It's Been a Minute!

 

When I wrote my last post, little did I know how long it would take me to get back to these pages.  It's been a busy time -- and oh! How our culture loves it when we're busy!  But truth be told, it was more "doing what's required" than it was "doing what I want". 

Here's the list:

• Get the (new) spring/summer tires put on the car and have a car maintenance service.  I'd planned for the cost of most of that but...the brakes needed work, and 'oh, by the way' there was a special lubricant 'thing' that needed to be done...so ka-ching! I'm now a chunk of change poorer than I expected to be!
• Have an annual eye exam -- nothing untoward there, thank goodness! And...
• Come down with a head cold.  Aaaargh!

I am really only now beginning to return to my more normal self.  The only advantage to having our colder-than-usual spring weather is that it's been preferable to stay inside with my 'making' than it's been to try to do any yard work.

Blessedly, the garden kept doing what gardens do -- giving me flowers all by themselves.  There were surprise croci in the little grove of trees near my garage -- two white (one is shown above) and one a deep purple.  In the way of croci, they were "here today, and gone tomorrow", but they were lovely little bursts of joy while they were blooming.

And with careful protection from the deer, two lovely tulips in the south-facing flower bed near the house have come, blossomed, and are now fading.  Here they were a few days ago at their very best:

Not to be out-done, my flowering houseplants set to and produced this!

My pink-and-white African Violet

My seasonally confused 
Christmas cactus!

Once past the worst of my cold, things began to bloom in my studio too.  

As to quilting, I finished piecing a pink-and-white top that I wanted to make up for friends who are expecting a new grandbaby -- a girl -- in June.  It's now pin-basted and waiting to be quilted:

If you look closely, you'll see tiny pinwheels in the corner and centre blocks.  I made these out of 'bonus triangles' left from Bonnie Hunter's "Lupines and Laughter" 2025/2026 Mystery pattern that I finished a bit ago (still needs to be quilted!)

I didn't have enough of them to make an entire top, but I wanted to use them so did my best.  The quilt is about 42" x 52", so I'll quilt it simply on my domestic machine.

With things the way they were, I fell a bit behind with the 2026 BOM from A Quilting Life, but this week I finally caught up, making both the April and May blocks:

April 2026 Block

May 2026 Block

To date, I'd been using my left-overs from the "Canada 150" collection from Northcott Fabrics -- and even before I made these last two blocks I was concerned I'd be playing "fabric chicken" by the time the end of the year rolled around.

Northcott, unbeknownst to them, came to the rescue!  A couple of weeks ago, my LQS (Wild Flower Creations in Lacombe, AB) posted on its Facebook page that it had a new Canadian line in from that fabric company!  It's called "Oh Canada", and includes some of the original line plus some new designs, all of which play nicely together.

Well!  Between the Sugar Pine booth at the Central Alberta Quilt Show -- I was well enough to go on May 9 -- and a stop in at Wild Flower this week, I was able to purchase what I think will take me to the end of the year, without much left over (except the neutral Stonehenge, which is always useful).

Even when I was ill, I managed a bit of knitting every day.  I stuck to mindless projects, especially the "Bustleton Tee" -- that I'm making with the pattern merely as a guide.  I started it in late April 2025, and am now on the decreases for the second sleeve.

Yes; I'm making it with long sleeves, and with irregular stripes which are composed largely of left-over sock yarn and other fingering-weight bits.  It's why I've dubbed mine the "Not-So-Bustleton Tee". 😉

The only part of the sweater that's not from yarn left-overs is the sleeves, which I'm knitting out of a full skein of "Georgian Fingering 50" from Numana Yarns, which I bought at the Prairie Fibre Festival a few years ago.  The colour is a luscious variegated one entitled "Crushing It".  It's 50% Superwash Merino and 50% Silk, and no way was I ever going to make that into socks!

Rug-hooking took a bit of a back seat while I was ill, but as I began to have more energy, I turned to it, and finished a little piece I'm calling "Prairie Spring Abstract".  It's my adaptation of a portion of Deanne Fitzpatrick's "Sea Garden Abstract" pattern, part of the online course of the same name that I bought a while back when she put it on sale.

In the colours I selected, I was trying to give the impression of the greens and golds of the grasses as they 'woke' in the spring in these parts, dotted with the occasional Prairie Crocus:

Now off the frame, it measures about 9" x 12"; I'm thinking of turning it into a small cushion.

Earlier this week I put another pattern up on my small frame (a made-over embroidery frame with scroll bars): "Starfish Cove".  This is a little design that was available in April from the Makers' Meet-up group at Deanne Fitzpatrick Studio; I'm not sure it will be released to the general public.  It features a house and some trees and in front, a row of starfish.  Well, I don't live anywhere near an ocean -- there are no starfish in our prairie lakes and sloughs!  So...I've turned the starfish into large daisies, and am calling my piece "Daisy Cottage".  All will be revealed when it's finished, so stay tuned!

And yes...of course there's been some cross-stitch in the mix!

In my early April post, I showed my progress on the "Quick Quaker SAL" (Stitch-ALong) from Jacob at Modern Folk Embroidery.  With the art show and then my bad cold, I fell a bit behind, but I managed to finish it on May 2.  No idea yet on a frame or any other way of finally finishing it, but here it is...

Fabric: 36-count "Bramble"
from Picture This Plus
Thread: DMC colour #824
1 strand of floss over 2 linen threads

I'm not up-to-date with the year-long "Little Acorns" SAL, but I made some progress there too.  Here it is as of the end of this week:

Fabric: 40-count "Platinum"
from Roxy Floss Co/Evertote
Thread: "Pippy" from Roxy Floss Co.
1 strand of floss over 2 fabric threads

And then -- in a burst of Spring Fever -- I started three new little pieces, and finished one of them!

First, I started and finished "Bloom Where You Are", a little kit from Shepherd's Bush.  It's stitched on a very loose, large-weave fabric of unknown origin -- there was nothing in the kit that said anything about it!  This, however, made it a very quick stitch, with 3 threads of floss much of the time.  It's very cute, and I've finished it into a little wall hanging, using some fabric I bought on my trip to Scotland in 2017:

Front

The 'quilting' isn't very even -- it was hard to judge where I was on that weird fabric, even with my trusty 1/4" foot!

All I have to do now is attach the hanging sleeve,and it will be done -- and hung either in my studio or out in my back room, where I house my plants when they're not outside.

Back

The second new start I made was the "Spring" section of a very old 4-season pattern from Elsa Williams.  You may recall from my March 20th post that I'd finished the "Winter" section, which was surprisingly enjoyable, so now I'm gung-ho to finish all of them over time.  (They're all done on one piece of fabric.)

In a couple of stitching sessions, I started some of the background and managed to finish the house.  I think it's going to be really pretty!

My last spring-themed start is from a little freebie pattern from Helen D., aka Eastcoast Crafter.  It's called "Bulbs, Blooms, Blossoms...". I'm stitching it on a small piece of 32-count Lambswool Linen, using DMC floss (mostly called-for colours), 1 strand of floss over 2 fabric threads.

I've just finished the text and have moved on to the garden motifs,so will show you a photo (hopefully a finish!) in my next post.  😊

And there you are, Gentle Readers, caught up on the making in my little corner of the world.

It's Victoria Day Weekend (aka "May Long" or "May 2-4") in Canada -- a time we designate the Official Start of Gardening Season.  While my friends and family in other parts of our fair land might be planting this weekend...I'm not.  Well...maybe by Monday, which is the holiday.  We've had snow southwest of here -- closer to the Rockies -- and "mixed precipitation" as near as an hour's drive west...and it's cloudy and only about 3 degrees Celsius right now (8:35 a.m. Mountain Time)....so...I may just stay in hibernation, with my recently-purchased bedding plants safely tucked in their containers in my garage!

Alas, I'm unable as of this writing to link you up with Nina-Marie's Off the Wall Friday.  She seems to be away this week.  I've sent her a note via Facebook to ask if all is well in her world, which I truly hope it is -- and in yours, too, Gentle Readers.

And so... pour le moment, a bientot!*

*"For the moment, a bientot!"

I Want to Make *All* the Things!

We had snow a few days ago.  It began as our usual "First Snowfall" does: with rain, then wet snow, then "regular" snow.  It's melted off the streets and sidewalks now, of course, but when it first fell, it decorated everything with a sparkling covering of white - including the trees.  The photo at left is of my double willow in the "Meadow" lot next to my house.  It lost many of its leaves before the snowfall, but had enough on its branches to look like it was wearing a fancy gown, on its way to a "Snow Ball"! 😉

The snow is off the trees now, too, but still all over the grass.  It's likely here to stay until spring, and will, of course, receive a fresh covering from time to time.

The computer craziness about which I wrote in my last post continues, with a faulty power port (in the computer, where you plug in the cord), and a need to retest the battery now that the port has been replaced.  It wasn't charging properly, even with the new cord.  It's still in the shop, so I'm here again on my old (2013) machie that's serving me rather well, actually, despite its age.  I will still be happy to have the newer (2021) model home again.  

I'd have given up on computers of any and all kinds by now, if they didn't provide me with such pleasure -- communications near and far, music (radio and otherwise) -- and the ability to share my making with whoever cares to see it.

And my making is what is keeping me from tipping into...well, as I've said before, creating beauty and texture, and making art for me and comfort for my friends, family and others -- that's what gives me a measure of peace, a dollop of joy, and helps me sleep at night.

With the coming of the colder weather this year, my usual Autumnal Startitis has ramped up several notches!  As the title of this post says, I want to make ALL the things!

BUT having a rather over-active conscience, I had to finish some things first.  On the knitting front, I finished the third of three Simple Gift Cowls for my son and his family:

Pattern: Simple Gift Cowl
Designer: Amy Curletto
Yarn: Schoeller & Stahl Limbo Mexiko Color
in "Mango" colour-way

I also knit up two pair of baby socks for a young neighbour and his partner, who are expecting their first baby a few days before Xmas.  In my last post, I'd just started the first sock of the first pair; now that pair is finished (newborn to 3-month size) and another larger pair (3 to 6 month size) too:

Pattern: "Baby Socks"
Designer: River City Yarns
Yarn: Knit Picks Sock Landscape
in the Rocky Mountain Dusk colour-way
Newborn - 3 months - shown with cuffs standing up

Same pattern, same designer
Yarn: Pro-Lana Golden Socks 4-fache
in the "Fashion R" colour-way
Three-to-six months size, shown with cuffs folded down

The remaining 'Christmas Knit' is the Back Bay Boomerang shawlette/scarf that I started some time ago.  It's simple garter stitch, but in a light fingering, it's been taking me a while.  It's my 'car knitting' -- for waiting at the train crossing, or for knitting while enjoying coffee with friends -- so it hasn't had quite the attention the other projects have, but rest assured, it will be finished in time to send away for Xmas!

Here's what it looked like when I last showed a photo:

And here's what it looked like as of last evening:

Pattern: "Back Bay Boomerang"
Designer: Susie von Reyn 
Yarn: Queensland Collection Perth
 in Colour #107 - "Tasmanian Bay"

I've only about 15 grams left of the 100 gram ball, and when it's finished, the shawlette will be too!

Three cowls for Xmas gifts and 2 pair of baby socks finished, plus one vest 2/3 of the way there ought to permit me to start a new knit, right? 😉

And what did I want to start?  Yes, I know; I have at least 3 two pair of socks, two shawls and at least 3 sweaters on the needles already, plus a vest.  But I've been watching assorted knitting podcasts, and have kitted up some new starts from my stash. 

The gals at The Woolly Thistle and at A Lovely Yarn have me hankering for a cardigan.  A colour-work cardigan.  Steeked, if possible.  So, yesterday I caked up 3 skeins with which to make a start on the "Stranded and Steeked Knit Cardigan" designed by Katherine Poole-Fournier for Patons Yarn and Yarnspirations.  It calls for a main colour and 4 others, but I'm using only a main colour and two others.  

The maroon is Briggs & Little Regal; the white/cream is Briggs & Little Heritage 2-ply and the teal blue is Gathering Yarn Haynes Creek Heathers Aran.

All have been set aside for a bit, because having read the pattern, I realize I've got to finish at least one mind-bending project before starting another.

The current "mind-bender" is the aforementioned "Presto Vesto" I've been constructing for my daughter for Xmas/her January 2025 birthday.  In my last post I showed you the finished back and right front (the two-thirds accounted for above).  The final third -- the left front -- is now on the needles, its ribbed hem finished, and I've split for the pocket.  You can see that in this photo if you look slightly right of centre and notice the second ball of yarn attached there.  

It remains a project that is anything but "presto" to knit!

To fulfill my hankering for new sweater starts, and for something a bit less challenging than multiple cables or colour-work with steeks, in the past two days I've cast on the following:

• The "Basic Pullover" by Sally Melville from her book, The Knitting Experience. Book 2: The Purl Stitch which I've had in my library since 2004.  Again I'm using yarn from stash: Gedifra Ombretta  in the colour-way #4402: "Midnight Wine".  Here's my start:

It's all wines and deep blue-purples -- yummy!  And perfectly mindless to knit.

• In the slightly less mindless but still simple category, yesterday I cast on the "Crayon Etching" pullover from Natsuko Iida for NORO yarns.  I'm knitting it in Noro Kureyon in colour #40 -- a blue/green/purple colour-way.  It's knit top-down (simple enough) in Linen Stitch, which is simple enough but I'd never used it before and the first dozen rounds of the neckline included short rows.  Riiiiight. Linen Stitch while doing short rows. That's why I consider it "slightly less mindless".  Blessedly the short rows are finished and I'm simply on the body/raglan increases...!!!

Yes, there's still quilting, stitching and art-mat hooking, too.  I've sandwiched and pin-basted the Pink Pinwheels top as that little blankie will go with the baby socks to the new parents.  The new parents-to-be are experiencing some financial challenges as the business the prospective father was working at is...um...not doing well, and in the last week he's either been temporarily or permanently laid off (I'm not sure which).

As I finished the twelve blocks for my son's birthday quilt, I began the sashing -- which is pieced.  Quarter-square triangles (QSTs), that is.  Pieced.  To make enough to go between the blocks, between the rows of blocks and around the outside as an inner border -- per the pattern -- I've had to cut 206 squares, put them in random pairs and create QSTs. 

QSTs under construction

QST sashing - 6 block units per sash
to go between the blocks in each row

Not quite as complex as the "Presto Vesto" project, but still a labour of love.  The things we do for our kids! 😉 💗😊

My stitching in the last part of October was focused on Christmas gifts too.  I started -- and finished -- a couple of small items.  One was autumn/Hallowe'en themed, for a friend of mine who loves both coffee and holiday decor and has been having a bit of a rough time lately:

Pattern: "Brew Haha"
Designer: Plum Street Designs
Done 2 threads over 2, in 28-count Cashel linen
from Zweigart in "Light Mocha" -- a scrap, really
Cotton floss - over-dyed and DMC, some called for,
some subsitutes, all from stash

The next one is finished -- but not fully.  I want to put it into a 7" wooden embroidery hoop, but have yet to do that:

Pattern: "Precious Friend"
Designer: Bent Creek
Done 2 threads over 2, on 28-count even-weave
or perhaps Lugana (no label) -- a scrap
Cotton floss - some over-dyed and some DMC,
some called-for, some substitutes, all from stash

The spacing for that one is a bit 'off' (it is for "Brew Haha" too) but I fudged it (per usual) as I refuse to let Perfect be the enemy of Good!  I enjoyed both of these stitches.

Once these were finished I started another Christmas gift stitch -- one of Jeannette Douglas' smalls, which I fell in love with when Caroline of Evertote.ca announced them.  Jeannette collaborated with Evertote/Roxy Floss on these projects: two small wooden spools, one which was designed to hang as an ornament and the other, to be used as a scissor holder, covered in motifs from Jeannette's reproduction of the Margreat Meadows sampler.  I chose the latter, and I'm stitching this up for a stitchy friend.  Although tiny -- I'm using 1 thread over 1 on 36-count Doubloon from Picture this Plus.  It's a mottled (but not splotchy) caramel linen, and this photo of my start doesn't do it justice, really, as it has more character than that:

I'm working from left to right; what you see above is the first two sets of motifs -- out of a total of five.  Yes, it's really tiny: about 2 1/4" high and about 4 1/4" long on this fabric.  That tells you how small the spool is that will be wrapped with it!  I had the fabric at home, but bought the kitted pattern and Roxy Floss threads -- yummy!  And Evertote's "Floss Boss", Hannah, gives the floss colours such wonderfully punny names.  I smile when I pick up each one!

For November, my focus will be on finishing the Margreat Meadows spool cover, and fully finishing it along with the "Precious Friends" piece.  For other stitching, though, I've dug out a 'black sampler' -- a Vierlande-style sampler from Jacob at Modern Folk Embroidery: "When This You See, Remember Me".  

I began it on Good Friday this year (in March), not long after it was first published, and posted about it then, but set it aside as I knew I'd want to work on it again this November.  I'm working it 2 threads over 2 on 32-count Vintage Smoky White (a printed linen) from Zweigart, using Roxy Floss hand-dyed cotton floss in the 'Vierlande' colour-way especially commissioned by Jacob for his Vierlandese designs.

Here's what it looked like when I set it aside:

Stay tuned for progress towards month-end!

And yes...there's hooked art!  In September, I joined the Inspirations Sessions at Deanne Fitzpatrick Studio, for a year only, and am enjoying them immensely.  They've really been a source of encouragement as I've been preparing new work to put into the 2024 "Under $100 Art Market" in Lacombe at the end of this month.  To date I've finished five miniature landscapes, each 6" square, and mounted the first one on painted stretched canvas, which I showed in my last post:

"Turning" (c) 2024
6" square, hooked, mounted on canvas

Here are the latest additions to the "collection", also 6" square, which have yet to be mounted:

"Little Shed on the Prairie" (c) 2024

"All That Blue, Green & Gold!" (c) 2024

"Harvest Hills" (c) 2024

"Winter Sunrise" (c) 2024

The ideas for these came in part from current scenes around me and in part from pieces I'd made as "matted minis" (small art quilts) some years ago.  I was pleased to see that I could translate them from fused applique, thread-painted and quilted fabric, to hooked wool yarn, and wool or silk fabric strips.

I'm now in the process of painting some canvases and some wooden panels (shallow boxes, really, which I'll use "upside down") for mounting, and should have that work done in the next week or so.  I have to wire them for hanging, so picked up some more small 'D' rings and some more picture wire at the hardware store yesterday.  And I have to deliver them to the exhibit venue in the last week of the month, priced and ready to hang -- so I'd best get going!

So, Gentle Readers, you're now all caught up with my exploits, and I'm about ready to take a brisk walk in the wintry sunshine that I can see out my window.  As usual, I'll leave you with a link to Nina-Marie's Off the Wall Friday.  When she posted her linky party, she admitted that she was handing out Hallowe'en candy that evening -- getting a dose of creativity in the costumes being worn by her little neighbours.  I hope you all had a happy time of it that night -- if you observe those festivities -- and I wish you more creative delights until we meet again.  A bientot!

What was That About Spring?

The above photo isn't from today -- or even this year (the tall birch stump beside the garage in the background is gone now) -- but it might as well be!  As forecast, the snow began early this a.m. and is ongoing.  It paused long enough -- well, lightened up long enough -- for my neighbour to satisfy his urge to clear it from his deck and some of his walkways, with his big snow-blower (in fact, he and his wife are still out there as I type!) -- but it's full on snowing again now and isn't destined to stop for another two or three hours.  And it's blowing. 

A fellow with a sidewalk sized vehicle with a blade on the front has been by at least three times, ostensibly clearing the public sidewalk in front of our houses, but all that's happened is that it's filled up again.

What's a gal with a girly snowblower and an aversion to blowing snow supposed to do?  Stay inside and create, of course!

Let me begin with what I've worked on up to today...

Aside from knitting on my Millie sweater, in which I'm making my way down the body to the point where I can begin the finishing (3" - 4" deep) ribbing, I spent last weekend working with the "mystery materials" I showed you in my last post:

Materials: indigo-dipped silk scarf, cut into 1 1/2" strips,
piece of recycled cotton pillow case
 -- sea green, over-dyed with cobalt blue MX dye.

Inspirational photo by Gina Blank
-- a section of Riel House, Manitoba

Silk strips sewn together in random order;
tracing of the shuttered window, auditioning position

Strips quilted; "window" fused to top.

Et voila!
Shuttered: Riel House, Manitoba - (C) 2020
Highlighted with Pitt pen,
coloured pencil and mechanical pencil,
and wrapped around 12" x 9" stretched canvas
-- awaiting framing.

By Monday I was ready to rest my brain a bit, so I took out several small 'tops' I'd created in some colour studies in a Craftsy class a few years ago.  I'd put borders on them a few months ago, figuring I'd make table toppers for the Bazaar at our church last November.  Well, that didn't happen.  But...they are coming to life now as little cuddle blankets or car seat blankets or whatever for a new moms-and-babes program in Lacombe.  I decided it would be enjoyable to quilt them by hand, using a 'big stitch' (1/8" or a bit larger) and #12 perle cotton. 

There are four in all, measuring up at about 29" x 30" or 30" square.  The first one is finished.  The blue border has more green in it -- but I couldn't get it to show on camera.  That said, it suits the blues in the squares.

Lazily lying on the top of my easy chair...

A detail of my 'big stitch' hand-quilting

The second one has been quilted, and I'm ready to sew on the binding on two of the sides.  I do what I've heard referred to as an "Amish binding" -- straight of grain; first two sides sewn edge to edge, then hemmed to the back; next, the second two are cut a bit longer so that when you hem them down on the back, the ends are folded in for a neat finish.  I'm not sure it's Amish (I can't find proof) but it works for me.  I find mitred corners clumsy to do and this method is less bulky in the corners than sewing all the bindings on a the same time and then trying to fold in the corners (which is what I used to do).

Today...well I was in the mood for Something Completely Different. 

One of my favourite video podcasts on YouTube is Kate's Last Homely House.  Kate is a knitter, spinner, quilter, potter and gardener who lives in a "cottage" on a farmstead in Northumberland, UK.  She's a few years younger than I, with grown children, four cats, a goose and several hens.  Something about her strikes such a chord in me...and I love to hear her "witter on", as she calls it.  She sometimes does tutorials, and one of them really caught my attention several months ago (maybe even a year).  For those of you who want the whole thing for what I'm about to share, click HERE.

Now, those of you who know me, know that I'm not particularly partial to paper arts -- even though I've altered one book and created an artist's sketchbook/journal or two. 

But that said, I absolutely love stationery and fine note paper and cards.  I don't care to make them, but I enjoy receiving them, and using good stationery for real hand-written correspondence.  Well, then.  Kate shared her idea for creating a sort of album in which to store favourite cards one had received.  It uses cardboard -- best from recycled cereal boxes -- decorative paper, glue and string or ribbon or even elastic to hold the cards in place in the album covers.

My cereal box, opened out and trimmed
of the flaps.

My cover trimmed to fit the selected cards,
prepared with its "binding",
and lined with decorative paper.
(I have a very limited selection!)

Cards fastened inside
with #8 perle cotton; view of
finished "album" from the outside.

Inside view.

The card with the two kitties was sent me by my friend Maggi Birchenough of the U.K., whom I met when we were both SAQA Reps at the Portland conference in 2015.  She died a bit more than a year later, but in that time we became fast friends.  I miss her still.

I leave you now, Gentle Readers, to figure out what to make for my supper...and to resume knitting on that Millie!  I want to wear it at the SAQA Conference in Toronto in a few weeks, and it's not going to finish itself!

Linking this to Nina Marie's Off the Wall Friday -- and wishing you a cozy rest of the weekend!  (Think of me tomorrow, when the storm has passed and I'm shovelling out! 😉)

WIPs on a Wednesday

In keeping with my penchant for list-making at the start of each new year (and we all know September qualifies!), I've been trying to clear a few WIPs out of my sewing studio.  The first two are embroidered samplers I finished aeons ago.  They're half of a series of four seasonal samplers.  "Spring" and "Summer" have been finished for a few years; when I remember, I hang them out in my front garden in good weather.  However, "Autumn" and "Winter" have languished on the UFO pile -- till now.  As of today, they have been sandwiched, quilted and bound -- except for the hand-sewing, and that will take place before the end of the day!  (Alas, I don't remember who designed these, and am if I still have the patterns, they are well tucked away somewhere.)

This post, in itself, is being made as I take a bit of a break before I go back to this project:

Charity Baby

It's a simple nine-patch alternating with solid blocks on which I've traced part of a stencil design for quilting.  The blue and white prints (both flannel) were given to me by someone who knows I can find a home for wayward fabric.  :-)  I bought the pink to match a wee bit of pink that shows up in the white print.  If you look closely at the top of the photo, you can see the whimsical flannel print that makes up the back.  There are no sashes or borders on this little quilt; it will be hung on the 'Charity Tree' at church and given away to some sweet little one in the Lacombe area.

Now that these projects are nearing completion, I have one more lap quilt to do -- the flannel star quilt -- "Sunrise, Sunset" that I worked on last summer -- also for the Charity Tree.  I've pieced the back and simply have to take some time when I have a good-sized space in which to lay it out to prep for quilting.  I did the baby quilt with spray baste for the first time -- on the recommendation of Ann Petersen in her "Quilting Big Quilts on a Small Machine" class on Craftsy.com -- and I must say, it works wonderfully!!  I've long used it for small pieces (art sized) but not on bed quilts.  With Ann's assurance it washes out, and knowing these quilts will be washed after quilting (if nothing else, to get the quilt design markings -- in water-soluble pen -- out!), I'm going to do this more often, as appropriate.

Back to the studio...but before I go, I'm linking this to WIP Wednesday at The Needle and Thread Network!