No-Show Sewing

It rained most of the day yesterday, and I stayed in and sewed. For a day of sewing, there isn't anything to show you except peeks of this and that. Even the kitties were missing in action.

My first priority was to quilt and bind the "Memories" challenge piece. There was already a wound bobbin of this 60-weight thread, and so I used it.

On top, I used this 50-weight variegated blue from Aurifil. This was another of the gift threads from my friend Ila. Pretty blues, and just right for my quilt.

This small quilt could have easily been done on my domestic machine, but I had in mind to do a straight line grid. I love this Line Tamer template for straight-line quilting, and so I did it on the mid-arm machine.

You can't see the quilt top until February, but here's how it looks from the back.

The only thing left to do after that was to sew on the binding. I'll take this along when we go camping tomorrow, so I'll have three quilts for hand-stitching the bindings. We're expecting rain for the entire trip, which will mean plenty of time for sitting and stitching.

The only other thing I did yesterday was to cut the embroidery sections for my newest project, Calendula Patterdrip's Cottage.

I'm glad I took time to read the instructions for this pattern because it will have to be done differently from my usual way. I like to back my embroidery pieces with an iron on stabilizer (Pellon 931TD). What I realized from reading the instructions is that the stitching goes to the very edges of the fabric, and so Meg Hawkey recommends backing them with muslin. This is the explanation from the instructions:

Okay, well, I've backed my pieces with muslin before, but I don't have enough to even get started with this pattern. I have some on order, but it will probably be at least a week before it arrives. I've cut the long piece (14 x 50 inches) to trace the first section, but I won't be able to start stitching until I have the muslin in hand. Instead, I spent the remainder of the afternoon cutting and marking the various sections.

If you look at the image of the pattern cover above, you can see that the section with the witch's hat and apothecary jars are embroidered right over the pieced blocks. Sections 2-4 will all be pieced and sewn together before I can even begin the tracing. It's going to mean working with some large pieces for the hand embroidery. This might end up being one of those patterns I wish I'd never started. I love the quilt, though, so we'll get 'er done somehow. Expect a lot of complaining going forward.

I'm signing off for a few days. We're heading to Cape Disappointment in Washington state, and one of our favorite state parks. I already know there won't be internet access, and so I won't be blogging again until we get back in a few days. You can expect to hear from me again on Saturday, if not sooner. On our last visit to Cape Disappointment, we were treated to a training session from the Coast Guard that kept us mesmerized for hours. If you're interested, you can read about it right here.

Today I'll be packing for the trip, and I'll be able to trace the first section for Calendula Patterdrip. It's another wet day in a long string of wet days. It'll be a good day to stay in and stay warm. Kitties will be working hard with their snuggling duties.