11/26/16

Here Comes the Sun

We're above the clouds here at the Three Cats Ranch this morning. That doesn't mean the sun is shining however. It might be more accurate to say we're between the clouds. We have a little more light than those folks in the valley, but it's still quite overcast.


Also, you'll notice we can't see Mt. St. Helens today. Oh well. It beats the heavy rain we had on Thanksgiving day. It looks to be a dry day, and so I'll probably get out for a walk fairly soon.

Yesterday, I decided to follow the lead of the cornucopia of slugs and sat around slug-like myself. In the last hour of the day before it was time to heat up leftovers for dinner, I finished quilting the Sunflower Sampler. In each corner, we were to put a flower. Lori Kennedy made her flowers more daisy-like in appearance. I decided to emphasize the "sun" in "sunflower". These are about two inches across, which accounts for the blur. I made a tiny section of the picture large.


Then she used a sort of stylized feather she had earlier called "doodle leaves". I started at the bottom left of the collage below. I was having a hard time getting them very even. After getting around to about the third side, they were looking a little better.


If you consider I was emphasizing the "sun" in "sunflower", the borders might illustrate that I was emphasizing the "free" in "free motion quilting". It's a sampler. Practice. It's good enough. And now it's finished.


Then I sewed on the binding by machine. You might remember this fabric from the Seating for Two quilt.


I used itty bitty strips of it for the spaces between the slats on the red chair.



Isn't it fun to see the many ways to use the same fabric? When I paused to write this blog post, I'd hand-stitched one full side plus a little of the second side and turned two corners.


My cat is here to verify.


The finished quilt is 20 x 20 inches, and so it won't take me long to get all the way around.

In other hand-stitching, I filled the hoop on my hand quilting project, and then moved it to the next location.


Here, I'm emphasizing the "slow" in "slow stitching".

Sewing is all about perspective, isn't it? And now I'll get back to my binding.

9 comments:

QuiltShopGal said...

Sounds like a perfect day. Beautiful photo showing a great view from 3 Cats Ranch. Your FMQ Sampler is lovely, as are your other projects. #CreativeGoodness.

QuiltShopGal
www.quiltshopgal.com

Lee said...

That first photo feeds my desire to be out of this city; what a blessing to be where you are!

Vroomans' Quilts said...

The Sampler looks great and super fabric for the binding to tie it all together.

DeeDee said...

Counting the things I'm thankful for this time of year and the ability to quilt, sew and knit were among them. I'm also thankful for your blog. I don't comment frequently, but I read every day. Thanks for sharing what you do!

Brown Family said...

We had sunshine today and mild temps. It is suppose to be stormy and cooler next week. Your Sunflower is great!

claudia said...

You are so much fun...emphasizing the "fun" in "fun"!

Dana Gaffney said...

That sampler looks beautiful!

quiltzyx said...

So you were the delicious center of a cloud sandwich! LOL
Fun stripey binding for the sunflower sampler, YAY!
I, too was a major slug on Friday (long story). I did get dressed & out of the house Saturday for a few hours, hanging out at Auntie's Ceramics. Today I'm at work at the Claremont Colleges, ostensibly to answer the phone, but they haven't been ringing at all. I did bring my laptop so I could finish my LAST TLC Quilters' newsletter! Hooray, retirement looms from that job!
There has been lovely rain here the last 2 days. I desperately need new windshield wipers - mine have rotted from disuse...

Kate said...

A very fun sampler. I like those little flowers in the corners. So does this one get hung in the sewing room?