It's time to update my PHD progress. The months seem to go by faster and faster.
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| Linking with Ms. P. Designs' PHD program |
As you can see, I did not finish anything this month. I am still trying to work out quilting plans for items 4, 6, 7, and 10. I didn't work on items 8 or 11 this month.
I made good progress on item 2 in my 2025 starts. It's nearly ready for quilting. It requires two more borders to be added and I will need to seam the backing.
I looked at item 1 from the 2025 starts. I'm embarrassed to admit that I forgot what I'm supposed to be doing for the blocks in this quilt. I'm determined to finish it this year, so I'll need to get to studying. 
I did start and finish one new item during July, the super-mini Dumpster Fire. The finished size is 4" x 6". 
Another accomplishment is getting the new-to-me iQ set up and all most of my designs transferred into it. Some of the designs I purchased are password-protected, so I can't move them between units. And some I designed in my existing tablet, so I can't export them out.
One other thing I moved along is this fleece blanket. It's been sitting on my desk for months. I removed the selvedges and squared up the fleece and rounded the corners. Then I gave it to my daughter to add blanket stitching to. So it's no longer in my house!
I also did my annual cleaning of the motor brushes in the back of the longarm and the cleaning and oiling of the inside of the head of the machine. The motor brushes were normal, but the inside front was pretty bad this year. There was quite a bit of black debris in there this year. Usually there is only oil and oily dust. I'll probably need to think about an APQS spa day in the next few years.
I'm still adjusting to using two machines on opposite ends of the basement. This is the last of Charlene's group of Christmas quilts. Quilted with Starry.
Next is the last of Ann K.'s baby quilts, quilted with Cakewalk.
The next two are Teah's. The red one is quilted with Baptist Fan and the other is quilted with Loops and Swirls. 
Finally, I quilted Diagonal Plaid Bias Cut on Cynthia's quilt. It doesn't show much on the quilt, but you can see it on the backing a bit.
My daughter made me this crocheted chicken for my birthday. She didn't use a pattern for this one. She's pretty new to crochet, so I thought that was great.
She also brought my husband this crocheted dumpster fire. I had purchased the yarn and pattern for her. She put her own spin on it. The pattern is available on Etsy.
Moving to the dumpster fire update, the termite damage has turned out to be pretty significant and my husband took off work Friday and worked on the house all day Friday - Sunday in addition to the evenings he'd already spent. He's replaced part of the damaged wood with new material that he treated with deterrent. We will have to replace part of the drywall in the dining room. He accidentally cut through a wire, so now I have a hole in my basement ceiling too. 
The picture below shows what's left of one of the studs from the wall. It looked like corrugated cardboard.
If you live in an area where termites are endemic, I would highly suggest you do a preventative termite treatment around your house if you have the funds. The best treatment (at least in my area) is a product called Termidor. It's generally a one-time treatment that lasts up to 10 years when trenched in around the perimeter of your house. You shouldn't disturb the soil after it's applied. Anyway, if termites are in your area, it's more of a when than an if. I don't know about you, but our house is our only significant asset, and I wish I'd known more and done a preventive application to save all this damage, heartbreak, and money.
Sunday afternoon my husband rushed in the house to tell me that one of the neighbors' houses was on fire. We'd both heard the sirens. He thought it sounded close and saw all the little kids running to one yard, so went to look. Thankfully the house was mostly fine. The fire was outside and burned the siding, OSB, a light, the garage door, and fascia. The fire department said it was due to "discarded materials". We talked to the neighbors the other evening. He'd been working on staining their hardwood floor and had the used rags spread out over a tow-behind yard trailer.
My husband has been lecturing me about how rags with chemicals (stain, acetone, lacquer thinner, WD-40, etc.) can ignite and you need to spread them out and let them dry. Well, here's proof they really can go up in minutes if they get a little too close and/or it's really hot out. Thankfully a young girl who lives a few houses away noticed the smoke coming from their house, got her dad, and then they went and alerted the neighbors so they could get to safety.
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| From this angle, you can't even tell they had a fire. The rainbow was pretty vivid, but didn't show up well in the picture. |
When I went out to be a nosy person, I noticed that I had a lot of pears that look nearly ripe. I'd totally forgotten that we had a good amount of fruit on the trees this year. I looked it up and should probably wait a few more weeks to harvest. 
Over in the garden I have harvested three zucchinis. I can harvest a few green beans, but there is not enough to feed three of us. My asparagus has tent worms/army worms. 🤮 Two thirds of the pumpkins are growing well on the outside of the perimeter and have stretched inside the fencing. The deer keep eating my sunflowers. 
So that's some of my week. I'd call it the highlights, but most was not a highlight. Things can just calm down for a while. I'd like to find some time for sewing and I have many chores still to do. School starts in one week.
Stop back Friday and join me in setting a One Monthly Goal.
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