OMG November Finish

It's quilted!  Admittedly, this photo was taken before it was finished (the top border wasn't quilted yet) - but I wanted good sunlight to show off the quilting.  Today it will rain.  To top it off, I had run out of thread at this point and had to buy more.  I sat down last night with a new spool of thread and finished the border.

This was more of a challenge than I had anticipated because I started a new job halfway through the month.  I set out having a ton of time to quilt this, then it all disappeared.  I was also amazed at how much time I spent staring at this quilt.  I'd get a patch done, then have to sit and look at the next section before I figured out what to quilt on it.  Improv quilting looks so cool how it flows together, but for me, the actual sewing of it was far less than flowing!  My wall was plastered with doodled examples of what I wanted to sew and I still found myself stuck more often than not.

I had intended to quilt it with a mixture of freemotion and ruler, but once I got it underway I stuck with the freemotion.  I was keeping the border simple since the rest of it was so complex:  wavy chevrons, using a ruler.  Should be easy.  Ha.  I think I ripped out every third chevron.  I'm still learning the ruler work and I'm still having a lot of trouble getting it to do what I want.  Obviously I need more practice with it (and maybe watch some videos).

Snugglebugs

 

I haven't had a true lap pig since Eclair.  That was a long time and many guinea pigs ago.  Most of my guinea pigs have either been too curious or too anxious or never fully settled down.  So it was not relaxing for me or the guinea pigs.  Eclair and I spent many hours sitting together and watching TV.

These two boars I am fostering are lap pigs, even at 5 months old.  We sat and chilled for 45 minutes Saturday night.  They were chatty and wriggly for several minutes, but then they settled.

I Like Thursday: Work, Boars, Glasses

Wow, this week flew by.  Let's see - I'm working... there goes a lot of my time.  We took in a couple of guinea pigs to foster.  Wrangling pigs took up more time (so far these bad boars have been good).  Somehow I managed to finish quilting the main portion my quilt, too!  Yay!  I have to finish the border, which I hope to do this weekend.

 

Bottomless Pit

I am currently fostering a pair of boars from the Dakin shelter.  It turns out that Mango is a bottomless pit.  He's constantly demanding a hand-out.

In the kitchen?  Wheeky-wheeky!

Filling the bird feeders?  Wheeky-wheeky!

Rattle the chip bag?  Wheeky-wheeky!

He's got Cannoli's wheekiness and Mabel's moochy behavior (and maybe a little of Pinniped's wavy nose).  The pellets disappear out of the bowl so quickly (well, Panda helps out a lot with that, too).  

 Oh, this pig needs squeezes! 

Bad Boars, Bad Boars...

...Whatcha gonna do?

Well, maybe spend some time with Auntie Sally?

The Dakin shelter had a plethora of guinea pigs come in two weeks ago.  I had passed on fostering any because I didn't want to juggle new pigs and a new job.  But I got a call on Thursday looking for an experienced guinea pig foster.  A trio of 4-month-old boars had a falling out.  The worst wounded piggy was separated from the other two and was staying at the shelter.  I was asked to take the remaining two pigs:  one boar with set of scars and requiring antibiotics and one unscathed piggy that wisely stayed out of the scuffle.  

Say hello to Panda and Mango.

I Like Thursday: Back to the Grind

Back to work this week.  I like that.  But I am wiped out every evening from learning and installing... and I haven't even started the real work!

Slowly making progress on the quilt - I'm just about three-quarters done quilting the top.  I suspect I'm going to run out of thread and time and not finish it by the end of the month.

When the bridge up the street was closed off, a sign was installed warning of the bridge was out.  That sign disappeared; then this one appeared.  Ever seen one like this?  The other oddity is that it doesn't face the north-bound traffic - it faces straight at the road.

Very strange.

I just finished The Orphans of Raspay, the latest in a series of short novels by Lois McMaster Bujold.  It's a fun set books (a continuation of her Five Gods world) about a mild-mannered powerful sorcerer possessed by bunch of wise and sassy female souls and the trouble they get into (and out of).

The Elusive Feather

 

I've just rounded the halfway point quilting the braid quilt.  Quilting this is still slow going.  I swear I spend as much time staring at is as I do physically quilting it.

I'm still struggling with stitch length.  It's certainly a lot better than past quilts.  I find that I'm watching more closely at the stitches as well as the pattern.  I now have the occasional problem of stitches being way too small.  But that's better than having them way too long (unless, of course, I need to rip them out!).

I'm loving the flowers.  I seem to do well with leafy designs, too, like the ones off this flaming swirl.

I Like Thursday: Indian Summer

A week full of good things.

My cactus is happily blooming.  There's two different plants in that pot and the other half is starting to bud. 

I never thought I'd put a trip to the dentist as something to like, but after nine months, it felt so good to have clean teeth! 

 

Slow Stitching, of Sorts

The braid quilt is plodding along.  I am about a quarter done with the quilting (sans border).  The design is not primarily floral, although I'm adding more of that.  There's leaves and circles, feathers and swirls.  (You might be able to see the stitching if you enlarge the photos.)  I like the flowers I've done so far - I will continue to do more of those. 

I love the thread I'm working with, although it's invisible on the cream fabrics.  The super slider and the new gloves make a huge difference, especially with the large quilt.  It's easier to stitch big patterns.  I still struggle with it, because I can't see the whole area I'm quilting at once.  However, I'm finding I can stitch more of it without having to stop and reposition my hands. 

I Like Thursday: What's That White Stuff?

Since so many of the I Like Thursday crowd have been showing off their early-season snow, I decided to get in on the action.  Seriously, I'd have been fine not keeping up with the Joneses.  I'm not ready for winter.

It's pretty, though.  The sun came out on Saturday.  Blue sky and sun-on-snow is a wonderful combination!  The grey and gloomy photo below is from Friday morning just after the snow stopped.  Sticky, heavy stuff.  Good thing I brought in the last of the green tomatoes on Thursday - this snow and cold killed off everything.

Last year we had absolutely no interest in the bird feeders.  It killed me because I listened to the goldfinches twitter in the trees all winter.  This year?  The goldfinches and pine siskins have been out in force.  Absolute chow-hounds.

November OMG: Quilt That Braid!

I'm realizing that a twin quilt is a lot bigger than a throw.  It is smaller than last year's queen... but now I realize why I like working with the wall-sized quilts.  

The plan is to improv quilt this thing.  I'm now reconsidering how to tackle it.  Lots of doodles.  Lots of hours browsing Pinterest and Instagram photos and videos (which look so easy with a longarm!).

I wanted to start quilting it this weekend, but my ideas hadn't quite jelled yet.  Soon, I hope.  I'm mostly fixated on flower designs.  Loopy, leafy, feathery stuff.  In the end, that's my November goal:  get the braid quilted.  I want it done so I can move my sewing machine back to its regular spot and start on some smaller projects.

Creekbed

After the snow the sun came out bright and cheery.  When the wind died down a bit, I rushed out to get photos of Creekbed.