Oh Scrap! One of my favourite activities

I love playing with scraps. The rewards are endless and so are the scraps. I have been collecting some red, white and black with a tiny bit of grey scraps lately. they were small so I cut them into small bricks (1 1/2" x 2 1/2") and after I finished some must do sewing I started a new Simple Bricks top.

The little blocks currently stand at 4 1/2" square. This is a small grouping to show how I put them together. I like to pair them first and them put four together. Once I have that together I lay those out as blocks. It just makes fewer pieces to handle and when you join the pairs together it gives you an opportunity to try to ensure you do not have two pieces the same beside each other. Of course with any multi piece quilt top this isn't always possible but using these steps helps.

In the evenings I have been reading an Advance Readers Copy of a book that is being published in June. The title is The Verdun Affair. It is set in two time periods and two main geographic areas. The story begins just after World War One in Italy and continues in 1950 in Los Angeles. I am generally not a big fan of war stories but like The Alice Network this story presents something different. the author has included a list of many of the books he used as reference material for those wishing to explore this era further.

And the secret sewing continues but it is secret so no talk or photos. I am heading out later this week for a few days of sewing with some friends. It is always nice to spend time with like minded individuals.

Piecefully, Joanne

Linking up with Cynthia, for Oh, Scrap! at QuiltingisMoreFunThanHousework (here)
And further Linking up with Lorna at SewFreshQuilts (here)

I made it

Last night I finished book number 50 for this year. It was a meandering tale of the history of apples. A non-fiction title, not my usual fare. This is the fifth year I have accomplished the goal and that pleases me. I am up to my neck again in pattern testing and much of it is "secret" or "top secret" sewing. So you will have to take my word for it I am sewing. Using my new machine while my regular one is at the spa for it's annual treatment. Getting a new 1/4" seam organized. etc. etc. etc.
Boys were here for the weekend and I can now say I have seen Thor, Ragnarok. It wasn't as bad as I thought it might be. Better than Bad Mom's 2 that I saw earlier this week with my neighbour. We seem to have recovered from our 16 hours without hydro. Piecefully, Joanne