Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Progress Report...

I hope all of you enjoyed the recent holiday and were able to spend it with loved ones.  And for those of you not in locales celebrating Thanksgiving, I still hope you're surrounded by family and friends.  We had a nice get together with family here.  Thanksgiving is my holiday and I'm responsible for the big meal.  This year I brined the turkey for the first time and it turned out great.  I'll definitely do that again.

In between preparations, visiting with family and Black Friday shopping (yes, I go every year), I've been slowly working on my Dresden Plate wall hanging.  I'm using a machine blanket stitch to attach them to my background.  It's been rather slow going, only because I'm trying to end up at each point and valley on my stitching.  It takes a lot of adjustment and even then some of them are still a little off.

Closeup of the blanket stitching
I think it would be a little easier to do if the Dresden Plates were rounded rather than pointy.  In any case, little by little I managed to get this quilt top put together.


Usually I enjoy piecing the tops more than quilting them, but this one might be an exception.  All of that blank space just calls out for some custom quilting and I spent some time doodling ideas (and had a lot of fun doing it!)


I even bought a compass set so I can make big enough circles.  I've already pieced the back and would love to get this basted and start quilting it soon.  I'm really looking forward to it.


Early in the morning, my cats usually join me in my sewing room and keep me company.  For the most part, they behave themselves and simply nap.  That is until it approaches breakfast time.  Then they turn into persistent little pests begging for food.  David follows me around and jumps on whatever it is I'm working on...


And Sam keeps ramming her head into my leg.  (She has arthritis and has trouble jumping on the furniture.)


The others just follow me around and cry.  When I head downstairs to feed them, they all race to their spots.  Each of them eats a different kind of food and in a different room and they all know they're places.  It's really quite a funny sight!

"Don't hang out with angry people; don't keep company with hotheads. Bad temper is contagious—don't get infected." 
Proverbs 22:24-25 (MSG)


7 comments:

  1. Your kitties sound well-trained! They sure won't let you forget feeding time. When I made my Dresden quilt, I machine appliqued them on using a blind hem stitch so the stitches were fairly invisible, but I also tried to get a good stitch on the points and in the "crotch." It was tricky and a bit time-consuming. I can't imagine trying to keep the blanket stitches that you are doing all even, etc. And then as you add more and more, the top gets heavier and more difficult to maneuver. Your quilting ideas look great, too. It will make for one spectacular quilt!

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  2. LOL that sounds like it would be very funny~ each knowing their spot and racing toward it--do you have to feed in a certain order to keep the peace? Your Dresden's are going to be beautiful!

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  3. All in their places with bright sunny faces! I love the plates. I use to say that I would never do one, but then I did one and loved it!

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  4. Your kitties sound like there is never a dull moment in your house. That is too sweet thinking about feeding time. Do they all wait patiently for their turn?

    Your dresden quilt is going to be over the top fabulous with that quilting! I have that same compass set but I have not used it yet.

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  5. What a fun filled post Dee! You couldn't drag me out of the house of Black Friday....for a few reasons...the main one being I am working on Bonnie's mystery! LOL I love a brined turkey! It makes the meat so well seasoned and tender! Your Christmas Dresden is going to be stunning! Really, I mean it! I love your proposed quilting. Don't worry about the blanket stitch that much. When you look at the quilt as a whole after quilting, any minor peak or valley mis-stitch won't be that noticeable.

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  6. Oh I love how this one is turning out. You are inspiring me to give machine blanket stitching a try--even on just straight rows for now.

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  7. Oh I love how this one is turning out. You are inspiring me to give machine blanket stitching a try--even on just straight rows for now.

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