Ribbon Candy

The Q20 and I will be spending a lot of quality time together this month. I have five tops basted and ready to quilt and a few other items, including table runners and my Ruler Club practice quilt, waiting in the wings. Yesterday, I sat down and finished the loopy flower pattern in the center of the Cultivate Kindness top. I was going to stop there, but I was itching to try the Ribbon Candy rulers I just bought, because I specifically wanted to try them in the borders of this quilt.

It’s possible to freehand ribbon candy designs. I sketch badly, however, which means that I don’t freehand quilt well, either (except loops). Rulers were invented for people like me.

I got out my handy double-ended tape measure—zero is in the middle—and located the middle of the border. Some quick calculations indicated which size ribbon candy ruler would work best in the border. I started at the middle mark and quilted to one end, then went back to the same spot and quilted to the other end. If I needed to do any fudging, it would be less noticeable at the ends. As it turned out, the design fit perfectly into the border.

I love the way it looks:

I am leaving the corner blocks undone until I figure out what I want to quilt inside of them. There is also a narrow inner border that needs something. I don’t like to overquilt my quilts, though. They need just enough thread, but not so much that they can stand up by themselves.

I am so glad we’re doing the Amanda Murphy rulers in Ruler Club. The Handi-Quilter ones were a good introduction, but I like Amanda’s rulers much better.

I find it so interesting that some of my friends have moved over to other fiber arts or are getting back to old favorite ones. If you’re on Instagram, follow JC Briar for some great eye candy. JC was my tech editor for many years and is an accomplished knitter, computer programmer, and teacher. Last year, she acquired a treadle Singer Red Eye named Rosebud. She and Rosebud have been making some great modern improv quilts lately.

And Cathy is weaving! She posted a picture on Facebook yesterday. She’s making a lovely scarf out of some maroon and beige Merino/camel blend yarn.

I should check in with Tera and see what fascinating things she’s working on.

I fringed two prayer shawls yesterday morning while watching the (three hour long) Joe Rogan interview with Dr. Robert Malone. I followed Dr. Malone on Twitter until they banned him last week. That’s all I am going to say about it. If you want to know what I think, you’ll have to speak to me privately, and I’m unlikely to engage further with you about it if you haven’t also watched the interview and only want to repeat social media talking points.

This arrived in Friday’s mail:

I don’t order a lot from Baker Creek; their seeds didn’t seem to do as well for us as the ones I get from Victory Seeds in Oregon. Still, Baker Creek has some intriguing varieties and I’ll probably order at least a few things from them.

[I did not do cowpeas last year but wondering if I should give them one more go . . . ]

I am ready to hit the ground running this week. Temps are supposed to moderate this week—it’s a balmy 10 degrees Fahrenheit right now—but snow is in the forecast every day. I am hoping The Diva does not decide to leave me stranded anywhere. The husband thinks it needs a new starter solenoid and ordered one, but apparently, there are none to be had in the United States and it’s going to be 6-8 weeks. I can drive DD#1’s Acura if necessary. I’d prefer to be driving my car, though.