Ready for Saturday Sewing

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Yesterday I was up and out bright and early because I had physical therapy first thing. I'm usually up early, but not usually out early. Our weather is the best it can be for this time of year. Crisp, cold, and very clear. The mountains look beautiful when the weather is like this. Here's a picture of Mt. Hood taken from the dirt road that goes near our house.

Physical therapy went really well yesterday. For all the whining and moaning I did about it, I have to admit that it is helping. My knee feels better every day, and I actually had three pain-free days in a row this week. Yesterday, I was able to do more exercises than I've ever been able to do, including some squats and lunges, which would have been impossible when this all started. I still have a ways to go, but in the words of my therapist, I think I'm "gaining on it".

After that I came home and started sewing. Thursday, I did all the cutting for the Good Morning quilt.

There were lots of strips, squares, and fabrics, and so I pinned everything together and labeled it by going through the letters of the alphabet. When I ran out of letters, I started over again with AA, BB, and so forth. By the time I was finished, I was up to letter double I.

Then yesterday I started sewing strip sets together and began making the first blocks. Here are the first three:

I was off to a good start on the second three, but had to quit before they were finished.

The next set of strips will be from these two fabrics.

With the exception of a white on white polka dot that I ordered especially for this quilt, the rest of the fabrics are all pulled from my stash. I'm liking the way the yellow from the multi-colored floral pops out in those first blocks above.

This morning I want to take a moment to honor my wonderful Uncle Dick, who passed away peacefully yesterday morning. He was my dad's younger brother. Here's a picture taken of him in the late 60's with my Aunt Juanita. She passed away in 2000.

He accomplished many things in his life, and I am woefully unable to remember everything. He earned a doctorate in education in 1973 and was a dedicated educator in the state of Idaho. For many years he was principal of Borah High School in Boise, Idaho. If any of you are of that vintage, you may remember him. Here is a picture of him with my Dad on the left. Looking at my Dad's uniform, he is a buck private here, and so I'm guessing this picture must have been taken shortly after Pearl Harbor, when he enlisted in the Marine Corps. My Uncle Dick is in the middle, and the youngest of the three brothers, my Uncle Doyle, is on the right. He passed away around 1980.

My Uncle Dick was a wonderful influence in the lives of young people, including me and my brother, and I am glad that I was able to spend quite a bit of time with him over the years despite living far apart. As I have told some folks, he was a teacher through and through. My boys were also able to spend quite a bit of time with him at a couple of family reunions, and I am grateful they had a chance to get to know him. He was one of the heroes of my life, and I am saddened by his passing. My heart goes out to my cousins, Ruth, Rebecca, Ben and Sam. Uncle Dick, you will be missed, but the sweetness of your memory will live on in the lives of the many young people you touched.

So today I'm going to continue on with my sewing. Also, I'm going to make some cranberry pepper jelly today. I think I found the recipe in Bon Appetit recently (can't remember without going downstairs to look). I love pepper jellies of all flavors, and I think if this cranberry one turns out, it will be a good appetizer on Thanksgiving. Pepper jellies are wonderful spread on a cracker with cream cheese, so I'm really hopeful this will be a good one.

Tomorrow we need to head out to wine country to pick up a couple of wine shipments that have been awaiting us. We are members in a couple of wineries, and occasionally we have to go pick up a shipment. That's okay because it gives us a chance to visit the wineries at various times of the year. With the weather so nice, it should be good weather for taking pictures.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend planned for yourself. What's up in your world?