a week of this and that

It would seem that this past week, creatively, was a bit of "this and that" or that I couldn't stay focused. I like having a variety of things to work on but the downside of that is that it takes longer to finish anything. The upside, I keeps me from getting bogged down and feeling like I have to keep plugging when I really just want to do something else for a few days.

For two days I hand quilted on the FAB friendship quilt. At this point the short top border and the long right side are done--well, almost done. I am about to turn the corner onto the bottom border.

I also started another stitchery project. Hanging head only because it is NOT on my 10n10 list. But this is will be an ongoing project so I am allowing it. I am SOOOO open to the power of suggestion and as usual "blame" Norma for it. She was telling me about their recent guild program with a trunk show from the designer of the Freckles Collection patterns. Norma had bought a couple of patterns and shared a link to the ones she had gotten. I in turn shared the link for one I had on hand---shown HERE. Cute, huh? Entirely true too, LOL.

Actually I had almost started on it earlier this year but hadn't checked the floss inventory to see what I needed to get. I have it all written up on a spreadsheet but then had to dig around in some cross stitch projects and two thread boxes to find it, LOL. By Thursday I had done that so was making a floss run to Hobby Lobby. Thankfully, they still carry DMC floss because our closest spot for crafting supplies (Walmart) no longer carries ANY floss--not even JP Coats, Anchor instead--- no floss period. Sheesh! I wound the floss on bobbins, entered the numbers on the inventory sheet, marked the muslin and put in a few stitches. Because there is a fair amount of running stitch on it, I decided to back this with a light weight batting. Do the running stitch like a long quilting stitch---see how that goes.

I think when I left off posting last week I was about to work on the block you see to the right---the appliqued January block from Nancy Halvorsen's book Calendar Quilts and Stitcheries (link in previous post) What fun to dig around in the fabric boxes to make my version--stash quilting! The fabric base, obviously is done as is the fusing and buttonhole applique stitching. I still need to embroider the verse and do a running stitch with floss on this as well as sew on some colored buttons on the snowman and add some beads for snow. I pulled the fabrics for the February block as well and will get to to work on it in a couple of days.

I will say that I was a bit confused on this project. The designs are all printed in reverse due to the fusible part but the lettering is not. I finally figured out where to put the verse but where I messed up was NOT shifting the pattern over for the tree placement. MY tree looks like it is growing out of the snowman's head rather than between it and the log cabin. Naturally I had marked this with pigma pen, not a pencil, where maybe the mark would erase or lighten. A little like working the crossword puzzle in ink and now I can't undo it?? Lesson learned! IIWII


Yesterday I was back to binding---ugh-- something I cannot show you (gift--might be spotted here). Only one long side to go. Close to another finish and to mailing it out.

I hadn't posted a picture of Skyler lately so here he is. Just before I took this he had been hiding UNDER the quilt. By the time I got the camera he decided the top of it worked just as well for napping purposes. (Mom, recognize the quilt?)

So looking forward---I still hope to get to the two donation quilts I have in my stack this week. The plan is to save the handwork, quilting or stitchery, for a few hours in the evening--or not, VBG.

At some point I need to run my Strip Twist quilt up to the long arm quilter as well but that is dependent on the weather. Lately the forecast at week's end has not been very pleasant and not the good driving conditions for making that 110 mile approximate, round trip. I thought a friend who is free on Fridays might want to go with me or I would have made the run earlier in the week.

Binding awaits------