Pleasantly Surprised...

After a rather tough week, it was nice to return home and find out that the new chair for my sewing room was ready several weeks earlier than promised.  I'll admit to being a little apprehensive about the delivery though.  I went rather bold on the fabric choice and I'm really a neutral furniture kind of gal.  I decided to step outside my comfort zone and figured if it was a huge mistake I could always cover it with a slipcover.

I'm glad I risked it though because I am so in love with this chair!  I like the clean lines and the color works really well with the white furniture and cabinets.  And it is so very, very comfy.  You just sink down into it.  Again I made the mistake of asking my husband what he thought of it.  His reply was, "If you like it, that's all that matters."  Translation:  He really can't stand the color.  He's a neutral kind of guy too.

I have this fat eighth bundle of Scrumptious I've been saving that I'm planning to use to make a quilt for the back of it.  It's hard to find patterns that use F8's, but I think I've narrowed it down.

But until I get around to making that quilt (no guesses as to how long that will take), I found one that works pretty well with it.

My husband made one other comment about the chair, that cat hair was really going to show on it.  He is absolutely, totally and completely right!  No doubt I will be lint rolling it every day.  Especially now that the weather is turning warmer and all the pets are shedding their winter coats.  It has also quickly become a favorite kitty spot.  (See the hair David shed on the seat?  He's currently exploding hair despite frequent brushing.)

I sat in the chair earlier today to do some knitting and immediately had company.  You can probably guess I didn't get much knitting done with these two on my lap.

In fact, this is becoming a bit of an issue lately.  Because of my extended absence recently, the cats are either crawling in my lap or climbing on my sewing looking for attention.  I expect they'll settle down eventually, but until then, I'm really not getting much done.

Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you. 

1 Peter 5:7 (NLT)

Better Than Candy...

A package arrived the other day delivering all this yummy goodness...

Unfortunately, I don't get to keep it all.  It will be split up among my quilt bee.  We often place group orders when we find a good sale.  However, I can look at it and imagine all the lovely things I could make until it leaves my house!

Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again rejoice! 

Philippians 4:4 (NLT)

Finally Sailing Again...

It's been more than a year since I've finished one of these blocks.  I didn't look back to see exactly how long, because I'd probably feel guilty for not working on this more (even though there's no deadline).

This is the Chinese Pirate Junk of 1807.  The pattern is Ladies of the Sea by Sue Garman and this marks my 13th ship completed out of 16.

I would have finished it a few days ago, but after I completed all of the applique I decided I didn't like one of the fabrics and decided to replace it.  Even though it took a bit longer, I think it was a good call.

I usually work on the ships in pairs which means I've almost finished another one as well.  Hopefully I'll be back with it in another week or so.  This quilt is a labor of love for my husband and so far I think I've been working on it for about 4 years.  He's started to joke about whether he'll live to see it completed.  I still have the remaining ships and 4 full borders, so I'm not sure how to answer him!

By the way, I'm having some trouble getting comments lately.  So if I haven't responded, please know that's the reason why!

"Be bold and strong! Banish fear and doubt! For remember, the Lord your God is with you wherever you go." 

Joshua 1:9 (LB)

Questionable Taste?

A friend was over recently and noticed a stack of freshly washed fabrics I was in the middle of ironing.  She wondered what quilt I was planning to make with them.  It was only after I told her they weren't for a quilt that she admitted she really didn't think they went together.  Looking at them, I have to agree.

However, when you group them into pairs, they start to make more sense.  Can you guess what I'm using them for now?

Here's another clue...

If you guessed HST's (half-square triangles), you're absolutely right!  My quilt bee is still exchanging sets of them every month and I thought I'd work ahead.  It's almost as easy to make 8 sets as it is to make one.  (I do love seeing neatly ordered stacks of fabric.  It's just so colorful and pretty!)

Sew, sew, sew.  Cut, cut, cut.  Press, press, press.  And voila!  Another 256 HST's ready to trade.

Once they've been swapped, I can add them to the 960+ I already have.  By my calculations, that gives me enough for a quilt 102" x 105".  For now though, I'm just collecting them.  I have yet to decide on the quilt(s) I'll make.  Although, I really am going to have to get another container to store them.  I've pretty much filled these completely up.

I snapped this picture of Gabriel the other day and just love the expression on her face.  Like most people around here, she's having to deal with seasonal allergies right now.  Poor girl.

“Fill your minds with those things that are good and that deserve praise: things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, and honorable.” 

Philippians 4:8 (TEV)

Gotta Love Him...

(Please excuse all the cell phone pictures.)

Not too long ago, I moved a chair from another part of the house into my sewing room.  I had several reasons for doing so, but the main one was to entice our cat Sam to spend more time up there with me.  She has some health issues that will most likely shorten her life a lot and I'd like her close while she's still with us.  I've already shared pictures in previous posts that show what a hit it is for all of the pets, but Sam definitely spends the most time in it.  She naps there while I'm sewing and occasionally wakes for some attention.

Although the chair is fine in there for now, I really wanted something better suited to the space and honestly a bit softer.  To that end, I went furniture shopping!  I invited my husband to go with me, but he declined for a couple of reasons.  First, since the piece was going in my sewing room, he felt the decision should be mine and second (and probably most important) he had no desire to go furniture shopping.  I warned him that if I was having trouble making a decision, I might text him some pictures and ask for his opinion.

I went to Lazboy Furniture Galleries and found several contenders.  After much deliberation, I was able to narrow it down to 2 choices.  The following is the text conversation between my husband and I.

Me:  Which do you like better?  Ignore the fabric.  This one fully reclines.

Me: This one doesn't recline.

Him:  Wow they're both colorful.  Up to you.

Him:  But the first one is less hideous.

Me:  I would pick different fabric.

Him:  Oh I missed that.

Me:  So which do you like?

Him:  Let me look again.

Him:  Number one looks more comfortable.

Him:  Sorry number 2 looks more comfortable.

Him:  But number one looks like it fits the room better.
-------------------------------------------------------

So how helpful would you find that conversation in making a decision?  I finally picked one and didn't even bother to ask his opinion on fabric selection.  It's supposed to take 8-10 weeks to get here, but I'm hoping it comes a little sooner.  Hopefully it meets with this one's approval...

God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble. So we will not fear when earthquakes come and the mountains crumble into the sea. 

Psalm 46:1-2 (NLT)