11/30/13

Holding my Breath and Making Progress

Today was devoted to moving along with the Wind in the Whiskers quilt.


When I left it a few days ago, I was fusing together the 14 pieces required to make the two furrows above and behind the clothesline.


After that, my quest to take this project one step at a time was thwarted since the next step was a doozy. The next step included cutting the grassy hillsides in the background, the three thin trees in the center, the bushes in the middle and the left and the right and left sides of the house, the two very large pieces of grass in the foreground, and the very large patch of dark shade at the bottom. Then, I was to fuse them together. This was not easily accomplished for a couple of reasons. First, my ironing board wasn't wide enough to accommodate all of it at once, and yet, it all kind of needed to be done at the same time. It's hard to explain, and so you'll just have to take my word for it. Secondly, my pressing sheet isn't large enough to accommodate the whole thing, and yet, it all needed to be done at the same time like before. Nevertheless, I managed to get it all done, and now the background of this block is all fused together.


Now, I could sit here and write down all the reasons why this isn't done exactly right, but I'm not going to. I'm going to adhere to my standard goal of having it be "good enough". And, frankly, it's not bad. It could be much worse. I still need to make the clothes for the clothes line. Those won't be fused to anything, although there are some pieces fused to one another. They will be added to the whole quilt much later. Also, I need to make the kittens in the basket and the large tree trunk on the right. 

While this isn't exactly clear to me, the branches, leaves, and flowers at the top of the block will be added when I complete the fourth block for the quilt, and so I'm advised not to work on that beyond making the branch with the chickadee and some of the flowers. That was completed at the beginning of the week.


So, it's moving along, raising my blood pressure, and generally putting me in a bad mood. I'm stopping for the day. I'm going to go ahead and finish all the pieces that remain simply because it's hard to set it aside and then return later. I want to have this part all finished before I move on to something else, and honestly, I just want to be done with it for a while.

I'm telling myself that this is probably the most difficult block of the whole quilt, if for no other reason than it is much larger than any of the others. It should be all down hill from here, right?

The other thing I did today was to finish the embroidery for the 4th block of the Quilting Snowladies. When I started on it this morning, I did not expect to finish the whole thing. I kept telling Mike I was going to do just this little bit more, but then I found myself cutting another length of floss and threading my needle. A couple of hours later, it was all finished. 


I find embroidery to be very relaxing, and perhaps I wanted the relaxation before going down to the sewing room to continue on with the Wind in the Whiskers block. Besides, it was an excellent way to procrastinate.

So that's it for me today. I'm considering my goals for December and will blog about them tomorrow. With this being the last day of November, I'm thinking it's been a pretty productive month.

Tomorrow I'll be linking up to Slow Sunday Stitching at Kathy's Quilts.


Monday, I'll be linking up to BOM's Away:


I hope your sewing projects were kinder to you today.

29 comments:

Marla's Crafts said...

Very nice. Love how it is looking. Another interesting way to use material. I like the smowwomen embroidery. I tried to order some of those patterns a while ago but they didn't deliver to Canada. They are so cute.

Teresa in Music City said...

Bravo!!! It looks marvelous to me :*) And it will look quite perfect when it has all the little doo-dads on it, I'm sure! You're my hero just for attempting it - I'm too chicken LOL!!! Congrats on finishing up another Snow Lady - she may be my favorite so far, she's having so much fun!!!

Betty said...

I think your background looks great. If there are any mistake I can't find them!

Shari said...

I think it looks great!

WoolenSails said...

I love seeing your progress, that is such a fun quilt, but a lot of work. You really do keep busy with a lot of projects. I have been working on one all week and still not done, lol.

Debbie

WoolenSails said...

I love seeing your progress, that is such a fun quilt, but a lot of work. You really do keep busy with a lot of projects. I have been working on one all week and still not done, lol.

Debbie

Elizabeth said...

I've been MIA with school stuff since I posted on last month's NewFO linky party. I admire your courage to take on this project! It may not be "perfect" in your eyes, but it will be uniquely yours and that's what's important. I'd say it's coming along fabulous from the pix!!! Can't wait to see more!
Liz

Kate said...

You made lots of progress on the Wind in the Whiskers and it looks great! So does your Quilting Snow Ladies block. You are moving right along!

BillieBee (billiemick) said...

Looks like a great quilt, but if you have to use tweezers, it's way too small for me....yikes.

Vroomans' Quilts said...

Oh sweetie, it is self designer choices - not mistakes. And with this one, go with the designer choices. Love the Snow Ladies block.

Cath said...

Gee, your background looks lovely....I would never think you had trouble getting it done. Hope you and the kitties are all well....haven't been by for some time!
Cath @ Bits 'n Bobs

quiltzyx said...

You can do it, you can, you can!

The embroidery looks terrific - great stress reliever for you. :D

Kirsty said...

It's beautiful, Barbara! You are much too hard on yourself.

Dana Gaffney said...

It's gorgeous any differences from the original are things only you're seeing. I like the "it's all downhill from here" punctuated with the sled, did you plan that?

kathyinozarks said...

I really admire you "sticking to it" those kitties are so sweet so might keep me going on it--but I have realized through the years; that if something is making me very unhappy and taking up too much of my time to cause me to continue to be unhappy (art and craft wise) in the end it's not worth it to me, and I refuse to feel guilty about it-I pass it on to someone else that the project will make them happy

I love your snow lady-anxious to see the other blocks. enjoy your sunday

kathyinozarks said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Kathy Felsted Usher said...

That is a lot of detailed work. It will be worth it in the end and you aren't in a time crunch are you? I'm still working on a more detailed quilt from 2 years ago, dreading making 100s of flying geese! Hang in there. The embroidery looks great.

Quilting Babcia said...

Your Wind in the Whiskers is looking fabulous, and there are no quilt police in the county today or tomorrow either to tell you otherwise! The Snow Ladies are so sweet, I can see why you love working on them. I find my relaxation in hand quilting, the way you feel about your embroidery.

Lyndsey said...

The wind in the whiskers block is looking fabulous. It is extremely detailed and must be tiring on the eyes as well as the temper. You deserve extra time on your snow ladies to make up for the stress ( and it will help lower your blood pressure.)

Deb@asimplelifequilts said...

Oh Barbara! This is going to be such a work of art. I feel your pain though and fingers crossed that it DOES get better as you go!

Dar said...

You definitely have the patience of Job and it will be rewarded grandly when you finish this quilt. It's looks grande! Your snow lady is sure having a blast on that sled. Glad it's not snowing here but that is a fun project to reward you for the other one. Have a good week.

Tami C said...

Oh my! You are doing a beautiful job! You bet it's not bad, it's great! It's sure to be a wonderful quilt. I really like your latest Snowlady. I know how that "going to do just a little more" works. It happens at my house too!

MalinisQuilts said...

WOW! This is absolutely stunning! I love your Wind in the Whiskers quilt, what great details you have put in this quilt.

Anonymous said...

Sometimes those projects just "take over" and then they're done!! Bit by bit!! Just a little more....... Your pieces are so nice!!! The days are flying by. I remember thinking (last Jan.) that I was not going to be rushing at the last minute and, well, things haven't changed....LOL! Hugs.........

Quilter Kathy said...

I just love your snowladies project and this block is adorable! Makes me smile!
Thanks for linking up to Slow Sunday Stitching!

Brown Family said...

You need to tell your self what I do. It looks great. No one is going to get a magnifying glass and examine it or a ruler and check to see if every thing is in the exact spot. It is your block and if you are happy with it that is all that counts. If any one says anything, tell them to go make it themselves and then come talk to you! It is looking wonderful. I want to get started!

Lynette said...

Your Wind block really does look terrific! I know those McKenna pieces can be a crazy lot of work. They sure are beautiful, though. I know I'll buy this one when I see it on sale again sometime next year, so I guess I'm in for all this fun, too. ;D

Lynette said...

Oh! And the snowman block is too precious. The pine needles just look marvelous in the stitching.

Deb @ Frugal Little Bungalow said...

both of these projects are extraordinary! :)