Lucy, the Attic & More Flowers

Lots to tell you about this week so this is a long post with varying subjects.

I finally got the last of the boring sections stitched for the Lucy project. Now I'm starting to sew the sections together. She's looking so nice, I'm excited about her again, but I am very glad I decided not to make the whole quilt. 

I have had several people email or comment saying they'll never finish their Patchwork of the Crosses because of the other sections that need to be made. Everyone seems to enjoy piecing the larger fussy cut sections, it's the more mundane, tedious sections that bog everyone down.

Update - When I was sewing with Lucy last evening, I realized I need some hexies for the outside, 40 of them. I'll baste those when the already prepared sections are sewn together.

Even though I've been EPP'ing on Lucy, I haven't stopped hand quilting. 

The pictures of the quilting this week are a little dark. If I turned on the over head light or used the flash on the camera, the quilting wouldn't show which is the whole point of showing you the progress.

I've quilted to the center of row 4. I'm reaching in to about the center of the blocks. 

Left side border.

Block 1. This block quilted fast, just needed to stitch in the ditch around the outside of the applique. 

Added a little extra quilting into the center circle.

Block 2, this block and the center block took awhile. It takes time to quilt around all the little ovals.

The ovals are supposed to be wild strawberries and have embroidered french knots on them. I french knotted 2 ovals then decided I didn't like the french knots and removed them.

Block 3, the center of the row. This one really took awhile. I could only stitch one stitch at a time around the little circles. And then there was that lattice in the vase to be quilted.

More Amaryllis are blooming. I've had 2 salmon colored plants and a true red open this week. The plant in front is just starting to open it's bud. So far I can see darker red, I won't know until it's open more exactly what color it will be. Part of the fun of having Amaryllis plants is seeing what the color of the blooms are.

I also have the large 'Christmas' cactus blooming again. The first blooming started at the very end of October. It kept blooming through all of November and most of December. Now it's blooming for the second time this winter. I'm very happy to have the flowers, a touch of summer in winter.

I know it looks like bright sunlight in the background of the cactus but trust me, it's not. See the sky in the tree photo below, that's what it really looks like outside except the ice and snow have melted.

Several weeks ago on Sarah Lizzie's blog, she showed several beautiful projects she's working on. 

One of them was a basket quilt and she showed the older book it was from, A Bouquet of Quilts edited by Jennifer Rounds & Cyndy Lyle Rymer. I wanted that book. My local DIL checked around and found a used copy for me from Better World Books. I received the book in Friday's mail. I love it! 

Last Monday evening, we had freezing rain. Everything was coated with ice. The electric went off once during milking Tuesday morning. When that happens you just kind of freeze, is it off? Or will it go back on? Fortunately the power switched at the  sub-station and we were able to finish chores without anymore drama. 

(These gray skies are what we see most of the time this winter.)

When I was washing the breakfast dishes around 8:30, the power went off again but stayed off this time. 

This means it's time to hook up the generator. The  milkman was coming, he needs electricity to pump the milk into the tanker, then we need the electric so the automatic washer will wash the bulk tank. And of course the cattle need to be able to drink water. It's also nice to have the furnace running in the house and I did have soup in the crockpot. And, I need my OTT light so I can see to quilt! The electric came back on at noon and the generator was put away until the next time we need it.

Happy stitching this week everybody! 

Linking to Peacock Party, Kathy's Slow Sunday Stitching, Oh Scrap, Show & Tell Monday, Monday Making, Design Wall Monday, BOM's Away, Moving It Forward