Monday Meandering 9 - 2 - 2019

Yep, I skipped another blog post.  Not much to say then except I came through my surgery with flying colors. (Whatever does that really mean?)  Don't worry -- it was a fairly simple surgery to get rid of unused parts. (GAH doesn't that sound weird...!) Now, one and a half weeks out I'm doing pretty well.  Biggest issue is I don't have much stamina.  So, I can work in the studio but I'm worn out for the rest of the day.  Sigh.  I miss my energy. 

My big goal post-surgery was to hand sew the binding on "With a Little Help from My Friends."  I had finished quilting it and had sewn the binding on the front side of the quilt pre-surgery.  What I failed to realize was it was batik front and back.  Needless to say sewing down the binding went really slowly.  I usually tried to do two lengths of thread each day - I wanted it completely done on August 31.  And, yes, I succeeded!  

As some may realize, I am terrible at naming my quilts.  This time the name popped into my head before I'd even finished it. I participated in batik strip swap many years ago at a FCQ retreat.  (So long ago that we've had the retreat in two different locations which tells me at least 8 years, maybe 10 years ago.) 

This was quilted with "Pipeline" a great design to add texture.  Click on most pictures and they will enlarge.  I used So Fine thread in purple. (Sorry don't know the number off hand.) 

In the top picture, the bush at the bottom right is our butterfly bush.  Unfortunately it is an invasive species so we make sure it doesn't spread too much.  But I really enjoy watching all the butterflies who flitter around it.  Here's another picture of the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail.  I'm amazed I was able to get such a good photo of it.  This is a female -- see the blue at the bottom of her wings?  You can see the other pic of a female here. Either I've gotten a lot better at taking pictures, or, more likely, the butterfly is so busy she doesn't realize she's doing such a great job of posing. If you look closely you can see her wings are tattered and torn a bit.  Look at the right one -- follow from the two yellow spots near the leaf.  There's a bit missing -- it probably was another yellow dot.  

Once again, I'm not posting goals.  I'm slowly getting things done but the key word is slowly.  I did succeed in putting another kit together for the October retreat.  Still need to finish the other one I'm working on. Beyond that I think I've got two other quilts in progress I can work on which should be enough for a 3 night retreat.  

I'm linking up with the following parties: Oh Scrap, Monday Makings, Moving It Forward and What I Made Monday. Take a few minutes to see what folks are up to now. 

That's it for me today.  I'm off to a hand stitching group where we do all sorts of handwork.  I'll be knitting on a sweater that I haven't worked on for weeks.  

Happy Quilting All! Bonnie