To introduce my newest goal, I need to talk about my new pattern covers. I made them in a new software I’m trying to learn, Affinity Photo, fearful that any day my upgrades on my Mac will render my old copy of Photoshop more obsolete than it already is. And no, I don’t want to pay a monthly fee to use their software (are you listening, Adobe?) I just heard that Affinity Photo is launching a beta version for PC users, too, although it was developed as a Mac software. So this is the first of my summer goals.
They also have Affinity Designer, which I’m also trying to learn, but since I don’t know Adobe’s Illustrator very well, it’s like banging my head against a wall. When my friend recovers from getting her daughter married off, I’m going to bug ask her to teach me a few things.
To keep reading is another summer goal, and this was the latest book I finished, while quilting up a few things for my Riverside Sawtooth post. It set me down so carefully in time and place. No, it’s not a grip-you-by-the-throat novel, but a quiet one, filled with well-drawn characters from a time in our past. I listened to it on Audible, which I would recommend, as the narrator really gets the sound of the voices and it adds another dimension to the story, I think.
Can I mention Summer Events? Here’s about the only political statement I’ll make on this blog: we recently (and sadly) lost our ability to have a primary election here in California. We’d all been so excited, actually asking everyone “who are you going to vote for?” and really getting interested in politics in general. We are one of the final primaries on the Presidential Election Schedule, and for once, we were going to Have a Say! Except now we aren’t, because of the recent events (which has made great theater, I have to say). So, hope everyone else in the United States had a great time voting–as usual, our votes won’t count. H o w e v e r. . . I will be watching the conventions. After teaching Critical Thinking a few years, and having my students watch the conventions and have them analyze the speeches, the rhetoric, looking for the logical fallacies and spotting all the weakness in candidates’ arguments, I wouldn’t miss it for the world. It’s going to be a long, hot summer out here, and hey! we need something to compensate us for not getting a Primary Election.
And it that’s not enough excitement (!), we can always watch the Brazil Summer Olympics, although with all the talk lately, it may end up being like our primary. Click on the link at the end of the post to see this colorful Olympics design in action.
In other news, my garden is growing well, I’ve got a few more projects in the pipeline, but my main quilty goals this summer are as follows:
1. Finish My Small World.
2. Quilt Shine: The Circles Quilt
3. Quilt Riverside Sawtooth
4. Keep working on this quilt. Remember this? It was one of the units in the New Hexagon Millifiore Quilt. I’m halfway through, and my friend Laurel is all done with hers. And her quilt is gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous, so I need to perserve and Be A Finisher. (However, notice I didn’t say “finish this quilt,” but instead wrote “keep working on this quilt.” I am reasonable.)
5. Finish this quilt top, and if possible get it quilted, too.
6. And… this one, too.
I am all done with the hand-stitching. Now just to figure out the borders, and get it quilted.
Easy, peasy. We are coming right along in our Quilt-a-Long, with Step 5 coming up on June 2nd.
Other summer goals:
7. Be a good citizen and follow the national political process. Every other week ought to be about right.
8. Visit my kids and their kids. And my parents. And my husband’s family. That’s about eight car trips right there. I’d better work on #4–if only to have some hand sewing for car travel.
9. Celebrate my one-year anniversary of recovering from my surgery. I think a night in front of the TV would be appropriate, in my nightgown with hand-sewing on my lap, to memorialize where I was last year at that time.
10. And oh, yeah. Vote in California’s Primary. I’m so excited, yes yes yes.
OccasionalPiece--Quilt! 
Well, just as long as you have something to do 🙂
Elizabeth, you are amazing! Love your work,
Love your blog. Enjoy your summer
Carol in Ct
Sent from my iPhone
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You have such wonderful summer goals – a little bit of everything. Your sewing goals are so varies and delightful. Those colors are all happy summer colors.
I LOVE Audible while sewing. I always feel as though I am doing double duty when I “read” while stitching.
I am impressed with your determination to learn a new computer program. I get so frustrated with how long it takes me to learn something like that. I know that you will find it so useful in your work, Elizabeth.
Enjoy your summer as it sounds like it will be packed full with good times.
Elizabeth…..that circles quilt. Stunning. Enjoy the process of finishing that one ; )
Beautiful rosette too. I’m stalled on mine. I should take it to my shop and putter there but I haven’t had time to even knit this week !
You’re so very eloquent, Elizabeth, sharing your summer goals with us. Everything you plan to do is admirable, and probably achievable! Your Circles quilt is absolutely fantastic! Hope you’re satisfied with what you manage to accomplish. I’m very interested in knowing what you think of Audible. Because our public library switched from Overdrive to Axis 360, which is an awful app, I’ve become frustrated enough by the frequent crashes to consider subscribing to Audible. Thanks for the book recommendation. I’m keeping a list.
That’s quite the list! I have a hard time visualizing my summer, but I do know a few things about it. We’ll be going to see eldest granddaughter graduate from high school soon. We’ve begun endurance training for hiking the Scottish Great Glen Way later this year. The route is about 88 miles in 7 days, with backup transportation on days when hiking feels much to hard to contemplate! I have 2 quilts in process of quilting — truthfully only 1, as the other is waiting patiently, so patiently… Next week I’m doing a guild presentation elsewhere in the state, which should be fun. And we hope to figure out when we can go visit Son once he is back in WA. Currently he is deployed “overseas,” and his schedule once back is unpredictable. We could go to WA and not manage to see him at all… I’d like to make a quilt for youngest granddaughter, who is moving later in the summer. A new quilt for a new room, and one more suitable for her 12-year-old self than the pink one made several years ago. Funny, seems like I have no idea what to do, but there was a lot, yes? 🙂
Best to you. Enjoy your summer.
Number 7 made me laugh! Every other week is plenty! I’m reminded of the old Porter Waggoner song: “I’ve Enjoyed as Much of This as I Can Stand.” I, too, was hoping our California votes might count, and the politicians might come here to campaign instead of their normal “ATM visits”.
Christmas Tree looks great – I especially like the eyes of the bottom birds.
Hi Elizabeth. a pattern? If so can it be found in your Crafty patterns? It really is eye catching and I love that it’s a mini. Let me know.
That’s quite a list Elizabeth. I am not sure what your comments about the Presidential election is really referring to? I assume your vote is not going to count? We are having an election here in July and truly, the candidates do not inspire me to vote for them!
You certainly have plenty to keep you busy and interested! Good luck with it- your circles quilt is so lovely. I’m guessing your quilting will bring it to another level again….
Ha ha — I just last night pulled out my Quiltmania with My Small World in it to read the pattern again. Can’t believe I am thinking about starting this one now when I already have at least 12 active projects underway! Six of those are BOMs or QALs, so they won’t be finished up any time soon. The projects you are working on are simply gorgeous!
This post is full of wonderful colors and patterns. If you have as much energy as this post suggests, you get everything done (and more).