Progress!

What will I miss most, now that we're past Labor Day?  The warm humid nights?  The 90+ degree days? The warm humid 90+degree days?  No!  I'll miss the $1.00 any size drink at McDonald's!  I'm a fountain diet Coke junkie.  Not canned, not bottled.  Fountain.  With lootttssss of ice.  My DH calls them my coke snow cones.  I'll still cough up the $, just not as fast or as joyfully.  Ah, there's always next summer.

Now, I did mention progress.  I have a French General pincushion in the shape of a log.  Liked it, but they lined it with something that impeded the pins.  So I wanted to make another one.  I did.  But it was the same size as the FG one.  Decided I wanted a lap "work top" that I could stick pins in.  Voila!  It's about 16"x6".  This top side is out of a cotton overshot fabric that I have a yard of, and was saving for the right project.  The bottom, which of course you can't see, is red cotton velveteen.  It's a medium tea-dyed muslin for the ruffle.  I can't wear ruffles, but I like them, so I sneak them in when I can.  I filled it with crushed walnuts.  Yes, it's heavy.  But, the size is great to lay a couple of pieces of patchwork out on, or applique, and think and plan, and I now have a HUGE place to put my pins and needles, so hopefully I'll stop "losing" them in my clothes, the couch, the floor.....

Then, I finished up a reproduction of a sweet baby quilt in "Quilts  The Fabric of Friendship".  Including the quilting and binding.  The colors aren't quite this dull or as bright as the one below, but somewhere in between.  I used Inklingo for all of the half square triangles.  I have to tell you.  I am so pleased with the way this quilt turned out.  It's the first machine piecing I've done in a long time that came out nice!  There are points where there are supposed to be points.  And there are a lot of points.  Most of this I attribute to Inklingo, but mostly because I have become fanatical about a "scant quarter inch".  I got a cute little ruler for measuring this from Perkins Dry Goods called, Perfect Piecing Seam Guide.  You put your needle down in the hold in the ruler and put a straight edge or foot guide right down next to the ruler edge.  Remove ruler, and you're set to go.    I mean, look down 

there at those points, will you?!  I was so happy!!                                                                                                                     

Then, I got a new download from Inklingo for Pickled Clamshells.  I got the 11" version.  I'm still playing with the color way.  This one has a French Provencal look.  And halfway through the piecing of this one clamshell, I stopped and put the backing on this baby quilt.  It's strippy.  I didn't pick out the fabrics for the back.  My boss did.  And she snuck in this blue fabric that has just captivated me.  I don't know why, I can't explain it.  I do know that I'll be trying to find some time at work tomorrow to find something perfect to go with it.  I can see this as a 19th century house dress, but it also looks like some kind of anemone, or creature from the black lagoon (hideously creepy laughter).  In the back of the quilt, it kind of disappears, but still looks good.  I think it's all a plot.  I don't know whose, but it's a plot.

One last note, today.  I got this quilt quilted my my Sashiko machine.  I'm thrilled with it.  So far, I can only do straight lines and multiples there of, but I got this quilted in about 3 hours.  Yippie skippie!  And I like it!  Yes, a machine did this!  There's only one thread. There's no invisible nylon filament between the thread that shows. It looks machine quilted on the back side, but that works for me.  Okay, time to go applique and get ready for work tomorrow.  Later.