Halfway Point

Day 340: On 6 September, I posted that I was four weeks into this project and was almost a third done. I can't count worth beans. Turns out it was three weeks in. Now it has been four and a half weeks, and I just finished adding the piece which brought me up to the halfway point. Halfway done! And entirely hand-stitched! The coloured squares each measure one inch on a side. What utterly boggles my mind is that this quilt is coming together faster than if I had machine-sewn it, and I don't think quite the entire rate of progress can be due to the fact that I hate sewing on the machine. When I think about the time involved in pinning, sewing and pressing each step in the assembly process, I can see why hand-stitching actually goes faster. Here, there is no real need for pressing until the whole top is completed, due to the fact that the pieces are whip-stitched together on the back, essentially locking them into the "pressed" position. Hand-basting the fabrics around cardstock shapes is as fast as pinning, and has the advantage of ensuring accuracy, i.e., no having to do over any imperfect meets. Sewing is slower, of course, but more enjoyable and easier to lay aside. The pattern (Ring Cycles) is a variation on Jack's Chain, and is a definite winner in my book.

Glue Basting

Day 339: I was hesitant at first, but being new to English paper piecing, I was willing to try a technique many more experienced quilters seemed to recommend: glue basting. After researching the internet extensively, I chose to go with the Sewline brand, and bought a package which included a pen and two refills, plus an extra package of six refills, having no idea how long a single stick of the water soluble glue would last. I knew it was going to be too much bother to glue each one-inch square in a 9-patch, so decided to thread-baste those, but on the other hand, the idea of glue-basting the larger pieces (the big hexagon and the triangles) suggested that I'd get a more uniform "stretch" of the fabric than I could effect with thread. As it turned out, the glue goes amazingly far. I'm only on my third refill and am just short of having half the quilt pieced, and I am very pleased with the method. Old dogs can learn new tricks when they're given the right incentives.

Favourite Day

Day 338: Today is my favourite day of the week. It could be Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday or Sunday and not make a speck of difference. What signifies is that it's Bread Day! Sourdough most frequently is the guest of honour, and today is no exception. It's my go-to bread. I fed the starter yesterday, set the poolish to proof overnight, and this morning started the loaf. The oven is heating up even as I type, and soon the house will be filled with the scent of baking bread. Is there any better smell in the whole wide world? Not in my book! And does anything taste better than homemade bread, freshly and lavishly buttered? I think not. Keep your fancy-schmancy gourmet meals, and just give me the rustic goodness of homemade bread.

Raspberries Comin' On!

Day 337: The raspberries are comin' on! I picked half a dozen each of the two days before yesterday, and then a whole cup. That's just for starters. The vines are loaded as usual because I treat this "everbearing" variety (Heritage) as a fall-bearing one, which is to say that once they're done fruiting in the fall, I mow them flat. That means I don't get a spring fruit, but it also means that the fall yield is mch higher. It also means that I don't have to stare at leafless raspberry vines all winter. You might think I'd freeze these now and make jam or jelly out of them later, but that's not the way I roll. Nope, I sprinkle a little sugar on each picking before putting it in the freezer, and then comes winter and the months when I'm really craving fruit. The raspberries will be there, already lightly sugared, to have as a barely-thawed treat. 

Where the Quilt Goes, There Go I

Day 336: I was getting tired of rolling a cat around while I tried to lay out the next set of 9-patches in the quilt, so I thought, "I could put it on the bread board on the kitchen table. I could at least see enough of it that I wouldn't get prints too close together." Well, you know what they say: "It seemed like a good idea at the time." I laid the bread board (a sheet of formica) on the table, draped the quilt over it, went in the living room to get the bowlful of little clips I use for marking where the next triangles go, and this was what I found upon returning thirty seconds later. I think there's no way I'm winning this debate. And yes, he's going to get to keep this quilt.

Relevant Acknowledgement

Day 335: Many things have changed at the Washington State Fair since I last visited it pre-covid. I had hoped to find the Sheep-to-Shawl demonstration in its old location (I never did find it), but the spot now contained this acknowledgement of previous injustices inflicted on a targeted population by the United States government. I do not know if the display is new this year, but its relevance in current times sent chills up my spine. I thought it was quite daring of Fair management to create the exhibit, especially since I felt a certain degree of apprehension that ICE might make a raid on the Fairgrounds where I heard almost as much Spanish being spoken as I did English, and where there were numerous vendors of food and goods from Mexico and South America. History is not kind to those who rule by fear and oppression.

Arctium Sp.

Day 334: "How'd we miss that on the way up?" I asked. Arnie replied, "Burr, Cocklebur...that's the common name I know it by. You know weeds..." I said, "Burdock. Hang on..." Great digging in the mental archives was causing smoke to come out my ears. "Arctium!" I said at last. "Arctium...it's in there somewhere" (tapping my head) "Arctium...lappa. Arctium minor? Minus? There's two of them, and they're hard to tell apart." At that point, Arnie wrapped his hands around the base, and I could tell he was getting ready to take decisive action. "And they've got a tap root that goes all the way to China!" I warned. There was a loud snap, and Arnie was left holding three stalks which had broken off from the root right at ground level. "Um...the other one is bigger," I pointed at the second plant. He dug down an inch in the soil to reveal where someone had previously cut a 3/4" stem. New growth was coming out from just below the cut. "They're godawful hard to get rid of," I elaborated. "Got one on my Land Trust property that's about ten feet tall." Arnie broke the stems to inhibit photosynthesis, if nothing else, but neither of us had anything to bag them in, so we wound up leaving them behind. Sometimes seeds continue to develop even after the stalk has been cut, but that appeared to be our only option. My trouser pockets were already full of chanterelles, and there are some sacrifices I'm simply not willing to make. Nor was I particularly keen on hiking with burdock burrs in my britches! As it turned out, my pictures aren't good enough to tell if the petioles have ridges, so whether this is Arctium lappa or Arctium minus, I can't say. "Arctium sp." will have to do.