Wednesday, September 22, 2021

The weather this morning didn’t look very promising for getting out on the step to sandwich Kathryn’s tablecloth but by lunch time the sun was shining and I got it done. Before I got to that though I did a bit more scanning and shredding from Christy’s bin. I’m making progress and I think I’m about half done.

I ordered the first in a new-to-me series from the inter-library loan program as well as putting a book from our library on hold.

I also did more cutting for the Guild’s mystery. I think I’m going to have to go shopping for some more fabric; I have enough fabric for the rest of the cutting but I don’t have enough variety. There is an advantage to having already made the quilt once; I’d prefer to use only the fabric from my stash but that didn’t work out so well the first time around so I’m being a bit more picky this time.

It was still too early to quit for the day when the sandwiching was done so I started on my latest clue for my Peppermint Purple project. It is a complicated one this week and I’m having trouble getting my eyes to focus on the pattern and then back to the stitching. Pat has an online event tonight and I’m hopeful I can get it finished up before we settle in for some TV.

I finished crocheting my afghan last night and tonight I will darn in the ends.

Tuesday, September 21, 2021

Thank you to everyone for the good wishes on my birthday yesterday. I had a lovely day – lots of phone calls and messages, some hand stitching, some reading and a Subway supper with a DQ ice cream cake.

We made a tough decision yesterday – we won’t be going to Calgary for Thanksgiving. We have been watching the number of Covid cases in Alberta climb but we were still planning our trip until Elizabeth asked us to consider postponing until Christmas. She was also concerned about the numbers but mainly worried about the lack of hospital beds should we get sick from Covid or any other emergency. I think we all felt better once we made the decision and, hopefully, by Christmas things in both our provinces will have settled down.

Today I was back to “normal”. I caught up on some paperwork this morning and did a bit more shredding. Some of the photos Christy didn’t want were headed to the shredder but I couldn’t shred them without scanning them first; that took up some time. I have another batch ready to scan tomorrow, as well as a pile of papers that will be shredded.

I fully intended to join the Guild Zoom check-in today at noon but I couldn’t find a link that worked. I haven’t joined in since they started up after the summer so perhaps they have made some changes that I didn’t know about. I sorted out the first clue for the mystery quilt I am running and picked out my fabric. I thought I was going to have to start the mystery in October but I decided to combine some of the clues into one so it won’t start until November and the last clue will be released in May. That gives lots of catching up time before the show and tell next June.

After lunch it was time to do a few of my errands. I had prescriptions to pick up at the drug store; they were busy and it wasn’t as quick as it usually is. From there I went to the library and renewed my card for another three years and picked up a book from an inter-library loan. After that it was a drop off at the bank and then home.

I cut out the back and the front of the tablecloth I’m making for Kathryn. I’ll have to wait for a nicer day to get out on the step and sandwich them. I didn’t intend to start cutting for my mystery but I have one of the fabrics cut into 5″ squares. Lots more cutting to do; I’ll do it a bit at a time to save my wrists.

Now I’m ready to quit for the day and head downstairs to finish my book. If we have a long enough evening I may be able to get my afghan finished too.

September 19, 2021

I try to win a game of Solitaire every day; I’ll try three times in a row and unless I win I move on to something more productive and try again the next time I need a break. This morning I won the first game I played so I needed something else to fill my time. I have a bin of shredding to do (thanks Christy) so I moved on to that task but the shredder had stopped working. I figured it was just full but even after I emptied it I still couldn’t make it work. From the bottom the shredder looked clear but I could see from the top that it was plugged. So I got out my letter opener and started digging (after unplugging it of course). It wasn’t until I got out my Swiss Army Knife that I was able to dig everything out and get it working.

Did you or your kids ever play with these? The original name was Perler Beads but mine came from the dollar store so were called Melty Beads. I dug them out when Dylan and Tayler were here but they weren’t interested. My intention was to add them to the thrift store bag but when I moved the box I scattered beads all over so I knew I needed to package them up a little better. When I looked at them today I thought I could do something with them; now I have three Hallowe’en images with magnets glued to the back. Any day I get to play with a glue gun is a good day. I don’t have enough beads left to donate so they’ll just go into the recycle bin.

I was finished half of the binding on my quilt before the Song Circle started and I have it finished now. I found another needle for my cross stitch and spent the rest of the time doing more outlining on the blocks. I think for the rest of the afternoon I’ll continue with that task.

We had a very poor turnout for the Song Circle this afternoon but after two days of rain the sun is shining and I expect many of our regulars were enjoying the day outside.

September 18, 2021

As per my post yesterday I’m trying something new for circulating my Journal. I’ve either heard from you that you want to get my posts via e-mail or you were on a previous list when I still had automated messaging. If you would prefer not to receive these postings by e-mail please let me know; no judgement if you decide not to. All posts will still be on my website.

I’ve spent another day quilting my Secret Santa project. The section of did today took much longer than I expected but it is finished now. I’ve trimmed the quilt and I think I’ll have time to cut the binding before supper. My goal is to have it ready for hand stitching during the Song Circle tomorrow afternoon.

Just when I thought I was finished with my cross stitch quilt blocks I decided to outline them with a backstitch. I lost my needle somewhere between the last stitch in my sampler and yesterday when I decided to do the outline. I’ve tried a couple of different needles since but haven’t found one I’m happy with. Fortunately this afternoon I remembered where I stashed all my needles; hopefully I can find one I like.

I had a notice from the library that they have another book ready for me. The book I’m reading now is an inter-library loan and can’t be renewed; I have it until the 29th. As this new book is also an inter-library loan I won’t pick it up until the last day so that I’ll have enough time to read it.

I finished another ball of yarn last night on my afghan; just four more to go. I hope it finishes big enough but at whatever size it finishes that it the size it will remain.