Alligators and Armadillos

Nora's asking for a Wizard of Oz quilt got me to thinking that I wanted to make a Noah's Ark quilt for Aaron. His birthday's in September, so it's time to get going on that.

I figured I could make one little creature every day, then realized that a pair a day would be better since I'd have design and threads out. These are applique and they go pretty fast. I haven't counted to see how many pairs there are, I just know there are lots.

It gives me so much joy to dig around in my fabrics to find just the right piece for these creatures. And I can just imagine Aaron touching each one and calling it by name. The green pique background fabric has just a little raised design to it, making it fun to touch.

And by the way, not my news, but the little guy is 36" tall and weighs 29 1/2 pounds. Ninty-seventh percentile for height and 54th for weight, much like his sister's always been.

Embossed Towel

I really love this - an angel fish design from Embroidery Library embossed on a thick towel. Lots of texture., very elegant.

Only thing is, when I was embroidering, a corner of the towel got caught under the hoop, about a three-inch triangle. The stitching on this design is very intense and there was NO WAY I could pick out those stitches. I cut off the bottom of the towel along the trim, losing about five inches of towel, and used my serger and sewing machine to finish the edge. Doesn't look all that bad, but there is still the matter of the corner of the towel under part of the design.

I had meant this as a gift, but it looks like I have a pretty new towel for myself. On the plus side, the Q foot worked wonderfully even on a thick towel, even with two thicknesses of the towel where it was caught on the bottom. Looks like I can go back and revisit a design I got for a towel that I just couldn't stitch out because the towel was too thick for the R foot.

I think that these misadventures are just part of the curve of learning, not happy but not terrible either. Next time, I'll hoop differently.

Snowflakes and Blue

I'm glad I decided to change the flowers from Dots and Daisies to snowflakes. The design on the right, three blocks down, was supposed to be a sun.

The snowman is from a design build into my sewing machine, with Warm 'n Natural batting for the applique'd body.

Lettering is from my software.

I used stitch in the ditch around the squares and sashing, then tied white knots on the sashing. It had been forever since I'd knotted a quilt, and I didn't have doll needles then to make it much easier. My mother and grandmother almost always knotted instead of quilting - I want to do more of it.

And I want to do more lettering. I was thinking about that today, how to make that work, other than with software.

Wizard of Oz

I finished the quilting on Lisa's quilt yesterday - Dakota's Wizard of Oz

I showed the family when they were over for dinner yesterday and Nora right away asked if the quilt was for her. I told her no, it belonged to someone else, I was just working on it.

She reached up and hugged me and said, "Will you make one for me?"

I can see that there will be a Wizard of Oz quilt for Nora's birthday. I've never purchased a design collection before, should be fun. Besides the characters on this quilt, there is a lovely Glenda and numerous others.

I love Nora's confidence that I could make such a quilt, or any quilt, really, that her heart desires.

Happy 4th

Happy 4th of July, everyone.

Friday Fill-In # 131

You'll find my answers to the Friday Fill-ins in bold.

1. When I heard the sound of a few random firecrackers in the evenings, I knew that the 4th of July was coming. I hope everyone has a good holiday.

2. Antibiotics are the best medicine for some infections. It's hard to believe that they're relatively new. When I had a ruptured appendix a few years ago, I was so grateful for them.

3. It's late but I'm going to get this quilt finished for my work friend Lisa.

4. They're always coming out with new things, but the new interchangable dual feed foot is amazing. Nice and wide, and there's a changable quilter's guide foot for straight stitching with 1/4" markings and a stitch-in-the-ditch guide.

5. My eyes have seen the lushness of my front yard garden this morning, with plants spilling over everywhere. Tomatoes and squash soon. And the first time I've been able to get a good start of lavender.

6. I feel strongly about civility. But then, you already know that.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to finishing Lisa's quilt, tomorrow my plans include Fourth at the Fort in Fort Thomas, and Sunday I want to sleep in - no church on this Sunday because many members are at the nearby conference in Columbus, Ohio.

Happy Friday and happy 4th, everyone.

July 1

July 1. Turn to new calendar pages. And note that half the year's done. I wonder what's happened to all that energy I had when I made New Year's resolutions. I've done well - I think, haven't done the mid-year check yet - but still, I'd like to have some of that freshness I felt in January.

Sometimes I make midyear adjustments, sometimes add a few midyear resolutions. That may happen this year, but not on July 1.

I did a little more basement cleaning this morning, early. Everything to do with painting (wall painting, not artistic painting) is in the basement storage room with the big spider. I wonder, do they still have the pest strips that keep the creatures away? Or have they been banned like lots of other things?

What I'm gearing up for with the basement cleaning is to have a nice dyeing area, uncluttered. I'd better hurry and get it finished before cold weather is back. Some people have asked to come and do some dyeing with me and I'd like to have a pleasant space before I have any company.

And then there's the issue of finding things . . .