End of the Month ReCap

It's the end of June. . .I'm not sure how that happened so quickly!!!

This month, I trained:
8 lifeguards, 11 lay First Aid/CPR/AED responders and 33 participants in HealthCare Provider CPR for a total of 52 people!

Salmon fishing

Last Sunday, we went salmon fishing out of Astoria, Oregon in the ocean. It was the second day of the season. Previously, we had fished in the Columbia River and usually we fished in August. Salmon runs are down again this year. The Fish and Game Commission lowered the number of fish you could keep fishing in the river. If you caught the fish in the ocean, you could keep more. Therefore, we made the decision to book a trip to fish in the ocean. I had several bites; but, I landed none.

Bob, my husband, landed three and we were able to keep two of them! (One was a native fish which was released.) Of the five fish our party kept, his was the largest. I often get seasick and I did this time too. . .for the entire trip. I don't know what the issue was. The water wasn't rough. I could see land too! I took dramamine; but, it wasn't helpful. Or perhaps, had I not taken it, I would have had even more nausea! In spite of the nausea, it was a great day. We ate some of the fish the following day. It was delicious. I'm glad that Bob was able to bring home some meat!!

Apple shading exercise with color pencils

Of the seven goals I listed for the month, I completed two. On goal was to come up with a plan of stitching a wall hanging with a river as inspiration. I was stuck on how to start. JoJo and I had a brainstorming session regarding this quilt project which has been on my mind for more than a year. I now have a plan of what I think I want to do.

Pencil drawing of my hand

I also have a plan for the next step in my Kopp Sister's quilt project. I figured out a backing fabric for "New Beginnings" so I can layer and pin baste that project for quilting. Being able to bounce ideas with JoJo has always been helpful! We decided we needed to make a bigger effort to get together more regularly. Before our session ended, we scheduled our next date!

I also finished two workout tops. The plan was to stitch one; but, there was enough fabric for two so each grand received one!

This month, I stitched with a group of new friends. The outing gave me a chance make a little progress on my Bonnie Hunter Good Fortune mystery that I started last fall. This project will be the one that I take with me to future sew days.

Although, I had completed the software part of the embroidery lesson for May and because Joie balked at stitching the samples, I didn't stitch out the samples. There is a lot of raising and lowering the presser foot during embroidery and she just wouldn't cooperate. I decided she needed a spa treatment!

Embellishing the habit tracker page in my bullet journal

I learned that I actually wore out the part that raises the pressure foot up and down! She was away from the studio for a couple weeks. By the time she was back in the studio, my window for embroidery had passed so I'll do the stitch outs next month.

I appreciate that Aaron at Quilting Delights was able to repair her as quickly as he did and that the part was under warranty. Robin, who checked Joie out to me, reported that this was the first time that they had seen that part wear to the point the presser foot wouldn't function!

As for the other goals, I'll roll them over to next month. I had about a week away from doodling, drawing and sketching. I missed it! I'll share a couple photos of what is in my sketchbook and bullet journal. I find sketching for 10-30 minutes is helpful. After working with the bullet journal for the past 11 months,  I can report that I like it so much better than the systems I had used previously.  I haven't switched to a new journal yet. I estimate it will be next Spring, when I finish the pages in this first journal!

The grands sporting an enthusiastic pose 

On one of the days that the grands visited, they slipped on their outfits that I had sewn for them earlier this quarter so I could snap a photo of them.

They obliged  my request with such enthusiasm. I feel fortunate that I was able to capture that memory! I posted about Miss K's dress here and Miss J's skirt and jacket here.

Miss K and I did make some progress on her quilt. She hasn't made arrangements yet for additional working in the studio days. Miss K also lost her first tooth. Neither have asked about setting a sleepover date. They are leaving soon for a trip to Disneyland so I'm not surprised that setting some dates are not a priority at this time!

Stash Buster challenge sample

I did unveil the sample and rules for the challenge at the last Clark County Quilters guild meeting for the year. I'm chairing that committee for the 2019-2020 guild year. The group won't meet again until September. Some members wanted to know about the challenge so that they could have more time to work on it.

The contest will end in April and the quilts will hang in the guild show. If you would like to play along, let me know. I'll post the rules here too! (We can post your quilts here!) I hope to encourage people who might not have participated in a challenge to give it a try.

Beginning in September, I will write one post a month regarding some aspect of completing a quilt for the challenge. I hope people will comment as interaction will help solve problems as well as make the experience more fun.

All in all, it was a productive month!