Wednesday, February 2, 2022

If the first of the month is my favourite day of the month, Wednesday is surely my favourite day of the week. A new Peppermint Purple block is released and it is relatively easy to get it done and off the list in a day. I’ve carried on with the border of my 2021 Peppermint Purple project and I’m getting very close to finishing. As soon as it is done I have another weekly stitch along that I’ll be joining. I’ll be a bit behind to start but I don’t think it will take too long to catch up.

I had time this morning before breakfast to make a block for my piecing challenge. I have backing and border fabric pulled for my quilt; until it warms up a bit though I won’t be able to get it sandwiched.

I had a few decluttering and cleaning tasks to take care of before I sat down to stitch. I cleaned my sewing machines and changed the needles. I also changed the blade in my rotary cutter; I knew the rotary cutter blade needed to be changed but I changed the needles as well because it was on the monthly list and I don’t do it often enough. I spent half an hour among my scraps – AGAIN! I’m not sure how many days I have set aside for scraps but it seems like I’m working on them constantly. I actually saw a difference in the 1.5″ bin at the end of my time.

My extra large needles for Taylor’s project arrived today so I’ll be able to get started on that. The timing is perfect as last night when I changed skeins of yarn on the afghan I ended up with a complete mess trying to find the end of it. I’ve started sorting it out but there is a long way to go; it’s nice to be able to leave it behind and not feel guilty about it.

Tuesday, February 1, 2022

My favourite day of the month – new quilting challenges. If I were to follow the “rules” I’d be picking one (of twelve) UFOs to work on during the month. This year I picked twelve piecing UFOs, twelve quilting UFOs and twelve scrappy UFOs. Last month worked out well for me so I’ll see how this month goes.

My quilting challenge is another big quilt. I call this my May quilt because the pattern came from a 2011 quilt calendar (thank you Deloise) and the pattern was the one featured for May. I need to add a small border, sandwich and quilt it before it comes off the list.

My piecing challenge is one I’m glad to get back to – Alias Grace. In the book each chapter is prefaced with a quilt block. I loved the book and decided to make a sampler quilt using the blocks from the chapters. I’ve finished 9 of the 15 blocks that will be required. The blocks are in a variety of sizes so fitting them together will be challenging.

I’m happy to get back to my scrappy challenge; I’ve spent so much time over the years dealing with scraps it is nice to be using them for something. And this is the perfect year and perfect timing for this one – Temecula’s Stay at Home Sampler. Without any more of Temecula’s miniatures to work on I feel quite at home (while staying home) with this one. The blocks are just 3″ finished so it will be a small one.

Monday, January 31, 2022

For the first time in a long time (maybe forever) all of the tasks on my reminder list are finished. I’ll start with a clean slate going into February but I don’t expect this phenomenon to last long; I’ll have three more challenges hitting the list tomorrow as well as another batch of cards. It is a nice feeling while it lasts though.

The timing today was almost perfect. I was cleaning the laundry room which is mostly a collection of our recycling. The thrift store was finally open so I was able to take a couple of bags to them; I didn’t want to overwhelm them with all my collections. I had cleared out some cabinets and drawers at some point over the past couple of weeks and I had a bag full of out-dated medications; I dropped them off at the pharmacy for disposal. I was able to take my bag full of Pat’s shredding to the recycle depot and I sorted the various recycling bags from the laundry room into the right bins on the back step.

The only thing I wasn’t able to clear out were our cans and bottles. As of tomorrow we will be able to return our milk containers for a refund; when I sorted our recycling bags I took out all the milk containers and added them to the bag of cans and bottles; I’ll drop that bag off on my next trip out. I had quite a few things to take to the post office and I took care of that while I was out.

I’ve been working my way through Mum’s fabrics again today. I am still dozen’s short of the pieces I need for the quilt I’m making but the bin is still more than half full.

Pat has an online event tonight and I hope to get a bit more of my Peppermint Purple border done.

Sunday, January 30, 2022

I was very determined to get to the bottom of the pile of paper on my desktop today. I had a file folder full it things I wanted to get into the mail to various family members and once that was done my pile was less inclined to topple over. I always have one or two items on the desktop for the Hall, a few items for myself and, occasionally, something for the Guild.

I cleared my way through seven stackable filing trays and narrowed them down to just five. Three of them are for use for the Hall, the Guild and myself. I have another tray that is going to require further sorting – I’ll do it in half-hour bits as the task comes up each week. I have another tray that keeps my outgoing mail. Once a card is finished I wrap it up and get it ready for the mail but sometimes, not often, I’m finished early so I don’t want the package to go out yet. If I’m diligent there should never again be a stack of paper on my desk.

The rest of the day I’ve been going through the bin of Mum’s fabrics. When Stacia, Deloise and I get together to sew we are all going to work on projects using Mum’s stash. I have a pattern picked out for my project but it involves a lot of cutting. Just from this afternoon’s work my elbow, wrist and fingers are sore and I’ve hardly made a dent in the bin.

I started cutting fabric specifically for the blocks I need for my project but then decided I’d be left with more and smaller scraps. So I’m taking each piece of fabric (and believe me they are scraps after using the fabric for my Farmer’s Wife quilt) and cutting it into whatever shape I can use in the project and getting rid of the rest of the piece. There are five shapes – three of them require fairly large pieces – and two of them are relatively small shapes.

It will take me a month of Sundays to get through that fabric no matter how I slice it.