Friday, April 07, 2006

Sewing bits together

I'm making progress on the Endearments quilt. I was thinking of making a couple more words, but I have a certain size I want this to come out to (so it will fit on my favorite hangar) which is always dangerous. Dangerous in the sense that I sometimes make compromises with the quilt when I'm doing that. It doesn't come out the very best it could be. I'm liking it tho, so no worries, I don't think.

I decided to toss the Xs and Os I'd made as well as the house block. I think the piano keys I've made are livening things up and helping to get purples into areas they might not otherwise make it into.

So that's where that quilt stands as of this morning. I just need to finish the quilting in two blocks in Spaces 4 Rent and then I'll be ready for the binding and sleeve - my most hated part.

I've decided I'm not a Leaders and Enders kind of sewer. Even having all the little squares cut out so all I had to do was grab them and sew them together just threw me off. I can't divide my attention that way between two different quilts. I'm just going to toss my little squares into the bag to donate to charity. Here's Lily with her head under the table, sprawled out on the chair that has to-be-donated scraps piled on it.

Sweetie and I have watched a couple of the "Rebus" BBC movies with John Hannah as the Scottish police detective. They're grubbier than I expected them to be and I'm discovering that I just don't like Rebus. He's a jerk. At least in Ian Rankin's books you get more of Rebus' internal monologue so you have a better understanding of why he does things. I'm rather incensed that the DVDs don't have subtitles - those brogues are hard to follow. It is wonderful to see panoramic shots of Edinburgh tho. And all that gloomy rain - eeuw.

I just finished reading "While Europe Slept: How Radical Islam Is Destroying the West from Within" by Bruce Bawer. Aiyee. Horrifying and upsetting. If this were a ranting blog I could go on for pages. But it's not. I think my next book better be fiction. Happy fiction.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

The piano keys are really quite fun in this quilt. The purple is a nice adition :-)

Finn said...

Hey Ton, I like the way it's looking. Somehow the piano keys seem like a better fit than the X & O's.
I'm excited to see it together..*VBS* Oh ya, by the way *G* I've begun the posting of the Betsy Birthday quilt, just for YOU! Happy weekend!!!

Anonymous said...

I love doing the binding and sleeve. I am always so anxious to chop the grubby edges off the beautiful quilt and finish it. I find it so satisfying!

I'll trade you some of my binding energy for an ounce of your creativity! ;-)

By the way, love the purple.

Laura said...

Your quilt is looking great and I agree that the piano keys will really set it off and help you get the purple around. And I have 2 "Poohs" in my family!

Binding is my least favorite thing to do also! I have a quilt that has sat for over 5 years without binding. Of course I didn't like the end result of the quilt so why waste my time binding it.

ForestJane said...

I really like all your bright colors, and the purple is perfect against both the yellow and orange and pink brights.

I don't mind borders or binding, the thing I dislike is all the, infinite, interminable ironing between sewing block segments. If they'd only make a sewing machine that had a little hot roller attachment behind the presser foot that automatically ironed each block open... lol

Lily looks entirely too comfortable. Maybe it's time for a nice afternoon nap here too!

Lily Mulholland said...

Yay for happy fiction. There's a reason I tend to watch romantic comedies only - all those cops and medico dramas are a bit too close to the bone. It's a big scary world out there (I know I've worked in it) - so I think we need to escape from it every now and then.

Love that you bit the bullet and are donating your squares. If it doesn't make you comfortable it's hardly going to make a quilt you love.

Hmmm, Lily snoozing make me think I need a snooze too!

Quilts And Pieces said...

Oh Tonya - you would have love the Chicago show - all the embellishments and bright colors! Batiks and hand dyes!

I'm loving your Endearments quilt! I do like the piano key fillers!

Darcie said...

The piano keys are a very smart addition, Tonya. Looking good!

Sweet Lily...what a life, huh?

Quiltgranny said...

I think I am coming to the same conclusion as you are about the leaders and enders projects. I find myself stopping what I am doing to work on the basket of squares. LOL! Of course, I am the one who can't listen to books on tape while she sews either, I find myself just sitting and listening or just going ahead and sewing and not "hearing' what is said.

Love the strips of colors too better now, too!