Lots of Stitching

After writing yesterday's post, I headed downstairs. When I looked out the window, I saw this guy strolling through:

It was the second time we'd seen him in just a few days. He comes up from the woods, and then heads toward the opposite property line. I'm not sure where he's going, but apparently, he is on a schedule.

After that, I got back to work on Calendula Patterdrip's Cottage. I've stitched the bottom section from right to left now.

Now I've moved my hoop up, and I'll work my way back across going from left to right. When I reach the other side, I'll be about halfway finished.

From there, I headed upstairs to get back to work on my quilting. I had a few other things going on in the background. The day was spent seasoning one of my cast iron skillets. It isn't difficult, but it is a time-consuming process. The skillet has to be oiled, and then baked for an hour, then it rests in the oven for another two hours, then the process is repeats itself five more times. After four repetitions, mine was looking pretty good, and so I called it quilts. It was an easy thing to do while I worked on my quilting.

Now, you didn't think I could spend the afternoon quilting without a visit from Fancy Pants, did you?

He's easily dissuaded with a trip to his treat bowl, but we got some snuggles first. The electronic screen at the top of my machine makes an excellent chin scratcher. Have you noticed that kitties have very itchy chins?

I was going great guns, but then my broken thumb started bothering me. It's much better than it was several months ago, but occasionally it flares up when I'm not really expecting it. It didn't bother me at all the day before, and so I can only think the cumulative effect of quilting was irritating it. Nevertheless, I was able to finish off this quadrant by day's end, and now the bottom half of the quilt is finished.

It's nice to do a design that can be stitched in any direction, because I'll be able to turn the quilt around 180 degrees, and keep the bulk of the quilt on the table. It's easier to maneuver if I don't have it resting in my lap. Here's how it looks from the back. 

The back is a pieced back and the right side is done in this dark purple. I was happy to be able to use that purple fabric in this quilt. It's been in my stash for a long time. So, I quit for the day on the quilting. My thumb was happy for the reprieve. 

Arriving in yesterday's mail was the package of Sticky Fabri-Solvy sheets I was waiting for, and so I spent the rest of the afternoon preparing this project to head south for the winter. This is the Blackwork Baskets embroidery pattern. I first printed all the designs onto the Sticky Fabri-Solvy. After taking that picture, I trimmed the excess from all of these pages.

This is the fabric I'm using for the background. I wanted something rustic, but also simple enough that it wouldn't detract from the hand embroidery. This one should do the trick. 

After pressing it, I cut the backgrounds for the nine blocks, and I cut the fusible stabilizer for the backing. Then, happily, I realized this project fits in a project bag as if the two were made for one another. You might remember when I visited a San Diego quilt shop during a Quilt Shop Appreciation event. My friend Darlene and I visited Rosie's Calico Cupboard, and they were giving out these project bags as gifts. Mine has been languishing in a closet ever since, but I pulled it out to contain this project. Perfect.

This one still needs a package of black floss added to it, and I'm waiting for that to be delivered. When the floss is added, this project will be ready to hit the road. With limited space in the RV, I've taken to packing projects into flexible bags for space efficiency. The zippered pouches that new sheets come in make excellent project bags as well. Then, I can keep just one larger bin for whatever I happen to be working on at the time.

Okay, so I'll get back to my quilting again today. I'm hoping my thumb can tolerate it for another day after giving it the night off and a good sleep. It's laundry day as well. The rainy weather continues. It's a good day to stay inside, keep warm, and sew. I'm just betting I can find some kitties to warm my lap too.