Boundary conditions

This past week I made a bit of progress on the heart quilt, though not as much as I hoped. I decided what the border was going to look like and picked the fabric (some strong contenders lost out because there wasn't enough fabric). It's a fade from the strong purple I've picked for the back; it will work better on one half of the front than the other but I think I'll like it. Pictures below.

I also:

Ironed the front

Ironed the back fabric, measured it up, and cut/sewed it so it's no longer a ~40" x 80" rectangle but a ~60" x 60" square

Measured and cut up the batting

Washed the purple border fabrics

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Whenever I next get a good block of time, I will hope to get the two border fabrics prepped and sewn on (one on each side), so I can finally make my quilt sandwich and be done! The only problem is that the next good block of time will be in about three weeks. Someday...

Here's also a picture of my cat, because he is sooooo cute.

- Catherine

(better half)

(worse half)

(cutie)

Catching up

You have posted so much!

What do I know... if I were closed, I'd stitch your green stuff!  After the heat in Texas this summer, moving closer to you sounds better and better.

I've been working on the blanket (this one) and sweater for another baby.  I finished the blanket last week.  It was fun to do.  I would make one in a chunky yarn and make it a little bigger to give to big people.  Could be fun!

I had to do some CITI training for responsible conduct of research (so timely with the resignation of Stanford Univ's president for being naughty) and I discovered it was easier to pay attention if I knit while listening and reading the slides.  It was not a pattern requiring a ton of thought.  I got the body done and need to do the collar and sleeves now.  I want to block it before doing the collar, so maybe I'll do the sleeves first.  The pattern is Elwood.  I'm making the 6 month size, and I got gauge on my swatch, but it seems larger than expected.  No worries, as babies grow fast.  It will all be fine.

I took the blanket with me on our recent trip to camp in the Canadian Rockies and that helped get it over the finish line.  We only had a fire one night so nothing smells like smoke.  

What's coming up... I'm heading to see Smallest dance in her summer intensive at the end of the month (and return the roommate's cat).  If I haven't finished the little sweater by then, I should definitely finish on that trip.  After that there are some sweaters to be made, I bought some fabric and a pattern for a dress that I need to do.  Smallest and I might make her another skirt.  I should post the skirt she made back in June.  If you don't look closely at things, it looks really good.  It was definitely a first project skirt.  She loves it though, and that's the most important part!

The Boy is in Japan with his dad and it looks like they're having a good time.  A relief!

Here is a random carrot for your entertainment!

I forgot to mention my accident while hiking.  I twisted my ankle the first day we were hiking in Banff.  I could walk on it afterwards, and got a brace to wear for our further adventures, but I did follow up with my doctor and I tore a ligament.  Hopefully there will be some healing this week, otherwise there may need to be some surgical intervention, which I'm not super excited about.

Happy Penultimate day of the Tour de France!

Margie

The demolition continues

It's been a busy two weeks, so not much to report. I did find a few spots to take the scissors to my quilt, and am making some progress on tearing seams apart. It's just so many seams! I will try not to be discouraged. Tomorrow I will take a closer look at what I can just cut apart, or I will be at this forever.

I am also not forgetting the other quilts on the docket. I do have a brief pocket before our next guests arrive where I could try to make the heart quilt into a full sandwich. Hmm... 

I did make a bit of progress on the cross-stitch during arts and crafts time with Mom. There are two dark green leaves in the middle (the first one is started, see?) and then all four dark green leaves have a lighter green leaf partner, and then I'm done with that one! Yay. I still feel uncertain about what to do with it when I'm done. It is fun to work on, but would be even more fun if I knew its destiny. More things to ponder!

And, my new team member starts in less than two weeks, meaning the double duty I've been doing since ~March will soon come to an end (and there will be more time for crafts!). I CAN'T WAIT.

- Catherine

Unmaking

A whole week at home! As much as I like working on my flowers, I'm prioritizing projects that I can't do on a plane. We have guests coming in a few days, so it's not good timing to get out the heart quilt; instead, I am working on disassembling my T-shirt quilt so I can reclaim the shirts and build a new quilt (see? Sorry the photo is weird). You can see that some of the intermediate fabrics are just completely torn up, so this is long overdue.

Given the state of things, I do need to be a bit more thoughtful about which seams I'm taking out and which I could just cut up - I don't think I'm going to try to keep the batting, so scissors will help me move things along!! I've fully reclaimed two of the small squares (see bottom right), one of which is a piece of T-shirt. 

As I'm writing this, I'm realizing that I also have more shirts waiting to be put in a quilt, and some of these shirts probably have lost enough emotional attachment that I could let them go. So, I really need to think carefully about which pieces I'm salvaging! Looks like I will need to do some better planning this week.

- Catherine