Reflections

Soren's I-spy quilt is done and ready to send off:

Here's what it looked like after I got it back from Julie, who did the quilting.

The next quilting project will be BS2's baby quilt, with a horse appliqué in the middle, surrounded by pieced blocks. This will give you an idea:

The picture in the middle is the image I found on the internet. I'll be eliminating unnecessary shading and background. The pattern is Twin Stars from Jelly Roll Quilts by Pam and Nicky Lintott, but with fewer blocks to make it square and the appliqué replacing the middle block. I'll be cutting my own strips, to give it a scrappy look. The colors will be different.

The Mary Tudor's body is done, except for the collar and borders. I did the steeks on Saturday, washed it and let it dry on the wooly board. This photo shows cutting yarn ends before stay stitching with the sewing machine to keep the knitting from coming apart after cutting.

Sharp scissors and good light are mandatory! I sewed over the steeks with the sewing machine, one row of stitching just to one side of the middle of the steek, then another in the same direction on the other side. When all the steeks were done, I cut between the machine stitching. 

On the part that's folded back, you can see the stay stitching, which will keep the knitting from coming apart

Here it is Blocking on wooly board. I had to sew the front together. (I probably should have done the front body steek after blocking, to save this step.) Normally, I would wait until the sweater is finished to block it, but the wooly board is designed for sleeves that stick straight out, and this one has capped sleeves, so the sleeves will have to be blocked separately before sewing in.

Vintage Stitchers met on Thursday. Diane had her Bertie's summer block, ready to appliqué. 

Brenda learned at the Home Machine Quilting Show about a process that allows quilt shops to print fabric right in the shop. The company that does this is Modern Yardage. Here Barbara looks at Brenda's fabric and labels, which were printed at Pine Needles in West Jordan. She had them print layer cake squares from several fabric lines she wants to use. The company has an arrangement with fabric manufacturers to print their designs, but they will also print designs made up by individuals.

Friday a few of us dropped in on Joanie to keep her company and work on our projects. Janet brought her Dogwood Blossoms, which is looking beautiful! Joanie is working on a vest.

We haven't had any photos of the boys for a while, so here's Zachary in Texas with his great-grandmother, who just turned 100.

And weather has been nice in Oregon, so Soren has been enjoying some fun at the park.

Here's wishing everyone a great Memorial Day, with gratitude for those who have given everything they had for our protection. We should all take some time to reflect today.

What's on my needles: Mary Tudor cardigan, working on the sleeves.

What's on my Featherweight: Delectable Pathways, still waiting to finish hand appliqué, and ready to start BS2's horse baby quilt.

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Finished listening to The Wizard of London by Mercedes Lackey, another one of the Elemental Masters series. Followed that with Venetia by Georgette Heyer. Very funny and entertaining. Now I'm listening to The Morning Gift by Eva Ibbotsen. All of these were from Audible. Now I'm reading Debbie Macomber's Friends and Then Some in iBooks from Book Bub.

What's my app of the week: The Music App that comes with my iPhone and iPad. It's similar to Pandora.

What's in my wine glass: Fisheye Pinot Noir, 2012. Small bottle, but nice value.

What's my tip of the week: Quilting, whether hand or machine, shows off best in a photo when the light comes from the side. 

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 were harmed during the production of this blog post.