Wednesday, January 9, 2019

I made arrangements with a quilting friend to start walking in the New Year; today was the first one of those walks. I was a little concerned with all the snow yesterday but it was all gone by this morning. We agreed to meet at the Marine Inn at ten and decide where we’d go from that point. I paced around the building waiting and waiting; I could see the clock through the window and thought perhaps it took her longer to walk from her place than she expected. At the same time, Moreen was at the Westview Inn (just down the street on Marine Ave.) wondering the same things as I was. We did eventually meet and get on with our walk. It takes Moreen about 40 minutes to walk to my place so we decided we’d walk back to her place which would give both of us an 80-minute walk.

When we got to her place I got a tour of her sewing floor – yes, she has an entire floor to play with (I guess I do to now that I think of it). It sprinkled rain most of our walk but I managed to get home just before it started to rain in earnest. We’ll join a new walking group on Sunday and plan to do some walking twice a week.

While I didn’t see much to report on during my walk today I realized I hadn’t shared any photos of a walk we did on Texada over the Christmas season. So here they are.

Tuesday, January 8, 2019

I was looking forward to getting to the bee today but when I heard the weather (snow in the morning, turning to sleet, and then turning back to snow) I turned the radio off and went back to bed. There are so many miserable days that I have to go out for something I didn’t see the need to go out in miserable weather when I didn’t really have to. The parking lot at the Church where we sew has a very steep hill and they don’t do anything to clear either the roadway or the parking lot. So I set up my sewing machine at the kitchen table and worked on all the projects I had planned to take to the bee. There is no doubt in my mind that I got a lot more done by sewing at home than I would have with the group.

My first project was a birthday card; I finished it, including stitching the binding by hand, before noon. I moved on to my Farmer’s Wife Sampler and got all of the sashing between the blocks done. I usually leave the bee shortly after two, but since I was home I carried on until three. I cut and sewed all the pieces I’ll need for the sashing and cornerstones between the rows.

The snow started about ten this morning and it hasn’t stopped so I’m glad I stayed at home. I have a few more things I want to take care of tonight so I’ll be ready to get back to my quilt first thing tomorrow.

Monday, January 7, 2019

Quilting on my snowflakes went very well today. I don’t know why I fight with my machine; I know it likes the same thread in the bobbin and the top but I seem to continually try to make it work with different weights between the two. Usually it is because the colour I use on top is different than the backing colour and I hate to have my quilting show. I think this quilt has taught me my lesson and I won’t struggle with it next time, I’ll just do as it wants.

I started the day without knowing exactly what sort of quilting I’d be doing around on the 22 snowflake blocks. In the end I did my usual squiggles – I’m not perfect at it but it is better and faster than most other things I try. I’ve finished them all and I even managed a few other tasks throughout the day.

I’ve been working on the insurance policy for the Hall and after half a dozen e-mail messages back and forth as well as one telephone conversation I think it has been resolved. It certainly was an education for me, and no doubt a huge source of frustration to our agent! I’m going to track how many messages were exchanged in the entire process so I can report to the Board; I asked for help with it but no one stepped up.

It was a beautiful sunny day today and I enjoyed my quick-ish trip to the Post Office. I took the long way around to get there (along Marine, through Townsite, up the hill to Cranberry and then back into town) because I like to keep my battery charged. The car may be sitting for a day or two as we have snow in the forecast for tomorrow!

I still have a few things to take care of before supper. I need to pick a pattern for a card so I can work on it tomorrow at the bee; I’ll also take along my Farmer’s Wife blocks as I may be able to finish the sashing on them. I’ll also throw in the final pieces that I need for my Farmer’s Daughter; they are hand stitched so will be a good filler at the end of the day. At some point this evening I’m hoping to find a pattern to quilt on the final border of Taylor’s quilt.

Sunday, January 6, 2019

I knew for certain yesterday afternoon that I didn’t have the energy to take another stitch on my quilting project. I watched a couple of movies during the evening and was up later than usual – a new, but relaxing, bit of crocheting always makes me want to keep on going.

I’ve been setting my alarm for six every day since the New Year – hoping to get a few more hours (heck, I’d settle for minutes) of quilting time. The heavy rain woke me at around four and, as I lay there, I decided if I was still awake at five I’d get up. When I first heard my radio I was amazed that it was 7:30 already; I was already late getting started.

I did the last bit of straight line quilting before getting set up for some free-motion work. I hadn’t gone very far before it was time to head down to the Hall for a showing, and then waiting for the afternoon renter. While I waited, one of the participants in the event, wandered in early and we started chatting. While most folks think the historic photos we have mounted in the Hall are an asset, this particular woman felt it was too bad that they “change the energy” in the room! On my way home I stopped to drop off a cheque at the home of one of our Board members. When I walked in it was like a mini Board meeting as both Pat and her husband are on the Board, our President was there working with Mike, and another Board member was on the phone with Mike wanting to talk to me.

Needless to say after the Hall visit and the mini-meeting I came home with another list of things to do. Since I was going to have to interrupt myself in a couple of hours to close the Hall I decided to get as much Hall work done as possible. I did quite well; I have to spend a bit more time on the minutes and get a deposit ready but that should be “it” until I pick up mail on Tuesday.

Now that the afternoon is almost over I’m running out of energy to get back to my quilting. But I’m going to force myself to keep at it at least until it is time to change thread colour.