Verrrrry Slow Stitching

I’m still working on the class project from the Becky Goldsmith applique workshop.  Her technique is really different from the one I’ve been using.  Not only does she recommend a much shorter needle, she also uses different fingers to manipulate the needle.  It feels like I’m working with 10 thumbs.  I intend to push on with it a little longer and see if it begins to feel normal.  At least I'm doing true needle turn work on this project.

The extended weather forecast indicates this will be a very good week to stay inside and sew.

I'm linking up to Kathy's Quilts for Slow Sunday Stitching.

Red is a Flimsy

I met my goal for finishing my hexagon top before last Wednesday’s Guild meeting and workshop.  I’m calling it Red because, well it is...  It’s time to take it down and store it out of sight for a while.  Usually I like my work much better after a break.  I have a bit of a quandary on where to trim the outer borders.   It somehow ended up wider at the top than the bottom.  If I even it up by trimming off the top, the print design will no longer be symmetrical.  I would love comments about how to handle this.

The workshops with Becky Goldsmith Wednesday and Thursday were a delight and loaded with information.  By the end of the second day my head was spinning.  Here is my class sample on traditional needle turn applique.  I need to improve my technique for sharp inner points, but I’m no longer so afraid to attempt the technique.  Becky admits to being something of purist.  After listening to her rationale I went out and purchased Orvus detergent for washing fabrics and quilts.

The elliptical has become my friend this summer.  When it’s still 95 degrees at 8 p.m., inside walks are the only way I’m able to get in a reasonable number of steps.  Listening to audio books makes the task more enjoyable endurable.

I’ve also been punching out hexagons for my next English paper piecing project.  The weekly flyer we get from the grocery store is on heavy enough stock to be usable.  I’m also using the inserts from magazines.  As slow as I work, I should be able to easily keep up with my need.  These hexagons measure 3/4 inch on each side.  That's slightly smaller than the design I will follow, but it seems more economical than purchasing the shapes.

Checking In ...

While I have had a difficult time making myself sit down to the keyboard and create a post, I have been at work the last two weeks.

I finished 10 anti-ouch pouches to take to the guild meeting Wednesday.  That brings me to a total of 74 this year.

There have also been some stash enhancements here.  I’m getting ready for my next English paper piecing project.  I’ve long admired the cover quilt on this book by Edyta Sitar and have decided to do it primarily in French General fabrics (but maybe not the border).  I scored on a recent online auction and was able to get a jelly roll plus four yards of fabric for what I would have paid for the yardage alone.  I have some other French General cuts in my stash, so hopefully I have enough diversity and can begin with this soon.

I’m signed up for two guild workshops with Becky Goldsmith this week and have been pulling the supplies I will need to take.  The first one is on color.  Thursday we’ll have a six-hour session on applique.

I’ve also resumed working on dishcloths while watching the Tour de France with Bob.  It’s an easier project to work on if a dog decides to land in my lap.

When nothing but mindless machine work would satisfy me, I’ve worked on miniature bowtie units.

My goal is to finish appliqueing my red hexagon quilt to its borders before Wednesday’s workshops.  I’ll probably take it with me tomorrow when I join my Tuesday group.  We’ll see how far along I get working on it some tonight.  

A Flimsy

I finished adding borders to this bluebonnet applique piece this weekend.  It's nice to free up a project box.

For some reason I had trouble sizing the center to the pieced borders and had to resort to drawing a picture on graph paper.  In the end it did work out.

We're enjoying a quiet, at-home holiday weekend here.  This evening we will probably take the golf cart to one of the areas on the course where we can enjoy the city's fireworks.