Sunday, April 30, 2006

Basting

I have been spending way too much time doing laundry, dishes, the basic chores of living... I did get one chore done that has nothing to do with the house. I basted Terms of Endearment.

I just throw the three layers together over a table and safety pin. No stretching, no pulling. Just trying to not get pleats (which I've certainly done) or big lumps of batting anywhere. Nice and flat, but no stress on any of the layers. It's nice having a cutting table now so the quilt layers are higher - easier on my back. I do have the "bed lifter" things so I can make any table higher now, but there's no way I'm going to do this process on the dining room table.

Not entirely sure how I'm going to quilt it. I'm going to experiment with putting more terms into those big chunks of fabric, using perle cotton in either a stem stitch or quilting stitch. I definitely have more I want to say.

Continuing the discussion of my little Leaping Lily... I'm lucky that she only weighs 7 lb and I give her regular pedicures, which she now actively dislikes and squeals and tries to pull her foot away which just makes it harder on both of us. She hasn't managed to destroy any clothes which is good. Lois is right about the reason for Lily's leaping - my little cat is trying to get at something out of reach.

This is where I usually talk on the phone. Lily is fascinated by the clock on the wall - of course, it's out of reach and it moves. You'll notice I have kitty barricades up - none of our cats can stand to knock the aluminum cans down because of the scary noise. So that keeps them away from the clock. So my back is the non-noisy way to try and get at it. I think. She's my sweet screwball, so who really knows.

That's a locally-made embroidery up on the wall. There's a project in the Upper Egyptian town of Akhmim to teach women skills, such as embroidery, but also reading and basic math. It's "fair trade" plus. All the work is incredibly colorful and made without patterns. I adore them and would have many more, except that the price is a bit high (but more than worth it) and of course they're not to my hubby's taste at all. I'm going to have to get one or two more before we leave tho.The title is "The Shepard." He's wearing the typical Egyptian gallabiya - kinda like a dress. A really really long shirt. Nice and cool. Anyway, I'm not sure what this is supposed to be a herd of. They look like pigs, except the legs are long. The joys of folk art - don't bother about the details, just do it.

I mentioned Lois above. I recommend her blog at Thoughts of Home Quilting. She's a fellow "Liberated Quiltmaking" fan and is currently working on some gorgeously classy houses, with just a touch of wonkiness here and there. Amazing how different they look from mine, but using the same techniques. And she has cats, also good.

My bestest buddy is back in town. She's a travelling fool, but will be here for 5 days. Hopefully we'll get down to the Khan and to some other fun places while she's here.

8 comments:

Lily Mulholland said...

I love your cat barricades!! What an amazingly good idea. But I bet Lily finds a way to get closer to that clock...how tempting!

And beautiful embroidery work on the folk artwork. Will you have enough room for all your artefacts in Paris? :)

Hope you have a great time with your friend - nice to have someone in town to hit the town with.

Lily Mulholland said...

Oh and I LOVE your cutting table. When I grow up I'd like one of them too please!!

YankeeQuilter said...

Did you every think you would find yourself rearranging your life for little furballs?! I know they are worth it...but who'd of "thunk it!"

Sio

Nellie's Needles said...

Those colors are delicious! As for "writing" on your quilts, have you ever tried the technique of quilting the words and then wrapping a different thread around the quilting stitches with a tapestry needle (big eye, blunt point)? It's easier to do than embroidering through all those layers and you get nice curves with little effort. I enjoy your blog and seeing your quilts. Thanks.

ForestJane said...

I wished my two climbers hated aluminum cans! They don't care how much noise they make.

The only thing Toby and Libby dislike so far is orange peels, neither of them can stand the scent. :) Now I cut long slivers of orange peel every time I eat an orange, and arrange them artfully wherever I don't want my two explorers to go.

Judy said...

Love the Lily gate! I also lay out my quilts on my cutting table but I do hold down the backing with giant binder clips. I don't pull though, but just keep it in place so it doesn't shift or move on me. They say stretching the back can cause problems later if too much pressure is applied.

Love the artwork!

Quilts And Pieces said...

Your cat barricades crack me up! And the Egyptian embroidery wall hanging is so interesting! Wouldn't it be wonderful to travel the world and soak up all this style!

E, said...

Your Akhmim embroidery is beautiful! If you want to see some more, here is the link to a facebook page I opened few months ago: https://www.facebook.com/akhmimbroderie
There is also an Instagram page. Come and leave us a message if you want :)