Hi ,

 

Happy August! It's hot and muggy here in the foothills of North Carolina, but Josh and I had a terrific time taking the month of July "off" last month.

 

I put that in quotations because Josh continued to answer email and pack orders like a champ and I spent most of every day working on a new book about my goddess quilts.

 

I'm so pleased with how it's coming along! It's going to be a beautiful picture book with detailed photographs of all of my Goddess quilts alongside the journey of making these quilts and how they helped me embrace creativity, overcome challenges, and build an amazing life!

 

I can't wait to tell you more about the book and the rather weird way I ended up writing it so be looking forward to the story in the next Hello My Quilting Friends Podcast Episode.

Of course, it's the first day of August which means it's time for a new quilt block! Click Here to find the pattern for Block #9 - the Crown of Scraps Block.

A few more highlights from our staycation - We canned our biggest batch of tomatoes yet - 70 jars. I bought 10 bushels of tomatoes and ended up giving two away. I think we all agree that two short canning days is better than one super long day.

Another fun event from this month was traveling to Greensboro, NC so James could compete in the Karate AAU Junior Olympics. James is officially a Junior Olympian!

The competition was held in Greensboro, NC, and we stayed in the beautiful O'Henry hotel. If you're ever in Greensboro, be sure to check out the O'Henry; even if you don't stay there, they hold a daily afternoon High Tea which was so much fun.

 

The guys hung out in the room while I enjoyed tea, a hot scone, clotted cream, and cheddar biscuit. I just wish I'd been wearing my big flower hat. That would have been perfect!

 

Those were the highlights, but of course we enjoyed many days swimming, playing chess, watching scary movies (well, the guys enjoyed that), and eating way too many cookies. This summer was filled with all the things a summer should have and I'm so grateful I could spend this time with my family.

 

Of course, it's August now and that means back to school, hopefully cooler weather, and the tenth anniversary of the Free Motion Quilting Project. I'm very excited about reaching this big milestone for our business and thinking of fun ways to celebrate. Stay tuned for more news coming later this month!

 

Let's go quilt,

 

Leah Day