It’s Party Time!!!

Not that kind!  The binding kind of party.

Both pieces of the ginormous quilt are quilted.  (If you’d like the back story on the quilt, read this post.)  I pulled it off the machine and trimmed it about 30 minutes ago!

I used 21 colors of thread.  I can’t even begin to guess how many thread and bobbin changes I did!

I didn’t keep track of my hours at all, and maybe that’s a good thing.  And the only thing that kept me on task with the quilting was these headphones.

I listened to Michael Buble’ Radio and Gateway Worship Radio on Pandora.  How’s that for a weird combo?  I’ve found out that music keeps me much more focused.  And I don’t need to listen to The Bickersons (my kids) when they start!!!

And now I’m headed over to My Hero’s office to lay the quilts out.  I’m thinking it would be a good idea if they were the same length when they’re hung.  I know that one of them is wider on the top than the bottom.  I’ll do some measuring and figure out what I need to trim.

Tomorrow is the binding party.  Anyone want to come and help???  I need to get this done, because by Friday evening, all five kids will be home.  The Genius hasn’t been home in 16 months.  I’m ready to hang out with them and knit and grill and be a pool rat!

And…I have stuff to blog!  There are four knit things hanging on the back of my couch.  Don’t be too impressed.  I finished two of them in May.  I think I have some spinning that I never blogged either.  I will also take lots of photos next week when the quilt is hung.

I Cannot Wait!!!!!

It’s a Bug’s Life

Yes, I fell off the face of the earth again. We visited The Genius.  I spent two whole days planning our bus trip.  (You’ll hear a lot more about that in July.)  I’ve tried to keep this house and back yard under control.  I may finally be winning. And life is calming down for a little while.

This morning was the first time it was warm enough, not raining, and I had time to sit in the back yard.  It’s glorious out there at 8 AM.  (Yes, I’m finally an adult and get up in the morning, even when it’s summer.)  I haven’t done much knitting in the last week because I’ve had a big knot in my neck.  I did a little bit this morning, and it was so relaxing.  My little white sidekick loves it when I sit and knit.  She just hangs out with me.

So…this week is all about the Kids World quilt.  This morning I made bugs.

 

And a caterpillar…

I did some funky leaves!  The fabric was custom dyed by the famous Mickey Depre and her hubby Paul!  The dark green on the caterpillar is the same fabric.  It much more vibrant in real life.

I traced this leaf from the wallpaper in my sewing room.  I didn’t realize until after I cut out the centers, that I could use those too!

And then there are a few more funky flowers and leaves.

I’m going to have to start laying all this stuff out on the quilt soon.  I have a feeling I’m going to panic because I feel like I’ve made lots of stuff for the quilt, and it’s not going to be nearly enough!

And now it’s time for another hour in the sewing room and then it’s off to Frankie’s baseball game.

Ok, So I Can’t Just Sit!

I have a little problem with being able to just sit.  If I’m not knitting, my mind wanders.  The Genius is the same way.  She knit through some of high school and a lot in college.

As I said in yesterdays post, I was just going to sit in the sun and knit.  I couldn’t do it.  I started thinking about how I was going to put the trees on that ginormous quilt, and I had to just go do it!  I sat in the sun for maybe 45 minutes.

I got my stuff together and headed back to My Hero’s office.  I started working on the quilt at 1:30 and worked until 9:30.  Fortunately,  My Hero was willing to grab some takeout to feed the kids!

Here’s what I had at 9:30.

It looks a little desolate now, but imagine it covered with lots of leaves!  I think there will be a nest in the tree with birds in it.  It’s hard to see on the picture, but there are four colors of brown in the tree.  I may add more texture to the trunk, but the machine quilting will do a much better job of that as well.

This morning I feel like I got hit by a truck.  Half of that eight hour stint was spent crawling around on the floor and getting pieces in the right places.

Maybe today I’ll just sit…and knit!