A Flood of Ideas — Janet Szabo

I finished quilting the table runner. The fabric is Pumpkin and Blossoms by Fig Tree for Moda. The binding will be in coordinating Grunge. This picture was taken in lower light so the quilting would be more visible:

That ribbon candy quilting pattern in the border is so much fun.

I can see why Sherri McConnell is so addicted to making table runners. They are quick, easy, instant-gratification projects and a great way to try out new quilting stitch patterns.

I stopped at Staples yesterday to see what kind of system I could put together for organizing my quilting rulers. They have outgrown the box they reside in currently. I bought a plastic milk crate and these expandable hanging file folders and they work perfectly:

Now I can locate a specific ruler quickly. One folder has my Amanda Murphy rulers and the other one has the HandiQuilter rulers.

My new rolling serger/tool case is supposed to arrive tomorrow. I like being organized.

I taught a Serger 101 class on Monday with two students and another one yesterday with three students. I thought both classes went well. I am always happy when students leave wanting to go home and make a few things or take additional classes to learn new techniques. However, teaching serger classes sends the creative part of my brain into overdrive. I have a ton of pattern and class ideas swirling around in my head. I’m going to try to eke out an hour or so to at least make up some samples on the serger.

Truly, I don’t have a “favorite” part of sewing. I love it all, from piecing to serging to machine quilting, making bags, making clothing, making quilts.

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Some of us from the sewing group/Ladies Club had a going-away party for Sunnie last night at Moose’s Saloon, a Kalispell landmark. Sunnie is going back to Texas for the winter. Preliminary reports are that this year’s craft co-op sale beat out last year’s gross revenue, which is wonderful. And everyone agreed that using the sanctuary to display the quilts worked really well. I expect we will do it again that way next year.

Susan and Elysian are coming over this morning so we can print the Homestead Foundation quarterly newsletter and get it ready for mailing. After that, my three main tasks are going to be continuing a deep clean of this house and running the air scrubber, making tomato sauce and salsa, and working on sewing projects. We do have to get the potatoes dug this weekend—we put it off last Saturday so we could go get the wood boiler—and finish putting garden tools away. The weather has been stellar. Temps have been in the low 70s and that continues through the early part of next week. I’m seeing forecasts for low-elevation snow after that, though, so I wonder if this is a head fake that will be followed by an early winter. In 1996, it started snowing on October 15 and the snow didn’t stop until May. We’re about due for a hard winter.

The husband mentioned that he wanted to take a trip to Spokane some time and order a pair of custom boots from Nick’s. He’s been so frustrated with the cheaply-made work boots that fall apart after a few months. Nick’s will measure and custom make a pair of boots, although the delivery time is anywhere from 18-30 weeks depending on their workload. We need to order some soon so he has them for next spring. We’ll probably make a quick overnight trip to get that crossed off the list.

DD#1 and DSIL are also looking for a new truck. Their current truck bit the dust, although I think they—or actually, DSIL’s parents—got their money’s worth as it was the vehicle DSIL drove in high school. The dealer in Spokane might be able to get them the new truck they want. I told DD#1 that if I needed to pick it up and drive it to Seattle to get it on the ferry to Alaska, I’d be happy to do that.

Lots to do, still, even with the end of gardening season.