Binding Times Two

Good morning, my friends. As I mentioned in yesterday's post, it was going to be a bad day for Smitty. He had an appointment with the vet. The kitties are pretty amazing in their ability to detect even the slightest of changes to our morning routine. When I went downstairs from writing yesterday's post, I found them like this:

They're up to something, Smitty. I just know it.

Sure enough. Curses!!!

I will keel you!

Happily, it was a quick visit. I'd forgotten that both kitties got health check-ups last spring because we needed documentation to take them into Alaska. Our visit was quick. He just needed his two vaccines, and then we could head for home. We got plenty of lap time and good snuggles while I stitched the binding on my quilt.

With his help, I stitched the first two corners. I'm probably just slightly less than halfway around.

From there, I moved into the sewing room to quilt Autumn's Harvest Pumpkin. Sadie was my helper cat for that.

First, I needed to choose a thread for the quilting. These three were gifts from my quilting fairy godmother, Ila. Thank you, Ila. (Ila makes sure I always have the perfect color of thread for my project.) Looking at these three, I decided on the one in the middle.

It's a King Tut 40 weight thread.

It's quilted pretty simply. I wanted to outline the pumpkin and its ribs so that it would look like a pumpkin on the back. And then I just added some straight-line quilting for functionality.

I quilted along the ribs of the pumpkin and then outlined inside the feather stitching.

And then I selected a leafy motif I saw on Pinterest. I think I've done this motif before.

It's a little hard to see it in that image. Here's the Pinterest image I was working from.

Here's how it looks from the back.

All I needed to do then was to square it up...

And sew on the binding. And now this one is awaiting its turn with my needle.

That took me to the end of my sewing day. I was trying out a new recipe for dinner. This is Bibimbap-Style Soba Noodle Salad. It's cooked in stages in a single pot, and then served at room temperature. We really liked this. 

The recipe I've linked to (it's a gift link...you should be able to open it) would have made a spicy dish. I ended up substituting Hoisin for the gochujang paste in the dressing. Also, I substituted sweet chili sauce for the gochugaru. It was nicely seasoned and flavorful without setting our mouths (and our innards) on fire. I'll make it again using those same changes.

Okay, so today I have an easy housekeeping chore, and I want to get in a Bowflex workout. When those things are finished, I'll probably spend most of my day slow-stitching those quilt bindings. Do you think I can finish two quilts in a single day? Time will tell. 

If I get tired of slow-stitching, I'll get to work on my WIPs. The next task on my list is to make another row of blocks for the Stair Steps project. Here's where I left it on its last go-round. The pattern should begin to be more obvious when I add the second row of blocks.

It's a blustery day today. The sun is shining, and the wind is blowing. It's a good day to lay low and sew.