Back to work

Monday, May 7, 2018

I had a lovely time on the weekend; the back door wasn’t even unlocked on either Saturday or Sunday. I managed to get four cards done as well as two Splendid Sampler blocks. There are lots more blocks in the line-up but the ones that needed to go out in the mail are done and posted. All except one that I stuck under a bin of fabric to get the packaging a bit flatter in hopes it would go through the Post Office as a large letter – it wasn’t until I was at the Post Office that I remembered it. Oh well, a trip tomorrow morning on the way to quilting isn’t unusual for me.

I had to get my reports ready for the Cranberry Hall Board meeting and it was noon before I was done. I’m still in my position as Secretary/Treasurer but I’ve also added Rentals to my “portfolio”. Fortunately it is summer and there aren’t too many requests coming in so far. And with a change in the Board there are some things that were collected from outgoing Board members that will have to be dispersed to the new members on the Board. Two big tasks remain for me – filing our Constitution and Bylaws with BC Registry (and hoping they meet the new requirements) and getting the accounts ready for the accountant.

After my trip to the Post Office and a bit of shopping I got busy cleaning – the Board meeting is at the house tonight and the place hadn’t had a good clean since the last House Concert. I still have a pile of things to bring upstairs but I don’t need to do any tidying up here as no one sees it but me! I’ve started a new routine when I put my fabric away; larger pieces of fabric are wrapped around a long 6″ ruler and I cut some templates to wrap the smaller pieces of fabric. I’m following some suggestions on a blog although her suggestions call for ordering her special products.

For the past week I’ve either been ill or suffering from allergies – I have such a hard cough, my nose is a bit runny and my eyes water (which also makes my nose run). I don’t in any other way feel like I have a cold so that’s why I’m thinking allergies. I take an allergy pill in the morning and it lasts me through to the middle of the afternoon and then I start hacking again. I’ve been drinking tea like it’s going out of style and I ran across this quote from a teabag the other day – “The difference between a flower and a weed is a judgment”. So I’m staying out of the yard (although it is a mess) and being non-judgmental; when I open the door the smell of the grass really bothers me. But I must say the lilacs this year are gorgeous – our whole neighbourhood is purple and green and, occasionally, the aroma comes in through the open windows and doors.

 

Block Party

Friday, May 4, 2018

I finished up a project this morning so took a look at some of the things that need to be finished sooner rather than later. That turned out to be a lot of blocks – several cards, some blocks for the Guild, some Splendid blocks and some 1880 sampler blocks. Pat took the noon ferry over to the studio so I’ve decided to have my own block party! I’ll be stitching blocks, I’ll be quilting blocks – this party may last all weekend!

I’ve got a knitting project almost finished so I’ll head downstairs after supper and get it done. I’ll have time to start something new tonight – I’m just not sure what.

I don’t like making bags

Thursday, May 3, 2018

I’ve made several bags and with every one I say never again. I don’t have uses for them and I don’t like putting in zippers. And unless they have a zipper they aren’t secure enough for the shifting around I do on a regular basis.

So when my Thursday sewing mates decided their next project was going to be a bag I said I wasn’t interested. We agreed we didn’t always have to do the same thing – although we’ve all had fun with our Supernovas.

Gail and Jessie were looking at patterns today but I kept my nose to the grindstone, working on my chenille quilt. They decided on The Betsy Bag and made a list of everything they needed buy – I donated some Soft and Stable and Gail had interfacing and zippers they can use. There were discussions about D-Rings and swivel hooks but I ignored it all.

And then Gail said, “I think it is the perfect bag for traveling because it can switch into three different sizes”. What – three different sized bags in one? I took a closer look. I made a list of things I’ll need to buy. Next week we start sewing our new bags.

But just to be clear – I don’t like making bags and never again!

A schedule is only a guideline

Wednesday, May 2, 2018

When someone at quilting realized she had made a mistake on her project her announcement was “Patterns are only meant as guidelines”. The same could be said for the schedules I plan for getting things done.

Wednesday morning should have been a yard day but I just wasn’t in the mood for it. It is still quite cool in the morning and if you are working in the shade or with any sort of breeze it can actually be chilly. I didn’t even try it this morning, I just decided not to go out.

My other usual task on a Wednesday is to work on blocks, Guild projects or cards; quilting is scheduled for Friday, Saturday and Sunday so I can get a few long days into the task. But with four quilts and a table runner waiting to be quilted, a baby quilt already sandwiched and another runner that just needed a backing picked I decided that quilting would be my task until it is all finished – or I desperately need to get something else finished sooner.

I cut backing for the one table runner and batting for both. I wanted to spray baste them outside on the deck but it seemed like my can of basting spray was getting low. The fabric shop has a sale on this week so I walked up and purchased two cans (should be enough and extra for all the things waiting). I also got some binding fabric for my chenille quilt; maybe it hasn’t been underway as long as I thought because I was able to get one of the same fabrics as I purchased for the quilt way-back-then. I set up my table outside on the deck and it took no time at all to sandwich the table runners. I’ll do all the quilts all in a batch when I get to them but they take longer to prep. I also purchased another roll of batting; I’ll pick it up tomorrow when I’m out with the car. We had a good laugh at the thought of me dragging that big box down the street from the shop to home.

I have started quilting on one of the runners. I did some straight lines first and I toyed with the idea of doing the straight lines on the other table runner and baby quilt before switching over to my free-motion. But that would delay having a finish and I like to have a finish sooner rather than later. So will Elizabeth because this first table runner is for her.

Pacific Coastal called this morning to say the flight I had booked for Quilt Canada had been cancelled but I was able to get on an earlier flight the same day. I’d been meaning to call them to see how much it would cost to change my return flight by a day; since they had cancelled one leg of the flight the agent said she would change it for me without any charge. I’m looking forward to being there for Dylan’s Grade Seven Leaving Ceremony.

Back to it!