Rosemary etc.

Rosemary came home on May 1. She is a short-haired almost all-black Bombay cat. 

Rosemary

She is affectionate and agile. Loves to play, and often zooms around the house. Surprisingly, she is not interested in our food. She neither begs nor does she sniff our plates. 

It has been a while since we had a third family member. After Jonesie passed away and Louie displayed misdirected aggression (and returned to the shelter), we had been a pet-free home for a few years.

When we spotted a mouse in the house on Easter, and the mousetraps did not work, it was time to bring home the beast. Since then we have seen neither hair nor hide of the mouse.

I firmly believe that the mouse was the universe's way of telling us - "Bring Rosemary home"

Here she is inspecting Bubbles and enjoying the perch from her condo. 

Just curious...

I am so cool!

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We managed to get away for a holiday weekend, saw some sights, ate good food, had some exhilarating moments (ziplining) and got sunburnt, while tubing in the Shenandoah River.

Mayneview Bed & Breakfast in Luray

The View from our B&B

Lake Arrowhead State Park

Growing Old Together

So Much Fun to get a SunBurn

Yes, we did apply SPF50 cream, but the river water washed it away. 

Pork Belly at Chop House Bistro

Peppers, Mushrooms and Cheese 

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I received the remaining fabrics from Island Batik, including the pattern and bag making supplies from ByAnnie.

The Pattern + Bag Making Supplies, from ByAnnie

The Fabrics to make the bag

Summer Collection - Paisley Pop 2.5" Strips

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July is Purple, said Angela. And nature got the memo.

Crepe Myrtle in Bloom

And here are my completed blocks!

Divided Squares

Framed 4-Patch Blocks

All Purple Blocks, All Island Batik Scraps

Sharing with Angela's Linky Party.

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Island Batik's August Challenge requires us to decorate the carrying case of our Oliso Irons.  That blogpost is coming in August.

I am so naked...cover me please!

Stay tuned and stay hydrated.

2025 Island Batik Ambassador - Unboxing 2

July is the time when the Island Batik Ambassadors celebrate Christmas! We have just received our second shipment of supplies and they did not disappoint. 

Here is the Unboxing Video. 

It is all about the supplies. I am losing my looks and the fabric gets prettier every year :-D

The Bounty

In September, we will be making a Crazy Quilt. I will be using the Everlasting Collection designed by Jerry Khiev. This collection will be in stores in September 2025.

Everlasting Collection

Dark & Light Yardage to Match

Of course, we need threads to make a Crazy Quilt. Aurifil supplied the following four spools - one for piecing (50wt) and three for quilting (40 wt).

Aurifil Threads to match Everlasting Collection

We received a generous supply of precuts.

Playful Purples (10" Squares) and Brilliant Blues (2.5" Strips)

Colorburst by Jerry Khiev for Heidi Pridemore, 10" Squares 

Ceramic & Cherry Yardage

As always we received a 6 yards of Neutral and 4 yards each of Black, White and Gray.

6 yards of Buttermilk 

Black, White and Gray

If we want to make a scrappy quilt, there are stash builders to help us out. 

Stash Builders - 5" by WOF strips

We also received 12 half-yard cuts from Island Batik Foundations. These are available all year round and match perfectly with seasonal collections.

Island Batik Foundations - Blenders, Basics & Solids

I will be using the following fabrics in October to make the bag. The Yellow id from Island Batik Blenders. The remaining three fabrics are from the Garden Glory collection designed by Claudia Pfeil.

Fabrics from the Garden Glory Collection

We received a generous supply of batting from Hobbs Batting. Queen sized Premium Polyester, 80/20 Bleached Cotton, and Cotton Fusible.

Queen Size Batts from Hobbs Batting

Tuscany Collection Batting from Hobbs

We have yet to receive the Summer Precut and the bag pattern from ByAnnie.com. I have selected Leader of the Pack. I will share when I get them.

Thank you so much for voting for Honi. She won the Viewers Choice Award.  I chose fabrics from the Fossil Finesse Collection.

Fossil Finesse Collection designed by Kathy Engle

Thank you to the generosity of Island Batik and Industry partners! 
Island Batik, Aurifil Thread, Hobbs Batting, and ByAnnie.

In other news, I have selected the purple scraps for July's Rainbow Scrap Challenge.  Will be sharing with Angela's Linky Party on Saturday.

Plentiful Purple Bounty from Island Batiks

I will be sharing with all my favorite linky parties. See full list on the sidebar.

Joyful in July +TGIFF

It is July and the dog days of summer are upon us. 

Me: Must be time for Christmas!
Paul: Christmas? In July?
Me: Christmas in July. It is a statement, not a question.
Paul: Christmas in July is a thing?
Me: For quilters, yes it is. This is when we start our Christmas projects to have them completed by the holiday.

Meet Joyful.

Joyful

This pattern was published in the Special Christmas Publication by Annie's Attic Quilting. 

Published

Special Publication

Nine Festive Projects

Originally designed with black accents, Joyful finishes at 51" by 53". Bright yellow replaced black in the actual quilt.

The Mock-Up in EQ8

I used leftover fabrics from Island Batik collections and Foundations. The background as well as the  binding is Solid White.  The batting for Joyful was provided (so very generously) by Hobbs. I used Thermore - it is my favorite, light batting. 

Red and Green Island Batik Fabrics

The stars are slightly improv resulting in uneven points for a twinkling effect. Do you see it?                    

It wouldn't be Christmas without a twinkle.

Work in progress

Setting Triangles

I completed, photographed and sent Joyful to Annie's last year. It was published recently but it is only now that the publication is available online. It is a good thing I am a patient person (AHEM)!

Honestly, there is so much going on at any time that there is no time to dwell upon any one thing. And if I must dwell upon anything (or anyone), it would be my model :-)

Beautiful Day, on the banks of Potomac

It is not a surprise that he does the same, sometimes catching me mid-shot.

Seriously, Paul?

I am Joyful

Do you have any holiday projects in the works?  Do let me know.

In other news (and there is plenty), I completed my Orange RSC blocks for June. Here they are in their juicy goodness.

Angela has announced that the color for July is Purple. I have gathered my Island Batik Purple scraps. 

Purple for July - Island Batik Scraps

We have received our Island Batik Ambassador boxes, the goodies and supplies for the second half of the year. I will be showing off those beauties soon in both still and video format. That blogpost is next. Stay tuned.

I will be sharing with all my favorite linky parties, including Angela's. See full list on the sidebar.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter