Anticipate
Every year I anticipate biting into the first ripe cherry tomato in our minuscule container garden. The big question is whether this will happen before or after July 4th. The date is arbitrary. However, it is easy to remember since it marks Independence Day here in the United States. Several weeks ago the first yellow flower bloomed on our sole cherry tomato plant. Recently, I saw the first hint of a tiny green orb, perhaps 1/8″ in diameter. So, being the impatient person I am, I checked again this morning. Well, there are several dozen green orbs now, but all are very small and stubbornly cling to their green coloring.
Bernina 990
I continue to anticipate the return of my beloved Bernina 990.
Yes, I know I was told it would take 4 – 5 weeks before I would get it back. So, that would be July 7th at the earliest. The wait feels diabolically long. Bet I will have eaten several dozen or more cherry tomatoes from our garden before I can retrieve the Bernina.
Sampler
I have been pouring over free motion quilting motif images on Pinterest. In fact I have amassed substantial number of images on the Pinterest Board I titled, Quilting Designs. I find myself gravitating towards whole cloth quilts or expansive border designs. Some have a very Modern Quilt feel, while others lean towards images, such as cattails with a dragon fly.
So, I decided to see if I could create an 8″ x 8″ sampler quilt to incorporate several of the Pinterest inspirations that are rattling around in my head. The above picture shows me working on said quilt. One thing I learned is, that nice as it is to have a quilting machine, I REALLY prefer my Bernina 990 for smaller projects. The needle plate on the George is perhaps a 1/16th of an inch below the cabinet. No big deal with a large quilt. However, I find the small quilt has a tendency to get caught at that juncture between plate and cabinet. Free motion quilting is dependent on “free” or smooth motion. You don’t want to fight the machine or be thrown off your path. I admit I am a huge Bernina fan, because I have never had to fight my Berninas. Nevertheless, I persevered. Here is the result.
Keeping It Reel
The SEDOSO (Senior Director of Studio Operations) discovered he had a mini tripod I could use to film myself quilting. This was the perfect week to give it a try. This reel shows me starting Sampler. check it out on either Instagram or Facebook.
Question of the Week
What are you eagerly anticipating in the near future?
I’m linking up to the following posts:
Boy oh boy, my mojo is AWOL since April and I’m sad and perplexed. I’ve never had a dry spell with my creativity that I can recall in my long creative life. I have 2 small pieces ready to quilt and got the thread yesterday so I will force myself to do something about that today. Hopefully.
I’m so sorry to hear that. It’s no fun when your mojo up and leaves. Fingers crossed that when you start stitching the joy will return.
Your sampler is beautiful, such tiny little stitches! Your purple T-shirt and sweater are matching the sampler 😉 I’m eagerly anticipating in the very near future is for the temperatures to drop a little, especially for our family who are in areas experiencing a particularly intense heat wave right now. Enjoy playing with Georges while waiting to Bernina to come back. Hugs
SEDOSO pointed out how I matched my work, too. No surprise, really. I tend to work with colors I wear.
The European heat wave is news here. I was wondering how you were doing. Glad to hear it is moving on.
Thank goodness for the George. Keeps me from going stir crazy.
We are in the same place with our cherry tomato plant – lots of tiny green ones forming, and eagerly anticipating when they will be ready to eat! Your sampler piece is pretty with its different shapes and designs, Gwyned. In your reel, I was interested to see that you had drawn out the sections that you wanted to fill in with the different shapes. July is almost here – hope your 990 is ready to come back in the early part of the month!
It’s a day later and those cherry tomatoes are still small and green. However, we are in for a heat wave in couple days. Bet they will go from green to overripe then.
It is very unusual for me to mark my quilt for quilting. However, the look I was going for had clear, delineated sections. So, I pulled out my favorite marking tool – a Fons and Porter chalk “pencil” and drew lines, including the circles. I used a stencil for that.
What a fun looking whole cloth piece! I’m glad you are having fun despite having to play without your beloved machine! I’m anticipating a visit from the London daughter and granddaughter at the end of July.
What a lovely event to anticipate.
Yes, being without my beloved machine has given me the excuse to try new things, relax more and be less driven to create the latest and greatest.
Sorry you have been without your DSM for so long, that has to be hard. Glad I have multiple for that reason! I hope you get it back very soon. Nice work on your sampler. We have been enjoying lettuce from our garden.
Thank you for your empathy, Vicki. It wasn’t easy being without my Bernina 990.You brought fond memories of our early gardens. Loved being able to harvest several varieties of lettuce.I’ll enjoy yours vicariously.
I like your FMQ sampler. I have a few canvases in my studio that I could do something similar with… I’ll have to ponder this!
I am anticipating some cooler temperatures… even though summer has just arrived. LOL! I also anticipate escaping some of the hotter days by escaping to the mountains again. 😉 Thanks for sharing in Sew & Tell.
Thank you, Melva. There is nothing like doing something new, to realize how much better you could do it.
Unfortunately, we are anticipating yet another heat wave starting tomorrow. Temperatures are predicted to reach or exceed 100 F on Thursday. I asked SEDOSO whether he recalled predictions in the triple digits before. Of course he does. No doubt I erased such horrid memories from my brain. We live in the Boston area along the coast, not in southern part of the country. So, like you I look forward to cooler temperatures in the future.
Hi Gwyned, that is a very lovely FMQ sampler. I’ve made a couple of wholecloth wall hangings and look forward to make more eventually. It’s good to give those designs a try. I’m eagerly anticipating cooler weather….which hopefully will happen before the fall 🙂 Thanks for linking up to I Quilted This!
Would you believe I’ve only made one whole cloth wall hanging. That was a year or two after I purchased the George. It was fun to do. I think many of us in the northern hemisphere are longing for cooler weather. I hear you.