A Grab Bag of Stuff

You have no idea how happy I am that September is right around the corner. This summer has felt like a marathon. All summers in Montana are like that, really, but this one has been particularly marathon-y.

[The bike tour raised over $30,000 for Mennonite Central Committee, by the way, so I would call that a big success!]

I think that some (much?) of what I find so wearing is all the peopleing. During the winter, we all tend to hibernate in our houses and socializing has to be more intentional (and desirable). During the summer, people are everywhere. I have taken to doing as many of my errands as I can as early in the morning as I can. The farm store, grocery store, and Walmart are all open at 7 am. I’ve had a couple of days where I have managed to get everything done and be back home by 10 am. Glorious.

The mail brought some fun things this week. I had Robin Long of Robin Ruth Design on the podcast last week. Robin lives near Ritzville, WA, and has developed a way of making mariner’s compass quilt blocks with strip piecing instead of paper piecing. I am no fan of machine paper piecing—which is different from English paper piecing—so I am interested in any methods for getting around that. As a thank you for having her on the podcast, she sent me one of her Fat Robin rulers and the pattern book for making the mariner’s compass block. I plan to start one of these this fall when things calm down a bit. And I am also hoping to connect with Robin in person, perhaps at the Ritzville relief sale in October.

Unfortunately, the USPS managed to break the second ruler that was in the (padded!) envelope, so she is sending a replacement of that one.

I also got this book. My mother will recognize the name on the cover:

Jaroslav Vajda’s father was the pastor at the church I grew up in, but long before my time. I think he was pastor there in the early 1900s because Jaroslav Vajda was born in Lorain, Ohio, in 1919. In the latter half of his life, he became a prolific hymn writer. His hymns are in Lutheran, Baptist, Mennonite, and many other hymnals. I mentioned him in the sermon I did a few weeks ago at church. Afterward, I decided to peruse the Concordia Publishing House website for other resources and found this little gem. One entire chapter is devoted to the Slovak hymns that he translated, including one called Čas Radosti, which our congregation sang at Christmas. This book is an inch thick, at least.

I traced off this pattern yesterday (view B):

When we were in Missoula a few weeks ago, The Other Janet bought some wide-wale corduroy in a gorgeous caramel color at The Confident Stitch. She is planning to make a skirt from it. I have corduroy in the stash, so I went searching through my pattern library and unearthed this McCall’s pattern. This isn’t high on the priority list, but the pattern is ready to make a muslin whenever I decide I have time. I like the culotte version, too, but I’ll start with the skirt. Culottes are awesome to wear with boots in the winter.

Once again, I love that sewing frees me from having to follow whatever trends are in the store. No navy blue pants or skirts this season? I’ll make some. Culottes are scarcer than hens’ teeth? I’ll make some. Nothing but crop tops for sale? I’ll make some that are long enough for me.