Something New

I'm trying out something new today--the new updated Blogger program--so wish me well!  I've read lots of complaints about the "improvements" so we'll see how it goes. 

The first thing I wanted to tell you about is how my new quilting project is going. In my last post you saw the leaf that I had made following a tutorial posted online by quilt artist Rian Ammerman.

 Since then I've added a background of white and beige batiks and a border of hand-dyed fall fabrics I bought from Cherrywood Fabrics a year or so ago.   The border will be cut down a couple of inches after I quilt the whole piece.  And I'll do that after I add nice dark main and side stems on the leaf.   The whole thing is about 24x36" and should look great over my fireplace this fall. 

The reason I was interested in trying out Rian's technique was to learn a way of making a drawing and then creating it in fabric.  Most of the ways of doing this involved "working backwards" as you move from your drawing to the pattern pieces and then the fabric.  I about went crazy doing this on my "Longing for Travel"  quilt and the Stargazer flower I made for my sister-in-law, Dawn, and wanted to learn a reliable method that I could do with confidence.  Having admired Rian's work, I was tickled when she began posting her tutorials and even more tickled when they actually worked for me! In the photo below you can see the step of tracing the drawing in reverse.    

And here is how it ends up in the proper orientation as you construct it according to Rian's steps.  

Well, so far the new Blogger isn't tormenting me, so I'll tell you a few other things that have been happening around here. 

Paul's long-time friend from back east came to visit Boulder with his girlfriend, Bella!  We haven't seen him since he was here in January of 2015, so this was quite exciting, and to have it happen in these Covid-19 times made it even more special.  Here's the two boys way back at Paul's 4th birthday.  Aren't they the cutest?  

Here's Bryan now with Bella, having hiked the long, steep, and beautiful Rattlesnake Gulch trail with Ben as their guide.  

It was great to catch up and particularly nice that he came out when Paul's band, The Fists of the Proletariat, had a gig.  Despite Paul's healing shoulder, he was able to play and Bryan seemed to get a kick out of it.  It was a treat to see Bryan again and I think he and Bella really enjoyed hiking and rock climbing and otherwise enjoying the wonders of Boulder while they were here. 

 

Speaking of healing shoulders reminds me of the bill for Paul's surgery, which was to "bundle up" and "reattach" muscles that had separated from a bone during the three times that he dislocated his shoulder.   Can you believe it cost over $33,000!! And that didn't include the bill from the surgeon or the anesthesiologist.  Now, of course, we didn't have to pay that whole bill due to our wonderful "plan allowance" but it sure gives you pause.  I'm just so thankful he had the surgery now and not after he goes off our plan in a few years.    

We're still mostly staying home.  Boulder County has nice low Covid numbers and we all want to keep it that way.  One side affect of all this staying home is little but effective improvements around the house.  This morning I got inspired to clean out the drawer that holds our plastic glass containers; you know, the type you put leftovers in.  Yes, those very same ones that seem to mysteriously reproduce when you're not looking.  Before you know it you have so many that you can't close the drawer without swearing.  So I went through them and put about half in the recycle bin for tomorrow's pickup and now the drawer is nice and uncluttered.  

And while I was at it, I switched the position of Turbo's crate and the hall trash can so the crate no longer blocks the drawer holding all those plastic and glass treasures.  Voila! Now we can open the drawer all the way!  Now why didn't I think of this months ago? 

The new Blogger continues to work and now it's started raining again.  We've had a lot of rain in the afternoons and evenings the past couple of days, which is great, but I do hope it won't rain Friday or Saturday night since we're having my birthday "yardies" then.   And I get to open my present from Ben, which is still "hidden" next to his recliner in the living room.  

The rain reminds me of how nicely the garden is doing this year and how I recently decided I needed to plant a few colorful flowers around the front door.  I had planted zinnas but for some reason they didn't  thrive and they weren't bringing me any joy when I walked up to the house.  So in a "life is too short for wilting flowers" move I took them out and replaced them with some pretty pink and red geraniums.   So far they doing well, and I smile whenever I come up the walk and see them. 

 

Before my luck with the new Blogger runs out I'm going to end with another something new.  This time a new hike we tried today, the Anne U. White trail.  It's a 3.7 mile out and back up a pretty canyon with lots of beautiful rock formations.  The main attraction is that you cross a stream so many times that you lose count, walking or jumping from rock to rock to make the crossings, which is quite fun, especially this time of year when the stream has hardly any water in it.  It was Turbo's first time making that type of crossing and he was quite the trooper!    

Linking to my friend LeeAnna's "I Like Thursdays" at Not Afraid of Color