Wednesday, March 17, 2021

I spent all day yesterday and today quilting. Now that I’ve decided I don’t need to push myself to use a free-motion technique or to learn how to quilt with rulers I’m actually enjoying the process. I have a few stitches that I can use for almost any project and I have a good book with new straight line stitches that I can learn.

The two projects I’m quilting right now make use of every one of the stitches in my arsenal. In fact, some of them might have been over-used. There were a lot of thread changes in both pieces and I have quite a few ends to knot and bury before I start on the binding.

I got another thing done today that I’ve been worrying a bit about. I recorded the Sunday Song Circle and people have already been asking for it to be posted. I chatted with the tech guy from the Board (the youngest member); he said he would do it for me but I decided I’d try it myself once I found out he didn’t do anything extra to the files. It worked and I won’t be nervous about doing it another time.

We got a delivery of groceries today. It is always fun to see what was missing from the order and what we got as a surprise. We’ve often ended up with one tomato or a bag of peppers when we only wanted a couple. Today’s laugh came from the cans of brown beans we got. They were on sale so Pat wanted to stock up a bit but we really didn’t need seventeen cans! Pat thinks he ordered them once and then ordered them again but didn’t remember to delete the first order. It’s a good thing we like brown beans.

I wanted a couple of potatoes for my hot cross bun recipe and we got a bag of them; Pat said six potatoes were the same price as the bag so I guess I’ll be making more than one batch. We seldom eat potatoes except on Shepherd’s Pie because we prefer sweet potatoes which are actually better for Pat’s sugar levels.

I have time before dinner to tie in the ends on my quilt and maybe get one of the bindings done.

March 16, 2021

Remember way back when I was counting the days of self-isolation? I stopped counting at Week 9, Day 7 but realized today that it has been a year. It took a long time before I realized that this was going to be our new way of living for an extended period.

I’ve missed family and friends over the past year although Zoom and Facebook chats have helped a lot. I also miss those chance encounters with people I know while I’m out on the street or in the shops. I even miss a smile and a hello to and from a stranger.

I haven’t had any problem staying at home – my various crafts keep me busy. However after being at home for a year I can’t say that I’ve actually accomplished much – new starts but not so many finishes.

As Spring arrives there is hope for a change. Vaccinations have started although I’m still not able to schedule an appointment. There will still be concerns even once I have the “jab” but maybe (just maybe) I’ll see my kids and grandkids before the next year passes.

Monday, March 15, 2021

I was working on cards AGAIN! I have all but one quilted but there are a lot of ends to tie in before they are finished. The last one needs some appliqué work so that means changing thread colours many many times. I also had a finished card that needed to get into the mail today.

When I went out to mail my card I picked up another book from the library. The pile on my bedside table is so high that if one more book comes in I’m going to have to start a second pile. I appear to be on a Second World War kick; even the book I picked up from a friend last week is from that era.

I worked out in the yard for a bit this afternoon. I picked up the top layer of leaves from my piles; I’ll do a bit each day as the top layer dries. I finished all the pots in the sitting area at the back; I notice that the lilac has some leaf buds coming out. I worked my way down the garden path (so to speak) and weeded out the current and blueberry bushes. One of the blueberries has leaf buds but I’m worried about the current; the branches seemed very dry (maybe dead). I also noticed that our mock orange has some blossoms on it; once it is all out the scent fills that back sitting area.

Pat looked out the front door when I came inside and said it looked really good. Imagine how he’ll say when I he sees what I actually worked on!

Sunday, March 14, 2021

I finished the last of my card tops this morning and have everything ready (batting and backings) to start quilting them tomorrow. After that it was almost a necessity to clean up my cutting table – I had such a mess I was working in about a one-foot square space. And once that was tidied (not necessarily cleared) I did the vacuuming.

This afternoon was the Cranberry Hall Song Circle; Pat and I are co-hosts for it. It was a good session but there is actually work for me to do. I record the sessions and today I figured out how to spotlight each of the performers. I managed to get a pitch in for membership but I haven’t yet seen anyone take me up on the offer.

Later this afternoon we are going to watch one of Taylor’s competitions via Zoom. I think we’ll be able to get her on the big screen and I’m so looking forward to seeing her perform.