Quilty Pleasures: Scrappy Trip Around the World

Many of us love to start quilts. The thrill of making something new, with different fabric,  and learning new techniques certainly gets me going. I'm gung ho all the way, up to a point.

Finishing in a timely manner is another matter, altogether. I am a paralyzed perfectionist, so finishing means I must accept any mistakes, real or imagined, if  the task is complete. So there it sits.

That's why there are about 15 neatly stowed away project boxes illustrating this petrified perfectionism. But I'm working on it.

This photo was taken a little over a year ago, when I had almost all the blocks complete.

Other, more juicy projects intervened, so it isn't until this month that I finally finished my Scrappy Trip Around the World quilt. It's from a Bonnie Hunter tutorial.

I have to say it was quite the stash buster, but of course there's always more where that came from.

It's queen sized, with enough to cover the pillows and to have a ten inch drop off the sides.

The batting is bamboo, something I haven't chosen before. The quilting was done by Michael Siewert at ThreadBear, my local quilt shop in Las Vegas, New Mexico. If you don't live nearby, you can mail your quilt to them and they do an excellent job. I chose a widely spaced, loopy design because I didn't want the quilt to be too heavy.

The backing is 108 inches wide, by Kaufman.

The binding is scrappy and machine stitched because it's going to be used a lot. I used this tutorial by Cluck Cluck Sew. In a perfect world, the stitching is unobtrusive on the front, and I am still working on that.

So even if it's not perfect, it's done and I love it and it's on the bed.

Schlubbing Through Summer

Okay, I admit it: I've been a schlub this summer. That's Yiddish for an unkempt lazy butt.

Well, not totally lazy, but blogging has taken a back seat. Priorities. Work on that.

What have I been doing this summer?

Sitting on the porch, watching this little feller grow up. Miss Bonnie almost killed him, but he shook it off and survived. Bonnie is still patrolling the perimeter of the porch, just in case Little Bunnyboy gets careless.

Watching Mr. Robot while the lawn grows is an afternoon must. The rain has been amazing this year.

I've been outdoors a lot, pulling weeds and tending The Potager, which is a fancy way of saying The Garden.

We had asparagus and strawberries early in the season. Grasshoppers ate the shallot sets and the garlic was small this year since the rains started late.

The tomato plants look great, with lots of green ones, but the picking has been slow with all this rain and the clouds.  Hope reigns, though, since we a few moisture free days forecast. And those tomato bags may be my saving grace since we can take them into the Growing Dome if it gets too cold.

The climbing purple green beans are thriving, an homage to my dad who loved showing off his purple green beans. When they are properly cooked, they turn green. Magic. "Purpipple." He liked to say that.

The steers are growing large and still curious. Here's St. Thomas, saying hi.

We've had time for dinner with friends.

And I've been tidying up the fabric and sewing area. This is an ironic pic, don't you think? You may recognize this best selling book.

There are a few finished quilt tops and a couple quilts finally quilted, but minus their binding and a load of unfinished projects, but isn't that how it goes?

Next post will be quilts. Yep.