Another reading day

 

Today was uncomfortably hot and humid with absolutely no breeze until late afternoon. 

Dave and I spent the morning getting my sewing machine tuned up. With lots of road construction going on, it took us over an hour to get to the quilt shop. Luckily, they were able to service my machine while we waited. It turns out that the piece I broke was unnecessary. It was some sort of brake to keep the bobbin from spinning when I stop stitching. The man who was working on the machines told me that I would never sew fast enough to make that brake spring necessary, so I didn't need to buy a new part!

I did put my sewing area back together after lunch, but I had no ambition to do any crafting. Instead, I sat and read the rest of How to Solve Your Own Murder by Kristen Perrin. I thoroughly enjoyed this murder mystery, and I'm ready to start her next book.

My sister is coming down to visit tomorrow. It's supposed to be another hot and humid day, so I'm pretty sure we will simply enjoy each other's company!

Ornamental

 

This is the pattern I messed up the other day. It looks so much better in tatting thread! The pattern is "Ornamental" from Four Dozen Tatted Bookmarks by Robin Perfetti. The thread is size 20 Hakelgarn, hand-dyed "Harvest Moon" from LadyShuttleMaker.

I have the next set of blocks ready for joining. While sewing the binding on the last block, I managed to break a piece on my sewing machine. I called my not-so-local quilt shop (it's about an hour away) to find out when I could get it serviced. Dave and I will be taking my machine in tomorrow morning. I'm hoping they can replace the broken piece and tune my machine while we wait.

Since I only had one block to finish, I pulled out a back-up machine that I had planned to give grandson Nick. He asked me several months ago if I would teach him to sew. Naturally, I said yes. I immediately started searching for a machine for him. I found a used Bernina that fit the bill. Luckily, it came with a walking foot. So, I finished binding the last block this morning. The bonus is that I'm confident that I'm giving Nick a machine that runs smoothly and will hold up for years to come!

Another strip

 

Another strip of Joanne's patriotic quilt is finished. I thought I might get started on binding the blocks for the next strip today, but it didn't happen.

I almost finished a bookmark today, but I wound up throwing it out. I was working with perle cotton, which I really don't like for tatting. From the first ring, I knew I wouldn't be happy with the results. Near the end of the bookmark, I made a mistake. I thought I knew what I had done wrong, so I carefully untatted and "fixed" my mistake. However, it was still wrong. I saw that I had made a mistake four rings back. I started to untat again, and the perle cotton just shredded. Yes, I could have cut out the mistake and added new thread, but I disliked the look so much, I just threw the whole thing away.

Tomorrow, I will start the pattern again with thread I like!

Curds & Whey

 

Have you noticed that I've been finishing off each skein of hand-dyed thread with Mary Konior's Curds & Whey? That's because this is a simple one shuttle pattern that looks good no matter where I end it. I've even been saving small pattern repeats to use as embellishments. Where or when I use them has not been determined!

I wasn't really in the mood to sew yesterday. Another book has caught my interest, and I wanted to be lazy and have another reading day. However, I also have a strong desire to see how this quilt is going to turn out. So, I spent the better part of the afternoon binding the next set of blocks.

I've watched videos on yet another way of attaching the binding, but the finished look is different, so I won't be experimenting with this quilt. I do have an idea for my next quilt!

Reading day

 

Yesterday was a reading day, and I made the most of it! 

When we went book shopping the other day, I purchased The Violin Maker's Secret by Evie Woods. We all started reading our books when we returned home, and this one held my interest so well that I finished it yesterday.

I also did some mundane things like laundry, cooking, and baking. But... I had a day filled with reading!

Crescent

 

Today's project was "Crescent" from Four Dozen Tatted Bookmarks by Robin Perfetti. 

Joanne and family decided to stay an extra day, so we had fun shopping, grilling, and playing America-Opoly. Joanne won her first ever Monopoly game!

Too busy

I was too busy enjoying time with family on the 4th to post about my crafting activities. I was able to accomplish quite a bit while visiting.

I finished "Lattice" for Four Dozen Tatted Bookmarks by Robin Perfetti yesterday morning.

"Lattice Variation" was finished this morning. Both are in size 20 Hakelgarn, hand-dyed "Shades of Gray" from LadyShuttleMaker.

I also finished the third strip of Joanne's patriotic quilt. I will not finish the quilt before they leave tomorrow morning, so I'm working at an easier pace. 

We plan to take the kids book shopping this afternoon, so crafting is probably done for the day. However, we are going book shopping!