And then this showed up...

Man, I get derailed easily!

These Christmasy batiks were on sale at Hancock's of Paducah, and I have at least three table runner gifts to make this year. I hate to be thinking about Christmas halfway through September, but the reality is I'll be down to the wire, even planning months ahead.

I ordered the snowflake panel thinking it was smaller scale, so I was a little surprised when it arrived -- pleasantly, though -- and those snowflakes were 7" square.  It's a bit more olive than the website pic, but man, is it ever gorgeous! It'll make both a great backing and individual squares.

Seems I've created another project for myself. What else is new?

True to form...

My next project pull is done and ready before I've finished quilting the last.

Doing my best to exercise some self-control and finish the green flannel quilt before cutting into that stack, but it's not easy with all that luscious linen and those pink and purple prints taunting me. And with sticky temps in the high 80's today, maneuvering that heavy flannel sandwich isn't exactly pleasant.

I'm using the new project as incentive to forge ahead with the old -- sometimes that works, sometimes not.

Hope everyone's having a productive Labor Day!

Well, I'm back...

Six+ weeks spent sleeping in my childhood bed on a mattress that's been there since Richard Nixon was in office doesn't do wonders for one's back. Neither does weeding five hours a day, or ironing or washing windows or raking bark (sycamores:  the messiest trees ever!). But it's all been done, and I came back to Chicago with a little peace of mind that the house, at least, was in decent shape.  My parents? That's another story.

Mom's neck healed beautifully, which, at her age (93), surprised everyone. Her refusal to use a walker or wear her neck brace in the car, however, is a great source of worry, given my father (90) is the one ferrying her around, and she has balance issues. His health isn't ideal, either -- the result of some major back issues and dehydration (at what point does the dislike of running to the bathroom more frequently outweigh the sensible intake of fluids? This baffles me.) Anyway, it's the age-old conundrum:  they really shouldn't be living independently, but nobody can talk them into moving until something major happens. So until the other shoe drops, my siblings and I will take turns checking up on them.

I did manage to get pics of my little Urban Indigo lap quilt while I was there:

It washed up beautifully, and I was pretty happy with the way it turned out, except for the two sides quilted more densely. While they look good on the front, I used neutral thread on the back and it's a little too noticeable...which is why the top and bottom are different. It was too dense to rip it out (and on flannel), so I had to commit to at least two sides for symmetry's sake.

Lesson learned, and another quilt finished. 

It's strange to be back in the city. I'd gotten used to the suburbs (though the Japanese beetles ravaging the roses were driving me crazy, I was killing hundreds of them a day), Michigan prices (a dollar goes a lot further there than in Chicago), eating dinner at 4:30 and the convenience of handicap parking everywhere we went.

While I am very happy to be sleeping soundly in my own big bed (Archie too!), even after a few days back it still feels like my shoes are on the wrong feet. It's going to take some time, I think, to find my groove again.

Not exactly how I planned to spend my summer...

Father's Day weekend, my 93-year old mother tripped, fell, and broke two bones in her neck. She's doing well (remarkably, no pain, and she's up and walking and in physical and occupational therapy twice a day at the rehab center), but my father, absolutely lost without his wife of 68 years, turned out to be the one who needed the most tending.

So home I went to cook, clean, do laundry, garden, grocery shop and make daily visits to Mom (which, after a couple days, tended to coincide with the afternoon ice cream social). I pined for my sewing machine, wishing I'd brought it with me but acknowledging that there wouldn't be much sewing going on, anyway. I was trying to do actual work after he went to bed every night, but a project needed special attention, so I returned to Chicago for four days, leaving Dad with plenty of hot dogs (the only thing he can cook in the microwave), yogurt and my sister's gift certificate to the local diner.

The first thing I did when I got home was sit down and start quilting.

Excuse the horrendous amount of lint! That Kona Nightfall shows everything!

I could feel the tension leave my body as that walking foot chugged along. I believe I also kissed the machine once or twice. And look how well I lined up the backing!  There's a first time for everything.

I didn't finish it, but made enough progress that I'm not going to be antsy when I return to my parents' today. Mom's coming home tomorrow, so it's back to caretaking.

I'm going to miss that ice cream.

Untitled...

Not sure what to call this one just yet. I think it's going to have to wait until it's quilted. It's very "City Quilts"-ish, which is probably my subconscious inspiration.

It may be picking up some reflection from the kitchen wall (can you tell I love yellow?) because despite what my camera tells me, these are all shades of blues and greens, no yellows or purples, at least thirty different scraps. That one dark teal in the middle is bugging me a little bit, but not enough to go pull it out. It's a cross-weave and may be photographing more on the black side; there's better contrast up close.

Still loving Kona Nightfall, and I see many possibilities for it in my future. I should have ordered more!

In love...

I think yellow and blue is my all-time favorite color combination, and I am absolutely in love with this little quilt.

At 40" square, it's a good little lap or baby size. I'm not sure if it's the off-centeredness of it or what -- I made this quilt out of many of the same fabrics three years ago and wasn't half as enthralled -- but there's just something about it that's making me want one for my bed. Note the wall color -- wouldn't it be great?

I used a rose print for the backing that I originally bought to use for the bedroom curtains. The striped binding, a much less bold choice than what I had planned, is perfect.

And of course, what's a photo shoot without the cat? I swear, he can hear the shutter click from the other end of the condo and comes running.

This one is definitely going on my wish list.

And on Day Seven...

...I rested. Six WIP's is enough.

And since I was already on my way to sorting through the blues, greens and aquas in the scrap box, I decided to go all out and get better organized -- with a little help from Archie, of course.

For much of the day, it looked like a rainbow exploded in my kitchen.

Many of those scraps were gifted from Jacquie as she was packing up to leave me Chicago last spring (can you tell from all the orange?)  I had sorted through them a while ago, but not by prints/solids and not by specific shade, which would have been more helpful in pulling colors for Saturday's project.

 He lost steam fairly early on.

As I organized the scraps a second time this weekend, I found some Bruno hairs and got all nostalgic.  Jacquie wasn't here for very long, but we developed a friendship -- first through blogging, then explorations of  Chicago, lots of lunches, and quilting -- that (I hope) will last a long time. I'd never had a close friend before who understood or shared my love of quilting and fabric. She didn't raise an eyebrow at the stash overwhelming the corner of my kitchen or question my rationale for the bolts in the back closet (freedom to experiment!).  I had a boyfriend once who said "I don't understand it, but I respect it," which is the closest I've gotten to acceptance of my hobby among my circle of friends. I feel honored to have been witness to the growth and demonstration of Jacquie's talent (our first sew day together saw the beginnings of this quilt), benefitted from her experience, and been a recipient of her generosity. I miss being able to swap fabric in an emergency, or just coordinate a play day for a run to Vogue Fabrics or PetSmart. We still keep in touch pretty regularly as she jets around the country teaching, but you gotta admit, having a quilty friend within walking distance is pretty darn special.