The kitties were outside for a few minutes before that. I caught Sadie just as she took the mighty leap to the "safe" part of the deck.
It's a little like being the first person to jump into a cold swimming pool. "Come on in! The water's fine!" you say, as you stifle your chattering teeth. Smitty followed, but reluctantly.
We were all happier ensconced in the warmth of the sewing room. And here's where I was overly optimistic again, thinking a finished flimsy wasn't out of the question. Good grief. I wonder who I had in mind to sew all those pieces together that were cut the day before. There were six of these:
17 of these...
17 of these...
17 of these...
7 of these...
7 of these...
and 7 each of these.
Phew! And that was a solid day of sewing. Today I will actually start sewing it all together into a flimsy. Maybe today I'll get it all finished.
So are you guys interested in these low-calorie dinners from the diet? The one from last night was pretty good. This one is Spaghetti Squash Shrimp Scampi.
It was easy enough to make it. You roast the spaghetti squash and then scoop out the "spaghetti." I happen to love spaghetti squash. Fair warning, though. The recipe says to cut it into rings for roasting, and even my sharpest knife couldn't easily cut through that hard squash outer shell. And I really hate scrubbing my own arterial spray when it spatters the walls of my kitchen, don't you? I ended up cutting mine in half and roasting it that way. The spinach and shrimp were sauteed in a little olive oil and butter and then the squash added at the end. It made for a tasty dish. It takes about an hour to roast the squash, but then dinner is ready in just a few minutes. Asparagus is looking good right now, and so I served ours with a side of steamed asparagus.
This morning, we finished up the last of the inchies. The two remaining squares had fabric. Square #14 (Valentine's Day) had a little heart.
Square #3 had a little swatch of the same fabric. I used a very light-weight fusible on both to minimize fraying and to hold them in place while I finished the stitching.
Here's the whole thing.
I have enough scraps of the same fabric to add a border and a back, and then I'm going to hand quilt straight lines between the squares and turn it into a little doll quilt. So here's my question to those of you who know so much more about hand quilting than I. To minimize bulk, I think I'll use a piece of white flannel for my batting. What is the best thread to use in this case? Quilting thread? Embroidery floss? Perle cotton? I'll probably get more answers than I know what to do with, but I'm asking anyway. What are your thoughts? We have a trip south planned for later in the month, and this will make a good take-along project.
Today I'll be fitting in housekeeping chores between stints of sewing, and trying to get the Tuxedo cats sewn into a finished flimsy. Yesterday taught me to lower my expectations, but I'm still hoping to get it finished. Dinner is in the slow cooker for tonight...a turkey breast for hot turkey sandwiches...a family favorite. What's going on at your place today?
17 comments:
Sadly I don't have any experience with flannel as a batting except be sure to prewash it to get the inevitable shrinkage out of it. I'd opt for perle cotton with a size 7 quilting needle. That will be one sweet mini quilt!
I believe that perle cotton might take away from your embroidery. Do wash your flannel. It is easy to quilt due to the fact that it is loosely woven. I have done a fair amount of hand quilting and have used size 40 thread and conditioned it with either bees wax or thread heaven.
I always enjoy the antics of the kitties. My 3 siamese cats are also my quilt testers
Love the monthly hand piece and the fabrics will be a perfect finish to it. I'm with Karen on the quilting. We've had a day of sunshine, but there are back to back snow storms moving in tonight and to cover us for the next week. Marching In Like A Lion
Sorry, I have no advice to give you regarding the thread to use for your inchie quilt. However, I would love to know how you cook your turkey breast in the slow cooker. Thanks!
Aside from washing the flannel, which is key, I would have no idea what to do, but I'll chime in anyway just to say how adorable your inchey quilt is. And how much I love crock pot turkey breast. Oh, and how brave your kitties.
The inchy is adorable--so delicate, gentle and feminine. And I don't usually like ultra feminine.I'd like to see it as a wall hanging or even under glass. I think it's just too special to have a doll's crib. It should have a special place of honour.
I like spaghetti sauce, but sadly I don't like the taste of fish or seafood, so a lot of dishes are lost to me.
That looks like a big sewing job you have ahead, but what you have done is impressive. That would take me a week!
I can't wait to start my inchy. I was waiting on the fixative to arrive and it didn't before I left for Spain.
I brought a big hand sewing project to do here--but then realized I had made a cutting error and I couldn't correct it.
I personally like YLI quilting thread. What ever you choose I know it will be beautiful.
No snow here, but "they" say we'll have more rain starting about 2 am. I do love the rain myself. :)
I've made spaghetti squash dishes a time or two. Not fancy but I liked it a lot. I went to a friend's house the other night for a dinner & games night. Becky is a fabulous cook (she used to cater full-time). We had a salad & then a flight of soups. First was Zucchini soup, then a wonderful Senate Bean soup, followed by what could be the BEST chili I have ever eaten!! Dessert was a lemon bundt cake that had dried blueberries inside & fresh "iced" blueberries on the top. Oh! My mouth is watering now!! lol
Your embroidery turned out beautifully! As for spaghetti squash, I stab mine with a fork a couple times and zap it in the microwave for 1 minute before cutting it for roasting. It makes all the difference, and I haven’t lost any blood yet! We love our spaghetti squash and finally used the last one from the garden just about 10 days ago.
Why not go outside the box with hand quilting thread? Perle cotton will look too heavy on this piece. Another option is one or 2 strands of embroidery floss.
It always amazes me just how long it really takes to finish a step in the quilting process. Love the last additions to your embroidery project, that's going to be a very sweet doll quilt. Happy stitching this weekend. Hopefully the deep freeze will end soon.
I agree with the others on the Perle cotton for the quilting. I'd probably go with 50 wt or even 80 wt thread, same color as the background fabric, so that the inchies get the center stage. Definitely wash the flannel first. Those fabric blocks really add a fun touch to the whole thing! We had more snow here yesterday, making driving a bit tricky but doable. Today I need to clean (cobwebs everywhere) but then I'm sewing.
I love your stitchery project!! I'll chime in with agreement that perle cotton might look too heavy for the delicate embroidery. But it really depends on what you will quilt, will you go close around each little square? Then a very fine thread would give you the quilted texture without overpowering the little squares. But if you plan to just do a grid in the middle of the sashing areas, a single strand of floss might give a nice accent. Can't wait to see what you decide to do. OH, and I always cut spaghetti squash in half only, then rake out the middle after it roasts. I've never heard of cutting rings.
How cute is that! I'd use perle cotton. But the embroidery floss should work also with a thin needle.
I'm going to try that dish - it has all the things I like, however I'll use chard instead of spinach(have to avoid due to kidney stones).
Stay warm.
I love spaghetti squash and always roast mine by cutting it in half. Your little doll quilt is going to be precious.
I love that little quilt. All the squares are so different and interesting. Your dinner looks good. Veggies don't go over well with my husband so we stick to mostly salads for our greens. Your kitties make me smile.
Brave Kitties! You had a lot of setting blocks to finish!
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