Sewing and sewing some more. This week has been all about finishing, I did have one new start too. I wish I could finish the Light house, because the Floating house is here and I have the floss all ready to start. Looking back at my progress this week, I did make a lot of X’s, I can see the progress. I started this house on 7/27, almost 4 weeks, but I did take a few days off. There are only so many hours in the day.

The second Pumpkin Patches is a top. I didn’t add the row of 2 ½” squares to the top and bottom, but I might do that later today. I would like to use up as much of the kit fabric as possible – no more scraps.

I started the next kit I bought, The Forest den, cute fabric prints, even if it has squirrels. Got the panel blocks cut and 436 triangles to sew together into HSTs. I have been fighting with the squirrels all summer. They are winning. I have a few planters on my elevated deck with dahlia tubers in them. I plant them every spring, and nurture them with fertilizer and watering for the beautiful flowers. They are on the deck to keep them from the gophers and deer. The squirrels have discovered them and eat the stems and flowers. I have tried sprays that smell terrible, leaving the dogs out there, and besides wrapping them in netting, they are hungry squirrels. Acorn season has begun here in the oak forest, so maybe they’ll start eating them instead.

The purple pineapple quilt is getting done row by row. The motifs I am using stitch out fairly quickly. Although the one for the actual pineapple block has a lot of back tracking. I should have looked at it before stitching that first one, as I think it is a bit too dense for the design when using 40 weight thread. I have been cutting small designs in half to fill in some of the open spaces between the squares to create a cohesive look.

Knitting is at a pause, I have reached the last row of the back, but need to pay attention to the shoulder shaping and back neck. It needs my full attention, as counting is involved, so I need to set aside some quality time to finish this part. Then I’ll start the front pieces, I got some buttons for it the other day. I had some cute ones in my stash, but they were either too small or the wrong color. Hmm, looking at the back has me wondering if the front pieces continue the design. Those half ducks and boats must line up, I think. Yet another reason to knit in the round.

The backing fabric I bought for the two El Camino quilts came in. I had the foresight to prewash it. The first wash proved that I needed a second wash. I did add synthrapol to the second and third washes, the color catchers were still bright as day, and the red was easily blotted up with a paper towel from the damp fabric. The fourth wash earned me “suds lock up” and I was scooping the suds out into the utility sink. The fifth time through the machine was a rinse, and the catchers were vibrant red again. I am not going to use this fabric for backing, it was on sale, so not a really big loss, maybe I’ll make a whole cloth with it. Use it front and back, with a Karley Porter design on it. The other fabric I ordered matches well enough with the “bessie” top, I put that together in the TBQ pile.

Be Kind.