Sew Fourth and Sew On

Yesterday's sewing was finishing up the fourth block on two different projects. (And you thought I'd misspelled "fourth," didn't you?) So first...or fourth...was the fourth plate for Pieces of the Past. 

Here are all the blocks I have so far for this quilt.

Next up on my embroidery dance card is this project, "In the Good Old Summertime," which will occupy the "short" slot. Short projects are intended to be projects that can be finished in a single go-round. But you can see this is a fairly large piece...table runner size...and so I'm not sure I can finish it in just one turn before getting tired of it.

So, I'll give it a go, but it might take two go-rounds to complete the embroidery. After that, it will have some piecing work. Here's how the picture on the pattern has it:

I might decide to do something different with it. Either way, I'll just start on the left and work my way to the right. It's hooped up and ready to go and awaiting my return downstairs.

There was a lot going on yesterday. I did some housekeeping, and I did the laundry, and in between all that I was finishing up the next block (the fourth) for New Mexico Kitchen. I needed to finish the machine top-stitching, and then I had some hand embroidery to do. I really dislike doing hand embroidery on applique, but there are times when it is the only way. This one required embroidering the measuring cup on the left, the words on the blue corn meal bag, and some corn kernels in the batter and the bread. 

When that was finished, I added the two borders. I love the bright colors in this project.

Here are the four blocks I have for this quilt so far.

Okay, so I mentioned we were heading over to the Oregon coast this week. We'll be going to the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area to ride ATV's. Mike has been working on the ATV's for the past couple of weeks. They both needed some maintenance and then he washed and polished them. (They still had Moab red dirt on them.) After all that work, I can hardly blame him for wanting to get out and ride. Since our September trip was nearly a complete bust, it seemed like a good idea to me too. We're expecting nice weather, which is always a gift in Oregon at this time of year. It should be a good time. We'll only be gone a few days, and so it's pretty easy to pack up and take off. Catching Sadie and getting her into the RV is another matter.

Yeah...good luck with that.

She's so strong and squirmy-wormy. It's important to get a good grip on the nape of her neck...like her mama carried her...and then support her back legs with the other hand. When we tried catching her for our last trip, I caught her with my non-dominant hand and didn't have a good grip on her. She managed to kick me with her back legs, drawing blood, and leaving a paw-sized bruise on my arm. She might be little, but she packs a literal punch. So...always a good time getting Sadie into the RV...or her kennel...or trying to get her to do anything when she has other goals for her life.

So all of that to say that I'm signing off for a few days. There is no internet access where we're going, and so I know right now that I won't be able to blog. Of course, I'll be taking lots of pictures while we're there and I'll have lots to tell you when we get back. And when we get back, it will be October! Holy-moley. For a year that seems as if it's lasting for 20 years, it's also going very fast. 

The sewing I did yesterday will be the last sewing I'll do for September. When we get back at the beginning of October, I'll be quilting the Snow Globes quilt. It's chilling (can you say that where snow is involved?) on my sewing chair, awaiting its turn under my needle.

Already I know how I'm going to quilt it, and that is always half the battle. This will be my goal for October's OMG, and so I'll link up there when the party starts.

Okay, my friends. There is much to do today and some errands to run. Carry on. I'll be back in a few.