Gloomy Day

Good morning, my friends. It looks as if we've seen the last of the sunshine for a little while, at least. We're in the fog this morning, and the extended forecast shows more of the same for the foreseeable future. Oh well. We knew it was coming. It's a good day to stay inside and huddle under our quilts. We're both feeling a little under the weather after getting our vaccines yesterday. It's nothing more serious than a lack of energy and sore arms, but I doubt we'll do much more than lie around today.

Backing up to yesterday morning, it was time to release the Gang of Two when I went back downstairs yesterday.

I filled my coffee cup and then opened the door for them. They don't stay out very long these days. It's getting too chilly, even for people who wear their coats full time. I was on my way to start stitching my short piece: Hanging the Christmas Lights.

After whining about the metallic floss yesterday, I have to say that it threaded pretty easily when I worked on this. I want to use some silver to add the snowflakes, and there's another gold star outside the hoop. Nevertheless, I'm optimistic I can stitch this with a minimum of swearing.

When that was finished, I donned my workout clothes and did another workout in our basement Chamber of Horrors. That's two for two. When I finished that, I sat and stitched the final four corners of the Strips and Stripes quilt.

And that makes a finish. It ends up at 64 x 74 inches. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. I love the design. It makes me want to start another one using different colors.

Here's how it looks from the back.

It's been washed and dried now, and I'll be packing it up this weekend to send to my friend in Arizona. I'm happy to be able to gift it to him at a time of year when he might actually use it.

When that was finished, I spent a little time in my sewing room eyeballing the fabric I have left to finish up the Jericho Walls quilt. Sewing it into a finished quilt top is next on my sewing agenda.

It's tempting to steal a picture from someone who has already done this, but I'll try to explain it using my own photo. The blocks will be set on point. Where those four black squares come together in the corners of each block, the sashing will include another black cornerstone, and it creates little nine patches at the corner of each block. If I can pull it off, it will be a very pretty secondary design.

So, I have plenty of black for those black cornerstones. I'm afraid I'm a skosh short on this Chalk & Charcoal fabric. I'll want to make setting triangles and sashings with this fabric. 

Fortunately, I was able to score another yard online, and so I expect to have more within a week to ten days. I'll do what I can until it arrives. As it turns out, this fabric comes in all colors, including three shades of black/gray. I believe mine is the darkest "Charcoal" color, and so I'm hopeful I've selected the right one.

And now, my friends, my energy level is waning. I believe I'll go snuggle up with Sadie who is wrapped up in a quilt on the couch. She's usually willing to share if snuggling is involved. I expect we'll both feel better by tomorrow. For now, we may sleep the day away.