Just popping in for a quick hello.

My intentions were good. I was going to have the drawing for the blog-iversary giveaway in my last post before July ended. With July including visiting family, moving-in family, and a family reunion campout to close out the month, that post never happened. Now hubby and I are preparing to leave on another adventure, and I have literally not taken a stitch by machine or hand since my last post on the first of July.

But I did finally put together the items for the giveaway, and here is what the winner will receive.

As usual, there are a few bars of my handcrafted soap. I've also included the recent small finish from my guild's challenge to make a quilt a month from Pam Buda's book, "Vintage Patchwork". This one is named after the Thomas Hardy classic, "Tess of the d'Urbervilles". I've added a pack of my favorite pins for working with small pieces--but they work great on large pieces, too. And finally, in celebration of the United States of America's 250th anniversary, I've thrown in a charm pack of a patriotic line from Primitive Gatherings. (If someone from outside the USA had won, I had a backup charm pack.) 

I have drawn the name and notified the winner, but will not announce their name until I have confirmed that they wanted to participate.

The only other thing remotely related to quilting is the fact that I got a new acrylic sewing machine extension table for my domestic machine, and I am very pleased with it.

I got the old extension table when I began learning to FM quilt, not long after I started blogging. I have a Pfaff, and I bought the table through my local Pfaff dealer. It has served me well until the last year or so. The plastic legs screw up and down to adjust the height of the table to match your sewing machine height. But the vibration as you sew does make them a bit "self-adjusting". I could live with that, but then the plastic legs broke off somewhere along the threaded portion, so they would no longer screw up and down. 

I was folding pieces of thick fabric or cardboard to place underneath and bring it to height. But the leg would eventually slip off whatever I used to raise it, or just fall out of place, due to the threads on the plastic legs not connecting up, and the table would frequently tip without warning.

I'd had enough. I couldn't go to the local Pfaff dealer, because they had closed down a few years ago. I discovered that Missouri Star Quilt Co. works with "Sew Steady" to provide extension tables that fit your machine. You give them the brand and model number, along with a couple of measurements, and they do the rest. It is custom work, so it takes a little time, but I am so pleased with the results. (You can see the reflection of my phone and hands in the tabletop, below.)

It is sturdy and well-made. These legs aren't going to be snapping off any time soon! And the work surface is more generous than my original table.

My only complaint (and it isn't a flaw, just a matter of what works in my situation) is that since I work on a dark surface, the black ruler lines applied to the tabletop are quite difficult to read. The ruler marks on the Pfaff table were painted in red.

Since I haven't had a chance to sew, that ends the "almost" quilty content.

I know I have shared some of the bouquets I have received this year from my florist daughter as part of the "bouquet-of-the-month" she gifted me. I have photos of the two most recent that I thought I would share.

This is July.  More of a delicate, soft color palette.

And this is August. So vibrant!

This has been such a fun gift. I love the surprise of a bouquet when you aren't expecting it, and even though I know I will get one each month, I never know when it is coming. It is always such a day brightener, that lasts all week long!

I cannot leave without a sunset. We have had some beautiful ones lately, but sadly, the cause has been the smoky skies from the raging wildfires. So I am reaching back to July 8th, when the color was not smoke related. 

This was taken from our deck, looking out toward the barnyard. I never tire of the magic of a sunset.

I will check back in when we return from our adventure. I will need to hit the ground running to get projects ready for our first guild meeting of the season (we always take summers off). So I might even have some stitching to share.

In the meantime, remember to be creative and be kind. Oh, how we could use more dignity and kindness in this world!

Janet O.