Fabulous Friday Flimsy Finish

Good morning, my friends. Did you notice my awesome alliteration? Yeah...I finished the Lightframe quilt yesterday. We had some errands to run in the morning, and that ended up taking longer than expected. We had lunch in town, and all that running around meant we needed naps when we got home. I didn't get nearly as much done as I'd hoped yesterday, but finishing a flimsy is probably enough for a single day.

Before anything could happen, I took the first stitches on the 10th block for Grandpa's Bridges. These usually take some time to stitch, but this block has more open areas. I don't expect it to take as long as the others.

We headed into town to run our errands. Back home, we had our afternoon cup of espresso, and then we both took naps. When I was finally able to make my way to the sewing room, I had six blocks to make to finish the final row for the Lightframe quilt.

There I was, sewing away, minding my own business when Smitty came into the room and started yelling at me.

So I gave him some catnip, and that seemed to satisfy him. But he no sooner left the room when Sadie came in and she started yelling. Such bossy cats. She doesn't care for catnip, but she's pretty sure she should have some other kind of treat she likes. We're still negotiating. 

With the blocks finished (and cats at bay), I could sew the final row to the rest of the quilt.

There was enough of the green fabric to give it a border, and it seemed like it needed just a little more to finish it off. It ends up at 68 x 53 inches...a good size.

Perusing my bucket of quilt backs, I pulled out this one, which seemed as good as any. 

When I opened this gift box originally, I was thinking these fabrics were 108 inches wide. As it turns out, they've all been washed, and then refolded in the opposite way from selvage to selvage. It makes sense when I think about it, because one's wingspan is only so wide, and so it's easier to fold them the shorter way. So when I realized that, I was having a hard time envisioning exactly how much fabric I had. By then, my brain was turning to mush, and I decided I was finished for the day. I can save the math for when my mind is fresher. Also, I'll probably refold them. It's hard to measure them when they're folded the way they are, and besides, my ruler and cutting mat can only accommodate so much width.

Instead, I went upstairs where the sun was still shining. It warmed up in the afternoon, encouraging the lilacs to open a little more.

Sadie was stretched out baking in the afternoon sunshine. Eventually, she got too warm and had to move to a shadier spot.

Smitty was taking a literal spit bath on his catio shelf.

This being Sewturday, there's nothing on the calendar, and leftovers for dinner. Nevertheless, I'm thinking I might get out for a walk. It's too nice a day to spend the whole day in my windowless basement sewing room. I'll get there eventually, though. I'll figure out a quilt back for the Lightframe quilt, and I'll find something to use for binding strips.

Next up will be to make two of these "Double X" blocks for the Girls' Getaway quilt. Something tells me I've made this block before, and if memory serves, it was a pain. We'll see. I might be confusing it with something else. This is the picture from the pattern cover.

That will probably keep me busy for a good part of the day. Also, I'll have two open slots on my WIPs dance card, and so I'll spend some time figuring out what's next.

We've reached that pre-departure-trip-planning-phase where it starts feeling as if it's too late to start anything new, and yet too early to stop altogether. I'm planning to take my sewing machine in for service sometime during the month of May, but only if they'll keep it for me until we get back. There are still plenty of calendar days between now and our departure date for more sewing, but time is growing short.