Good morning, my friends! Finally, finally, finally, I've finished my village of Tiny Houses. Nobody is any happier about this than Miss Sadie.
Here it is: #36 out of 36. Phew!
Also in yesterday's sewing, I stitched enough of the kitten to decide to move my hoop to the left.
The quilting for this has been on my mind the past few days. I have in mind to do something like I've attempted to draw in the top row of the image below.
Sorry I couldn't make my lines any straighter than that. Here's my dilemma: The stripes are 1-1/2 inches wide. If I draw one line down the center of each, then I need a 3/4-inch foot. The new one I bought is only 1/2-inch, and so I'll still need a ruler to make the lines nice and straight.
Okay, so what if I do a line on both edges of each stripe? Well, that could work, except that if you follow that path with your finger, it doesn't work out so that I can move to the next block without cutting thread. It would work to go to a different block from the one adjacent to any given block, but then I'd be moving around the quilt randomly, and cutting threads when I paint myself into a corner so I can start somewhere else.
Even my line tamer ruler doesn't solve my problem since the lines aren't in the right places to use them as a guide.
As I was looking for that photo of the Line Tamer ruler, I came across this photo of some other specialty feet I purchased earlier. I also have these "disc" type feet. The one on the right is 3/4-inch, which is the size I need.
Can I draw a straight line with that? I don't know. Before I do anything else, I might experiment with that one to see if I can use it as a guide along the seam. It seems improbable, but I won't know until I try.
So, I'm still thinking about this. I'll have to do some experimentation. These are the ideas I have:
1. I can hold a ruler and use the new square foot to see if it's even possible to walk and chew gum at the same time.
2. I can try using the disk-type foot and see if I can sew a straight line that way.
3. I can revert to the old fashioned method of drawing lines on the fabric with a chalk or hera marker and give up on the idea of using rulers or any other kind of special feet.
What's your guess? Only time will tell.
Also on today's agenda, I'm making a test recipe for America's Test Kitchens. This time I'm making a Graperfruit Tart with Pumpernickel-Caraway Crust. When I saw that word "caraway," I thought I wouldn't be able to make it. (We just say "no" to seeds at the Three Cats Ranch.) As it turns out, the caraway seeds are ground up before adding them to the recipe, and so I'll be able to use them after all. It sounds strange, but their description convinced me to give it a try. Of course, I won't be able to share the recipe, but I can show you a picture. You'll be able to find it in an upcoming cookbook.
All right. Time to get back to my slow-stitching. We were hoping to be able to see the eclipse here at the Three Cats Ranch. As it turns out, we're clouded over. We considered driving south to Roseburg and spending the night there, but the forecast was no better, and so we decided to stay home. (Honestly, I didn't really want to spend another night in the RV after just getting home only a week ago.) It's just a few minutes until time for it to begin, but I don't think we'll see anything but darkness where we are. Optimistically, we located our eclipse glasses and they're ready for us if something exciting happens. Don't count on it.
9 comments:
Who cares about the clouds when we're together? Just sing a song and bring the sunny weather. ~ Dale Evans
Those houses look so cute together, but without a trust companion like Sadie to keep me going, I'd better not even start! As for your quilting dilemma, could you use the 3/4" foot and run it along a ruler that's lined up with the seam? Or maybe you described that and my brain took a short stroll elsewhere while reading. Some days...
What about doing a wavy line instead of straight? I think that might add interest. Or you could just eyeball the center of the strip with the Line Tamer. If the lines on the ruler are the same distance from the seam on each side, you're on the center.
Those tiny house are really cute! It will be worth all the not fun piecing part to have a finished quilt. We are clouded over as well this morning, so no observing the eclipse, but Grad Girl has a clear view in TX. Hope your experiments result in an easier option to get your straight lines.
Those tiny houses look even cuter as they join the whole neighborhood of houses. The cross stitch kitties are adorable.
Quilting in the strip center may make the seams between strips pop up. How about an edge to edge design of some sort, wider than the strips.
--Annette in Omaha
I think I'd do "organic straight line" in the pattern you drew so that I didn't have to worry about either center or straight.
Great work on completing all those tiny houses, seemed it was quite a job! Your cross stitched cats are so pretty.
I love that sleepy kitty embroidery. Your tiny houses look great. Good luck with figuring out your quilting dilemma.
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