Filling in the Time

We are all getting a bit tired of COVID19 running our lives, but I feel lucky.  As a retired couple we don't go out much in normal times.  As a recent meme on Facebook said, "You realize how anti-social you are when a pandemic hits and things don't change that much for you."  I guess we are a bit introverted with our own activities that we enjoy.  We did break out for a trip to Costco, which netted us about 1/3 of what we had on our list.  They are having trouble filling their shelves because of supply problems.  Who would ever dream?  Meanwhile I clean, garden, sew, play on the computer, and enjoy the local wildlife.  I can walk in the early morning without a mask because I rarely meet anyone else.  I passed 18 curious, but non-threatening, deer on my walk the other morning.  Below is a huge elk that decided to sunbathe and chew his cud in our yard.  He is losing his winter coat so looks pretty scruffy at the moment.

Bull elk.

Several months ago I was all excited to finally buy a ruler foot that comes with a small ruler.  I tried it out on a sample square and was delighted.  Couldn't wait to use it on my quilt.  I have a wide border already quilted on my quilt and wanted to finish it off with a quiet border of piano keys.  I found that using the ruler and its accompanying foot wasn't working well with a heavy quilt to drag around.  Disappointing.

Solution:  Rip-it.  I decided to do the lines with my regular FMQ foot and was able to maintain the 1/4 inch distance between lines with the edge of the foot as a guide.  I also drew a straight line every so often with my Sewline marker to keep from wandering off at an angle.  Great way to learn to FMQ straight lines!   The lines are not as perfect as they would be with a ruler, but that is OK.  Do the best you can.

TIP:  Instead of using black thread on black fabric try a very dark, colored thread or dark charcoal.  It is much easier on the eyes than black on black and unnoticeable.  I thought my lines were quite perfect until I took this photo.  Clearly I was looking at them with "rose-colored glasses."

Piano Keys

I have also been working on the Mayan mask that will will be the show stopper at the top of the quilt.  I am stitching all the fused edges down with blanket stitch of various sizes.  I find this so satisfying.  It demands close attention as I go around corners and curves so it never gets boring.  In some spots I have stitched with clear, mono-poly thread and in others I have chosen appropriate colors or gold, metallic thread.  There is a narrow band under the eyes where I wanted to simulate the glow of animal eyes.  Gold thread was too much.  Yellow and orange were too much.  Tan didn't show up at all.

Silk thread under the eye.

Solution:  I finally settled on silk thread that is almost the same color as the fabric, which is actually a tan print (not orange as in the photo).  It is perfect.  It creates the glow with its sheen and adds the perfect bit of interest, but also blends.

Gold metallic on red.

Sew some happy seams this week.  I wish you straight lines, but no worry if they wiggle a bit.

Sewing and Sowing

After sewing a lot of curved, gridded triangles and then ripping most of them out I was getting pretty tired of re-doing that motif.  Scroll down to my last post to see the notorious motif.  I spent a couple of hours yesterday in the yard preparing the soil and sowing wildflowers.  There is no point in creating a fancy garden because the deer and the elk just eat their way through it so I feed them with wildflowers and enjoy watching them up close and personal.

Big bull elk chewing his cud and growing his antlers.

The only downside was my body the next day.  It protested mightily and let me know that it was time for a "soft" day.  Thinking about the quilting I want to get done, I decided to do a marathon sew-in.  I started after breakfast carefully stitching the blue motif with tiny-stitch filler.  Once I made up my mind to do this I was able to divert my brain from the tedium.  I was also listening to an intense, suspenseful audiobook.  I stopped for lunch and went right back to it.  Before I knew it I was done.  Relief.  Joy. A little dance.  It feels so good to be able to move on.  There is still more quilting to do, but it is easier and will go much faster.  I WILL finish this quilt!!

I will do what I can in the next few days before I fly off to Seattle.  Then my daughter and I will drive to Oregon for a day before heading north to British Columbia for my granddaughter's bridal shower.  Then we drive back to Seattle.  My 3-month old great-grandson is waiting for me to come cuddle him before I fly home.  I will be gone for about 10 days during which time my sewing machine will go to the hospital.  The "On-Off" button is not working reliably....again.  It makes sense to get it taken care of while I am gone, and it is under warranty.

My pretty mother's day bouquet.

Sew some happy seams this week.  I wish you the time and persistence to finish something special.

Back at you in a couple of weeks.

Blog-cation Time

That's right.  My blog is on a short vacation.  Still varnishing.  Gardening and hauling rocks.  No sewing...and now no writing.  Take care and enjoy the summer while it is here.

These photos show life in the mountains.  I take my camera on my daily walks to record fun, funny and interesting encounters.

Young bull elk with emerging antlers, laying in the neighbor's yard.

Soon-to-be mama elk.

End of pregnancy blahs!

Sew some happy seams this week.  I wish you enjoyment of summertime.