Looks like a nice day

It’s a beautiful day here in the neighborhood.

I think I’ll take a walk down the lane and check on the bamboo.

Aucuba

Our third “watch” cat, Aucuba, is gone as of yesterday. She was almost 18 years old.
She was born under an Aucuba bush in our friend’s back yard in 1992. Her mother was a feral cat.

We will miss her feisty ways.

Let's get to work

There are nurses in our family.

The first one I know about was my grandmother Mabel Tracy. She graduated from nursing school in 1903. Robert’s aunt, Peg, was a nurse in the early 1960s and worked in Herrick’s emergency room in Berkeley. Peg went on to become a flying nurse in Alaska. Peg met Patsy at Herrick and we all adopted Patsy as an honorary cousin way back then. Peg’s daughter Lucy followed her mother’s footsteps and became a registered nurse, too. Catherine is our second cousin and she graduated from nursing school a few years ago.

I’m paying tribute to all the amazing nurses I know by doing a Nurse Shoe block-of-the-day.

If you would like to make a 4-inch paper pieced working shoe to honor some hardworking friend, click on the small graphic below. You will find foundations to print out for your own personal use.

Another person I see regularly is Wayne the UPS driver. He wears shorts all year round with beige socks, and he brings fabric and other goodies to my house. He is on his feet all day. So, here’s a 4-inch block for Wayne and other busy people.

Wayne’s shoe block is just the reverse of the nurse shoe. Click on the graphic below and it will take you to foundations to print out for a right-facing work shoe.

Red shoes

Today is the 70th anniversary of the Wizard of Oz movie. I’ve been thinking about shoes lately. The two shoes I put up on my blog – cleats, and the walking shoe – have led readers to suggest I do a series of shoes. So, without further ado, here is my block-of-the-day for today:

I have some ideas for variations on this theme. I’ll be working on them in the next few days. Have you read Manolo’s Shoe Blog? I learned about it on Terry Grant’s blog and I pop in every so often to see the shoes. I am a sneaker kind of gal and don’t even own a pair of high heels anymore. I do have a pair of Finn Comfort black suede wedge shoes for “good.”

In the meantime, you can increase your shoe wardrobe by making a 4-inch paper pieced high heel shoe (perhaps a pair). Click on the small graphic below and it will take you to some foundations to print out for your own personal use. This is a kind of tricky pattern. I didn’t find it very easy to do, but I will improve with practice.

A football great

… grandson, that is. Joey is on the Phantoms team in Sonoma County. He is a running back. In his second game this season he ran a 60 yard touchdown. Way to go!

To celebrate this achievement I made a 4-inch football cleats block.

I was going to put a Swoosh on the side of the shoe, but I learned a bit about trademark restrictions by visiting this informative site: Duets Blog. If you make this little block for your football player you can add the Swoosh, but I dare not put it on my pattern (project).

I can show you a close-up of Joey’s cleats.

You can make this 4-inch paper pieced football cleats block. If you have football fans in your family this would make a splendid cornerstone block for a quilt. Click on the small graphic below to find a three-part foundation to print out for your own personal use.

If this block looks somewhat familiar, it is because I did a walking shoe block (no cleats) for my block-a-day July calendar.

July was a good month

I’m going to sew my block-a-days for July in a calendar format like this:
I think I’ll use muslin for sashing. It might be fun to make a large picture (quilt) to go above all the 4-inch blocks. That would be calendar art. I’m pondering various scenes such as Mt. Diablo, or a garden with tomatoes. It might make a fun wall quilt.

August has already gone too far for me to start a new block-a-day program. Maybe I’ll do it again in September.

I added one new block to substitute for my “down the river road” block for the 28th. The new block is a sport shoe to pat myself on the back for keeping going on my walking program this year.

You can make a 4-inch shoe block (or a pair of them) by clicking on the small graphic below. You will find foundations to print out for your own personal use.

I made the July 1 block quite a while ago. It is called "Economy block." the foundation for this block is here.

Three watch cats

When we went walking today, our three cats watched us go up and down the lane. Two of them, Blackie and Feather, walked along with us until they got tired. Aucuba, our 16 year old cat, has never been enthused about exercise. She sits at the top of the steps and looks at us as we pass by. The cats have been doing this since February, 2007.


It is late tonight, but I did want to post my block-of –the-day before midnight.

If you would like to make a 4-inch paper pieced Three Cats block, click on the small graphic below and you will find foundations to print out.

Bamboo walk

Today, I noticed a small bamboo clump at the other end of the lane while we were out walking.
I knew I had some bamboo print fabric at home, so the choice for today’s block was easy. The main fabric is by Robert Kaufman from the series “Portraits of the Wild” (print D#4235). It’s not a new fabric. That’s why I enjoy shopping from my stash. I buy fabric I love when I see it even if I don’t have any immediate plans for using it.

We picked a leaf and I found a green print in my stash that matched the color. Plain brown was a good background for the paper pieced leaf.

If you would like to make a 4-inch Bamboo Walk block (and you happen to have suitable bamboo fabric in your stash) click on the small diagram below and it will take you to a foundation to print out.

I think I’ll wander over to the bridge construction project tomorrow and see what’s going on. I hear the sound of pile driving today. I suppose I can design a pile driver block or something for the next one.

Waving palm leaves

On our walk today I noticed the palm tree at the end of the lane and snapped a picture.

When I came home I looked at the photo on my computer screen and decided to make a classic palm leaf block. I tried out several fabrics next to the screen and picked two. (My little Emma Bird from Terry Grant sits next to the screen on the left and watches everything I do.)

Here is my block for today:

If you want to make a 4-inch paper pieced palm leaf block, click on the diagram below and it will take you to a full size paper foundation to print out for yourself.

Too blah to blog

My life is so boring right now. I have nothing to blog about. I re-started my walking program as of April 24, 2009. I am still fiddling around with my hearts pattern, but it isn’t working as I want it to. Perhaps in a week or so something exciting will happen and I’ll blog about it.

First strawberry

The first strawberry appeared yesterday. Robert planted our little garden April 21.
We must pick the berry before the birds spot it. It looks a little small to split two ways, so I think Robert should eat the whole thing.

Unnecessary worry

I’ve been feeling gloomy because I thought my blood pressure was going sky high (190/80). I have been worried for almost a month. I took up my walking program again 20 days ago, but my home monitor kept reporting alarming numbers. Yesterday, I went to see my doctor. The blood pressure reading at the office was normal. That surprised me. I had him do it again. Hummmmmm.
My home measuring device must be on the blink. I’ve had it for 8 years and I guess it just doesn’t work very well anymore. Whew.

My dirty laundry in public

I am so happy to be washing my dirty laundry today! That may seem odd, but there is a good reason and a back-story. I have not had the energy to tackle the big build-up until today.

Way back in mid-May, I think I was attacked by some tomatoes (or something else). Robert and I and a friend went out to lunch at a local restaurant and the three of us got very sick in the next few days. Oh, my dear.

Robert and our friend recovered after almost two weeks. I felt better, and then the whole thing struck me again in early June. Ugh. Dear Robert soldiered on and shopped for groceries and kept fixing meals (very bland ones for me). He was so good.

However, the whole ordeal had a bright side. When I was sick it seemed unnecessary to take a medication that I’ve been taking every day for over five years (a diuretic) for high blood pressure.

I noticed that my left foot felt much better than it had in years. When I was finally well enough to go to the doctor I told him about this phenomenon. I had done some research online and learned about peculiar side effects of diuretics. He immediately put two and two together and said the medication was probably causing gout.
Wow. He told me to stop taking the pills. What a blessing!

That’s why I am happy to be doing laundry today. Robert is pleased too. I’ll get back to my walking program as soon as the gray skies (from the California wild fires) clear up.

He's back

My friend from last year, Lucky Me, is back in the neighborhood again.

My walking program has slowed down somewhat, but perhaps he can inspire me to do better. (I am only walking every three days.)

God, in Her Infinite Wisdom …

... has arranged 35 minutes of clear weather (except for one day) every day since February 2, 2007 just so I can do my walking program. Darn Her. I can’t find an excuse to skip it. Today the rain held off for the required time but now it is pouring.

Morning Visitor

This handsome fellow greeted us on the deck this morning. He waited patiently for me to go back inside to get my camera and stood still until I came out again. I snapped a picture and thanked him. He seemed to be waiting for something (his model fee?). Robert brought him a small piece of a chocolate chip cookie. Mr. Gull took it right out of Robert’s hand, then flew away.

We stayed at Little River Inn (just below Mendocino) while we attended the 13th International Fungi & Fibre Symposium at the Mendocino Art Center, January 7 -- 11, 2008. It was fantastic.

I took my walk down a path to nearby beach, but it was hard walking back up the path.

I took quite a few good pictures, but I don’t have a photo editing program in this laptop. So my pictures and descriptions will have to wait until I am back on my “main machine” at home.

190 Miles

So far. But who is counting? Robert is. I started a walking program on February 2, 2007.

Counting My Blessings

Thanksgiving 2007. I am blessed. Thank you all.

Happy Birthday Robert

I love you. I hope we have many more long walks together.

Walking Journey Journal Quilt 2007

Click on the picture for more detail.

My walking journey started February 2, 2007. The preliminary quilt sketches based on my blog and my life fit right into the Journal Quilt 2007 project.

In the lower left hand corner of the quilt there are doctors examining my left foot. (The people on the quilt are paper pieced from my pattern, Kate & Friends.) Prior to my walking journey, five doctors had diagnosed my painful foot problem as a neuroma (2003), nail fungus (2005), and finally PAD requiring immediate surgery (January 2007). Walking is an alternative to surgery. That is the path I took.

The journey started just outside my front door on our short gravel lane. The winding path on the quilt is an actual photo of the pea gravel, and the foot prints on the path are my Nike Free® shoe soles printed on cloth.

The gray haired man with the big stopwatch is my dear husband (and coach) Robert. He has been with me every step of this journey.

A redwing blackbird (Western bi-colored blackbird) appeared in our neighborhood in March. His call “Lucky meeeee” was a cheerful accompaniment early on. The blackbird has a bead eye. After a few weeks, our cat Blackie appeared at the side of the lane. He began walking with us on a regular basis.

The woman with the red hair and the purple tights is my long-time friend and practitioner Philadelphia. She has sent love to me all along the way.

About halfway into the journey our fluffy white cat Feather began showing up on the lane. Blackie and Feather finally figured out our routine. Now they travel a bit and sit down and wait for us to catch up. Our 15-year-old cat Aucuba tried walking with us a few times, but she decided to wait on the top step and watch our progress. The three cats are still delighting me on my walks. Their images are printed on fabric circles.

Quilting around the curving path reminded me of my daily laps. By mid-September, 2007 my foot had improved impressively. I am no longer an invalid. Healing is shown by the lovely green rising above the red pain at the bottom (fabric by Frieda Anderson). At the top right of the quilt I’m waving thanks to my wonderful support team. The journey continues.

Other Journal Quilts I’ve found online today:


Virginia Greaves

Wendy L Starn

Lynn Majidimehr

Gerrie Congdon

Heidi Miracle-McMahill

Terry Grant

Blahs

Life is just going along fine – walking, reading, designing patterns in my head and notebook. Nothing interesting. I did knit a pathetic little washcloth with some soft cotton chenille yarn. Knitting again after all these years is like jumping back on a bicycle. At first you are a little wobbly. When my T-shirt arrives I should get much better.