Livin' La Needle Loca

...and we're rolling towards the end of September already! The Husband has planted a lot of marigolds and mums in the backyard. Unfortunately, I'm having trouble getting decent photos of them in the morning light. However, I did get a half-way decent photo of the bicolor marigolds: He's also planted more violas. I really like this Tiger Eye viola: I'm scrambling like crazy to finish the last quilt before the end of the month. It's beginning to look like It will roll into next month. There are a lot of threads to bury!

 ...and the quilting continues! I am still machine-quilting La Cat-trina. I'm using regular thread for this one after struggling with invisible thread on the Herding Cats quilt. However, invisible thread is a little more forgiving. I'm still learning my Bernina sewing machine and have discovered that sometimes I get an extra stitch when I step off the pedal and the quilt does not turn as smoothly as I'm used to on the Pfaff, even with the dual feed engaged.  I started working on a design for a double-size bedspread. The bedspread in The Husband's room wore out and we needed a new one. The problem is that we dislike most of the pre-made bedspreads that are available or they are too long even in the "right" size. I found a panel with a waterfall in colors that we liked. Since The Husband likes to hike and be out in nature, we decided to build a bedspread around the panel. I finished laying it out on paper. Next I need to decide which fabrics to u...

...and it's been a productive week. First the eye candy. The pomegranates are ripening: Dahlias are blooming: And the Mexican sunflower if brightening up a corner next to the house: In my on-going quest to organize the remodeled studio in a way that maximizes the available space, I tackled the laundry area this week. I started with a combination of large Sterilite storage drawers and black zippered bins from the Container store. I already had them, so they simply got moved into the remodeled studio. I filled them with supplies that I was keeping and stacked them in the corner of the laundry area. They worked, but I was not completely happy. Any time I needed something in a zippered bin, I had to pull it out of the stack, retrieve the item, and then stack things back up. Ok, but not great.  After I went down a few research rabbit holes, I decided to buy additional Sterilite drawers to use instead of the zippered bins. I could stack th...

...Happy Mexican Independence Day! ¡Viva Mexico! I've been craving oatmeal cookies, not the soft cookies that bakeries and grocery store sell, but the crisp ones we used to bake at home. This morning, I baked a batch using our recipe from the 60s. They are yummy! I finished all of the back stitching on Morgana. I wasn't happy how the Kreinik braid back-stitching looked around the mermaid, but I powered through to get it done. It me longer than usual to finish the back-stitching. Ugh! Next is the beading. I'm going to do more quilting first. WIPs Roll Call Worked On: Herding Cats (quilting) Burying threads.  La Cat-trina quilt (quilting) Started quilting the motifs. Morgana (cross stitch) Back-stitching done. Pressed the iece and it's ready for beading. Starwoman (cross stitch) Working on the hair.  No Work This Week: California Red Poppy Handspun (spinning) [ Ravelry ]   Gypsy Rose Lee Hand...

...still quilting away. I'm on the last steps of the Herding Cats quilt. I finished machine quilting the blocks and the border. I added the binding and picked the fabric for the label. All that's left is burying all of the threads and adding the label. WIPs Roll Call Worked On: Herding Cats (quilting) Finished quilting blocks and added binding.  Morgana (cross stitch) Finished the cross stitches. Working on the back-stitching. Room Divider/quilt wall. Tested the new clips; they will work. Need to do all of the panels. Starwoman (cross stitch) Still working on the face.  No Work This Week: California Red Poppy Handspun (spinning) [ Ravelry ]   Gypsy Rose Lee Handspun (spinning) [ Ravelry ]  Illusion Cube Blanket (knitting) [ Ravelry ]   La Cat-trina quilt (quilting)   My Recipes (cooking)  Studio  Website (oth...

...in which daily crafting returned to normal. Finished: 8/2 Alphabet Afghan (cross stitch) 8/7 Dust covers for spinning wheels (sewing) 8/29 Road to Chaos quilt (quilting) Books: Brewing Crazy, Kim Richardson Ashes in the Falls. Elle Gray Fatal Deception, Elle Gray Gulfside Sunset, Rebecca Regnier Beach Shack Legacy. Cindy Nichols Hunted in the City, Elle Gray Sunset Dreams in Mermaid Bay, Sophie Kenna Heathermoor, Shannon Mayer Newport Harbor Lights, Cindy Nichols Small Favor and Big Rewards, Hope Callaghan The Ghost in the Pole Barn, Hailey Edwards Started: 8/7 Dust Covers for Spinning Wheels WIPs: California Red Poppy Handspun (spinning) [ Ravelry ]  Herding Cats quilt (quilting)  Illusion Cube Blanket (knitting) [ Ravelry ]   La Cat-trina quilt (quilting)   Morgana (cross stitch) My Recipes (cooking)  Road to Chaos (quilting)    Starwoman (c...