one stitch at the time

Thanks for your many kind comments on my last post. I am pleased to say that we have now narrowed down the number of partygoers to around 20, which is not so much really. Sam is happy to have us back and offered to look after James and Alistair yesterday while I was at work. I am told they were a bit annoying (there's a surprise) and didn't engage or play and there were apparently several tantrums also. At one point they complained that they didn't want to do anything so Sam asked them to sit on a chair and do nothing. After a few minutes they were more than happy to play a game, the spell was broken. Quite clever I thought.

I have been working on my hexagon quilt while in Denmark. I took three rows of hexagons with me, which was just the right number. I was a bit worried I might run out but I alternated with knitting so all was good. I spent many happy hours sitting on the garden deck stitching. Sometimes I listened to an audiobook, sometimes to the background noise that a normal family makes. There were lots of invisible but noisy birds, too as the cottage was surrounded by woodland and shrubs on three sides.

I am glad I chose a random assembly for my hexagons, I feel quite relaxed about it. I don't think the emerging quilt top is quite wide enough yet, I shall add a few rows on the side soon. I basted enough hexagons for a good sized single bed quilt. I am thinking bedspread for our guest bed, which is a day bed when not in use. I rather like the backside of the quilt, with the white papers still in. I am wondering if I would be able to make something like that one day, a white hexagon with colourful frame. I think I shall like my quilt to have straight sides and will have to make some half hexagons. Later. For now I am happy adding hexagons, one stitch at the time. It is a slow process, the stitches are teeny tiny and the thread superfine. It frequently slips out of the eye of the needle, which is annoying. I started to tie the thread to the needle using a single loop. I slips through the fabric as if not there and I spend far less time now rethreading the needle. I use one length of thread to sew each hexagon to the growing quilt rather than doing each side individually. On each corner, I tie a small knot by feeding the needle twice through the loop created by the whip stitch, then I tug it tight. In the final corner, I make two little knots. I hope this gives the quilt top some stability as there is less opportunity for beginnings and ends to come loose and if one does come loose, it will not extend beyond one hexagon side.

I have started thinking about Alistair's quilt. I am fairly certain the design is going to involve circles but I am not sure about the fabric at all. I have spent the last year or so making random crazy quilts and I feel a bit of calm is in order. I took my quilting fabric boxes of the shelves but didn't feel inspired. I shall mull it over for a while, maybe try picking fabrics on a different day. Alistair doesn't really care about fabric choosing much and is happy for me to make whatever I like. He might be interested if I photographed each piece of fabric I own and he could arrange it on a screen.... he would be glued to a screen all day long if I let him. That, or kicking a ball. Alistair is very single minded like that.

Poor Jack had an accident while chasing our resident squirrel in the garden. He fell of a wall and got a big cut in his leg while tumbling over the gabion blocks. His leg stuck out in an odd angle also and I was nearly sick. It must have been a dislocation as it moved into its normal position quickly. Jack required out of hours emergency care. Six stitches were necessary to close the wound but there were no bone breaks or other internal injuries. Jack was blissfully sedated and it took 24 hours before his normal personality came through again. Now wearing a cone he reassures me that his days of chasing wildlife are over. As if.

Finally, does anyone have a rug/carpet cleaner? I am tired of kneeling on my rugs and scrubbing and was wondering if I should buy one. I have rented a carpet cleaner machine previously but it does add up if the rugs are well used.

Have a wonderful Wednesday! xx