Art, Craft and Needlework, June, 2026

[Nancy]

WRG Harriet for the planning on the retreat project!

Yes my sewing machine is behaving yea!
I got the waist band redone yea!

Draw string is in I may diff. cording have not tried it out yet.

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Sigh I would have the prayer shawl done but had to pick out some rows more than once so I had to put that
down I needed a break.

[Harriet]

Glad you're happy with the waistband - they can be tricky. Drawstring is smart.

Oh, I know about having to redo. Ugh. I really don't want to have to redo when I sew the outer border strips on this. But it's amazing how I'm fretting over it and maybe procrastinating. Got to just trust that I've pinned enough and get it done.

Today I finished the last block of the top third of this quilt, and the bottom third is quilted. Together, they had about 17 block-sized sections to be quilted, so that's done.

Maybe in the a.m. I'll have a quiet house early, clear space on the den bar and baste the last part. That part has about the equivalent of 9 sections, but the backing and batting are already cut out and ready.

Bringing the little graph back in, I think I am within 9 parts of 30 until quilting's finished. Of course, that doesn't get the quilt bound and complete, but I'm seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.

Quilting progress 17 out of 30 sections: ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓░░░░░░░░░░░░░

[Nancy]

Earlier this week I finished the prayer shawl.
No knitting after that for a while to let my shoulder rest and heal.

Got the diff. draw string in pj's that went quite well as I just tied it to the end of the one I was taking out!
That worked slick and seems to be working. I tested it out this morning yea for success!

[Harriet]

That was quick, Nancy - you already had the work of threading it through complete. I hope your shoulder is feeling better and that bite/sting isn't bothering you anymore, either.

I'm happy that the next morning did work out (Friday). But - full disclosure - I was wrong about having the batting and backing cut out. It wasn't done yet - the fabrics for it were just folded together. I guess I was going to get around to it and never did, then forgot that it was undone. So at least an hour went to that chore, there at the bar, and I was getting tired. Also, I had to iron the backing. But I followed through until I had all the main basting done and put everything away. That wore me out.

Over the weekend, I've outlined the center block and gotten the center block quilted - it's the largest at about twice the size of the others. I'm halfway through with the border that goes around it, working outward. There is one section that I'm going to have to unstitch and do over, but it's only about 6 inches long. Somehow, I got off track with my mark, pin, stitch routine. Maybe the marking pen is not working as well on this fabric. I'll finish that border, then 4 more of the 12-inch blocks, 2 sets of half-blocks that should go fast, and around the embroidery.

Quilting progress 21 out of 30 sections: ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓░░░░░░░░░░

Of course that's just quilting. There's plenty to do after that, lol. Sew two of the thirds of the top together, trim the batting between them and hand-sew that, then sew the backing seam. Then do it over again to add the last third. Then bind, but that doesn't have to be right away.

[Nancy]

On a break from crafting I got up late and took a longer than usual journal time.
Got to that and had some other things to do outside ... next thing I know it's lunch time.
How does that even happen?

Way to go on your progress on arts crafts and needle work.

Shoulder is an old injury.
It is stiff and sore in the morning but later on in the day goes away.

[Twins' Mom]

In a weak moment I ordered a grapevine wreath and some 4 July stuff to put together a quickie wreath for the front door. Ribbon and a couple of bunches of carnations and other stuff in appropriate colors. I like having my front porch look seasonal. The house is deep blue with white trim - I have red/green pillow and red geraniums. I put small flags in the ferns on either side of the front door, and have a 250 patriotic type garden flag by the red geraniums by the sidewalk at the base of the steps. I need to pick up the stuff and follow through on the wreath tomorrow.