Livin' La Needle Loca

 ...last day or April. The Husband has been busy working in the garden. He planted some new petunias: and did some clean-up This was my view of the garden this morning: Yesterday I finished the machine quilting of the Deco Royale quilt. I decided to sew on the binding while I was at the machine. I spent the rest of the day burying loose threads. After I finish that, I'll handsew the binding on the back and find something to use for the label.

 ...and things are humming along. I have one more section of the Deco Royale quilt to machine-quilt. When I've completed that section, I will machine-quilt the border.  Then I'll have to decide whether to bury all of the loose threads or sew on the binding. The next project will be to make a table-top ironing pad using the heat-resistant fabric pictured above. Several years ago, I bought a Sullivan ironing cover that was the largest ironing pad that I could find at the time. It was intended for Sullivan's Home Hobby table, which is 59 x 36-inches. My table is 63 x 31.5-inches. It's worked OK, but it slips around a lot. I'm finally going to make one that fits my table and add more padding. The end result is to get a cover that fits and uses up some of the batting scraps that I've saved up. WIPs Roll Call Worked On: Marionberry Shawl [ Ravelry ] Started the next pattern repeat. Deco Royale (quilting...

...and I'm still on a high from Sunday's visit with The Daughter. We got to hug our daughter for the first time since February(?) of last year! We shared a meal and had a wonderful visit. I'm looking forward to getting to spending more time with her now hat we are all fully vaccinated. The Neil Diamond roses are slowly opening and they are beautiful. I've been working on the Deco Royale most days, except when my shoulders get too sore from wrestling the quilt through the sewing machine. When I'm not working on the quilt, I'm cycling through the Mermaid sampler, the Marionberry Shawl [ Ravelry ], and the Pure Comfort Cardigan (knitting) [ Ravelry ]. I haven't touched my tapestry project in several days. There's just not enough time in the day to do everything that I want.

...and we're looking forward to the weekend. We get to see our Daughter in person for the first time since September. 😊 This week we have sea lavender blooming in the courtyard... ...plumbago in the backyard ...and Neil Diamond roses in the backyard.

 ...and I'm happy to be machine quilting again! I've probably made more work for myself, but the Deco Royale quilt really called for something than a simple squares and rectangles. I typically quilt along the fabric's motifs, but several of the fabrics in the quilt are marbled or have tiny patterns. I looked up some art deco designs and picked a couple that would be interesting, but not too complex. Here's a first look at the machine quilting for the quilt: I've quilted about 1/3 of the quilt. There's quite a bit of set-up for some of these patterns and a lot of quilt wrestling. I've been stopping around mid-afternoon to work on something else and to rest my shoulders. WIPs Roll Call Worked On: Marionberry Shawl [ Ravelry ] Back on track, after having to unknit another pattern repeat. I can't seem to get the count right on this section Deco Royale (quilting) 4/16 Started machine quilting; about...

 ...the week always goes quickly when I'm busy. When I retired, i wanted to spend more time with my DSLR camera, but that hasn't really happened yet. In an effect to get back into my DSLR, I attached my macro lens for today's photos.  The garden continues to bloom. We have more snapdragons: These drosanthemum micans are growing next to the snapdragons: Our Blenheim apricot tree has baby apricots: and my Frida Kahlo rose is starting to bloom! I'm looking forward to quilting all weekend!

 ...and things are humming along! I've been busy piecing quilt backing and pin basting quilts. I have pin basted 3 and will do the 4th and last one today. Then it will be time to start machine quilting. While I'm basting the quilts, I have 2 helpers: They are fascinated by the whole process! WIPs Roll Call Worked On: Marionberry Shawl [ Ravelry ] I had 2 pull put about 3 inches of the shawl. I was totally off on my count because of an extra yarn-over. Pin basted: Deco Royale (quilting) Mermaid Songs (quilting) Noche de los Muertos quilt (quilting) Pure Comfort Cardigan (knitting) [ Ravelry ] Still working away on the last side of the collar The Mermaid and the Sea (cross stitch) Continuing to make progress. This is a nice project to work on as I can complete one or more motifs at a sitting. Works In Progress: Illusion hexagons [ Ravelry ] Look Through My Window quilt for ...