Blackbirds and bungled blocks on a Slow Sunday...

 Hello - well I'm still hanging in there... did more physical therapy this week... my gait and walking speed are pretty much back to normal... however I still need to work on getting my knee to bend more... it would help if the swelling went down in my knee... I'm icing and elevating and icing and elevating... 

The pace of life picked back up... on Monday I worked out with Anna and had a marvelous lunch with a friend... we talked for hours... Tuesday I did rehab... Wednesday I was a slug... I've caught a cold and while the sore throat and stuffy nose are gone, the cough however will not leave.. and I cough and cough and cough and cough... and you get the picture. Thursday had a lot of running around...went out to our favorite breakfast place, got Nick a beard trim, hit the grocery store, went  to rehab, got my hair cut and colored and went out to dinner... I was pooped... Friday started out quietly but then things fell apart... needed to go change a glucose monitor for a certain family member and while it should have taken 5 minutes it turned into an hour ordeal as we couldn't get his phone and the app and the glucose monitor to talk to each other ... grrrr... there are days I hate technology... finally got it straighten out and then my attempt at sewing some simple blocks together got totally bungled... arrghh... it is now Saturday after noon and things seemed to have settled down. 

It rained last week... it rained A LOT... strong winds on Tuesday uprooted a bunch of 100 year old trees... so sad... lots of people were without power. Luckily we were fine... I live in a neighborhood with a good amount of old trees and overhead utility lines... but we were spared. Lots of my plants got beat down but it is that time of year when I'm to the point that whether a plant lives or dies it is up to them. No special measures will be taken... honestly, I'm more than ready for Fall... 

As for crafty stuff, well there was some productivity... 

I finished stitching Priscilla... don't she Miles make a cute couple?

And while I was thinking about what to stitch next, I read about a Blackbird Academy SAL on Facebook... there is a prompt for each month August through May for a particular motif... August is an alphabet. 

Here's the syllabus for the SAL...

Now I joined the group and  I probably won't do all the months but this did give me a kick in the pants to get out a BBD project that has been in my stash since 2017... I should hang my head in shame... but I won't...LOL... now I do love this project ... but it is BIG  BIG  BIG ... 285 x 285... on 36 ct this is almost 18" square... I love the linen I painted for this... here's where I began...

There will be 9 separate charts... here's how they will look whenever I finish this... 

however mine isn't going to have that vertical column of flowers... I thought I wanted it, but I don't have room for it... and the more I look at it the more I'm fine without it... yes that was a GIANT cope... but it is okay. 

So here's where I am today... 

Close up ...

So according to my  rationale this fulfills the requirement of an alphabet and if I get the bottom half done that would fulfill the requirement of September for birds!! This square makes me laugh because look at the scale of those birds next to the cat... the are HUMONGOUS... mutant birds... I love that the scale of motifs on BBD charts is all over the place... anything goes... 

I'm looking ahead to October... the prompt is a pumpkin... I've done a couple of BBD pieces that have pumpkins already... gotta search my stash for  a new one. 

Oh and have you seen some of the new releases for the Needlework Market... I have my eye on two samplers from Snowflower Diaries and Kathy Barrick is re-releasing some of her stockings but with a chart to do it just as a vertical sampler... I like that idea a lot...I don't need anymore charts ... but I do love having them in my stash... and I think collecting charts is a separate hobby from stitching them... hey some people collect spoons or Hummel figurines or Beanie Babies ...so I'm fine collecting cross stitch charts!

As for sewing... well there's where the serious bungling come in... I've had this quilt top up on my design wall for weeks... all the blocks were done... all it needed was to be sewn together... long columns... minimal places to match... easy peasy... knock it out in no time... NOT THE CASE...

First column went together just fine, second one too... but when I went to sew the first to the second I found that one block ... right in the middle of the first column was wrong... it was too big... I miscut the strips... but since it was too big I could fix it... and I did.. but then there was a too big block in the second column, and then I got to the third column and AGAIN... another too big block... I fixed it... and then the fourth column... and as you've already guessed another block that was too big... the first 3 bungled blocks were an inch too big, the 4th block was only a half inch too big... and it should have been an easy fix... until I cut off an inch on the last strip instead of a half an inch.... arrgghhh... I had put away all the extra fabrics for this project, so I hauled down the bin and searched through it... I was hoping to find enough to do just one more strip... not happening...  took a much needed break...came upstairs to ice and elevate and breath... 

Returned to the scene of the bungled block and made a new one... wised up and started checking the blocks BEFORE I sewed them into columns... there was a bungled blocked in columns 5, 7 and 8... only in one measly column, column 6 were all the blocks correct... sheesh...

But I persevered and it is DONE!!!

I'm calling this Fall Zig Zag... I used the Vanessa Goertzen (of Lella Boutique) book called Jelly Filled...the pattern is called Marbled Cheesecake... don't ask why...  I don't know why, but all the quilts had dessert names...the background is Moda Grunge in the colorway Curry... the fabrics ...each block is different ... are all from Sandy Gervais collections...some are old from Moda and some are more recent from Riley Blake... but they all play together nicely. Sandy Gervais is my favorite designer for Fall fabrics... I've made over 10 quilts using her Fall fabrics... and I'm sure I will make more... at least I hope I will. As I was making this one I sometimes looked  at a fabric and I LOVED it but I wasn't sure I wanted to use it ...because it was an older print and there isn't any more of it...but then I remembered that I'm not getting any younger and if I don't use it NOW it might never get used... so I'm gonna use the pretty fabrics! There really isn't a good reason to save stuff for the future when the future is here...

So I wanted to get this finished so I can take it up to Delinda on Monday... she has 4 quilts for me to pick up... a lap-sized Debbie Mumm, two panels... one Halloween, one Thanksgiving... and a bed sized quilt... I see lots of binding in my future... 

Next week is busy busy busy... Monday, work out with Anna, do lunch with a friend and then go up to see Delinda... Tuesday I'm spending with Elliott, it is his last day of summer vacation, they go back to school on Wednesday... I'm sad... I really liked the time we spent together this summer... Wednesday I'm doing lunch with my quilty lady friends and Thursday I have rehab... nothing is scheduled for Friday but I have a feeling something will come up. 

I've made my decision on the roof... just have to get with the sales rep and give him a deposit... probably will be 3 to 4 weeks before they get to the job. 

Need to get groceries on Sunday for a certain family member and then Nick has made meat sauce to go over penne for dinner... one of my favorite meals... I want to rest up the afternoon for the rest of the week... I think I'm gonna need it.

I'll link up with Kathy's Quilts and check out what's going on ... hope your week ahead turns out just the way you like it!

happy stitching-

carol fun