Quilting Day

I quilted most of the day Monday.....that is usually a day I don't go to my shop. I stay home and clean house, buy groceries, run errands.....all the boring stuff. I wanted to finish the quilt I had on the frame though. 

It doesn't look that big in the picture, but it is 86" x 102". This particular customer needs it for her great-granddaughter's wedding which is coming up soon, and I want to make sure she has time to get the binding done. The photos don't show the colors that well (as usual).

I really don't love it when they choose a solid white back and then want a colored bobbin thread. Any little wobble or blip will show. I generally just grit my teeth and hope for the best, and so far, everything has been fine. 

I bought a new universal remote to replace the one my bad doggies chewed up.

I kind of like the gold color. I can't say if the dogs are any better or not. I am trying to spend more time outside playing ball and doing the agility runs with them. I figure if I can keep them tired out it will be helpful. Of course, it tires me out too which is also helpful. 

I went to Dillards Friday to get some funeral-appropriate clothing and saw this:

The jeans are not funeral appropriate, but they are definitely more my style. I don't think I will be paying $119.00 though. I most likely have some of that wide trim (or two narrower pieces that I can sew together) and can make my own. Yes, that's the way my brain works.

Stitching Progress

Lots of cross stitching happening here. I was debating over the mistake on the border of this one:

I finally decided to just bit the bullet and redo it. I'm pretty sure I wasn't going to be happy with it if I didn't. I got it redone, plus a lot more. 

I started thinking about making another one in a different color. I looked online and found this chart:

I ordered it and also ordered some beige aida, but didn't order the thread. I'm not sure about the blue and was thinking of using something else. I don't know what though, so I may just go with blue. The DMC is easy to get--I can get it at Hobby Lobby once I decide on the color. 

Jo Kramer is having a stitch-along starting in January. Details here. I gave in and ordered the kit, then I regretted it, and now that I have received it, I'm glad I got it. It will give me something new to look forward to after the first of the year. It is Black Dog Sampler from Scarlett House.

I ordered the 14-count Aida, and there aren't many thread colors, so I think it will be easy. 

Something else I discovered: remember when I was getting injections for my trigger finger (middle finger on left hand)?

After several days of doing lots of cross stitch, it is back with a vengeance. Turns out gripping the cross stitch fabric with my left hand while I stitch with the right is causing this. I hadn't cross stitched in years and just returned to it a couple of years ago. I have been having the trigger finger issues for about a year now. Who knew? I may have to pace myself on how much I do, or I will have to break down and do the surgery. 

Some Quilting

I still haven't been in the mood to sew, but I am trying to stay busy. I am also tired of cleaning house. The stress-cleaning was nice for a while, but a little of that goes a long way with me. I headed up to my shop today and got a quilt loaded.

I am two rows in and find it very comforting. When I first learned we would be in San Antonio for an indefinite period, I had called my customers to let them know I didn't know what my schedule was going to be like, and that I could make arrangements to get their tops back to them if they wanted to take them somewhere else. One lady needed hers for an early Christmas gift so she picked it up, but everyone else said they would rather I do them, even if it meant a long wait. Right now, I think it will be a blessing to have plenty to do over the holidays. 

I also stopped at the quilt shop this morning. It was a little emotional, but not too bad. They are having a shop hop with mug rug kits, and I wanted one of these:

I ended up buying three of them--the other two are for friends who quilt. 

A Bad Day

…Or maybe a bad week, or month, or whatever. I feel like I have a black cloud over my head. Ever since Bill got sick, there has been little good and a whole lot of bad. Today my dogs ran away! I had gone to Target to return an order, and when I got back my gate was open and they were gone. The company replacing the fiber optic cable were on my block today, and I am pretty sure they opened my gate and failed to close it. My dogs finally came back so that was a relief. They have been super anxious the last few days.

These two were Bill’s, and I’m pretty sure they know something is wrong. So far, they have chewed up my reading glasses, the TV remote, a hairbrush, a box of smoothie straws, the poo bag dispenser, my pill organizer, and I don’t know what all else. They also stole a bag of Fritos from the table and ate them. I am going to have to start crating them when I leave the house. They are not puppies, so they’re behavior is a little out of character.

What else? I broke a tooth day before yesterday. I went out yesterday to start Bill’s truck and the battery was dead. Okay, that’s not that bad. I found the charger and put it on the battery terminals, and it started fine last night. But, it was just one more thing to deal with. The wheel fell off my cordless vacuum. Oh, I could go on and on.

I am a generally positive person, but right now, I am wondering what is going on. I have a Bible app on my iPad, and I do the Bible study of the day, but today, I skipped that and went straight to the book of Job because that’s kinda how I feel right now. So far, I haven’t broken out with sores and I pray I won’t. Today is a new month, and I am hoping for the best.

Cross Stitch Ups and Downs

I took my cross stitch with me last week to work on in the hospital. I am one of those people who always has to be doing something, so I try to take some handwork along if I know I will be sitting for long periods. My last post on this one:

This was a good choice to take with me as there are no color changes, but a bad choice in a way because of all the counting. I did make some progress.

I got all the flowers and the vase completed and started on the side borders.

Unfortunately, I found a couple of mistakes. I have an extra stitch in a couple of places.

I am thinking about what to do. I can rip out and redo the backstitching, or I can leave it and purposely make the same mistakes on the other side border. Of course, that adds two extra rows that won’t have stitching so I don’t know. I’ll have to make a decision before I can continue. 

Prairie Flowers

First of all, thank you so much for your kind comments….I am not able to respond to each one at this time, but I so appreciate it. I also appreciate any and all prayers.  That is what is getting me through the last few days.

I am still not doing any sewing but thought maybe I could take some pictures of a finished quilt and make a blog post about it. I had gotten this one quilted around the 15th, I think and gotten the binding strips cut and sewn together. Of course, Bill went into the hospital on Wednesday afternoon (the 16th), and I got it into my head that I wanted to get the binding finished so he could have it on his hospital bed. I knew they wouldn’t let him have it in ICU, but maybe when he got into a regular room……anyway, I went to my shop Thursday night and got the binding put on and stitched down.

When I quilt a quilt, whether my own or someone else’s, I pray. There are lots of prayers quilted into the quilts I make, and I was determined he would have it on his bed. Well, he never got out of intensive care, and when I got back to town Thursday evening (the 24th), it was still in the back of the car. My daughter was helping me unload the car and brought it in and, and I put it on my bed.

I make a lot of double bed size quilts, even though I have a queen bed. The reason——I like the weight of a quilt, and Bill didn’t, so I made them wide enough to only cover me. This one is currently turned sideways since I am the only one sleeping under it. I really do like it. Here’s a better shot of the border and binding:

I actually chose the binding to not only coordinate with the cornerstones on the front, but also the backing.

You never really know what will be too painful, or what will bring you comfort. So far, I am happy having it on my bed. This was one of the free tutorials from Missouri Star and used a layer cake plus yardage. I quilted it with a pattern called three leaf clover in Glide white.

Pick Up Sticks

Sometimes you just can’t quilt, but you can always look at patterns and dream about what you want to make. I tend to dream of stash busting, and of course there is a good reason for that. I found this one from Windham Fabrics.

This one is made from a single fabric line, but it might work well for scraps also. The pattern is here.