Wednesday, October 31, 2018

For the last few years we have completely ignored Hallowe’en. The first couple of years in Powell River we had, maybe, five teenagers come to the door; I think the second year they only came back for the drinks I was handing out. We had a renter next door with a small child but I always prepared a little bag of goodies for her and dropped it in her mailbox. They moved away this past summer and the new renter is a single adult.

I managed to get in a bit of sewing-related things today. I dug out some backing and batting for a couple of quilt tops. I cut all the sashing pieces I need for my Farmer’s Wife blocks – I’ll take them to sewing tomorrow afternoon and work my way through the rows. I had a few blocks that were left to be sewn together for the centre of a community quilt I’m making so I got that done.

Tonight, while I hide myself away from the windows and doors, I’ll try to get my Splendid Sampler blocks prepped. I’ll probably take them to the retreat to work on but I like to have the cutting done ahead of time. And there are always more Farmer’s Daughter blocks to hand stitch.

Tuesday, October 30, 2018

Caught up might be stretching the truth just a bit – in reality I don’t think I will ever be able to say (truthfully) that I am caught up. But I’ve been busy since I returned home and today, for the first day, I feel like I’m back on schedule.

I got home on Thursday and we had House Concerts on Friday and Saturday. I intended to start my cleaning Thursday afternoon but I was too tired to even start. That meant there was a lot to do on Friday morning but, fortunately, our guests decided to arrive on the 4:30 rather than the noon ferry. We had everything set up for 35 guests, the house tidied and dishes set out before supper. We ate a bit later than we usually do but we were done before anyone arrived for the show. The show on Saturday (on Texada) was an afternoon concert and I decided I wouldn’t go over for it. I had the afternoon to myself and spent it unpacking from my trip and trying to sort out my computer issues.

By the time our guests left on the noon ferry on Sunday I was ready to relax but I had more work to do. There were five loads of laundry needing attention and I had to prepare for my Board meeting on Monday afternoon. We decided that the external drive on my computer (that I use for backups) was hooped and Pat helped me pick out a new one; there will be more work to do when it arrives and in the meantime I’m crossing my fingers that nothing goes wrong with the hard drive in my computer. In the meantime I’m trying to organize my photos based on the year they were taken; it is slow going but I’ve done a bit every day and the sorting is almost done. I don’t want to talk about the next step though – deciding what to do with them all.

Monday morning I finalized the Cranberry Hall information for the meeting in the afternoon, and prepared a deposit. I got home from the meeting about supper time and right after supper we headed out for a Lennie Gallant concert. We hadn’t seen Lennie Gallant in several years but his voice and song writing still appeals. I enjoyed the show so much more that most shows I’ve attended in the last few years as there was no work to be done ahead of time (no posters to hang), no work to be done at the show (no concession, no selling memberships, and no cleaning up after) and nothing to do after the show (no bank deposits to sort out). I wish there were more of these.

I was off to the Guild bee today; it was good to catch up on all the news. I worked on my Farmer’s Daughter blocks because they are stored in a bag that is always ready to go. I don’t think I could have managed to cut anything straight for a new project. I left earlier than usual as I wanted to stop at the fabric shop; the Splendid Sampler 2 books arrived and I wanted to be sure I got one before they were gone. I’m three blocks behind but I hope to catch up on them at the Retreat, if not before.

I’m off to the movie tonight. I’ve been hearing mixed reactions to the show (A Star is Born) so I think I need to see it for myself.

A week of uninterrupted sewing from morning to night – what could be better? Spending that week with Stacia and Deloise was priceless. We had so much fun that we’ll do it again next year after Deloise’s quilt show.

Here is some of what I accomplished.

This sewing machine cover was in answer to the Challenge from last year’s Texada Retreat (due in just a couple of weeks). We had about a meter of five different fabrics and the challenge was to make something with them. I ended up with two fabric pieces the same (so I had four different fabrics to work with) but I’m not sure whether or not that was a bonus. I cheated just a little by putting a different backing on the piece but maybe no one will notice. I like to make something useful for the challenges and I needed a cover for my machine at home.

I was a week out on the due date for my next miniature quilt but at least it is done. When I packed for my trip I had a completely different pattern in mind but an e-mail arrived and just like that I changed my mind. Thanks to a stop at a Saskatoon quilt store I was able to get the neutral background that I needed. The rest of the fabric are scraps left from another quilt I made.

I finished my Bloom quilt – another challenge from last year’s Texada Retreat. I was gifted all the fabrics from another member after I came in second at strip poker. Arranging these blocks wasn’t too difficult and I have plenty of fabric for the binding. There will still be some left for another project; the guild has a jelly roll rug class in the spring so I may be able to use it up then. Taking a photo into the light from the window yellowed the background colour but you get the idea.

I took along all 111 of my Farmer’s Wife Sampler blocks and had Stacia and Deloise help me arrange them and figure out the size for the setting triangles. The blocks cover a wide range of colours but, surprisingly, it wasn’t as difficult as I thought to find a layout I was happy with. All of the fabrics are from Mum’s stash; Deloise was able to give me some extra yardage of Mum’s so I’ll also be able to do the backing with her fabrics. I numbered the remaining blocks and I’ll be in trouble if any pins come loose in those blocks before they are attached.

I had another project packed but in the middle of the night before we left I realized that I needed extra fabric. Deloise offered to take me to the quilt shops but we were both anxious to get on the road so I’ll take that project with me next October. The pattern and corresponding fabric was a gift from Deloise so it will be fun to work on it when we’re together; and the fabric line is Farmer’s Daughter so it is perfect for our get-together.

I also had time to do a few more blocks for my Farmer’s Daughter project. I’m still hoping to have it finished in time for the quilt show in the spring.

Although getting there was not half the fun, I did get to spend a night at the Fairmont Airport hotel in Vancouver. It was a pretty swanky room for a short stay but it was certainly convenient after having my flights to Calgary messed up with fog. Although the time in Calgary was short, it was nice to see Elizabeth and crew. We had a lovely walk and made it home just before a storm blew in – and it blew and blew and blew but didn’t bring any rain or snow.

It was all about the hockey at the Thomases. I was able to watch a practice with Alex and part of a practice with Will; Alex’s team still use only half the ice but Will’s team uses the full ice and they can really slap the puck against the boards which makes for a noisy time. On the one day they had off from hockey the boys couldn’t be talked out of attending the Blades game; Dave was working the game but there was a public skate with the Blades team after so the boys got a chance to play on the big ice.

Kathryn and I had a chance to shop at Michael’s; we both picked up some yarns for some scrubbies and I also picked up a “cake” for a shawl. I didn’t need to bring any yarn home with me and I definitely didn’t need (or have room for) the five photo boxes or the plastic bin that I also picked up. Alex works as a Crossing Guard at the school this year so I went out to see him at work one day. It was cold with the wind but nothing like it will be just a bit later in the year. Will perfected a magic trick in his spare time and they painted the tree stumps in the front yard with glow-in-the-dark paint. I’m not sure what the City will think of that but it might be fun for Hallowe’en.

Deloise, Laurie and I watched Ken play a hockey game; he’s been playing for years but this was the first time I’d seen him play. Those old guys sure do skate well; Ken said the referee for the game was 82 and he refs twice a week and plays twice a week. We had lunch and a great visit after the game. After lunch Deloise and I hit a couple of quilt shops, as well as a grocery store for supplies for our week at Turtle Lake (more on that in the next post).