An uncomplicated afternoon of machine sewing

I've had this in mind for a while. Didn't anticipate making it quite yet, but....

So my shoulder remains fiddly. Har-rumph! Yesterday I eked out a truncated evening of handsewing, feeling a *wee bit guilty* about it, because if I was smart, I would do NO handsewing, but last night that notion made me feel twitchy. So I sewed. And I ached. And I went to bed, sleeping on my left side to coddle my right shoulder, but instead the odd position made my right knee twitchy, oi! Thankfully I slept in this morning, but have done no hand-stitching, nor will I this evening. Instead I'm gonna blather all about it, as well as remark on making a quilt top in an afternoon as if hand-sewing meant nothing to me.

(WAH WAH WAH!!! Insert crying face emoji HERE!)

What I noticed right off the sewing machine bat was how easily it was to slip back into machine sewing. With my earplugs firm in my ears. And noise cancelling headphones over my earplug-protected ears. Lol. I've used earplugs and headphones for several years, but I don't think I could machine-QUILT anymore, too dang loud even with all the accoutrements. Yet I can still sew with a machine, and as though it hadn't been nearly a year since making a quilt in that manner, I pressed open seams, nesting seams so corners would play nicely. I didn't use pins except in securing one row to another, I didn't use any steam while ironing. I merely laid squares print-sides together, sewed lots of straight lines, and about two and a half hours later, there's a quilt top.

Fabrics from bottom left: a random Aboriginal fabric that was in the 8.5" squares stack, Moda Grunge, Ruby Star Society poppies, a random Moda print, Art Gallery by Sharon Holland, and finally Alison Glass. The other mustard batiks are also by Glass, the other poppy prints RSS.

(I cut the fabric yesterday, throwing squares onto the design wall last night. Seems using the rotary cutter doesn't bother my shoulder as much as hand sewing, WHEW!)

The dark navy print is Speckled by Rashida Coleman-Hale. I was so glad to find the gray and copper poppy prints in the 8.5" squares stack. This could have used more of the raspberry Grunge, but I only had a smidge left. Still, I'm happy with it, if not curious what will be its eventual usage. Mysteries are for Future Me to ruminate upon, lol.

As I fashioned this quilt top (which at some point will be for yours truly, once I can do some hand sewing, because I have discovered my fave part of Kawandi is NOT NEEDING A BINDING STRIP. Huh, who knew?), I wondered why I was making it, because while I'd LOVE to ignore conventional wisdom and dive right into turning it into a cozy for myself, ahem, I truly need to figure out what's up with my shoulder. And finish projects WAY AHEAD of this quilt top in the quilt queue. So....why spend the afternoon making something with no immediate discernible purpose, other than to do something that doesn't hurt my shoulder, keeping me busy while my husband took a nap, lol. I wasn't sure about it as I photographed the quilt top, or as I answered my now conscious husband that I'd like cranberries in my gluten free scones. He's been on a baking tear lately, and has mastered using gluten free flour, WOO HOO!

Some pretty perfect looking scones, and yes they are GLUTEN FREE! Delicious too, hehehe.

I still wasn't certain about this quilt top's fate until after walking back from the chicken coop, having changed out the coop water and the run water. Or maybe it was even later, after eating a scone warm from the oven sans butter or jam, merely reveling in the perfection my husband has achieved with alternate flour. It could have been when I once again trooped to the coop, collecting the feeder for the night. I pondered all the fabric I've recently cut, and found in a tote already cut. I could make a heap of quilt tops for future Kawandi projects (as in the back of Kawandi-inspired quilts) and whatever else comes along in dire need of a quilt top.

Husband's scones on the right didn't come out as pretty as he wanted; his dough (regular flour) was too wet, and he added more flour, over which he fretted that by overworking the dough, they would be tough. While they didn't rise to his satisfaction, they were quite fluffy inside, and he's happy with them. And he'll use less milk next time.

I think it was after retrieving the feeder. Because I returned to the house, snagged a small piece of chocolate, started a cup of fruit tea, feeling very pleased with myself. Feeling like if I take a probable sabbatical from hand-sewing, machine sewing won't be the worst thing to fill my time.

Lol.

So yeah, I'm using my machine again. I really should oil it, maybe give it a proper cleaning. Maybe give my work table a proper tidying too, what with EPP stuff all over it, stacks of cut fabrics in 6.5 and 8.5 inch sizes. Do something with all the scraps I'd been collecting while cutting fabrics for various EPP projects, LOL! Today I hastily made a stack of them, placing them alongside my machine like this was a mere blip in my usual handsewing routine. But half an hour out of taking ibuprofen, my shoulder aches. Usually it only hurts once I've been sewing for an hour or more. Something's amiss, maybe a pinched nerve or.... Whatever is askew, a handsewing sabbatical is most likely in the cards. And, deep breath taken, that will be OKAY. I've done it before, the first time I had shingles in 2019. I didn't do any EPP for a month due to nerve pain and I survived FINE. I'll just read in the evenings. Or write blog posts, HAHAHAH! Or pray for peace, that would be a good thing.

Gratuitous shot of former houseplants that now live near the laundry line. The spider had truly DIED, but has returned with gusto, while the philodendron is struggling to reassert itself. I see more spider plants in my future, what with so many runners!

But I won't sew with my hands. Not even left-handed sewing because I found yesterday when I tried that I became frustrated and switched back to my right hand. I will make lots of machine-pieced quilt tops. And maybe write a book. Insert winking emoji HERE.