Saturday evening on my heart

The lighting was different due to the wind blowing the quilt top/back how a fabric project was wont, why I'm putting three versions of this photo within this post. And a cute chicken pic at the end from about five minutes ago, my husband snapping it while closing the coop for the night.

Much to note about those trail-happy chickens, but before I write about the hens, I want to share a quilt top/back finish.

I wrapped up this medallion project a few days ago, snapped the photos, then found myself hip-deep in writing and sorting photos of the chickens trailing around with my better half. I finished a chapter this morning, prepped lunch, then that better half learned how to make pad gra praw. After lunch, I read over what I'd written, cleaned the coop, then spent the rest of the afternoon folding and hanging up three loads of laundry begun hours earlier. Stacks of shirts, etc, still adorn the back of the couch, while one little sewing project awaits its moment in the proverbial sun.

I so ENJOYED making this....  Top or back, who knows where it will land? And truthfully, I may never know, assuming it ends up being gifted. It might strike a chord with the eventual owner, but what I'm recalling while sewing it together was the thrill of dabbling in scraps long and short, not needing the design wall, which still hosts another quilt WIP. Once it became large, laying it on my bed and auditioning fabrics was the easiest way to choose the next strip. I had some binding WOF cuts that worked perfectly, as well as dipping into some widebacks. What was left of those pieces joined the scrap pile for the next time I make one of these.

A big part of the joy was trying something new that didn't require advanced planning. This was a spur of the moment gig, and I didn't use a lot of busy prints, wanting to keep it simple and allowing the few busy fabrics to pop. I had some Speckled fat quarters and cut them into strips, sewing them together, then applying that strip as one whole length.

I've considered making smaller medallion blocks, then sewing those into a larger project. I have many small scraps available, we'll see what's in my quilting future. Probably not as much machine sewing as I would like; I did some last night and my poor ears were BUZZING hard afterwards. Today is day three of no caffeine, which doesn't seem to make that big of a different in my tinnitus. Which is maybe good news, that I can imbibe in some delicious CAFFEINATED tea sooner than later. However, what's best for dealing with tinnitus remains to be discovered.

Such a cheery quilt-to-be! And maybe I did use a good amount of busy prints, lol.

Because I really don't want to curtail sewing with a machine any further than I already have, especially since hand-sewing remains on minutes restriction. I loaded four needles to start tonight's hand-quilting, then once they were used, I threaded a couple more. And that's about all I can do of that each evening.

So then I write a post about what I've accomplished, lol. Easier to write a blog entry at night than steal fiction writing time in the morning.

Welsummer and Camilla on the wall; goodnight chickies! Photo courtesy of my husband.

Maybe that's how I'll recall this quilt top/back, built while writing a novel about miracles. A joyous surprise of a sewing project, kind of miraculous itself.