Tuesday's This and That: July 18, 2022

 Happy Tuesday!

One of the new trends in quilting has been Temperature Quilts.

Many of you who follow blogs might have seen them.  I suppose one could use scraps to make this kind of quilt.  The quilts are done through an entire year with two blocks (or a variation of that) indicating the high and low temperature of the day.  There are some interesting examples on pinterest here.  

Personally, I seem to mind the heat more as I age and so do some of the older women in my neighborhood.  We are all past menopause so it's not hot flashes.  We just don't like the heat and humidity.  Having to record those temps in a quilt would depress me even more than braving the weather to walk the dog.

It's a fact that I don't have the attention span to pursuit projects like this.  But if you do--then you may want to check out the Rainbow Scrap Challenge that has been going on FOR YEARS!  Each month, quilters make blocks that coordinate with the color of the month.  

Of all the bloggers I follow, Diann from Little Penguin Quilts uses her scraps so well--making small projects and quilts that seem to use up her fabric.  You can check out her blog here.  I wouldn't have a whole wall full of drawers of scraps if I was more like Diann.😕

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A few weeks ago, I told you about a new book I heard about that I wanted to purchase.  The book is called The Little Ghost Who Was a Quilt by Riel Nason and illustrated by Bryan Eggenshwiler.  I really like this book and so did my Mom.  We decided to buy a copy for all the families in our clan with small children.

Of course I like the book because of the quilt theme but I have other reasons to recommend it.  Small children can be afraid during Halloween.  The little ghost's personality is very endearing and the story is charming.  I decided to make a little quilt for each of the kids when we mail the books.

But then...I thought about our friend Amy.  She's a librarian at a small library nearby and coordinates crafts for the kids.  We like to discuss books and projects for the wee folk in our family.  I talked with her about the book and making the kids a little (really little) quilt to go along with the book.  Would she like some for her reading group?  She did indeed.  I thought maybe she would need 10 or 15.  Turns out, our Amy is REALLY popular--about 30 kids show up each month.  

So I did a prototype.  It is super easy and doesn't require binding because I bought a special blade for my rotary cutter.  I used my 2.5 inch strips to make the patches:

I'm sharing this with you in case you have a little one in your family and would be interested in a Halloween (very easy) project and book.  I figure I have to make about 55 of these.  Any leftovers I'll make into placemats for our guild's Meals on Wheels drive.

PS:  The little ghost's face is really elementary so even I can handle that with a sharpie.  And there is a special worksheet for kids that I found here.

Have a safe and happy day!