August Recap

Miss J seeing her quilt at the fair

The best part of August was receiving the photo of Miss J seeing her quilt hang in the Clackamas County Fair. She won a blue ribbon (1st in her class); a purple ribbon (best in her division); a pink ribbon (Judge's choice) and $14 in premium money! She was tickled!!!

Although Miss K didn't enter in the textiles division, she did earn ribbons with her card, floral and herb entries. She made great progress on her mermaid quilt in August.

Miss K with her herb entries

I earned one purple ribbon, 14 blue ribbons, eight red ribbons and two white ribbons with my fair entries. Most of the items will be gifted. Some will end up in the guild boutique sale and others will be gifted to family and friends. When I unfolded my entries I found the stitches on the sides and lower edge of the sleeve of my Star Patch entry ripped. I wondered if the sleeve wasn't four inches wide; but, it was. I wondered if someone thought that I had sewn the sleeve on the wrong side of the quilt because the back is pieced. A friend wondered if someone tried to steal the entry. I've entered items in the Clackamas County Fair for many of the 27 years that I've lived in Clackamas County. My entries have returned home just as I had sent them. I contacted the chair of the department. She was appalled and is on the case to find out why someone removed the stitches! In the end, the quilt wasn't damaged and restitching the sleeve will just take some time.

Sleeve pinned in place for restitching

With my friend Theresa, I co-taught six participants in a lifeguard instructor review course and we taught seven participants in a lifeguard instructor course. I taught swim lessons to 14 participants and trained 40 participants in
Basic Life Support CPR for a total of 67 participants.

My dad's brother died August 10; he was 87 years old. His family did a great job organizing their dad's send off. My uncle restored old cars and was particularly gifted at engine restoration. Members of his old car club formed a processional. They drove their restored cars--think models of the 30's--from the funeral home to the graveside service. My uncle, in his casket, arrived in one of the first vehicles that he restored. My brother provided the remarks at the graveside. My brother captured milestones of my uncle's life. Had I closed my eyes, I could've heard my uncle relating the information! After the service, we went to a bakery where my uncle met friends for breakfast. We shared stories about him. It was great to catch up with my cousins.

Monthly thumbnail drawings

On August 28, my friend, Theresa, celebrated her birthday with three of her friends. We went to a paint party. This was a first time experience for me and it was a fun couple of hours! We giggled, laughed and even put some paint on a canvas!!

I have continued drawing thumbnail sketches in my journal. I can see an improvement with practice. If I hadn't been drawing, sketching and coloring, I think I wouldn't have had as much fun at the paint party as I did.

Theresa, Trisha, Ashley and me with our masterpieces

I met 14 of the 17 goals on my August list. My plan is to complete those goals as soon as possible! Today, my plan is to finish the August embroidery lesson. I have finished the software part of the lesson and am about an hour and a half away from finishing the stitch out of the lesson.

Perhaps, I'll feel comfortable enough to embroider two t-shirts too! In August, I refined my designs in the software. I'm ready to start the stitch out process. I've also a skirt to stitch for Miss K. I've been thinking about what I want to accomplish for September. This evening, I'll refine my list. I have found it is helpful to have a written list of goals!