Wednesday, August 21, 2019

In Deep

The phrase "I'm in too deep," comes to mind as I look at all the projects I've touched in the past week. Keep in mind that until Monday, when I finally reached seven days of rest, I couldn't do what I wanted to do - use my sewing machine.

Instead, I found everything else that might keep my hands busy.

This huge cone of Sugar and Cream yarn was given to me by a friend who was doing some purging. I happily accepted it because I love my knitted dishcloths. I've made a couple of them this week.








In the sewing room, I did a lot of rotary cutting while putting on my weight on my good (right) leg.

I started by cutting out what I could of daughter Jill's "Moroccan Tiles" quilt. I don't have all the fabrics yet, nor finalized what goes where, but I made a good start at cutting 32 blocks.

Two free quilt patterns caught my scrap-lovin' eyes!

After seeing Debbie's (AQuiltersTable) "Plaidish" quilt, I was all over downloading this design by Erica of KitchenTableQuilting. It makes a 64" X 82" quilt. I used mostly scraps - like 80 percent - having to go into yardage pieces for dark values. But I was happy to cut those up because I seldom use dark fabrics in my quilts anyway. This is the whole quilt, ready to be pieced.

The second free design comes from Kelly at MyQuiltInfatuation. She called her finished string-pieced quilt "Fractured Horizons." Cutting green and blue strips made a really nice dent in my scraps.

I'm saving these two cut-out quilts to piece when I'm away from home, sewing with Big Cypress Quilters or Central Florida MQG.

This past week was also a good time to assess where I am on projects, and do some online fabric ordering to keep those WIPs in progress. Four shops earned my business for quilt backings, and challenge fabrics. I'm still doing admirably well at not buying fabric unless it's needed.

With only four different fat-eighths of fabric to work with for the 2020 QuiltCon Indah Batik Challenge, I had to order more. As I said in a previous post, I'm not a fan of batiks, but once I saw the palm print, I succumbed.  When the order arrived, I washed it right away, and started cutting and sewing. Attempts to design something using EQ8 were a wasted effort, so I began without a plan, deciding only two things: 1) I wanted to feature palms in my piecing; and 2) I wanted to use my Hex 'n More ruler to cut jewel shapes. Here's a look at what I've done.

For this week's #onethingwithAmy on Instagram - Amy challenges everyone to choose one thing to accomplish between Monday and the following Sunday - I've decided to pull out my Cascade quilt top, completed in May, and get it sandwiched and basted. I haven't started yet, but today's the day I'll rearrange my sewing tables to create a basting surface. I'll be sandwiching this quilt using that Lava Lamps 108" widleback as backing (top of picture); Quilter's Dream Request Loft Cotton (left); and lots of one-inch safety pins (tin at right).

Back in March I decided to let my hair grow. For whatever wild notion, I wanted a change. But gosh, it takes a long time when you've started with really short hair! At the end of June, for the first time ever, I had my hair chemically relaxed to remove the curl. In hindsight, I wish I hadn't done it because now, like everyone else, I must use a blow dryer and brush roller to get some lift. Yesterday was my first haircut since April 17. I'm liking it a little more since having a moisturizing treatment, followed by the wash, cut and style.

I must say that overall, I'm feeling like myself again. Thursday is my follow-up (since the August 12 angiogram) with the doc, and I'll have an ultrasound of my right leg to determine if it needs the same treatment as my left. Of course, I hope not, but I'm prepared to hear that I do. 


In one day, I started and finished listening to "The Perfect Wife" by Blake Pierce. It was so engaging! Though on first review it seems like another stereotypical psychological thriller, this one kept surprising me.

The reader meets happily-married Jessie Hunt who has just relocated to Southern California with her husband of almost two years. They're meeting neighbors and have joined a club, while Kyle begins works in a new position and Jessie starts her last class and internship to become a criminal profiler. But everyone has secrets. This is book #1 in the Jessie Hunt series, and it certainly won't be my last!

Linda's Score: 4.5/5
Linda

13 comments:

  1. I'm very glad you are progressing and hope you get good news at your follow-up. Like you, I get into all sorts of other projects in addition to quilting. Egad. But at least you found some things you could do while away from the machine. Audio books are just terrific- since we live in a rural area a half hour from almost anything, I get to hear them on my drive. I don't sit to read a book very often, though I still enjoy that approach to reading. You deserve a pat on the back for being a compliant patient and productive at the same time!

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  2. I am very happy that you are recovering so well from the procedure. Yes!! If you are not in deep, then what else would there be? dipping? that is only for chips hahahaha I made a joke. I love all of your projects. Your hair looks cute. I used to have curly hair but now it is just rumply or straight. I have short hair too but have thought about growing it out bc I miss pony tails. hmmmm first world proooooblems haha Enjoy the rest of your week

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  3. I like the new hair cut and I hope you get some good news when you see your doctor. I'll be downloading those two free patterns tomorrow, they both look like ones that some in our quilt ministry group might like to try. Plaid-ish is similar to one I just finished for the auction (April in Paris), though it appears to use several more sizes of squares and rectangles than the one I made. They're fun and easy to piece. Looking forward to seeing Cascade all quilted and finished!

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  4. Love the new hairdo! You look fabulous! Goodness, you got right to work on the challenge! I'm still in the "what on earth am I going to do with those palm trees" stage!

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  5. Sounds like you've been happily busy even tho sewing has been at a minimum - yay! And fun to read you're making a Plaid-ish quilt! ;-) I finally made a backing for mine tonight!
    I need a digital book for a long plane ride...I may have to look into the series you discovered.

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  6. Ooh...I do like the new ‘do’ Linda! And your Quiltcon challenge piece looks great too. Good luck with your follow up appointment with the specialist. I’ll say a special prayer for you tonight.

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  7. Hoping your follow up goes well with no further treatment. Otherwise you'll have a lot more projects to cut . . . or I could send some for you to cut for me. I'm itching to start some new things and struggling to finish those that are in the works.

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  8. Linda, you’ve certainly made extraordinary use of your down time! I admire you so much for keeping everything in prospective and staying positive. I love your two new kitted projects. They will be beautiful upon completion. EQ is great, but most of the prettiest modern quilts I’ve seen have been grown like a garden, piece by piece, on the design wall. Your challenge quilt will surely rank among that list! Hope your check up went well!

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  9. I love the photo of you sporting your new hair do; it is a lovely photo! You certainly have many lovely pretties on the go. Love all those gorgeous blue and green fabrics playing nicely together.

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  10. Thanks for the recommendation--I love to listen to books on CD while I sew

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    1. I'm happy to hear you listen to audiobooks too. I'm always happy to suggest good titles. In fact, if you read back through all my posts, there's a review in each post. (Sorry I couldn't reply to you personally. You're a "no-reply commenter," so I can't email you directly.)

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  11. It sounds like you've made the best of your period of forced rest. Hoping for.a good outcome on your Dr's visit!

    I love your hair!

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  12. Your new hairdo is really fun! Good for you for making a change. All your other projects sounds like fun, too, from crocheting to quilting to prepping new projects.

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