Greetings, long neglected blog friends!

Hello again, everyone!  I'm sorry about the long delay between postings.  I thought I hadn't done a lot, but when I loaded the pictures off my camera I realized that while I have been goofing off for a month enjoying life and the cat army, I actually have been productive on the quilt front. I know you can't wait a moment longer, so without further ado, here is what I've been doing for the last month....

Steps to the Altar

The Spinster quilt lives!  Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue.  These steps to the altar are strewn with beautiful little flowers.

Random Baby Girl Quilt

Well, drat.  I decided to use left over blocks from an earlier quilt to make a lap quilt for a friend of a friend who has recently been diagnosed with cancer.  I thought this would be cheerful and give her something to curl up in to relax between doses of chemotherapy.  Unfortunately, I didn't have as many blocks left over as I thought I did and didn't get it to lap size.  I'm going to quilt this and have it on hand for when someone, anyone, I know becomes pregnant with a little girl.  Want this? Get some wine into you and head down to the local bar.  I kid, I kid, you can buy wine when you get there. 

Forest Fantasy 

The beautiful back

Very cute little girl cat picture.

Folded and ready to go to its new house.

I did finish and give away the Forest Fantasy quilt last month.  I was so happy with how the quilting turned out and how it looks put together.  Scout agrees and had to be forcibly removed so I could put it away and keep some of the cat hair off it.  CF came over one evening and picked it up. I love giving these little projects away.  The cats are opposed to that practice, but I've told them that adversity builds character.

Next up, more Spinster action!  (And, hopefully, not another month between postings.  Sorry about that!)

Forest Fantasy - Fully Pieced

We are having an incredible fall, here in the Pacific Northwest.  I honestly can't remember the last time it rained.  Things are so dry that I actually had to water yesterday to keep my rhododendrons alive.  I'm not complaining, however.  I really like taking my walk at lunchtime when it isn't raining and when I don't have to worry about a change of clothes for the way back.  I also enjoy standing outside with my morning cup of coffee and breathing in the smells of the pine trees.  These are the moments that remind me why I live here and I enjoy them all so very much.  

Having finished my yard work, and what I think might be the last time I mow the lawn this year, I turned by attention to finishing up piecing the Forest Fantasy quilt.  I think that it is fitting that the weather cooperated and I was able to take its picture outside with the woods shading part of it.  My next step it putting together the back and then getting long-arm time.  Maybe I will be lucky enough to get that taken care of this Friday. Next up, my long neglected Spinster quilt.  But, Spinsters are patient so I know that she's fine.  

You know what's awesome?

Getting a new sewing machine. That's what's awesome.  So, when we last talked, I mentioned gently beating my old sewing machine to death for being difficult.  I would clearly have to get another one, but which one and can it take a punch?  A friend of mine mentioned that she got a Pfaff and loves it because it has a walking foot attached which means that your top fabric will be held in place against your bottom fabric (I may be paraphrasing the awesomeness of the attached walking foot). She also mentioned that I should go check out the vendors at the Puyallup Fair (pronounced "fair") because lots of vendors come to the fair and they bring with them fabulous deals.  I asked the handsome and brave AH to come with me and we (I) played with sewing machines and fell in love with the Pfaff.  It was on sale and I had the handsome and clever AH with me to carry it to the parking lot. How could I resist this perfect storm of excellence in sewing machine buying?  I couldn't.  Since then, I've been playing with the Pfaff and I have to say that I love it.  It sews like butter - not that margarine crap, actual butter.  I've been cranking through the blocks for the Forest Fantasy quilt and loving every minute of it.  

 

First, I sewed the blocks I've made earlier together. 

 Then, I sewed those blocks together to make a lovely square and now get to sew these into strips.

Much progress has been made and did I mention that I love my new sewing machine?  Because I do love my new sewing machine.  Oh, and the old one was given away to a good home where she miraculously started working again.  Probably because it feels as if it is in a safe place and no longer subject to righteous beatings.

Rage gets the best of me.

98 HSTs

Seriously, 98 HSTs

Before I get to an explanation for the title of this post, I'd like to share the latest step in the Forest Fantasy quilt.  Behold 98 HSTs, squared to 4.5 inches and ready to attach to the blocks I made in the previous step.  I've pinned them all together and started sewing them into place but things have come to a screeching halt here.  This is where the title of the post comes in.

A few months ago, my machine decided to spend an evening eating my fabric.  I'd put it in place, get ready to sew, and instead of running it through, it forced the fabric into the bobbin area and I got shredded fabric.  A few rounds of this, including cleaning and resetting everything, and I was in no mood to deal with the machine's new found quirk.  Dear reader, I hit that machine like a boxer going in for the finish.  The machine broke, or rather the lid broke.  Suitably chagrined, I managed to work around the broken lid.  The problem being that the lid has to be in the up position to wind the bobbin.  This is something I figured out and managed to develop a work around. Until yesterday.  I forgot to implement the work around, the thread got incredibly tight while winding the bobbin and broke.  Before it broke, it managed to bend a metal disk that, apparently, is very much needed for threading the machine. Nothing I do now will allow me to thread and I'm stuck.  Tomorrow I either get to go to the sewing machine dealer and explain that I have no idea how my machine broke, perhaps the cats had something to do with it, or break down and buy the new one that I've had my eye on.  Either way, it might be awhile before sewing takes place. In the meantime, I have lots of very pretty hiking pictures to share. And, I'm learning to count to 10.

Forest Fantasy

Forest Fantasy

I mentioned several months ago that this would be the next quilt I'd be working on.  My good friend and hiking buddy, CF, picked out this pattern and asked that it be done in blues, greens, and browns.  I'm using Art Gallery Fabrics, mostly from the Nature Elements, Oval Elements, and Pure Elements lines and probably some random solids that I don't feel safe attributing to the Pure Elements line.  This is a pattern that requires a lot of prep work and cutting to start, but it will really come together quickly when the prep work is done.

There is, however, always significant opposition in letting the prep work go smoothly.

Pretty colors

 The first step is to strip piece and make 196 pairs of brown and colored fabric. Next, they come together to make squares like so...

98 squares

And, finally 98 squares come together.  The next step will be a sea of HSTs.  I know, I'm excited too.

Forest Fantasy

Yes, Scout, we all think you are cute.  

Pretty!

More pretty.

Background and backing.

It will be awhile before I get around to cutting into all this pretty, but I wanted to share some of the nice fabrics I'll be using for CF's quilt.  Do your best to look around the adorable cat in the picture and be very impressed with how pretty these colors are.  Also, isn't it great that my quilts come pre-loaded with cat hair?  It saves you the time and effort to get your own cat hair in them.  I'm nothing if not considerate.