That little bit of sewing the other night inspired me. This weekend is going to be all about time in the sewing studio (well, less time for church, a bit of cleaning, making meals).
A few days ago, on an impulse, I joined a group through my favorite on-line quilt shop to make a mystery quilt. Think of it as an art project where the instructions are doled out sequentially, but only after you have completed the previous step. It's a small quilt - a generous lap size. Good thing, as the "mystery" only lasts three weeks.
They did show some suggested fabric choices (from their own lines, of course), since we have only vague guidelines ("Fabric 3 - A medium to dark fabric with a small-size scale print; a tone-on-tone blender would work well."). There was a gorgeous turquoise and lime green colorway, but I've already got a quilt in progress in those colors (which are the colors of the sewing studio). Instead, I've picked these.
Well, some of them. See #6580 (white on white), #6575 (dark grey plaid), #6562 (medium grey with yellow paisley/floral) and #6573 (light grey stripe with circles). In addition, there is a pretty soft yellow almost-solid, and a similar dark, dark grey that is for the binding.
Inspiration hit as well regarding some fabric I bought about five years ago. There are six or so different fabrics, but all of them are "musical" in one way or another. There's one that has a black background covered in wind and brass instruments, then one with a cream background that is all strings. A cream fabric has small black notes and musical notation marks; a black fabric shows much the same, but in a metallic print. There are a couple more, as well as some deep red tone-on-tones to use for contrast.
The original plan involved a simple piecing to show off the fabrics, with some sort of music (actual staves and notes, playable if you are so inclined) quilted into the borders. But the addition of the embroidery machine opens up fun possibilities. Idea came first, then the name for the quilt: "If it Ain't Baroque..."
Fifty today, and generally above freezing for the next week. I should get out Saturday and take a broom to the shaded corner of the patio, sweep that bit of snow out into the sun so it can melt. It may be warm enough after work today, or tomorrow afternoon, to open up the patio doors and let the stale, heated air out, the crisp, fresh stuff in. By next Tuesday, there may be enough bare ground near our garbage "rock" to put out a couple full boxes of cardboard recycling without fearing they will disintegrate. Yay for signs of spring!
Summer -ish food for the weekend. At last, I remembered to take the pork shoulder out to thaw. It gets a good rubdown tonight with an assortment of herbs and spices, then is wrapped in plastic and left in the refrigerator to stew for a couple of days. I'll slow cook it Sunday. This would be the same dish I made for friends last fall. This time, however, I'll freeze the results in lunch-size portions. Being able to just grab a few ready made components for lunch is such a blessing.
That's it around here. What are you up to, on a weekend bookended by Pi Day and St. Pat's Day?
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