Stopped for the day...

by this...

and it caused me to stop because I put the stitch that broke the needle through my index finger...so I've pretty much gotten out of the mood to continue sewing today...fortunately, it was a clean stitch so I'm sure I'll be back at it in a few days...

anyhoo - yesterday I put quilted squares together for the center of another quilt (you saw the pieced squares in an earlier post) - I used the same quilted-square method I showed you in the post on 8/22 and I think it went together much better...

...the piece needs to be bigger than it is (it's only about 26"x33")...so today I was contemplating side and end panels using basic black and yellow stitching, so that's what I started working on before I was "stopped"...I think I'll contemplate  something different to make it bigger...

Conversational Tidbits...

I don't want to forget...

"If you choose the right project and work really hard, you could end up with something wonderful. 
If you choose the wrong project, it doesn't matter how hard you work:  it will still turn out badly." 

Dr. Deisenhofer, Nobel Prize in Chemistry

"Really?  That's what she chose to wear to lab today?" 

Girl about girl in the hall

(in reference to glittery shoes similar to this,

 I think,  because the only other visible

item of clothing was a lab coat...)

"I just found out my dissertation has to be completely written before I defend so it can be given to my committee; I thought it was due two weeks after!  I think I'm freaking out now."

...He defends in 11 days. 

He's been here 5 years. 

Be proud of me.

I did not smack him in the back of the head.

Finished something - at last...

I went with the blue sashing after all, and it came out pretty nicely - learned a lot as well; will be trying this technique again...

Ever have one of those weeks?

Embroidery at the Mariner's

I spent the entire weekend sitting in front of the computer going through the images we took in Virginia - one of my favorites is of this embroidery at the Mariner's Museum - combining embroidery, goldwork, photography and painting...at about 3'x4', it's a beautiful piece of art...

Small accomplishments

Have I ever mentioned how MUCH I hate August?  It's always been my least favorite month....when I was kid, it was because school was still forever away...August now represents the absolute inability to exist outdoors (for me, anyway)...I go from my air-conditioned house, to my air-conditioned car, to my air-conditioned work.  I just don't like supreme heat.  And it's really hard to work in the studio; since it is the reclaimed attic, it is also the hottest space in the house.  To even stay in the room, my poor little window unit has to be on for at least an hour and it has to be blowing directly on me - mostly because it's a small unit and it doesn't cool the entire space.

But I did managed to finish my one-color 1 foot x 1 foot challenge (you saw a small part earlier) - I can't quite decide about the binding, but that can wait....I went for all blues; and since the weather is affecting me so much, I call it Blue Seasons...

I also tried a new technique for a quilt:  a quilt-as-you-go technique as described in "Crazy Shortcut Quilts" by Marguerita McManus and Sarah Raffuse.  These blocks are already quilted, so all that's left is adding the sashing and the binding - it should end up about 36" square; a nice size for a baby blanket.  This photo is the one I took while auditioning the blue fabric for the sashing.

It's a cool technique - I'm pretty sure I'll try it again.  In the meantime, I'm going to go downstairs and cool off....