1/6/24

Distracted

Good morning, my friends. It was a slow day yesterday. I had plenty of sewing I could have done, but I found myself lost in thought about a million and one different things. It was hard to get moving and focus on any one thing. Sue and I had breakfast in the morning, and I handed off the Ties & Tails quilt to her. When I got home, she texted me a picture of her hubby enjoying his new quilt.


I don't know about you, but the quilter in me lives for this kind of picture. While we were at the restaurant, Sue was opening little corners of the quilt to look at it. I suggested we each take an end, and we opened it up. Folks in the restaurant started clapping. It was pretty funny. Everyone can rest easy now that Ties & Tails has found a purrmanent home.

Back at my house, I really wanted to finish up the section of Girls' Getaway I was working on. This quilt was originally a block of the month, and the block I'm working on was the first in the series. As a reminder, here's how it will look when it's all finished.


When I first saw it this pattern, it was the camper that enticed me to purchase it, but I really liked the colorful braided rug too. Well...fast forward to actually making the quilt, and that braided rug is a painus in the anus to stitch. It's stitched all in a tiny chain stitch, which makes complete sense for a "braided" rug. Nevertheless, it's among my least favorite stitches to do. Often, I'll substitute a stem stitch rather than do a bunch of chain stitching. And all of that to say that I've been painstakingly stitching all those little chains, one after another. To make it palatable, I've been doing just one length of floss at a time. Yesterday, I had it close enough to finishing the section that I decided to stitch and stitch and stitch until I'd stitched the whole thing.


Phew!

And then I moved my hoop. Bummer. I'm barely half finished with all the chain stitching. As with all things, this too shall pass.


That's where I'll pick it up this morning. I'll keep going one length of floss at a time, and I'll get 'er done.

After all that, I needed to take a nap. It was fairly late in the day before I made my way to the sewing room. There, I found Smitty ready to get to work.


He helped me make Block 10 of the Barn Block sampler. I was stitching this in the colors of last year's Rainbow Scrap Challenge, but I've plum run out of colors now. Looking at the colors I'd already used, I decided to do this one in browns. It went together fairly easily.


These are the ten blocks I have for this quilt so far.


That was all the sewing I did yesterday.

Today is a day at home...always good news. I want to do a little housekeeping...something I put off from yesterday. And then I want to get in a walk on the treadmill. After that, the day will be spent mostly sewing. I love a sewing Saturday, don't you? When I'm looking forward to a good day of sewing, I want to get started on it right away, and so I think I will. Enjoy your weekend everybody. 

17 comments:

Barbara said...

Friendship is the source of the greatest pleasures, and without friends even the most agreeable pursuits become tedious. ~ Thomas Aquinas

abelian said...

That rug looks great! I think it is worth your doing all the fiddly chain stitching. Dot

NancyA said...

I love this block. The rug looks great with the tiny chain stitches. I kind of like sewing chain stitches, but I’m not sure I could do those tiny ones. Loved your story of being applauded in the restaurant; how gratifying was that! But that quilt definitely deserved applause. It is one of my favorites. Have a fun quilting day!

Sara said...

Ties and Tails was a fabulous quilt. Glad it found a home with someone who will enjoy it.

"Bee" said...

Yes Barbara.....
The quilter in me also loves pictures or comments back from the individual who receives the quilt!
I love your blog....ALWAYS read it but usually don't comment. It's a great blog and you get so much done.....I love your kitties...they are
"purrfect"!!
Carolyn

Jenny said...

Such a lovely camping scene, I'm sure you will enjoy stiching it, now the braided rug is almost done

gpc said...

You are SO RIGHT about how special those photos are. And they are so rare. Sigh.

Kate said...

So glad you found a good home for Ties and Tails, I expected that one to get added to the gallery. Enjoy your stitching time today. Hopefully you can power through the chain stitch pretty quickly.

On a side note, Grad Girl asked if I had ever told you how much she appreciates the tip on the Sulky product for transferring embroidery designs to fabric. I told her I have, but just so you know, your suggestion has helped her do so many fun projects.

Lyndsey said...

I love seeing photos of people enjoying the quilts I've made and your Ties and Tails is a real show off quilt, beautiful. I also like the braided rug on your stitching but that is a lot of chain stitch.

Nance in Reno said...

Silly question, how do you "color" the chair, tree leaves, etc., that will be outlined with embroidery?

Karrin Hurd said...

I always ask for a picture of the recipient with the quilt. Lovely projects you are working on. Happy stitching!

Cheryl's Teapots2Quilting said...

It is always rewarding when someone appreciates a quilt that we've made.

Deb said...

I love the photo of the quilt being appreciated, The Girls Getaway is looking lovely, those tiny chain stitches look great.

Vicki W said...

I agree, I love knowing that people actually use my quilts and I don't care of they cause them blankets! Those tiny chain stitches look like torture.

Magpie's Mumblings said...

Husband looks quite happy with his new quilt. Far better than having it folded up on a shelf somewhere. And I know that round of applause was well deserved!

CathieJ said...

For some reason, since crafting stopped while my daughter and family visited, I am struggling to get back to it. I love your embroidery. I can imagine just how annoying that chain stitch is, but the rug looks beautiful. Ties and tails is fantastic. I love your brown block. Enjoy your stitching days.

piecefulwendy said...

I've fallen behind on your posts yet again - sorry! I like that barn block, it sure turned out nicely! Yes, we love to see photos of our quilts in use, or being shown off! He looks quite pleased!