The things we miss

It's funny, isn't it, the things we miss when we're not at home (and the stuff we take for granted when we are).

Currently I am at my Grandmother's for a spell, and even though I brought things to work on, I am still sort of lost and wanting.

Humans are never truly satisfied, are we?

I am rinsing out and testing for colorfastness the purples and turquoises for a commissioned piece; my hope is to have this task completed shortly, and to get some of the cutting accomplished (if not all of it) so that I can begin to assemble it once I return home. Well....

I will be ready enough to begin it, anyway. I still need to get the XXX quilt top completely together, with its borders and then stretched. I finished the hexes the evening before I left, and have all but two of the half squares for the vertical sides cut and in place! That felt good to see it to that point - I feel it's taken entirely too long! As I said in an earlier post, I really wanted to have it stretched and basted so that I could have it with me to work on - turning the edges over to protect them while quilting and to get it marked, BUT it didn't quite get done. So, phooey!

Now I have itchy palms and want to be working on it, but it will have to wait. [sigh] I have grown so used to being able to sew a little almost every day - even if for a few minutes. Oh, how I miss it.

I did, however, manage to locate and purchase the last of the necessary material for the project - and I did that on the way to Grandma's house! Found myself a beautiful little shop on 12 Mile Road in Berkley, MI, called Guildcrafters Quilt Shop. It's deceptively tiny but gloriously stocked, and I've decided I must go back to look through the shelves I didn't get to in my rush to Gram's.

They do have a frequent buyers card with a great offer if you can/or do (but shouldn't) frequently buy quilting fabric. There's a two month time limit on the card for a free $40-worth of merchandise IF you accomplish getting it completely punched within two months of your initial purchase (a $20 freebie is yours if you can't get that much material purchased in such a small time frame).

Did that make sense?

But, you need to ask them if they have a frequent purchase program - they don't just offer it....or think of it. I asked as I was handed my receipt if they had anything like that, and that's when my clerk took a card from a drawer and filled it out for me.

Guildcrafters also has a minimum cut of no less than one-quarter yard, so my next pixelated project will require me to shop elsewhere. For pixel quilts I usually only buy 1/8 yard pieces if I have no need for something extra in my stash (and trust me when I say I have an adequate-enough stash).

Despite these minor issues, the shop looks to be a lot of fun to explore, and I will be back in the very near future. There were bolts to play with dream over and fabric to manhandle.

For now, however, I will have to get back to the rinsing and the ironing. It's a very rainy day here and not much else to do outside, so my indoor tasks will have to keep me busy and content. I am not working with my own computer - and this sweet old Mac doesn't like my thumb drive - so I cannot load the latest pictures of the XXX quilt. The next photos you will see will show a very different quilt top!

Until next time, stay happy....and let me know what you are up to.