8/16/17

Summer's End

We're closing in on the tail end of summer, and I'm closing in on the end of the Summer Holiday quilt. Yesterday's sewing consisted of finishing off the final two embroidery blocks with their borders. This one is called "A Day at the Beach."


This one is called "Sunset Picnic."


The cat was stitched using long and short stitches, which gives him some texture. I've determined that the best way to do satin stitch is to use three strands of floss, rather than two. It gives me better coverage. Using long and short stitches also worked well for the rather large area of the cat. The stitches cover better than a regular satin stitch would have, since the stitches would have needed to be very long.

When those were finished, I was ready to lay out all the blocks for the quilt top.


And in pretty short order, I had it sewn together and the first border added.


The second border is a pieced border requiring 64 patches cut 2 1/2-inches square. Those are cut, and I'd just started sewing them together when I needed to quit and pick-up the CSA share.


All of yesterday's sewing was done under the watchful eye of the Princess and the Pea.


A few of you have asked me about the origin for the Summer Holiday pattern. It's from this book by Lynette Anderson.


Her stuff is so stinking cute. This is the third or fourth quilt I've made from her designs. The book is a good one and chalk full of cute patterns. There's another in the book I have my eye on, but that will have to wait until next year at the earliest.

Also yesterday, we had a surprise visit from our son, Smitty's favorite person in the whole world. Smitty is a friendly cat with most everybody, but he is particularly fond of our Matthew.


Matthew played with him for hours on end when he was a rambunctious kitten, and Smitty has loved him ever since.

I've been suffering with a painful stiff neck. It's kind of a mystery how it all got started, but I blame the quilting I did on Monday while simultaneously keeping a death grip on the template I was using. There's no other explanation I can think of. It was extremely painful yesterday, causing me to wince in pain at certain movements. It's a little better today, but I'm giving myself a break from housework for the day. Sewing should be all right, however. I'll suffer through somehow, because I'm determined to finish the Summer Holiday quilt top today. Also, I have an idea about a pieced back for it that I think will be very cute. I'm excited to give my idea a try.

We originally thought we'd be heading east for the solar eclipse today or tomorrow. As it turns out, the forecast is for sunny, clear skies right here at home, and so we're staying. Our plan is to drive south about an hour where we'll be smack in the middle of the path of totality. A friend from high school will be staying with us Sunday and Monday. She's going to travel with us to see the eclipse early Monday morning. We're all looking forward to seeing the eclipse, but I'm especially looking forward to seeing my friend, Judy. We haven't seen one another since we graduated from high school. Judy is one of the smartest people I know, and it was thanks to her that I passed my high school chemistry class. Judy did the math...I did the typing. Not really a fair trade. I definitely got the better half of that deal.

This morning I'll do a little more hand-stitching on the binding for Bee Loving, and then I'll get back to work on the Summer Holiday quilt.

8 comments:

Cathy said...

Sorry to hear your neck is not feeling up to snuff. Hopefully the strain will heal quickly. That’s a great picture of Matthew and Smitty. We are looking forward (pun intended) to the eclipse, even though we will only see a partial. But we have the certified glasses (what a chore that was with all the frauds out there....).

Vroomans' Quilts said...

The West Coast is suppose to be the clearest for viewing - hope it all works out for you. Warm a damp towel and roll up/wrap around your neck; moist heat is great for tense muscles. Sweet picture of the two 'boys' together.

Brown Family said...

A Day at the Beach cracks me up! The chicken has on a swimsuit, but the dog and cat do not! It is another cute quilt! I need to pull that book out off my shelf and look at it again! Good luck seeing the eclipse! We will only see a partial, but that will be OK!

piecefulwendy said...

What a fun quilt! You are getting so many quilts done as of late! Good for you! Sorry to hear about the neck pain, hope it works its way out soon! Love the picture of Smitty and Matthew.

SJSM said...

Love how the summer holiday quilt is coming together. We are traveling north to Boise (cheap room with a relative. Have you seen what the hotels are Charging? We checked 6 months ago and $400-$500 per night minimum of 3 nights wasn't unusually!). We will drive the early morning hours to eastern Oregon to position ourselves. We think leaving at 1 or 2 AM should get us there without too much traffic. We will take a cooler, coffee blankets and chairs to wait for the eclipse. The telescope and camera mount are ready. We are looking forward to this twice in a lifetime event. Hope your viewing is spectacular.

Pieced Brain Quilt Designs said...

OMGoodness, your quilt is gorgeous! I hope your neck is feeling better, no doubt after effects of all the quilting. Just got the special glasses for the eclipse - we will probably get to see 90./. but I am happy!

BillieBee (billiemick) said...

I so love your quilt Barbara. Your stitching is perfect. Feel better!

Julierose said...

what a lovely quilt--i like your color choices a lot hugs, Julierose