The ultimate quilting challenge. Black thread on white homespun. Note:unpicker ready for action.
I have now unpicked the offending section and am ready to head back to the machine.
Progress Report on show entries:
Inferno-finished
Charming Catherine Wheels-finished
Strange Flowers- as shown....
Mystery Medallion-awaiting binding

Usual Frantic July

It's July and that means the same thing each year for me. Last minute quilting for the Canberra Quilter's exhibition.
Essentially it goes like this: Sometime in late May, a kind soul reminds me, I have to put in my entry form for the exhibition. At the very last minute I then complete the form and commit myself to finishing a ridiculous number of quilts in a month. I rush the form off and forget to enclose the fee.
This year I thought I would "up the ante" and enter 4 quilts. A collaborative, wall, bed and challenge quilt. To meet this commitment, I had three suitable tops. This left me with 2 to quilt, one to start and finish and one to beg Terina to quilt for me for the collaborative section. Nothing like sharing the stress!
As I have been teaching applique for some years, I find myself categorised as "professional" which is so depressing! You should see my machine quilting. Tragic.

So I am blogging. Of course! To escape from the machine where I have spent the rest of the day.
Here are the pictures of my work space. The dining room. I have opened up the dinning table which, when extended, fits 10 people at least.
In this picture you can see the stack of quilts and tops to the right. Hanging from the chair on the right is a bag with the fabric for my current applique project. Draped over the same chair is felt for the Embellisher which is my new friend.
Foreground: Threads, tools, cutter, mat, oil, and patterns for this month of the Mystery BOM. Rear left is the practice pieces I keep for trying out new in-fills and testing tension etc.
And next is my view. Not that you can really see it, but out through the windows is our local pond. The Government dug up a bend in our creek and turned it into a pond and reserve a couple of years ago. The drought had left it pretty shallow but it is now brimming with water. The water birds are back, the frogs are singing and all is well.
On the floor is my own personal private bolt collection, being used to raise the height of my foot controller. The table is obviously too high. By the time I raise the chair high enough to be quilting with my arms and shoulders happy, I can't reach the controller anymore!

PS Update on Michael. He continues with Rehab. Maybe a few more months to go? Continuing to meet the old staph infection that he picked up earlier. I don't get to see enough of him but when I do, he is always in good spirits. It was really good to see him out of bed when I was last down. The fact that this is a lifetime situation and not an accident that fades with memory keeps me from feeling I can say "good" when people ask how he is. Being in a wheelchair for life isn't "Good".