That Perfect Border

I'm sure you've had that same feeling that I experienced recently; it's that victorious sense of accomplishing something great when you stumble upon that one, perfect, solution to a problem. I'd finished piecing the center of this quilt completely from my stash. I kept thinking, the whole time, "I'll find something to border this with when I need it." But, truth be told, I wasn't fully convinced that what I had in my mind, and what was truly available, would necessarily ever come together.  

And then I found this!! I was trolling an online fabric shop, looking for something else and this popped up. "I wonder", I thought, "could this be that perfect border piece?".  I still hadn't seen this in person but, somehow I knew, I just knew! I quickly placed the order and crossed my fingers. When it arrived I held my breath and ripped open the padded envelope. All the various shades of red were contained in this piece, it was even better than I had hoped! I couldn't wait to border this one up and stand back to take it all in. And, as if all of this wasn't simply too good to believe, there are STRAWBERRIES too! Oh. My. 😍

Serendipity.

Life is Good!

Stitching Kindness

Accepting the challenge that my small stitching group threw out there earlier this summer, last week I began setting together the blocks from Susan Ache's "Stitching Kindness" sew-along. As someone who has a deep love for all things red and white, this was an easy one for me to participate in.

The block sub-unit looks much like the Swiss flag to me! This one goes together in rows rather than blocks.

I stitched up the block sub-units and copied the embroidery designs for hand stitching this way, using a light box. 

This is how far I am as of today; I have almost all of the embroidery finished and am working totally from my red stashed scraps, the only fabric that I've bought for this one is the background setting pieces. I am using my all time favorite DMC floss: red #321. It will be SEW much fun for us to all get together later this fall to compare our finished quilts! I know that two of us are using all reds, but Quiltkeemosabe, who has an impeccable eye for color, is striking out on her own with an alternate colorway; I can't wait! The one thing that I wished I had thought to do is to have prewashed my red scraps, or at least soaked them in Retayne before I began piecing. I am considering soaking the finished top in a Retayne/water solution for color-fixing that way before I quilt it. Does anyone have any experience in using the product in that fashion? Or, would I be better off to quilt and finish it and then soak it as described? I'm really unsure how to proceed. Any and all advice is welcome!

On the other side of the studio I've loaded "Zippity Doo Dah" onto Snowbird and quilting has commenced. I've chosen "Flying Paisley" as the pantograph and am using a light silver gray thread to blend in with the chambray linen. 

This one has the very BEST BACKING fabric of all time! I had been saving this on the shelf for a long time and decided it was time to use it (I still have another 2 yards! 😉).

It's a rainy, gray Labor Day Monday here today; how are you spending your holiday? 

Life is Good!

Sibling Quilts

Here they are, "Sister Bear" and "Brother Bear", both finished at last. Each of these are made from hand embroidered blocks done over a number of years, from the same book: "S is For Stitch" by Kristyne Czepuryk. These were fun to work on; and, like human siblings, each one has its own unique personality! 

It wasn't until they were both completed that I realized "Brother Bear" was larger than his sister quilt. I cut the logs for this one just a skosh bigger. That's okay, they're not identical twins. 😉

I quilted up the borders differently too; again, keeping them similar~ but different in their own way.

Mr. Goodneedle always asks me the same question when I'm hand stitching the binding down: "where is this one going?"  I honestly have no idea when it comes to these two. 

For now, it's simply enough that they're done! 

Life is Good!

Brother Bear

"Brother Bear"  ~37.5" X 43"

Working from the stacked, numbered, boxes in the closet I am endeavoring to finish one UFO each month until the end of the year. May's box contained all the elements for this precious little hand embroidered baby quilt, I even had all of the fabrics selected for the setting "logs" but scrapped them because it was too busy. I did keep chosen the border and backing fabrics, hence the name of the quilt.
See that baby bear roaming between the trees?

Here's a close-up with the backing fabric that I have chosen. 

Naturally, (if you're a fan of the Berenstains, like me) you know that there can't be a Brother Bear without a Sister Bear! Here's "Sister Bear", the girl version of the same quilt, currently under the needle.  I hope to get Brother Bear loaded and quilted right away; back-to-back bears 😉, successfully meeting my goal for May. These patterns are from Kristyne Czepuryk's book: S is for Stitch.

A current view from the design wall: Brother Bear and the first half of "Milk Money". 

Adapting in an upside down world: 🙃 We went out to dinner last night, at an actual restaurant, to celebrate our recent milestone anniversary! It's hard to describe that feeling, after all these weeks of quarantine; it was like we'd been set free. Everyone was extremely kind and all social distancing protocols were observed. It was a joyous occasion, certainly one to remember!

I'm happy to report that all of your prayers for Quiltkeemosabe's husband have worked and he is doing quite well; he continues to recover at home and grow stronger every day. We were so happy that he drove(! YAY!!) out to our home for a short visit yesterday, he and Quiltkeemosabe sat with us out on our new porch; it was just like old times, catching up. Thanks be to God!

"You are wisdom unimagined
Who could understand Your ways
Reigning high above the Heavens
Reaching down in endless grace
You're the lifter of the lowly
Compassionate and kind
You surround and You uphold me
And Your promises are my delight

Your plans are still to prosper
You have not forgotten us
You're with us in the fire and the flood
You're faithful forever
Perfect in love
You are sovereign over us"

 These words are from Michael W. Smith's "Sovereign" (you can listen here). 

You're welcome, the refrain has been playing in my head for two days. Amen!

Life is Good!

 

Experiments

Sourdough fail - 1st attempt

I spent most of the day in the kitchen yesterday working through the process that was supposed to yield two round loaves of sourdough bread. It was experiment; and, as I recall from high school Chemistry class, some experiments fail. This was one of those. Going back and reviewing all of the elements has led me to the conclusion that the starter isn't quite ripe enough, it didn't produce enough leavening. Back to the beginning. Mr. Goodneedle did compliment the flavor, that's something. But, the end result was supposed to be more like this ↓
and less like a pancake.I'm not giving up, oh, no! When I set my mind to something I will see it through. Let's hope that there's enough flour in the stores to supply my current forays into experimentation.

I don't usually share any customer quilts here but this one has kept me very, very busy and I'm pleased with the result; I wanted you to see it. This was a collection of hand embroideries. The owner wanted an all-over crosshatch for texture but didn't want the embroidered blocks to be lost behind thread. I proposed using a clear mono-filament on top with normal bobbin thread on the back. 

This took some time (what else do any of us have right now?) to accomplish, I'm not sure that I've ever done this much crosshatching on one quilt before; I must say, though, that the outcome is wonderful. If you've ever quilted with MonoPoly you know it's almost like quilting with a human hair, it's that fine. I shared the photo above in my last post, the crosshatching doesn't take away from the block's embroidery.

I loaded YAGOF* on the rails yesterday, this one will go much, much faster. I'm quilting Stars and Loops and should be able to knock this one out in a day and get the binding on. Fingers crossed. 

Early morning visitors, I count four here but it was a herd of six. Just on the edge of the woods beyond my perennial garden. I can't apply deer repellent spray until the wet weather clears, undoubtedly they're after my Hosta and thinking "would you please go inside, we're hungry!". 

Adapting in an upside-down 🙃world:  I'm so impressed to continue seeing creative and innovative ways that people are choosing to spend their quarantined time at home. It's times like these that really bring out the best in us; when we have to dig deeper, pull harder, and come up with solutions to problems or situations we wouldn't have dreamed of just a few short months ago. 

What else could have possibly driven me into the kitchen to perform experiments with simple ingredients that I happen to have on hand? Don't throw in the towel; hang in there-- I am!

"Since we have such a hope, we are very bold..." 2 Corinthians 3:12

Life is Good!

*You're A Grand Old Flag

This and That

I'm keeping busy, there's always too much to do and not enough time to get it all accomplished. I don't know how I ever got anything done at all when I was allowed to leave the house! As fast as I finish one project I find three others to work on! I began setting these stitcheries together with low volume 25-patches.

These squares measure 5" finished; with the one inch framing border all around this becomes a 12 inch block. Right now I have a few ideas in my head as far as where these will go eventually, but I will set them aside for now and let the ideas simmer.

I found this new (to me) product that's too good not to share my rave review: if you've ever been confronted with an errant thread that gets caught between your quilt layers and shadows through the top, here's the solution! No matter how well you trim before loading and layering your quilt, threads happen. This is a super-fine tool with a micro hook on the end that slips easily through the weave of cotton fabric, grabs that thread and retrieves it without leaving a trace! Once again, Clover notions to the rescue, they make the best products! I'm really excited about this one. 

We got the sweetest homemade card in the mail from our oldest two grandchildren in the Capital City, they each wrote personal notes inside. They're (along with all the schoolchildren in our state) about to experience the longest summer vacation ever as the governor announced on Friday that schools won't open again this academic year. I feel so sorry for all the children, I can't even imagine. 

Life goes on: Mama Carolina Wren coaxed the babies out of their deep, secluded nest-- they're on their own. She's been so busy flitting in and out with bugs and other treats to feed them, we'll miss watching the activity through the window at our breakfast table. But, now, the brick column can be removed; Mr. G. had that on his "to do" list but was detoured, temporarily, by the babies. 

Adapting during our stay-at-home in an upside down🙃 world: Quiltkeemosabe gave me this wonderful panel; I'm going to load it up and quilt it, as is, to use as a table runner. Isn't it wonderful? It measures 43" X 19". Since it's where we are, and there's no place like it, it's the perfect time. I have found another mask pattern to try out. I have always been a huge Ami Simms fan; so, when this one hit the Internet, naturally I downloaded the pattern and am giving this style a try. This will be the third style that I've stitched up. I lost track a long time ago how many I've made, it's ongoing.

😷

Speaking of Quiltkeemosabe- her husband is coming home from his five week hospital/rehab stay (non-COVID!) tomorrow, at long last. Thanks one and all who continued to hold him in prayer for health and healing. Please continue to pray for him and his family as he acclimates to being back home again and gains his strength back. 

😷

Please indulge me in a soapbox moment: I am deeply saddened and highly aggravated to witness the public shaming, name-calling and finger-pointing that I see on social media aimed at those who may not be complying with the current "rules" for virus prevention or spread as the accuser deems appropriate. Let's all keep in mind here that everyone is doing the very best that they can based on the information that they have. If you see someone without a mask, and you're uncomfortable, avoid them. If you see someone who's not observing social distancing, then be careful to keep your own distance. If a business opens back up and you don't feel safe entering, then, by all means, don't. Wash your hands, keep yourself and your loved ones as safe as you can; but, please, please, be kind. We can't possibly know everyone's story or current circumstance. We're all tired of being isolated, worn out from concern and eager to put this behind us-- but, we're all in this together and a little kindness goes a long, long way.

"More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us." - Romans 5:3-5

Life is Good!

Getting Myself Organized

While cleaning out a closet the other day (one of my daily habits currently-- closets, drawers, cabinets, nothing's off limits for a good purging) I came across eight UFO's that needed attention; well, truth be told, I came across more than eight but whittled the number down to eight (I chucked a few! Gasp!!) that I am either invested in enough, or love too much, to cull from the line-up. So, here are the lucky eight. With eight months remaining in the year come May 1, this is a no-brainer, one a month. But, how to decide which one comes first? I could do them numerically, as they're pictured; or, I could do a random draw and be surprised, or-- I could do what I've finally settled upon: what I'm referring to as the Dave Ramsey method. Anyone who listens to Dave on the radio knows that his claim to fame is helping to get folks out of debt and on the road to financial freedom. His method for paying off debt is to tackle the smallest debts first, creating a sense of empowerment for moving forward with the greater debts. Using that philosophy on my UFOs I have decided to tackle the ones that are the most completed first, finishing those should give a serious feeling of accomplishment which, ideally, will propel me onto the next and I can knock them out by the end of December. These will be in addition to what I'm already working on, so, wish me luck! I made a detailed listing of each project by number with how much is completed, percentage wise, what's in the box and what else needs to be done. That made the prioritization by my chosen method much simpler. I will begin with #3.

#3 is a child's quilt, the boy's version of the small alphabet embroideries competed a year ago from this book. I have all of the fabrics chosen for setting the little blocks into a log cabin. Stay tuned. 

Hold me accountable! 😬

 Today is Earth Day, from what I understand it's also the 50th anniversary of commemorating this occasion. In that vein, I'd like to share whats blooming and happening on the earth right outside the door here at Chez Goodneedle.

Flowers are blooming, birds are singing (and laying eggs!); we have three bluebird eggs in the nesting box and another family of Carolina Wrens nesting in a newly-created cavity located in a brick column slated for demolition on our patio. The demo on that will have to wait now until the babies fledge! Yes, despite the shut-down, the social distancing and the self-isolating life is, indeed, going on! Spring is full of hope and promise. Wash your hands🧼, stay safe and healthy, my friends!

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace  in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. -Romans 15:13

Life is Good!

Up next: Getting Out

Hand Work

There's nothing more relaxing for me in the evenings, while watching TV, than hand work. It's centering: the rhythm of the needle passing in and out and the feeling of getting something accomplished that won't be undone immediately is satisfying. I finished the binding on this latest tumbler quilt (this has got to be at least the fifth or sixth one that I've made) all cut from charm squares. I use a four inch tumbler, sixteen horizontal rows with nineteen tumblers in each row, for a total of 304 tumblers in each lap quilt. That should give you an idea of how many charm squares I've had stashed! 😲 This year I am keeping these aside, however many I end up making by late fall, for donation to adopted families living in poverty, several churches (ours included) go together to send relief at Christmastime. 

These bright and cheery lap quilts measure 52" X 64".

Well, there's only so many quilts to bind. SEW-- I've turned my attention to hand embroidery for the  current evening pastime. These embroidery designs were subscription-based from years ago: "Nice People, Nice Things"; I collected the entire set. How will I set these blocks for finishing? I have no idea. But, for now, one by one: they're getting stitched and that's a whole lot better than sitting in a bag on a shelf in the stash closet! 

These are all being stitched on Essex Linen with "Cloudy Day" variegated thread by Cottage Garden. 

Adapting to an upside-down🙃 world: our oldest granddaughter and I have been video-chatting with filters; naturally, it's not as much fun as in-person hugs and story-time or baking cookies together but we enjoy visiting this way and many giggles are shared. Stay safe, stay healthy, wash your hands!🧼

"So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love ~"
1 Corinthians 13:13

Life is Good!

Up next: Planting Color