It was a very productive day yesterday. I was able to finish quilting the two quilts I've been working on. And let me just say it was a Red Letter Day finishing off the quilting for Mulligan Stew. I started making it on April 15, 2013. It is the longest quilt-in-the-making of my quilting career. I hope it never takes me so long to finish another one.
But before I tell you about the quilts, I'll just say we had quite a storm here yesterday. A big tree blew down across the driveway we share with our neighbors. Someone cleared it all away before I had a chance to see it, but whoa! Another casualty of the storm was the roof of the catio.
When Sadie came down from her clubhouse yesterday, I looked around the house for Smitty. I wanted to make sure I wasn't locking him inside the clubhouse. When I looked outside on the catio, this is what I saw. Neither kitty escaped, but they easily could have. It took a while to find this portion of the roof, but Mike found it in the field. He'll fix that today. For now, access is denied to kitties.
There were a few fleeting moments of sunshine yesterday, but mostly, it rained the whole live-long day. During one sunny period, I caught the moisture laden fronds of the Andromeda outside the living room window.
Back inside, I stitched and stitched and stitched and finally finished the hand quilting for Mulligan Stew. No need to applaud, but it's okay if you want to.
And then, I laid that aside and went to work finishing up the quilting for the vertical sashings on Friendship's Garden.
Just the border was left after that. I tried a new-to-me motif I'd seen on Pinterest. It's a sort of 3/4 curly-cue center with three rows of scallops around it, then a "vine" leading off to the next flower.
By doing an odd number of rows on the scallops, the "vine" heads off in alternating directions from flower to flower (if that makes any sense.)
Within about an hour, it too was ready for binding. I was feeling pretty darned smug just about now.
I'm pretty happy with the quilting on this one.
Here's how it looks from the back.
So then I took both quilts downstairs to the sewing room to sew on their bindings. As I made my way around Mulligan Stew, I discovered yet one more place I hadn't finished the hand quilting. Oy. These long-term projects never give up easily, in my experience.
I threaded a needle and fixed that before it could grow and get worse.
I used the same brown from the railroad track border for the binding, and it's now ready for hand-sewing.
The kitties disagreed over who should claim Friendship's Garden. Smitty always likes the designs by Birdbrain Designs.
He was especially fond of the Heart & Home quilt.
Sadie thought she should get it. It compliments her furs purrfectly.
Besides, it's too girly for a Mancat.
She's thinking of settling in for a long winter's nap, just to solidify her claim to it.
No decisions were made about whose quilt this is, but I was able to sew the binding on it.
And now, it too is ready for hand-sewing. I have both quilts packed up to take along when we go camping next week.
While we were watching the news, I stitched up a couple of stray lengths of floss for the final section of "I Believe in Snowmen." It was nice to get back to some real embroidery again. Knowing this is the last section is a big motivator too.
And that's what I'll be doing next.
If it isn't obvious, I'm feeling pretty good after my Mohs. I used no tylenol yesterday, and the pain has subsided substantially. It's important to keep it moist with vaseline, which means I have to keep it covered at least until Tuesday. My glasses sit right on top of it. Once I'm able to uncover it, I'll be a lot more comfortable.
Today I'll get back to my slow-stitching, and I'll probably make a couple of packing lists for our camping trip. It's a short trip and we'll be having leftovers for dinner each night. There won't be a lot to pack. Maybe I'll squeeze in a little housework since I did none yesterday. It feels like a nice day to settle in and keep warm.
14 comments:
There are two fatal errors that keep great projects from coming to life: 1) Not finishing 2) Not starting. ~ Buddha Gautama
Congratulations on finishing your long term project--it must feel great...FG quilting turned out beautifully..what a lovely quilt that is...I just love embroidered blocks set in a quilt--more and more with each one I see. I have a pattern for flower basket embroideries from Sentimental Stitches that I'd like to start on as soon as my butterflies are finished (2 and 1/2 left). Since I am gifting the purple and blue ones I may use those colors again for the ones I have left...
I hope your little trip will be relaxing--you deserve it...hugs, Julierose
Applause, applause for finishing Milligan Stew! That was a huge win!
The quilting on the yellow border is beautiful.
Clapping and standing ovation! I don't like to pick sides, but Sadie should win. We went from that lovely 70's temps to BOOM 40's and 30's. Snow has been wisping all day.
And the crowd goes wild! Congratulations on your mad skills and the well deserved standing ovation! Your quilting on friendship is gorgeous, you get better and better with every quilt. Yikes on the catio, thank goodness you discovered it in time to avoid something even scarier. Glad you are feeling better, too.
Wow, two quilts at the binding stage, they'll be finished in no time. Good to know there was no significant damage from your windstorm, though we're not thanking you for sending it our way - big windstorm moving in tomorrow followed by snow on Monday.
Congratulations on the 2 finishes, although you know they're not really finished until you put on the label and sew down the binding.Glad there were no escapees from the catio roof incident. We have a high wind warning of winds up to 60 miles an hour tomorrow and rain, then much colder temps. I dug up the dahlias today, rinsed them off and put them on the basement floor to dry. Brought in the last few odds and ends from the front porch. So I think we're hunkered down.
Pat
👏 Congratulations on your quilt finishes! Both are beautiful and your quilting skills are just so high level. Stunning! Glad you are feeling better and that your catio did not blow away. It is like the Wizard of Oz here this morning - very windy and raining a bit sideways. Taking the dog out this morning was a quick trip! Enjoy your beach trip next week!
Woohoo on the hobo quilt finish! The other one too, but especially the oldest UFO. That's worth celebrating. Glad you found the roof piece for the catio. That must've been quite the wind blowing through. Sounds like you are healing up well from the procedure, which is good. Rest and enjoy today.
Great work Barbara and I love the border quilt pattern on the Friendship Garden quilt. We had high winds last night but nowhere near enough to do that much damage. It's a good job the kitties didn't get out.
You will no longer go a wandering along the mountain track. Valderi! Valdera! No knapsack on your back. That popped in my head on the Hobo finish. Don’t say you do not remember that song. Regardless, a long and well done finish. A hurrah for the Friendship garden. And that wind! We had wind last week but not as strong as yours. Good you have a roofer available to fix the catio.
WWBD next?
Oh yes, I'm applauding! Good for you - and a great finish....on both quilts. There must be something about storms - we had a massive wind storm most of the day yesterday which downed all kinds of power lines and trees. We kept our power on but a great many places around us didn't. Lots of roads were closed because of the downed lines and trees. We were very glad to be able to stay home. This morning, sadly, it's trying to snow.
Yea! Two great finishes! Sorry about the kitty roof. Glad the nose is healing.
Yes, 2 great finishes, and applause for both! Gives you some hand stitching of binding while at the beach! All snuggly and warm no matter the weather.
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