Molly, settled in for the evening. January, 2009
When I visited Molly in her little apartment in rural Japan a couple of years ago, there was a small heat issue. Her wall unit wasn't working, the windows were leaking cold air like sieves and the old, propane heater provided by her employers had set her pajamas on fire one night, leaving her petrified of going near the thing again. 'It's really not that bad, Mum, once you make some hot tea and settle in for the evening.' I awoke the next morning to 43° and though I am generally a slow mover in the a.m., made the quickest dash ever to a hot shower.
I'm recalling these fun times tonight because there's been something wonky going on with my thermostat this week and it's downright FREEZING around here! At first, it was just mildly uncomfortable but last night the outside temperature was down in the 30s, and the sun never broke through today. Brrrr. Good thing I'm working on (under?) a quilt tonight and not my little hexagons.
Looks warm & cozy, doesn't it? Visual trick.
Marking the quilting on a black quilt is a little tricky. I generally like to use Prismacolor pencils, kept sharpened to a fine point, and then fiddle around with colors choices on a fabric scrap until I find one that shows up just enough to quilt along but then seems to disappear after I've stitched along on it.
This time the choice was Warm Gray 70%. It's working just as I had hoped, but lining up those little crosshatches is a bit tedious. It's so easy for little squares to veer into rectangular shapes if you're not careful! I've been working on the dining room table, moving a little Ott Lite along as I measure off my lines.
Can you see the gray lines crossing the already quilted ones?
I only mark a day's worth of quilting at a time because the lines do tend to disappear after the quilt is popped in & out of the hoop and flipped around on my lap for a while. That's where I'm headed now, to prepare tonight's handwork.
The furnace guy is coming tomorrow. I had a longstanding appointment for my yearly pre-winter furnace check and I hated to call earlier in the week and incur an emergency call fee when he was already scheduled to come Friday. This afternoon I was so chilly that I decided to go out and knock off a few errands (car = heat). I ran up to Mitsuwa for a few things and while I was in the neighborhood, stopped in to check out what was new at my pal Eileen's place. I probably should have just paid to have the furnace fixed today. Heh.
looks great, oh I mark day by day too...
Ijust love this quilt
looks great on the table too!
sorry your cold! hopefully he will be here first stop this am to warm up that house!
Kathie
Posted by: kathie | November 19, 2010 at 04:53 AM
Your quilt is so pretty - just love how the colors shine on that dark background! Thank you for sharing how you do the marking.
Hopefully your house will soon be warm, again. It's not easy making those pretty and small stitches with cold fingers : (
Posted by: Marit | November 19, 2010 at 05:18 AM
I have a new furnace now, but after having the old one go out several times in 30+ weather (hence the new one), I sympathize. Freezing is bad.
Posted by: Mary | November 19, 2010 at 11:37 AM
I had my furnace serviced in October so they tuned up everything so now i'm ready for this weekend. We are going to have record cold for the next few days.
Posted by: Sharon | November 19, 2010 at 07:03 PM
Oh no! Nothing like watching the temp drop on the thermostat when it's cold outside and you can't do anything to make it go back up. Do you ever use a hera marker for marking -- I'm just curious. I've used one and liked it until I made a mis-mark. So, what was Eileen's story on your visit -- anything new with her? I bought a clearance sweater of hers recently made partially with stainless steel. I was SO excited because I have yet to knit anything with the Habu stainless merino. But I'm sad to report that I snagged the thing immediately and there's no hope of fixing that. :-( very very sad. Trying to think of a creative way to cover up the snags.....
Posted by: amy | November 19, 2010 at 07:13 PM
I feel your pain! I've never liked to be cold, but things are different now that I experience the "power surges" common to women my age. By the way, I love this quilt you're working on--one of my favorites!
Posted by: Lindey | November 19, 2010 at 08:20 PM
I know you you feel, except for me the cold lasts until April. We are only heating by wood stove and it isn't enough! I wear long underwear in the house all winter. Yes, I am miserable about it.
Hope you are toasty soon.
Posted by: Elizabeth | November 21, 2010 at 09:30 AM
Your quilting looks lovely so far!! I do hope your home is warm now.
Posted by: janet | November 23, 2010 at 12:09 PM
Wow your quilt looks amazing....look forward to seeing more of it, especially the herringbone stitch......
Posted by: anne | November 29, 2010 at 03:29 AM