Back to the Beginning

Good morning, my friends. It's still mostly dark out as I'm writing this morning. I read yesterday that we would be getting our first 5:00 p.m. sunset within the next few days. That will be an improvement over the 4:00-hour sunsets we've been getting. The days are getting longer, but it's still dark in the morning. I can see some brightness in the sky, however, and so I'm optimistic for some sunshine today.

We did our grocery shopping yesterday. We were into the low 40's on our return home. The sun was shining, and the kitties were bursting to get outside. They don't stay out long...too cold for their furry bodies, but they enjoy a little outside time just the same.

Before we left, I had time to finish off the Bicycles and Lace piece. It turned out pretty, and I'm glad to have it finished. Except for the quilt borders, this piece will stretch the entire width of the finished quilt.

Here are all the embroidered and pieced blocks I have for it so far.

As I was getting ready to make the next two Shop Hop blocks, Smitty showed up to see what was going on.

He helped me finish the next to blocks for Shop Hop 4.0 This first one was from Sarah's Fabrics in Lawrence, Kansas.

The bug fabric was selected for the many sucking bugs we encountered on this trip. I'd received a nasty tick bite that required a trip to urgent care for some antibiotics. I'd never been bitten by a tick before, and the bite swelled up alarmingly. I didn't get sick from it, but it bothered me for a months afterward. I'd also been driven nearly insane with itching from chiggers. In fact I'd walked all around Hamilton, Missouri, visiting the stores that are a part of Missouri Star Quilt Company with a chigger between my toes. It nearly drove me crazy with itching until I could get back to the RV and see what was up. I thought it was a flare up of athlete's foot fungus, but when I spread my toes, I found that little red sucker. Yeah...he won't bite anyone else ever again.

And that brings me to my next block from the original Missouri Star Quilt Company store. I selected this fabric for the many barns we'd seen in our travels. The scale was almost too large for this block...something to keep in mind for future choices.

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

I traced the names for the next two shops to be included. I'll stitch those when I finish the short piece I'm working on right now.

There will be 16 blocks when this quilt is finished. I believe I have about nine fabrics. The rest will need to come from our travels in Alaska and Canada. I'm still wanting to visit The Cotton Patch south of me. They're in a new store, and I haven't included them in any of my other Shop Hop quilts. My other favorite store to the west in McMinnville, Boersma's, should also get a block in this quilt. So, there's nothing to worry about, my friends. We'll fill in those spaces somehow. Clearly, more quilt shop hopping is urgently needed for our upcoming trip to Alaska. I've already included a few shop names on our itinerary.

And that brings me back to the beginning of my whiteboard work flow. Next up will be to quilt the Domestic Affairs quilt. This one will be pretty straightforward insofar as the designs I'll use. It's not unlike the Sundress quilt I finished up a few years ago, and I'll probably use some of the same motifs. In fact, that border fabric was left from the back of the Sundress quilt.

And since I can't quilt for more than an hour without breaking myself, I'll be simultaneously sewing together the Shop Hop 3.0 quilt. Here are all the completed blocks.

I haven't decided yet just how I'm going to sew it together. I'll sash the blocks, but then I'm at a loss about what fabrics I'll use and whether I'll add borders. I'll wait and see how big it is when the sashings are added and then decide. As for fabric...who knows? It might require a shopping trip.

Today is a pedicure day. I don't have any other stops planned along the way. It'll still take a good 2-1/2 hour bite out of my day when I add in driving time. There should still be time to get a little bit of quilting done later this afternoon. 

Before wrapping up for the day yesterday, I took the first stitches on the new "short" Catmint piece.

I'd say it will stitch up fast, but the flowers and leaves will take some time. I have some cute fabrics to finish this off, but that will be down the road some. That's where I'm headed next. Probably I'll eat some breakfast first. There's one small housekeeping chore, but then a mostly sewing day during my at-home hours. And with that, it's time to get started.