French Braid Cooking

Up on the design wall - the French Braid quilt!

You: Wait - what?  That's an older project. 

Me: Yes, yes it is.  

You: Well, why is it on the design wall? Those sections are joined into three panels already - why aren't we seeing anything new?

Me: Oh, but there is something new to them. The panels  are sandwiched and the machine quilting has begun.  Here are a few detail shots of my progress.

There are three different colors of thread so far.  Unfortunately, one of the spools was a little low on thread so I had to go thread shopping.  You can imagine how upset that made me, right? NOT!

I just LOVE YLI thread!  After trying many different kings of thread for hand quilting, I have found theirs to just rock!  It's sturdy but flexible, and does not knot or twist like some other do.  I have even used it to machine quilt.

More importantly for this project, they make wonderful machine quilting thread too.  It glides through my machine like a dream!  And it comes in solids and variegated colors.  I'm using the Mediterranean as the middle color thread in this quilt.

Mediterranean

It is a 40 wt., 3 ply thread of Egyptian cotton - with dyeing and finishing done right in North and South Carolina.   If you can't find it your LQS, you can order directly from them. Check out the  YLI Corp website for lots of great thread info, including a guide for picking the right thread for your project.

I usually buy this thread at quilt shows or wherever I spot it at a LQS, but rather than drive all over hunting it down I opted for online shopping and since I was already paying for shipping (cheaper than gas right now), a few other spools jumped into my shopping cart.

Napa Valley Wine

Nordic Fjord

There is a lot of quilting to be done on the three panels so it will be around for awhile.

In between road trips, quilting, and chores, I like to actually cook food, not just open a box and pour.  In our small kitchen (a barely 2 butts at a time space), I have a system and a rhythm to my work.  Often, this gets disrupted by extra canine helpers, who, after being repeatedly told to get out of my kitchen at or accidentally having a paw step on, finally tuck their tails and retreat to safer ground - right outside the door way.  

 Zena, however, is not canine and just wanted to see what all the fuss was about.

Her unique approach to a prime viewing spot was on top of the tall pantry cabinet in the dining room, right outside the door to the kitchen.   I just had to laugh.