Busy, busy, busy!!

 That's what I've been lately. Busy as a bee quilting up a storm.  Wish I had pictures to share of what I've been working on lately....but I don't. So I thought I would share pictures of Dexter enjoying a knitting project that didn't turn out. When I have knitting projects that don't turn out they usually end up as playthings for the doxies....who then feel as if their mission in life is to de-construct the said item. In this case it was a knitted and fulled teddy bear that just wasn't meant to be. It wasn't a total loss though. I did get to see how the handspun yarn fulled.....and I did make notes on what I want to change the next time I knit this particular pattern up. Plus the doxies got to spend countless hours de-constructing....something they really enjoy doing.   :<) Now for an update on what I've been up to.

My scrappy civil war quilt still isn't finished but I am making progress on it. The fourth quarter of it is up on the design wall and is being sewn together. Yesterday I made great progress and got all the blocks sewn together into pairs and trios. Today I hope to get rows sewn together.

My Hawaiian quilt class is going well. Lesson 3 was posted on Friday. It's on needle-turn applique....which I love. I'm not that far on my quilt though. My design has been laid out and securely pinned to the background. Thread basting it all in place is the next step.....and yet another thing I hope to start on today. It will probably take me a few days to get the entire design thread basted in place. Once that is done then I will get to put it up on the design wall and see my design in its entirety for the very first time. I've only got to see it in bits and pieces so far....or eighths and quarters to be more exact. It's a rather large quilt and the surface I'm using for pinning/basting only accommodates a little under half of the quilt at a time.

Onto the wall hanging that I've been hand quilting. That is actually coming along rather nicely. Only one more sashing piece to hand quilt before I can move onto the border. Not quilt sure what I want to do there yet. I'm thinking maybe feathers of some kind. Up until now I've only done straight line quilting.....mostly grid. So I thought it would be fun to try my hand at a little "fancy quilting" just to see how it is. Who knows. Maybe it is something I will really enjoy and will want to incorporate into future quilts. While I do enjoy looking at quilts with "fancy quilting" in them, I rarely do any of that in my own. It's not that I don't know how. I think it's more of what I'm drawn to personally. While the fancy quilting is pretty to look at , sometimes it can really take away from the quilt itself. I mean, afterall, a lot of time is spent in the piecing and/or appliqueing of a quilt. Why cover all that up with machine and/or hand quilting? To me, quilting is supposed to enhance the piecework and/or needle work...not cover it up or take away from it. In my opinion when you look at a quilt, the first thing you should see is the quilt design....not the quilting in it. I feel that should be secondary. But, then again, this is only my own very humble opinion.  :<)

Pulled out another UFO....as if there is a shortage of *that* around here! This one is an Hawaiian sampler that I started years ago. It was started as a graduation quilt for my oldest....until she decided she didn't want it and chose another pattern instead. So it got put aside.....and started collecting dust. I decided to pull it out because I thought it would be perfect for trying my hand at thread basting on....which it was. The blocks are 20" in size. Once I got a block thread basted, I thought it would be a great way to freshen up my applique skills....especially since it has been quite some time since I've appliqued anything by hand. Another good call on my part. My needle turn is really rusty. This is the perfect project to get my needle turn back in shape before I tackle my large Hawaiian quilt. Plus I discovered that only two more blocks need to be made (one of which is already in progress) before the top could be put together.

As if I'm not working on enough quilting projects right now, there is my Estonian lace scarf that I try to knit a few rows on each day. It's actually coming along nicely and I hope to be able to take a picture of it sometime soon. Or at least of what I have done so far. My thoughtful and always considerate hubby suggested that I simply focus on one project until it is done then move onto another one. What a sweetheart he is!! Of  course he doesn't quite understand the rationale behind why I must work on several projects at once. I mean, afterall, the Hawaiian sampler is helping me learn new techniques and freshen up old skills that I will need for the large Hawaiian quilt....which is a class project. And I can't simply quit hand quilting the wall hanging because I am so close to finally having it done....and with it being an older UFO, too. As for the scrappy civil war quilt.....well, with all the hand work I've been doing lately it's nice to be able to do some mindless piecing. Being able to finish yet another UFO in the process.....well, that's always an added bonus.  :<) The knitting gives me a nice break from all the quilting....and the spinning is my zen time. Need I say more?    :<)