Monday, February 3, 2014

Brioche, The Quilts, and The Weather ...

It felt exceedingly raw outside today. In fact the temps were not terribly low, but a penetrating chill kept threatening to get through my jacket. Thank heavens for wool sweaters. I love wool. I love where it comes from, how it's processed, it's properties, it's hand. Most of all, it keeps me warm.

Temps rose out of the single digits these past fews days but it appears we have more snow on the way. Frankly, I'm looking forward to it! Always so beautiful when it snows, and after.

I can't believe we're already through 3 months of winter. Seems like I was just lighting the stove for the first time (in 35 years!) just a short while ago. I've rather gotten into the swing of it now; getting it lit and maintaining the fire. The two cords of wood I purchased has held up well. I believe there's enough left to last me well into March. I might just squeak by without having to buy any more for this winter. Savings are due to the fact that I don't light the stove in the morning if I know I'm going to be going out before mid-afternoon. It's hard to justify getting the house all warmed up just to leave it, so on those days I may push the oil thermostat up to 58 (or if I'm feeling the need for a little extra coddling, 60ish), but then I'll turn it back down. I've gone through a little more than half a tank of oil since June. It would really be lovely if the tank would last until this June, but I suspect not. Though I'm loathe to count my chickens before they hatch, I'd say not bad for my first NE winter stoking my own fires, etc., etc. (Knock on wood, so to speak.)

The Brioche scarf is going to do it's part in keeping me warm once it's finished. Progressing at a good pace: The stitch knits up quickly. I made a design decision last week to modify the pattern and style it into a fisherman's scarf. I very much like how comfortable fisherman scarves drape around the neck. If I do say so myself, I think the alteration works pretty well:


At long last, I pulled out the sampler quilt and finished it's borders. (The white edge in the picture is not part of the borders, it's excess padding sticking out.) It now has it's backing and padding quilted into place. This is my first real quilting and I used the pedal sewing machine to execute it. Worked a charm. The quilting is plain and simple--the quilt will either hang on the wall or be used as a table topper. Quilting this piece has boosted my confidence that I may be able to handle something larger and perhaps a bit more intricate. We'll see.


The bird quilt top is--was--done. It is done as far as the specs are concerned, but I've decided to add another column so as to make it a really functional quilt, so it's not really done. But close. The old Singer is getting a good work out!

1 comment:

  1. You left me an encouraging post on my spot, Droim An Uan - thank you - so I had to look at your blog. Oh your blog and the things in it are so beautiful - that bird quilt !! - so lovely. You're making feasts for the eyes and for the ears too it seems.

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