Day 208 of 2026

  I'm away from my computer. 

See you soon.

Day 207 of 2026

  I'm away from my computer. 

See you soon.

Day 206 of 2026

  I'm away from my computer. 

See you soon.

Day 205 of 2026

  I'm away from my computer. 

See you soon.

Day 204 of 2026

 I'm away from my computer. 

See you soon.

Day 203 of 2026

 

I've finished four sweatshirt pillow covers for Little E.

Day 202 of 2026

The shirt came together better today. 

It's ready for buttonholes.

 

Day 201 of 2026

My day started out pretty bad. 

Can you see what's wrong with my machine here? 

After a new needle and several times rethreading, 

it's still not working properly. 

From there things only got worse. 

I found that the markings and some of the directions

 for the shirt I am making are incorrect. 

After a deep dive online, I found a post that explains

 what happened and how to fix it. 

Tomorrow's another day 

and I hope to power through and finish the shirt.

 

Day 200 of 2026

It's been a while since I've knitted anything. 

My hand has been giving me some pain 

so I thought it best to give it a break. 

Tonight I was able to get color number three finished. 

 

Day 199 of 2026

I want to make Fireball a shirt. 

I bought the pattern and the prescribed amount of fabric. 

I have begun laying out the pattern on the fabric

 according to the diagram. 

No matter how many times I measure the fabric 

and review the pattern layout, 

I keep coming up short. 

I suspect it is a pattern-writing error 

and will look into that at a later time. 

For now Fireball will be getting a short sleeved shirt.

 

Day 198 of 2026

I finished another sweatshirt pillow cover 

and then moved on this pouf 

which has been waiting for a zipper since last year. 

It has its zipper now and will be filled 

with small bits of threads and unusable fabric scraps. 

 

Day 197 of 2026

I only finished one sweatshirt pillow cover today, 

but I have a good idea how to tackle the other three now. 

I should get a good amount of sewing time tomorrow

 so we'll see how far I get.

 

Day 196 of 2026

Today I'm working on a new project 

which involves sweatshirts and zippers.

 

Day 195 of 2026

One of the things I love 

about this Matchy Matchy Sewing Club pattern

 is that right before you are to stitch 

the final edge of the bias facing down, 

it reminds you to add a label, if you are using one.

 

Day 194 of 2026

My main accomplishment for the day 

was assembling these four chairs. 

I am sure to have some sore hands tomorrow

 as some of the bolts were extremely stubborn. 

I was determined to get them done today though, 

so I did not have to begin the process again tomorrow.

 

Day 193 of 2026

I'm almost finished with my second Collage Gather Top. 

Tomorrow I'll finish the neck and hem

 and try to get a picture.

 

Day 192 of 2026

Done.

This is the Collage Gather Top by Matchy Matchy Sewing Club. 

I've already plotted out my second one.

 

Day 191 of 2026

I started this shirt yesterday afternoon and finished it up today

 with the exception of the hem. 

I will be doing a try-on tomorrow 

to decide what length I'd like to make it. 

There are a few changes I will probably make to the pattern 

before making the second top, but this wearable toile 

is definitely going to be wearable.

 

Day 190 of 2026

As we explored a new room today, 

GB#6 discovered the lightsaber. 

He was fascinated.

 

Day 189 of 2026

I am making something called a wearable toile. 

This means I am making a garment out of fabric

 that is not the "good" fabric 

I intend to use for the real garment. 

This allows me to make my pattern adjustments 

and try it out to see if I am happy with the fit 

without ruining my "good" fabric

 if the adjustments are not quite right. 

In theory, the wearable toile will be good enough to wear 

even if there are still small adjustments to make. 

My fabric for this trial garment is two 100% cotton 

Pottery Barn crib sheets I found at the thrift store.

 

Day 188 of 2026

The mailbox flowers are finally blooming. 

There will be more. 

This is one of my favorite plantings.

 

Day 187 of 2026

I have found a few notebooks and notepads that have notes and lists 

from previous trips I've taken. 

This one was from a trip to a quilt show almost ten years ago 

at which I took some classes.

 The part I like the most is at the very top. 

We were told to quilt the big designs first, then filler designs 

and then (my favorite part) grid where you forgot to fill. 

I did not have a problem with today's picture. 

Tomorrow I'll go back and see if I can get the others to work.

 

Day 186 of 2026

Today's throwback is from July 4, 2014. 

Please see this post 

if you missed why I'm giving you throwback pictures.

 

Day 185 of 2026

Today's throwback is from July 3, 2015. 

Please read yesterday's post 

if you missed why I'm giving you throwback pictures.

 

Day 184 of 2026

My computer is doing things I don't understand. 

I think I'm going to have to go talk to someone, 

but since this a holiday weekend, I'm not sure when that will be. 

As of right now, I can't get my pictures here. 

Until I can remedy that, 

I will post a picture from the same date in a different year. 

This one is from July 2, 2016. 

It was not picture of the day but an outtake 

from the photo shoot of this quilt that did make the blog that day.

 I will replace these temporary pictures 

with the ones I have taken on the correct dates 

 as soon as I am able. 

In the mean time please enjoy these blasts from the past.

Day 183 of 2026

The volunteer walnut tree next to our deck 

has started producing fruit for the first time

 after years of growing. 

I suspect it will be a mess below, 

but it has finally become a great source of shade 

so I'm not complaining...yet.

 

Day 182 of 2026

I love seeing all the planes lined up at their gates.

Luckily, there was a family pick up to be done today.

 

Day 181 of 2026

Every laundry day I start out with eight of these dryer balls. 

Sometimes I end up with eight. 

Today I ended with six. 

I am curious to find where the others went. 

 

Day 180 of 2026

Color two went pretty fast and 

I have decided the rest of the order of colors. 

I've started color number three 

and have finished a few rows already.

 

Day 179 of 2026

Today's work in the studio was all about patterns. 

I'm nowhere near done yet, but gathering, sorting 

and decisions about which ones to keep are happening.

 

Day 178 of 2026

I've started color number two on this knitting project 

and was able to get a few rows in today.

 

Day 177 of 2026

It looks like it may become the summer of the hat.

 

Day 176 of 2026

When I fill the bird feeders, as I did today, 

there is ultimately some spillage of seeds. 

I leave them on the deck so the four-legged critters can enjoy it. 

Today the little red squirrel was the first one to notice 

and benefit from my plan.

 

Day 175 of 2026

I've been checking for buds on my hydrangea bushes, 

and today is the first day I have found some.

 I can't wait to see the blooms I get this year.

 

Day 174 of 2026

Fireball and I got a sweet note from GB#3 in the mail today. 

It came on this adorable note card. 

This art is called "Ukulele Airplane Cats" by Pepe Shimada.

 

Day 173 of 2026

We're headed home and decided not to take the interstate 

with all the slowdowns due to summer road construction. 

We're taking the state and county roads

 that have similar travel times. 

This way we can enjoy the expansive fields, farms and sky.

 

Day 172 of 2026

We're on an adventure today and got to meet up 

with someone we haven't seen for years. 

We accidentally both wore our super hero sweatshirts. 

I had to document it.

 

Day 171 of 2026

I've started something new. 

I think I finally have a system to remember what to do 

on each row thanks to the alternating colors of the markers. 

One color is for right side decreases 

and the other is for the wrong side increases. 

Day 170 of 2026

I'm making some pudding to keep in the fridge for emergencies.

 

Day 169 of 2026

It was a dark and stormy night. 

I went out front to see how hard it was raining 

and was distracted by the pretty ferns lit by the porch light 

and showing off new growth. 

 

Day 168 of 2026

Cardinal at the feeder. 

He also spent a good amount of time on the ground 

under the feeder.

 

Day 167 of 2026

I saw a woman online take an orphan granny square

 and attach it to a baseball cap with a logo she didn't like on it. 

It occurred to me that I had a tote given to me

 that had a blacked out name on it. 

Then I remembered that I have a bag of orphan granny hexies

 that were meant for another project that I will never finish.

I had quite a few that were good options

 but ultimately chose this one which gives me bright summer vibes. 

I sewed it on with a large zig-zag and matching thread 

and now it feels like a new tote.

It already has a knitting project in it.

 

Day 166 of 2026

Today I tackled the thread drawer.

Most of my quilt piecing threads will go into the drawer I have emptied 

instead of being scattered in various places on the sewing table. 

The full spools of the type of thread pictured above 

that I use for clothing, topstitching and other sewing 

that needs matching thread will be relocated. 

I will be trying to use up these almost empty spools 

for things like basting and bobbin thread. 

I'm not sure how I'll store them yet.

 

Day 165 of 2026

GB#3 performed tonight with his summer theater group. 

They had a great time and we really enjoyed watching him perform.

 

Day 164 of 2026

My daylilies currently go on for days.

 

Day 163 of 2026

Today was the strawberry festival on the circle. 

We went early this morning 

and avoided the biggest crowds and lines. 

 

Day 162 of 2026

My studio has a set of cubbies 

along the back edge of one very deep desk. 

My original bins are two different turquoises and red. 

The red ones have started to disintegrate 

so I am replacing them with white bins

 as I continue to clean up the room. 

I should have enough white bins to replace all the bins 

if more start to disintegrate.

 

Day 161 of 2026

GB#6 has a front row seat as we watch the truck outside.

 

Day 160 of 2026

The yucca has suddenly bloomed.

 

Day 159 of 2026

Fireball and I took GB#3 to Indiana Comic Convention today

 to celebrate his birthday. 

We had a good time and he seemed to be quite knowledgeable 

about most of the characters walking around. 

He was excited to get his photo taken with this one.

 

Day 158 of 2026

 Fireball and I are working on a long procrastinated project today 

and needed some supplies from the local home improvement store. 

It is amazing how many boards will fit in a small car 

when the back seats will flip down revealing the trunk. 

These 8-foot boards spanned the distance from the back of the trunk, 

almost to the radio past the console

 and to the tops of the seat backs.

 

Day 157 of 2026

This chipmunk has been chirping on the deck for a while. 

He has moved to the edge 

and is ready to sprint for the bird feeder.

 

Day 156 of 2026

I filled the feeders today 

so I spent some time watching the increased activity. 

It may not be especially clear to see, 

but the adult woodpecker (stripes showing) 

is feeding a young one (belly showing.)

 

Day 155 of 2026

I haven't seen a nuthatch in a while, 

so this was fun to see.

 

Day 154 of 2026

It's on my list to learn how to solve my new puzzle tomorrow,

but I accomplished the task early.