Quilt-wrestling and Other Things...

As some folks say, "It's been a hot minute".  April's been a month of mixed blessings, so I've not often felt willing or able to post.

The first part of the month was delightful!  I met up with my kids in Edmonton and we enjoyed dinner together at my daughter's home and then went to the Edmonton Symphony to see the orchestra with guests -- the Jim Witter Band -- who were performing the tunes of Simon and Garfunkel -- and a few others. Amazing! Wonderful! THREE (count 'em) -- THREE encores.  It was total bliss.

After that...I moved on to putting up my booth at the local Art Show & Sale -- in Lacombe, Alberta, held this year on April 11 and 12.  It was a well-attended show, but from my experience and that of others..well... the economic situation meant there was a great deal of appreciation but not much in the way of significant sales. 

I'm thankful I sold enough to cover the booth fees and a bit more...and that I got a chance to share my new work.  I sold a couple of small hooked pieces, and that was good -- plus an older 'matted mini' piece and one of the very last Scotland pieces, created in 2018.

There was also a lot of attention paid to the work from my Art in the Park (Parks Canada and the Revelstoke Visual Arts Centre) that had been travelling in B.C. in 2023-2024.  My 'history' piece was particularly intriguing to folks, though not generally the type of piece one would hang in one's living room!

Entitled "Rails & Ruins", it was inspired by the ruins of what I believe was the first CP Rail hotel in the Canadian Rockies, by the paths where the railroad ran, the remaining old stone trestles -- and the music of Gordon Lightfoot -- specifically his Canadian Railroad Trilogy.

All that said, the show took a toll on my body.

I've been dealing with shoulder strain since January (though it is getting better) and after the show, and all the lifting-and-toting I also found myself with lower back pain that doesn't want to completely go away (though it too is getting there.)  And then there seems to be creeping in some repetitive stress that cuts short my knitting time.  I can still knit, especially with finer yarn, but my hands feel it if I try to do so for too long.

Sigh.

I'm seeing my doc on Tuesday (Apr 29) so will see what I thinks I need to do.  Meanwhile, heat packs, cold packs, linament, a glove for my right hand, and the occasional analgesic-with-muscle relaxant seem to fill the bill.

I have to pace myself, so have been doing so with yard work, as well as with other things.

Since I last posted, though, I've managed to cast on and finish the first of a pair of 6-ply socks, and start its partner:

Pattern: Wide Rib DK Weight Socks
Designer: Erica Saint
Yarn: main colour: ONline Supersocke
Arizona Color - Colour-way #1967
Contrast: elann Peruvian Pure Alpaca

I'm also working on a new sweater -- the Bustleton Tee -- which I'm making in an assortment of fingering yarns from stash.  I'm not striping it as indicated in the pattern; rather, I'm knitting "stripes" however I want, based on the yarn available.  It's an easy knit (now that I'm past the short rows at the back of the neck) so if it plays well with my hands, I'll have a lovely little top at the end of it, and I'll have used up stash!

And yes, I've been quilt wrestling.  A couple (or three) years ago, my daughter asked me to make a quilt for close friends of hers who'll be celebrating 20 years of marriage in September this year.  We found a pattern, we (she) bought the fabric...and it sat for a bit.  I've been working on it here and there for a while.

Last fall I finished the blocks -- 4 in one combination and 5 in another.  Yes; it was intended to be a 9-block quilt, plus borders, to fit a queen-sized bed.  BUT while the friends who were to receive the quilt had been pondering a KING-sized bed for some time so (please Mum) could you make it King-sized?  That took it from 9 blocks (22" each -- finished in the quilt) to 16.  

Yes, "Please, Mum" could do that.  And the fabric vendor accommodated the request for extra fabric.

So... as of this afternoon, all 16 blocks are together, with sashing and the first (inner) borders: 

Ta-DA!

Like I said -- it's HUGE -- and there are 2 more borders to go! One narrow one at 1" finished, and the outermost, wider (7" finished).  Adding each border involves wrestling the top under my domestic machine.  I'm glad I have a piece that I can add to the sewing table to hold some of the weight.  And yes; I'm back-stitching the tops and bottoms of the seams as well as in between if needed.  The weight is something else!

Meanwhile, today I pick up the "Old Town" (Bonnie Hunter's 2024 Mystery design) quilt I pieced, from Quilting from the Heart in Camrose, where I took it for long-arm quilting.  I've shopped there often but this is the first time I've used their quilting service.  The price was right and the service was friendly and prompt, so I'll be "wrestling" with it soon, trimming and binding it in time for my son's early June birthday.

Given the care I have to take of my body, yard work is being done very gradually this year.  I'm fortunate that windy and sometimes rainy weather (more rain, please! We have a drought!) have kept my from being tempted to over-do it.  It's rather hard to rake leaves and pick up broken branches (willow) in that weather.

Thus the piecing of that quilt top, and a bit of knitting, and quite a bit of cross-stitch.  

These days, I want to stitch EVERYTHING!

Since my last post, I've made progress on the Flanders Field Biscornu from Heartstring Samplery.  As you can see below, the top is finished (left side of photo) and I'm moving right along on the 'flip side' (on the right):

Again, I'm using 36-count "Grey" from Weeks Dye Works and the called-for WDW flosses, one strand of floss over two fabric threads.

I also did up the pretty April bouquet that Thea Dueck (The Victoria Sampler) created for her 2025 'Block of the Month'.  This month? Sweet peas!

I'm doing this on a single piece of fabric -- 28-count pearl grey, 2 over 2 with stash threads, three across, so here's what it looks like so far:

January through April

And I've made more progress on my "Sunday Stitch" -- "Hope" from Jacob at Modern Folk Embroidery:

We could all use some extra hope these days, right?  

And some humour!  Given that the US President has imposed tariffs on the penguins living on the Heard and MacDonald Islands, there have been a variety of memes being posted poking fun at the absurdity of it.  These brought to my mind another of Jacob's designs -- "Ruskin's Penguins".  I couldn't resist!  I dug out some 40-count fabric (Roxy Floss Co) and thread (also Roxy Floss Co) from my stash and bought the pattern!

To date, I've made just a tiny start.  That border is really something!

So those are the four pieces I've been focusing on this past month.  As May approaches, others are calling to me -- "'S' is for Stitcher" (The Victoria Sampler), "Ann Perrin 1841" (Jeannette Douglas Designs), "My Day Complete" (Black Bird Designs)...and more.  Thea will have a May bouquet out, and Sheri of A Quilting Life will have one too (see my April block at right)...

And then there's rug-hooking, which I want to return to, as my Cheticamp frame arrived earlier this month.  It's set up, and I've cut a piece of burlap for it, but that's as far as I've gone.  I've got one of Deanne's courses waiting for me, so perhaps that will bring back my motivation to go forward!.

I'm very much about stitching as the mood strikes me, so time will tell which ones I work on between now and my next post.

And so, Gentle Readers, I'll leave you with a wish that you be safe, creative, and able to find both hope and humour in your days.  Maybe drop over to Nina-Marie's Off the Wall Friday to see what she and other crafty friends have been up to.  Don't we all have ideas simply lying around, waiting to be brought to life...

Until next time, a bientot!