The Fickle Universe

It was, as predicted, an all-sewing-all-the-time day yesterday. Mike wasn't home for dinner, and so I didn't even have to stop to make dinner. There were some leftovers for me, but as I'm about to tell you, I didn't even stop for that. Here's how the day went.

There were still two more sewing machine blocks to quilt, some sashings, and about half a dozen thread spool cornerstones. I finished all of those and then went to work on the inner border. This quilt has had many different thread colors of differing brands and weights. It's been good practice getting my tension right, not to mention threading and rethreading the machine. I switched to a lavender thread for this inner border. I never know what to do on narrow borders, and so I went with a wavy line. I've used this many times before, and it looks good from the back.

For the outer border, I switched to a rose-colored thread, which was a perfect match to the fabric. In each corner, I quilted a spool of thread and then did a large stipple across the width of the border...

finishing each side with a threaded needle. I did a motif similar to this when I quilted the blocks for the Vintage Miniature Sewing Machines quilt.

When I got to the fourth border, I kept expecting to run out of bobbin thread. It was high time, and I was absolutely amazed when I finished it off with bobbin thread to spare. It was so surprising that I had to take the bobbin out to check how much was left. Here it is...about three inches. Whoa.

The Universe giveth. Then I took the quilt off the machine and spread it out on the floor. I looked at it front and back, and then folded it up. Then, I noticed at the corner I had a pleat on the back where one of those thread spools was quilted. And The Universe taketh away. Drat.

Well, I don't know about you, but I cannot walk away from something that needs taking out. It feels as if I've stumbled onto a monument to my own incompetence, and certainly I can't let that stand. So, I spent the next hour taking out the stitching. So determined was I that I didn't even stop to eat dinner, and when Mike got home I was just finishing it up. Some of it was so tight, and I feared making a hole in the fabric. No problem though...aside from the time it took...and when I left it I had just that little bit of quilting left to redo. That, and winding some more thread onto the bobbin.

The sunrise was so pretty this morning, 

and it gave me the wherewithal to gird up my loins and finish off the quilting first thing.

You might notice that some of the excess fabric is folded over the batting in that image above. That's because of a YouTube video I saw where the quilter used those areas to check her tension. Great idea, I thought, and so I've been doing it ever since. Just remember you've done it because when you flip it to the back and see some of the tension-checking areas, you'll momentarily scare the pants off yourself.

I've discovered the morning light from my living room windows somehow gives me good contrast when I take pictures of the quilting from the back, which is often hard to see. Here's how it looks on this quilt.

Here's one of the blocks a little closer up.

Today I'll machine sew the binding on, and then get to work on the hand-stitching. If this quilt has a strong suit, I believe it is its color and whimsy, and so I'm going to give it a fun and whimsical binding. After the hand-sewing is complete, I'll finish it off by sewing on the buttons. It's going to a friend in Florida who spoke up for it, and I've created a label for her. I'll leave that for a surprise, however.

Also this morning, I finished up this little stitchery for the "Written in Thread" quilted wall hanging. 

I never got around to making up the next block for Gingerbread Square, but there's plenty of hand work to keep me busy for the next several days. Maybe today I'll get to that.

Also yesterday, I went out to feed the birds and dump the compost. While I was out I snapped a picture of these funny little squash growing in the compost pile. Squash are known to cross-pollinate, and so these funny critters are half one thing and half another.

You could say that they are organic GMO's.

I've done some reading about these and learned that they are not good for eating, although I don't suppose they could cause you any harm. Just another example of our fickle universe.

So that's what's happening at the Three Cats Ranch. How's the universe treating you today?