Sweltering and knitting

We are having the hottest days of the summer, and our window sills are being repaired and painted.  I feel very sorry for the guy doing it.  My sewing room air conditioner had to come out of the window for a few days, so I feel sorry for myself, too.  

No sewing for me, so I started knitting a pair of socks because I didn't want to move much.  I'm trying a new method, using two short sets of round needles.  I got the pattern out of a Debbie Macomber book called A Good Yarn.  Don't know how a near-beginner could actually take this on as it involves using fingering yarn and size 1 needles.  Well, I may finish in time for next winter, but I do love the yarn from Knit Picks. 

I have been putting together the blocks I have been working on all year through the Rainbow Scrap Challenge.  I had made so many (80?) that my project box wouldn't close anymore and  I realized the 9" blocks would make a pretty good-sized quilt, even without my least favorite colors - brown, gray, black.  I have four panels to put together - maybe - whenever the AC returns to the window of the sewing room.  My dilemma is whether I should attempt to quilt it in sections or sew all the sections together for longarming.  While I make up my mind, I am putting some borders together.

Cooler weather is in the forecast for tomorrow night - let's hope so!  Meanwhile, tomorrow we are heading to the Clark Institute of Art in Williamstown, Mass., to see a special Van Gogh exhibit.  Should be fun!

Photos - finally!

I finished making my six Rainbow Scrap Challenge blocks today and took a picture.  The color of the month was lime green, and my box of blocks is quite full.  The next few months the colors are brown, gray, and black which aren't my favorite colors.  I'm going to lay them out one day next week and see if they are ready to put together or if I really should make some in those dull colors to round it out.  The original quilt used 6" blocks and mine are 9", so I may just go with these.  Next decision:  what color to use for sashing - gray, white, cream, something bright?

Thursday I finished the "Atlantic Crossing" top.  It measures about 40" x 40" so I plan to hand quilt it this winter.  It really wasn't difficult, but finding the fabric to finish was.  I had some lovely, soft P & B textiles maroon paisley on cream that is, of course, out of print.  After I gave up looking for it, I bought some cream on cream paisley by the same company which went fairly well.  At any rate, I'm pleased with the way it turned out.  The pattern is actually called "Atlantic Flyway" by Deb Tucker, but I kept calling it the other name, so that's what's sticking.

This weekend I also made a row for a row robin I'm doing with an online group.  I even sewed some embellishments on it, but on the outside chance the owner is reading this, I didn't take a photo.  It's ready to mail to the next person, but I'll hold off a bit since I just mailed her my starter row.  It does feel really good to finish a few things once in a while!

Jumping into another UFO

My list of unfinished projects (UFOs) is relatively long.  I keep it on my phone and update as needed, but to make myself feel better, I also keep a list of finishes.  And, indeed, I have finished quite a few things this year already.  I only have one top waiting to be quilting, and I don't like it.  One of these days I'll think of a way to enhance it with quilting so I will want to finish.

Meanwhile, I joined in another row by row swap with an online group, and here's my first row.  It's not the best photo - I took it with my phone because Paul is out at a cemetery taking a photo for a power point presentation he's doing.  I used purple fabrics that I bought last year.  I buy things because I like them, and then when I get home, I'm not quite sure what I'll make.  But eventually something comes to mind.

This package will be on its way to Janet early this week.  She'll make a row and then mail it on to the next person.  When the package returns, six other people will have made rows that I will put together.  It may be a rectangular quilt, or, like a couple of others, it may surround a medallion.  We'll see!

Next on my agenda is a return to "Atlantic Crossing," which I started in a class with Deb Tucker at the Vermont Quilt Festival in June.  I was waiting for some fabric to go with the background I had used on the borders and center.  Now I have a whole bunch of flying geese to put together.  I want to hand quilt it since it's wallhanging size.  Maybe  I'll work on it in Alabama this winter.