a tuesday test

here we have 4 "name brand" spools of quilting thread.  i hand quilt exclusively, so i have a small stash of this on hand always.  these all happen to be white.  from left to right:  aurifil, mettler, coats & clark and king tut.  these are all cotton 40 wt threads.  i have tried all except the aurifil, which gets tested today.  which one will be my fave?  so far i'd have to say the king tut EXCEPT it can be difficult to thread.  the coats & clark is a glazed cotton making is easier to thread but i don't like the feel of the glazing.  the mettler was my hands' down favorite until i tried the king tut...no glazing and nice result.  i do have a few spools of el cheapo quilting thread on hand that are glazed, but these are used for basting only and get tossed as i proceed in the quilting.  it's the kind of thread that walmart might sell for 59 cents or so.  no doubt you'll be on pins and needles (no pun) until i post the final result tomorrow or sometime this week.  of course, whichever is chosen the best doesn't mean i'll toss the others--too pricey to casually discard.  they will all get used up and then i'll stock only my favorite.  i can tell you now, though, it won't be the glazed coats & clark. 

3 guesses

where i'm off to this morning.  i am embarrassingly late in sending out things to people; they ARE coming and i thank you for your patience.  ****  sunday sewing?  well, nearly finished a pincushion for an upcoming swap.  worked on just takes 2 (1 block all finished, 2 more just about) and quilted on the feathered star quite a bit.  tomorrow more blocks will be posted for JT2 and i am going to make an herculean effort to get caught up on this project before any more are posted, if at all possible.  ***** it is nippy here in coastal maine this morning, mid 30s for temps; heard of a hard freeze some places but it sure doesn't feel like spring or even may 1 here today....yet!  still favoring my chest/shoulder/elbow/wrist area a bit from last week's fall.  the ibuprofen is terrific, allowing me to continue sewing without interruption. 

those pesky fates

they never quit, do they?  now that i am finally employed--albeit in a much lower capacity than i should be--my daughter is subject to their antics.  why don't they pick on somebody else for a change?  we have both worked very hard in our lives to achieve some education, have a career and a normal life but it has been a horribly tough road and near impossible for both of us.  it was always rough but our efforts usually paid off; that was before "the house" was snatched away from us and we began our drifting lives.  i hope i never meet up with these nefarious fates for they will surely suffer...yes i know, that's revenge talking and in my flawed human-ness it's what i want, what we all want sometimes...to get even, to settle the score, an eye for an eye, tit for tat.  after all, that would be justified, wouldn't it?  i forget that isn't what God wants from me or anybody else, forget on a daily basis.  i've been wronged, now my daughter has been wronged and is suffering, which affects her husband and their lives.  it isn't fair and i know life isn't fair; doesn't mean i have to like it for a nanosecond.  i say pox on those fates, and hope God isn't listening. 

star progress

had a whirlwind week working, visiting, doing errands and household chores, but i did manage to fit in some sewing time.  mostly i've been working on this feathered star trying to get it finished for DD and DSIL's anniversary.  course, it would mean another removal from my UFO list too, which is a plus.  i've also worked a bit on "just takes 2" blocks, mostly printing them out on foundation papers.  next week i am hoping to mark the last border on the center diamond and finish that next.  **** the next step in using up the solids is cut all the triangles i need for my ocean waves quilt that is also in progress.  i am on a mission to wipe out--or nearly--that drawer of solid scraps.  **** on another note, i tripped the other night and took a belly flop onto a carpeted floor.  no bones broken but pulled some chest/shoulder muscles.  it's improving slowly but i am stunned as to how painful and debilitating this unseen injury is.  the pain woke me in the middle of the night and right away i'm thinking "heart attack," but no (which is good).  nevertheless, the heating pad and ibuprofen are my new best friends--for the duration--and i'm back wearing my bra to bed like those post-partum days.  thankfully it hasn't hampered my quilting ability but it affects just about everything else.  i'm guessing a few more days and it should be a lot better...at least i hope so. 

1 more for JT2

here is one of those "forever" blocks, a fancy applique.  the fabric chosen is a jo morton fabric, a luscious deep brown floral.  it's pinned down and ready to applique...well not quite, a bit of adjusting is required first.  it'll be gorgeous when done.  after this, i've a large feathered star block and a pieced compass block.  these should keep me busy for quite a while.  first must finish is the feathered star, though.   ***** and a sincere thank you to the weather fates; we got 2 days of heavy rain but not a flake.  i guess winter is really over for a while.  

retreat weekend wrap-up

though i am still way behind on this project, some progress was made yesterday.  these browns are civil war browns from stash and muslin was on hand.  in addition to these blocks, i have another in the machine being paper-pieced and 2 more in the started stage.  so far i have avoided the most difficult, larger blocks--a feathered star, a pieced compass and a vintage applique.  there are others besides that are paper-pieced not yet prepped, plus some checkerboard units.  will try and get the applique and compass blocks done next as these can be handwork tasks.  **** the little pile of amish scraps has "grown" into blocks and strips; next is to cut some strips for an ocean waves in progress.  i've finished cutting the solids for the "hole in the barn door" quilt in progress too.  until i've finished all the pieces for the quilts in progress, i don't want to start any new solid projects as i really am trying to empty this drawer.  **** lastly, i'm quilting on the feathered star wallhanging hoping for another finish soon.  all in all, a busy sunday sewing session!

watch it grow!

the stashbuster's weekend retreat theme is "watch it grow" so after growing my amish in the city squares on friday, today i'm growing this little pile of scraps into squares and strips.  had to organize the "solids" drawer again to get it closed and found these.  i also cut up more units for a "hole in the barn door" quilt that is in progress.  now that i've emptied a shoebox, emptying a whole drawer would be really exciting.  so, i have 5 amish quilts in progress and the next is off my WHIMM list...a scrappy bowtie...one of my all-time favorite patterns.  i do believe i can bust most, if not all, this fabric stash in my lifetime!

retreat progress

friday i retreated with the stashbusters and finished all 18 of my "amish in the city" blocks.  this pattern came from a book called "city quilter" by cherri house....lots of very nice geometric designs in this book.  these will be set on point with black setting triangles that i have yet to cut, plus a couple of narrow borders.  i'm thinking an overall quilting pattern on this one, perhaps bonnie's famous baptist fans?  ***** i've now cut fabrics for 2 amish tops (this and the honeycomb) and my elfa drawer of solids is still jam packed full.  it is always surprising how little fabric scrap quilt tops actually bust!  **** yesterday i also printed off the remaining patterns (so far) for my "just takes 2" project of civil war brown prints/muslin.  and my 2 swaps are ready to mail as well, so all caught up there.  all in all, a very productive and enjoyable day! 

blue cheese flimsy

this lounged around while i decided whether or not it should be bigger, finished off, etc.  it finally spoke to me and so i added these 2 narrow borders....now it's a flimsy!  i haven't given up making bed-size quilts, but it's quite fun making lots of little quilts.  i get to play with lots of color combinations, patterns and ideas without having a stack of unfinished big quilts.  and naturally, they get finished quicker too.  these little HSTs finish at 1" and it wasn't THAT long ago when i would NEVER have made anything that small.  but, bonnie hunter has made me see the light and the EZ angle ruler, which makes these little squares oh so easy!  **** it's stashbuster retreat weekend, so i'm off to get started!

this is done!

took advantage of the early quiet hours to finish cutting out these hexagons for the amish honeycomb quilt top, total of 202.  some have already had the edges turned/basted but not many.  there are a lot of cherrywood scraps left over, so will need to use them up in small quilts.  what else did i do?  shortened a pair of summer slacks, did some quilting, did some ripping....now i can sit down and sew! **** and i decided, the ulmer frame is back on my wish list.