Two WIP Finishes

Last Saturday morning, as I was heading out for a four-mile power walk, my left leg gave way (due to oesteoarthritis in my left hip - the outcome of a couple decades of regular jogging) and I fell in the street. After two days of trying to staunch blood from wounds on both knees and right elbow - because who doesn't bleed profusely when on blood-thinners? - by Monday I knew it was time for urgent care. I was told I should have had stitches in my left knee, which was by then swollen and hot, and I was put on an antibiotic and a steroid for swelling.

The result has been a week spent at home, hobbling, tending wounds, sewing and handwork time, Bible study lessons, and watching recorded episodes of Midsommer Murders.

The first WIP I wanted to finish was my QuiltCon "Reimagine the Classic Tied Quilt" workshop piece. 

My Crosscut quilt (free tutorial on Debbie's @aquilterstable blog) finished at  21" X 21" and is tied with Iroiro wool yarn that's been felted into little puff balls. I used Funtack to temporarily hang the quilt on our living room wall - 21" feet of happy Sherwin-Williams Tangerine!

I'm pleased with how it turned out, and will try to find a permanent hanging spot in my sewing room. 

On February 11/12 I participated in the free Thread House Academy "Taster Weekend" where I watched a video and received instructions for the The Freehand Halo Appliqué project by Jo Avery @joaverystitch. While riding with two quilter-friends to Atlanta for QuiltCon, I hand-appliqued halo blocks.

Jo used linen to demonstrate her project so I scrounged through my limited linen stash to determine a color palette. I have since rectified my limited supply of linen colors by purchasing five more colors from QuiltCon vendors. 😀

As recommend by Amy Friend @duringquiettime, I've begun using Tulip brand #10 appliqué needles. Another QuiltCon purchase, from the Aurifil booth, meant I could use more thread colors than only grey Aurifil 80-weight. The needle and thread work well together with stitches simply melting into the fabrics. 

When appliquéd blocks were finished, trimmed, and machine-pieced into a nine block layout, I pressed a fusible cotton batting to the back, and began big stitch hand quilting using a Bohin #7 crewel needle and several colors of 12-weight Wonderfil Spagetti thread. 

Again, it was like stitching through butter as I made running stitches, Xs, and Colonial knots.

I finished the 17" X 17" pillow with an envelop back and binding. Doesn't it look like it belongs in my sewing room rocker? 

An added embellishment, in the center of the lower right block, is a Spoonflower pin, received from the QuiltCon Spoonflower booth. The pin color coordinates beautifully with the pillow.

I'm very happy with how this turned out, and want to keep appliquéing! Handwork has become an addiction for me - more appealing, the older I get. I'll be 70 years old next week - on National Quilting Day - and I can't think of a better two-in-one-special day combination! 

Book Recommendation

Summer's Child by Diane Chamberlain is about a cul de sac of oceanside homes in Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, where year-'round and summertime residents share life. When on her 11th birthday, Daria Cato takes an early morning post-storm beach walk, she finds the lifeless-looking body of a newborn. Picking it up and running to her mother who's a nurse, the baby is cared for, eventually adopted by the Cato family, named Shelly, and the circumstances of her birth becomes a two decades-long unsolved mystery. 

Rory returns to the cul-de-sac from California - he's the host of a True Life Stories TV series - for a summertime vacation with his 14 year-old son. Shelly has asked Rory to find her mother. But Shelly's protective sisters insist that it's a mistake to pursue it - it could be hurtful to Shelly. Rory continues to probe, asking questions, receiving speculative thoughts, or being met with resistance. Several people are keeping secrets that could be devastating. 

Linda's score: 3.8/5.0  

I hung up the pretty little "L" embroidery that Clara @bimbambuki_blog made for me. As you can see, it's near the colorful sewing machine clock that Di @darlingdi brought from Australia, when she visited in February/March 2017. Such good memories! Di and I spent a wonderful time together, attending QuiltCon Savannah, and sightseeing. Eight blog posts about her first trip to the US begin here. 

Anyway, no worries about my knees and elbow. They're healing enough that this morning, for the first time since going to urgent care on Monday, I got out by golf cart to attend a weekly Bible study where we're delving into women of the Bible. Today's lesson was about Mary of Bethany (the sister of hard-working Martha and risen-from-the-dead Lazarus), who poured precious perfume on Jesus' head. My takeaway from that is: Don't try to do all you can do. Do what you can do. Linda