The Sheep Gets School During Her Summer Vacation.

Today was a "stay in and be all Cathy Crafty" kind of day. It was also a day filled with teaching moments. Here is what I have learned:

1. When they say, "don't use hand-quilting thread in your sewing machine" they are not kidding. This is not a suggestion. It is a hard and fast sort of rule.

2. There is really no such thing as "free motion quilting." I don't care what anyone says. There is no way on God's green earth that anyone can sustain that level of movement. Feed dogs should remain in the full and upright position at all times. Don't be tricked into thinking that you can rampantly move the sample quilt you are practicing on without them. Urban quilting myths can be seductive but should be ignored at all costs.

3. I am not a hand-quilter. The amount of bloodshed elicited by repeated pin pricks should be enough of an indicator. However, if more proof is required, take a gander at your stitches...it's not pretty. For that matter, let's just not try that hand-piecing thing again either. No good will come of it.

4. Try to hearken back a day or two when taking out the sewing machine. If the last thing you did was a zig-zag stitch it is highly likely that you never reset the little dial thingies for a straight stitch.

5. Punching the sewing machine is not an effective means of coaxing it into doing a straight stitch. Try adjusting the little dial thingies.

Isn't it nice that The Sheep is capable of traversing the learning curve at her advanced age? And I am so very willing to share my knowledge with all and sundry. I'm a giver. This might be more of a gesture were these things not so patently obvious to anyone else or tips readily available to anyone who bothers to take the time to read up on a subject before flinging themselves headlong into a craft. But I like to cover the bases in the event that there are others out there with my general temperament and impatience.

I completed several nine patches today despite some technical difficulties with the sewing machine:

That's a whole lotta blue goin' on there!!!

This does not represent the final layout of the blocks. (real quilters are breathing a sigh of relief on that one) I just did these randomly to see what the fabrics looked like together. I'll come up with something that more closely resembles a pattern before final assembly, I swear!

In other news, I noted that the plum silk had been sitting on the wheel for quite some time now, untouched, unloved un...something or other. At any rate, while I do still love it, this struck me as an indicator that perhaps it was time to switch out for something different. I'm currently spinning up a bobbin full of the Finn that I purchased earlier this month from Sheila. Inspiration has returned! It is lovely and soft and the color is just so bright and happy! I may actually get one skein of yarn turned out before the summer vacation is just a pleasant memory.

Lastly, the front of the Boogie vest is off the needles and the back is slowly creeping towards the finish line. Yup...this one is what you'd call a "quick knit."

All in all, not a bad day's work. Nothing that I can call finished, but a good start and only minimal injuries incurred. And it was really hot today...the ice I needed to put on my hand after punching the sewing machine was just so cooling and delightful.

I believe we call that "multi-tasking."

SA