Fabric Removal

Here's Molly investigating where the fabric used to be.

This may be Molly remembering the trip across the country that happened the last time the fabric disappeared. Happily, her next trip will be only 25 minutes in a car, but she doesn't know that yet.

Moving along

Do you know where your fabric is? I'm letting most of my fabric stay overnight by itself in the new house. Yes, I guess that I now qualify as an empty nester, and this is what it looks like.

Okay, maybe the nest isn't so empty after all.

I am trying to arrange for a local move. As we were discussing "my inventory" I mentioned that I had a weaving loom. My moving coordinator said she had heard of a loom, but didn't know what it looked like. She also thought I might need a specialty mover. I assured her that it was quite sturdy and has made several moves without special treatment. She asked if I could send her pictures of my stuff...so Molly photobombed every picture I took. Next I'll be told they don't move cat hoarders.

Quilting a Bunny

Yes, I'm still hand quilting plaid bunnies. There are 55 of them. It is definitely slow going, except in my brain where I think and hope I'm making faster progress than I am. Perfect foreshadowing of a missed deadline, eh?  In any case, my hands are slow so I am joining Kathy's Slow Stitching Sunday (and everyone, just please ignore my brain. Thank you.)

To make the bunny seem like a plush stuffed bunny, I'm giving it a bulbous outline shape. Rather than mark the various plaid fabrics, I'm using a nonwoven light interfacing as a guide.

Given its a bulbous shape, there is no reason to be exacting. Yet here I am using straight pins to hold down the edge as I carefully stitch around a blob-like amorphous shape.

After the bulbous outline, each bunny gets details on the ear, arm, eye and tail. Just enough quilting to keep the bunny from being carried away.

Fabric Coming and Going

My fabric is on the move again. I keep hunks of fabrics that are 1/2 yard or smaller in these bins. Usually they are sorted by color and/or type such as batik or novelty. But in the move across the country this fabric served double duty as packing material. So I see some serious (yet fun) sorting in my future. And for any Nick Hornby fans out there...I do not plan to sort by the year I acquired it.

Meanwhile, my slow move into the house means that more and more space is opening up in the apartment. To show their approval, Buddy and Molly galloped and frolicked and chased each other at full speed this morning. The cooler temperature probably helped too.

Of course, some new fabric had to sneak in. You might remember that I saw this fabric in a quilt at the Sisters quilt show...but in a yellow colorway. I bought these from Etsy, but it was shipped from Thailand. Here it is one month later...although faster than the sewing table leg.

And despite our hot weather here in Portland, I am continuing to hand quilt the plaid bunny quilt. While heat advisories suggest limiting outdoor activities and staying hydrated, they should also warn against quilts with wool batting.

Reunion

I am very happy to announce that an important member of my quilting team arrived today. This is the leg to my sewing table that went missing during the move from Virginia to Portland. It's journey began on June 6. This leg was delivered to a woman in Denver. Three items of hers, including a vintage Singer in a wooden box, were brought here. When the driver took those items back to her, he picked up this leg and took it back with him to Virginia.

Then the company mailed the leg to me but left the apartment number off of the package. The package arrived here at the apartment complex and instead of taking it to the office where all packages get delivered anyway...it was returned to sender. Yes, UPS sent it all the way back to Virginia. Then it was sent back and finally arrived today. And while we are all used to the speed of packages sent through Amazon, I am quite certain that this package was sent across the U.S. each time by boat.

The table has been a faithful quilting cutting table (and pin basting table) since the late seventies when the company I worked for sold it as surplus for $10. Now the leg has arrived in time to be moved to the new house.

Molly wonders what that story has to do with her...although she acknowledges that she has spent much time supervising me perched on that table.

Today Molly supervised the assembly of  a portable air conditioning unit. She saw these bits of hardware and gently batted them with her paw. I suggested that wasn't helpful, so she grabbed the smallest screw in her mouth and ran off with it. When I caught up with her, she was showing it off to Buddy on the kitchen floor.

Photo submissions

As I was hand quilting the plaid bunny quilt, Molly suggested it was time for photos. For the MidAtlantic quilt show, they ask for two photos, one of the entire quilt and one close-up view. The Northwest Quilting Expo asks for a single photo...so Molly is quite undecided as to whether I should go with a full view...

or a close-up.

Staying in Shape

Here's a vintage butterfly block. Just a slight workout to keep my sewing skills in shape. Okay, its really more like a daily test to see if I can find the sewing machine. Meanwhile, I'm continuing to hand quilt the plaid bunny quilt although each time I assess how much more I have to do...next year's quilt show seems more likely than this year's.

Molly likes variety in her workouts. Here she's sitting on a wobbly pile of fabric piled next to the sewing machine table. She has also been doing her yoga routines and napping on the piglet quilt. If I don't finish the plaid bunny quilt, I think I will enter the piglet quilt in the Northwest Quilt Show instead.

Molly noticed that the instructions say NOT to enter quilts covered in pet hair. Molly took exception to this because apparently they will accept quilts covered with human hair. Molly expected more inclusiveness from Portland.