Cozy, Comfortable Crafting

My long-term quilting project, "Peggy's Sistine Chapel," is done.

I bought this pattern, Delectable Pathways by Mary Sorensen, in 2004, when I took a class in needle-turn appliqué from the designer. I elected to use paper piecing for the "Delectable Mountain" blocks, so I would be prepared for my Pine Burr quilt, long hanging on my dining-room wall. I bought the background fabric (three shades of "cheddar") from my friend Julie when she was closing out her quilt shop. My plan was to put it on the wall over my stairs, with the lightest background the furthest away from the window.

I enjoyed the needleturn appliqué, and later the hand-quilting. However, during that time period I also took up hand spinning and then weaving.

When it became clear, however, that we would be leaving this house in a few months, I made it a goal to finish the quilting so I could see it on the wall where it was intended.

Now it's ready to put up on the wall, when we can figure out how to put something up that high over the stairs. (I'll post a photo when it's up.)

I was working on my "Sistine Chapel" on Thursday, when we met at Georgette's for Common Threads.

Georgette is a master needlepointer. She had finished several projects, including the pillow above. This seemed to be "needlepoint Thursday," as we were also treated to these:

Lynda had finished her brioche projects, the reversible scarf...

...and the hat.

She had also finished this shawl (not brioche, but still stunning).

Our part-timer, Susan, was working on this scarf, the ZickZack Scarf.

I had grown discontented with the shawl pattern I was working on (Frozen Skies) and had decided to frog it. Susan said this pattern was almost mindless, but still interesting. I decided that would be perfect for my special yarn, so I frogged the shawl and CO for the scarf.

So far, I'm enjoying it.

I also CO another Faire Isle doll sweater to try to perfect the pattern. (I'm finding mistakes.)

This time I'm using a solid and a self-striping yarn. It will eliminate changing colors every couple of rounds, but I had recommended it to people as an option, so I thought I would give it a try.

My adorable boys went to the groomer this past week....

...so of course it snowed!

Good weather to stay inside and knit or quilt.

What's on my needles: ZickZack Scarf, Fair Isle doll sweater.

What's on my Featherweight: Still waiting for more doll clothes.

What's on my loom: Scarf to use up last of the warp.

What's on my wheel: Stanzi is still awaiting her next task. 

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Finished The Sixth Window by Rachel Abbott, another of her creepy endings. Once I get into her books, I can’t stop listening. Now listening to Dean Koontz’ Midnight. I think I read it years ago, but it was a Deal of the Day from Audible, so I couldn’t resist. Still waiting for something on the Kindle app.

What's in my wine glass: Lindemann’s Cawarra Shiraz Cabernet 2015. Nice and smooth.

What's my tip of the week: If you’re going to hand-quilt your quilt, consider not prewashing your fabrics and using 100% cotton batting. When you’re finished with the quilting, wash it in hot water and run it through the dryer. The slight amount of shrinkage will be enough to make your stitches look smaller and more even. Sneaky!

Note: This blog post was produced on the iPad and the MacBook, using the iPhone for some photos and some photo processing. No other computer was used in any stage of composition or posting, and no Windows were opened, waited for, cleaned or broken. No animals or dolls were harmed during the production of this blog post.