A Quilt, a Tunic, and a Blackberry Heart

I spent a couple of hours working on the quilt yesterday afternoon. It is very close to being done. I need to put another hour’s worth of quilting time into it and then it will be ready for binding. The Q20 is supposed to be on the schedule for service soon. The tech has to come out here to service it because that machine is too big and unwieldy for me to take it out of the table for transport. I hope to be heading into 2024 with the machine serviced and ready to take on the stack of projects backed up behind this cream-and-white quilt.

I like the quilting pattern I chose for this top, but it was a lot of work even though it was a simple design. Free motion loops would have been faster and easier. I’m not likely to do another king-sized top for a while.

The husband has been chasing down a problem with the ground heater, a piece of equipment he needs in the winter to be able to pour concrete. We bought it used—they are expensive and hard to find—and he has had to tinker with it on and off for over a year. It runs, but shuts itself off for no apparent reason. He spent most of the weekend holed up in his shop trying to fix it. We did get more snow yesterday afternoon and I am glad I didn’t try to drive to Coeur d’Alene. Warm weather (and more precipitation) is headed in from the Pacific, though. The high tomorrow is supposed to be close to 50F.

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I’ve got that McCall’s 8022 top dialed in. I made a second muslin out of some rayon French terry (Walmart), although the fabric was a bit drapier than I anticipated. I also determined that the best tunic length on me is 31" down from my shoulder, so I will adjust the pattern accordingly.

The McCall’s pattern was designed by the late Nancy Zieman, and there is a video for it on the Stitch It! Sisters YouTube channel:

I watched the video AFTER I made the top, and I had to laugh at myself because I didn’t follow any of the instructions. I left off the pocket—reviewers commented that it was too small to be useful and I am not one for pockets in my clothes anyway—and I assembled the top entirely on my serger. They use a sewing machine in the video. I also lowered the cap of the sleeve a bit as it was too high for the armscye. I’m finding that happens a lot when designers who are used to working with wovens design something for a knit. The instructions indicate it should be ease stitched but I prefer to adjust the cap to better fit the armscye.

If you haven’t read Nancy Zieman’s autobiography, Seams Unlikely, I highly recommend it:

She started her business in a spare bedroom, moving it to her in-laws’ basement as it got bigger and then eventually to warehouse space. One of the stories that has stuck with me was about when she went to the bank to ask for a loan. As was often the case back in the 70s and 80s, the loan officer patted her on the head and said that the bank couldn’t loan her money for her “little hobby.” Her MIL marched into the bank and suggested the loan officer look at how much money Nancy’s business had on deposit in his bank and reconsider his decision. (He did.)

I am having great fun with my anatomical embroidery project:

I have been working on the blood vessels (in satin stitch) for the past couple of evenings. The leaves are getting their ribs outlined in stem stitch, and I have a few more berries and flower centers to do in French knots. I haven’t decided which pattern to tackle next—maybe the cranium?

[I imagine these creations of mine being passed down to grandchildren and great-grandchildren and I wonder if they are going to ask themselves why Grandma found it necessary to embroider macabre medical illustrations . . . LOL]

I am not sure yet what sewing projects will be on the docket for this week. I did cut out a pair of StyleArc Linda pants in some dark red bengaline from Joanns. Those won’t take long to assemble. I have been taking notes while getting dressed for church, because that is still where the holes seem to be in my wardrobe. I have tops with no coordinating bottoms and vice versa, so I am trying to address that.