Going with the Flow

As of yesterday, all the projects I started while traveling are caught up to where they are ready to be quilted. That's been the focus of my sewing room time since we got home. There is a month-to-month agenda in my sewing room. For 2021, the focus is on finishing the many quilt tops that are ready for quilting. My goal is to quilt two small quilts and one large quilt per month. As of yesterday, there were 17 on the list. That would be in addition to the 6 embroidery projects and 5 WIPs...the ones where I'm still making quilt blocks. There are also three projects where the blocks are all finished, but they haven't been sewn into quilt tops yet. And that's another monthly goal...finish off one quilt top per month.

Oh, and I did some housework yesterday! I know! Absolutely amazing! Nothing can stop me now. My shoulder is feeling pretty good, although I still have some "pain days," where it bothers me more than usual. I have a doctor's appointment for Monday that will include x-rays. I wouldn't bother with it, except that I'm deciding on an abundance of caution. It'll be reassuring to hear from the doctor that everything is healing properly. Also, I've set up an appointment with a hand specialist. I'm less happy with the progress of my thumb since my penmanship (including tracing embroidery projects) has taken a big nosedive, and I still can't hold a drinking glass with any confidence. You'd be amazed how often you use your thumb when you no longer have the use of it. So...that's a bit down the road, and I'll say more about it when the time comes.

So let's just see what happened on the sewing front yesterday. First, I got started on the Bee Brave stitchery. This is the one that saved me from my crazy notion about hand quilting.

When I finished that up, I left my lap cat Sadie all covered up, as always. She looked so cute, I had to take her picture. She was purrturbed at this invasion of her purrivacy.

Heading into the sewing room, I finished the top-stitching for the tenth Dancing Chickens and Flying Pigs block. Now it's ready for hand-stitching.

Next, I needed to make a back for the Charm Stars quilt top, finished on the road. It ended up at 61 x 76 inches.

So, I could have done a solid color for the quilt back, but I really wanted something colorful. Rooting through my stash, I came up this one. 

I had four yards, and this fabric has been in my stash absolutely forever. I decided its time had come. I needed to sew just one seam, and the back was finished.

From there, I had just one little quilt left that needed a back...this little quilt that I call "Mini Spinners." It's only 12 inches square, but I had a heck of a time finding something I liked for the back.

I ended up piecing together the cut-off edge of a previous quilt back, and this will do just fine. This little quilt will probably end up a wall-hanging or else a hot pad. 

And with that one finished, I moved into the "flow zone" where I can just take the projects as they come on my little whiteboard organizer. Mike was finishing up cleaning the kitchen after dinner last night, and I took a few minutes to sandwich the Stitched Inchies 3.0 quilt. Now it's ready for quilting.

That's where I'll start today. I'm still mulling over what to do with the quilting, but I have some ideas about it. We'll see what my machine decides to stitch. Could involve feathering...could involve straight lines...could involve the fancy stitches on my sewing machine. We'll all find out together.

Smitty finished out the day in his favorite spot on earth. You can't see how he looked just before I took this picture. He had his face turned to the sun, eyes closed, and he was in kitty sunbath ecstasy.

So there are two small housekeeping chores on today's calendar, and then I'll get on with my sewing. Also, I haven't given up on the idea of the lemon meringue tart for two. Maybe I'll get that done today too.