Friday, August 2, 2019

I’ve been on Texada a week and I’ve not missed home at all.

Last weekend was the Blues and Roots festival. The weather was good, I had a free pass onto the site and my job was quite simple. I was there to promote the next season of Home Routes concerts and another show Pat has booked for October. Sales were slow but I spoke to several people about the events.

The first few days of the week were spent between some quilting, some cross stitch and some baseball. Will was playing in the national tournament for 14 and under boys; some of the games were broadcast over the internet and I watched as many of them as possible. I was quite quiet in my cheering the first game but after Pat left to go back to Powell River for a couple of days my cheering got much louder. Maybe I just wanted to hear someone’s voice but I was actually very much “into” each and every game.

While Pat was away I dug out The Princess and spent a couple of days stitching. Since then I’ve been working in my workshop; I have a miniature quilt finished and I’m just finishing up the quilting on a larger quilt. I have several more ready to sandwich and quilt so I won’t run out of things to do.

I expected I would have more done than I have, but I’m not pushing myself too much. With my first cup of coffee in the morning I check my email and play my games (for the first several days I missed my iPad because I had forgotten it at home), with my second cup I do a little knitting. Then, and only then, do I get busy quilting. I don’t have a bathroom in the workshop so I’m up and down the hill a few times during the day.

In the evenings I’m either reading or knitting or sometimes working on an embroidered tablecloth.

Sandcastle Weekend starts tomorrow; I’m volunteering for a 2-hour shift on Sunday. Except for a day trip back to Powell River next week I’ll be staying put for at least another week.

Thursday, July 25, 2019

Getting there may be half the fun but the other half certainly is not getting ready.

Pat and I did some running around this morning and then did some prep work for selling House Concert tickets at the festival on Texada. Late this morning, Pat got groceries while I went off to the fabric shop and my sewing session. After sewing I did some printing at Staples before I came home.

I’ve had supper and now I need to start packing. I’m taking all of my finished quilt tops to Texada; I have more room to sandwich them over there and I’d be taking them to quilt anyway so they may as well all live there until I get to them. I was able to find backings in my stash for all but two of them and I picked up fabrics on sale for those two. I’ll be taking a few other projects along with me, and I look forward to afternoons in the hammock and doing some reading. I’ll spend the better part of two weeks on Texada but I may be back and forth a time or two.

I want to get the grass and boulevard (mostly weeds) cut before the evening is over so I’d better get at it.

Wednesday, July 24, 2019

I was at my computer at six this morning but I was back to my “normal” work. I got the Hall minutes sent off and took care of a few other jobs that resulted from the meeting.

Once those tasks were done I tackled my own paper work. It was after noon by the time I finished. Pat arrived home while I was on my lunch break – in the cool of the basement. I managed a few rows of knitting while I finished watching a program.

My plan for the day was to get backings and batting cut for a number of quilts I want to take to Texada with me. We’ve decided that my roll of batting will fit in the truck so that cut down on the work I needed to do. I found backings for two of the quilts; there is one more that I didn’t have anything that would work so I’ll make a stop at the fabric shop tomorrow and hope I can find something suitable on the 70% off table.

We off shopping tonight, but not for groceries (I’ll do that tomorrow after sewing). I need some curtain rods and curtains for the two windows in my workspace. I’ll get a couple more to hang quilts from. I also want to get another rodent-deterent machine as well as some styrofoam insulation sheets to set up as a design wall. I plan to spend a couple of weeks on The Rock so I’ll have time to do a bit of decorating (work) when I’m there.

Tuesday, July 23, 2019

It’s done (the manuscript) and I’m done! I would have liked to have slept in this morning but it was a bee day and I had nothing prepared. The alarm went off at six but I stayed in bed until seven. It is surprising how quickly you can pull things together when you need to.

I worked on a couple of cards today – they were for August birthdays so I’m feeling quite please that I’m not having to scramble at the last minute. One still needs to be quilted, but I didn’t have the right colour of thread with me.

I spent a bit of time on a Leader and Ender project. I wasn’t doing it as a Leader and Ender but I had some time to kill before lunch and just sewed some HSTs up.

After lunch I started hand stitching the binding on my Rail Fence quilt. I had an appointment at three and, since I was early, I stitched in the car for about half an hour until it was time to go into the office.

There won’t be much done tonight. I’m going to sit and watch TV and I’m not going to read anything for the rest of the day.