

WEEK 39

 Cheryl wasn't quite ready for today because she's in the middle of moving her studio.  So, she had us make a block using our scraps.  For this week's Quilters Playcation 2024 she made some small 'rainbows' and set them in her background.  I decided to do something a little easier.  I used some bigger chunks of scraps that were already sewn together and created a 'band' of color set in my Kona Snow background fabric.