We were fast out the door yesterday morning. I wrote my post, and then spent a little time working on my challenge piece. When I headed for the shower, I'd turned the first three corners.
From there, it was a mad dash to get our grocery shopping finished before I needed to leave for my pedicure appointment. We got our beloved Egg McMuffins, and ate them in the car in a parking lot near McDonald's with an excellent view of the local Bi-Mart store. We've come to call this our cherished private dining room. Won't it be nice when we're allowed back into real dining rooms again?
That early, there was little action in the grocery store. We had our shopping finished, filled our gas tank, headed for home, and put away the groceries, still with time to spare. I had another cup of coffee and finished stitching the quilt binding.
Oh, how I wish I could show you my quilt, but we'll all have to wait for the reveal on August 1st. I'm pretty happy with how this turned out.
As I was leaving the house, I checked on the peonies. Will they open more than this with today's sunshine? I'm not sure, but they're very pretty as is.
My nail tech had some good news. When I last saw her more than a year ago, she was dating a new guy, and he was renovating a house, and they were going to move in together, etc., etc. As it turns out they married in November. That was better news than telling her about breaking my shoulder and thumb, and about having to evacuate because of wildfires. Still...plenty of good news from our house too, but the real standouts are certainly whine-worthy.
It was after 2:00 p.m. when I arrived home. After such a busy day, I decided a nap was in order. While we watched the news, I did some stitching on the latest Heartland Barn block. I like the yellow sunflowers.
Speaking of sunflowers, they're the only thing showing any signs of life in our vegetable garden. The sun is bright this morning, and our weather is expected to warm significantly. I remain hopeful that things will start to sprout within the next few days.
Today is going to be a NBS day (nothing but sewing). With my challenge quilt finished, I'm moving on to quilting the next large quilt on my list: And On That Farm.
This is my current oldest WIP, started in September of 2016. For perspective, this was well before the pandemic. Heck, it was before T**** was elected president. It was before #metoo and the total solar eclipse. It was before we took our RV trip around the perimeter of the USA when I was able to meet quite a few of you! There are more grand news stories I could mention, but I think you get the idea. There's been a lot of water under the bridge since this quilt was started. Finally, finally, finally it is on the home stretch. I've been dreading this but it's time to bite the bullet and get it done. My plan is to use invisible monofilament thread to stitch around all the little applique pieces, and that will serve as the quilting. I did the same thing when I finished Wind in the Whiskers, and that gave me good results.
Since I've been dreading this for so long, I decided I could be disciplined enough to spend at least an hour of each sewing day working on it. I can do more, but I won't do less. With time and patience, I'm hoping I'll get it quilted and bound by the end of June. Think I can do it? We shall see. In the meantime, I'll work on some less tedious projects after I've put in my hour-long sentence on the quilting.
Today I must get out and do a little hoeing in the garden, such as it is. Hopefully the sunshine and warmth in the days ahead will bring some little green sprouts.
9 comments:
Having once decided to achieve a certain task, achieve it at all costs of tedium and distaste. The gain in self confidence of having accomplished a tiresome labor is immense. ~ Arthur Helps
Good luck quilting that Mck. Ryan piece...they do look beautiful when finished, but i know you had issues with them... Looking forward to august 1st's surprise unveiling;)))
We have SO MUCH pollen floating around here it is really bad!! Hubby just mowed and came in sneezing up a storm...Good day to stay inside and sew...
hugs, Julierose
You've got the sunshine and we've got the rain along with temps in the low 40's. The rain is much needed, the low temps not. I should really go in the studio and turn of the iron. Instead I'm sitting here wrapped in a coverlet trying to stay warm without turning on the heat. I love the look of McKenna Ryan quilts, but I've watched too many fellow quilters struggle with them to be tempted. Time for me to plan retreat project. Only 2 weeks so I need to get busy.
Pat
Well, Miss Pat must live in my neck of the woods because it's cold and rainy here too, and I could nearly echo her comment except for the retreat. You've given us several glimpses at your latest challenge quilt. I'm wondering whether some intrepid puzzle-solver will attempt to stitch all the photos together and come up with a major clue or the answer to the puzzle. Not to worry, it won't be me, lol. I look forward to seeing your McK Ryan quilt all finished, and glad I never got sucked down that rabbit hole!
Congrats on getting your challenge quilt (and your toes) done, Barbara!! Best of luck on making progress on your McKenna Ryan.
Ah, the teasing 4 corners and roll-up. Slow and steady and your 'last' McKenna Ryan quilt will be done. I'm in some of the others woes - we turned back to winter! Extremely cold!!
Yay for having the challenge quilt ready to go! Gosh, finishing the McKenna Ryan already? Are you sure? Haha! I have plants to get in the ground today, and then maybe some weeding, before I sew.
I must say, nightmare or no, both McKenna Ryan quilts are beautiful and well worth the angst I think. The peonies are beautiful so every time you have a mini meltdown over the quilt, go and indulge yourself with their beauty.
Beautiful blocks--they remind me of Grandma Moses. We've landed in the dense forest--so much still to do to get organized. Ruthie
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