Tuesday, August 14, 2018

I finished three more blocks today for my Farmer’s Wife Sampler. There are still two blocks left but I looked ahead in my book and I’ll soon have to decide about layout, sashing and backing. Most of the layouts shown have the blocks set on point and, as I learned with the last sampler I did, I don’t find that easy. I know I’ve saved a few photos of other quilts and layouts I’ve seen so I’ll dig through a few of them before making my final decision.

Just when I thought I was moving ahead though it was announced today that our first miniature meeting will be in September. I have a Christmas table runner that I should quilt and use as my project but the latest Splendid Sampler block has me thinking in another direction. Someone posted a photo of the block (basically the branches of a tree) and said she thought it would look nice done in the colours of the four seasons. That reminded me that a few years ago the block for Hands Across the Water was a tree and the colours you were to use were based on your birthday. January to March were certain colours, April to June were other colours, you get the drift. I thought at the time I’d like to make a piece for each of the seasons so now might be the perfect time to dig out the pattern; I think I might even have put aside some fabric for the piece.

But before I start anything (else) new I have to finish up a card and clean up my sewing space. Too many trips and quick ins-and-outs and even the floor space feels limited.

Monday, August 13, 2018

We had another good weekend on Texada. I caught the last ferry over on Thursday night; I enjoyed travelling as it got dark, but it wasn’t so dark that I couldn’t see the two humpbacks beside us. The last two trips over I’ve seen whales but today it is so smoky I don’t think I’d even be able to see from one end of the boat to the other.

It was Sandcastle weekend on Texada but the weather wasn’t great on Saturday so we stayed indoors. We had a few rain showers in Van Anda but apparently there was nothing in Gilles Bay at the site. We spent most of the day Sunday at the event, starting with a Pancake Breakfast put on by the fire department. Pat did his beer slinging for a couple of hours and that gave me time to head to the beach to see some of the works-in-progress. As soon as Pat finished his shift with the Legion he was on stage for his set. We stayed until all the music was over, but didn’t wait to see who won the sand castle events. I haven’t been able to see online who won but I enjoyed seeing the creations in the youth events; the adults were doing major building and you really couldn’t tell what they final sculpture would look like.

We were aiming to take the 9:20 ferry home this morning, which would put us back home by ten. We packed everything up at the studio and were on our way in plenty of time to get some coffee and breakfast while we waited for the ferry. As I was heading to the coffee shop I noticed that the earlier ferry hadn’t left yet so I ran back to the truck so we could move forward in the line-up. As it turned out Pat had misread the ferry times and we were able to take the early ferry. It was delayed leaving as they waited for an ambulance to arrive; we had seen the ambulance just a few doors down from the studio when we left. We had breakfast when we got to Powell River, got some groceries and were home before the ferry we planned to catch left Texada.

So what did I do with my day? For the most part I worked on Cranberry Hall stuff. I had minutes to get out, some reports I needed to get done and I sent out a few e-mails to take care of some planning.

Before supper I had time to package up the final five Farmer’s Wife Sampler blocks. I will probably only manage to get a couple done at the bee tomorrow but it is a good feeling to be this close to done. I wanted to have the blocks finished by October so Stacia and Deloise could help me place them in the quilt. I have another project that I’d also like to have the blocks finished for but that one is a long way from done. Both projects are for the quilt show in March.

Wednesday, August 8, 2018

There were a few things I wanted to get done today and as I sit on the deck watching the sun go down I can say I did most of them.

Although the grass in the lawn didn’t need a trimming, the weeds growing there certainly did; the same was true for the boulevard. I knew the day was going to be hot so I started early – I was out at 7:30 and had it done in an hour. I can’t say it was particularly cool while I did it but it would have been worse later in the day.

I still had laundry to do from when the kids were here – beach towels and blankets. I got them out on the line and even though there was no breeze they dried quickly in the sun. I cleared out the laundry room, organized the recycling and swept the floors. I thought I might scrub the floors as well but I spent over an hour on the phone with Vicki and when I hung up I had lost my momentum. Oh well, the dirt will still be there tomorrow.

I started the week three blocks behind on my Splendid Sampler and I was determined to catch up. Thankfully the first block I worked on today was English paper-pieced so I was able to do it in the cool of the basement. It was hot upstairs tonight but catching up on the blocks kept my mind occupied until I could open the windows and doors in search of an evening breeze.

And you see the oddest things while sitting on the deck. Along with a cruise ship passing through, the two ferries, and the small boats coming into the harbour there was a guy, on a bicycle, riding down the hill pulling a suitcase on wheels. It didn’t go as well as you might think and there were many stops along the way to get things Iined up. I hope he wasn’t hoping to catch the ferry because it left without him.

– Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Tuesday, August 7, 2018

I was back at the bee today but my fears may have been confirmed – I’ve forgotten how to sew.

I had a few more Farmer’s Daughter blocks packaged up, all ready to be paper-pieced. I started with one that I knew would be difficult but I’d been carrying it around for a few sessions and decided it needed to get finished.

There were 15 pieces of pattern for this 6.5″ block; I printed the colour each part of each pattern piece was supposed to be. But when I came to put it together it didn’t all fit. Granted I made a few mistakes of my own, but I could have written the paper-piecing pattern better than “they” did. I was able to save a few of the pieces but came home with about a third of it to do over.

On to my next block. This one was my own stupidity – or maybe I can blame it on the heat. Yes, let’s go with that. This block should have been simple. It was easy to see what colour should be in each position but even then I found myself starting from scratch after putting the first half together (thank goodness for the tape I carry in my bag). I redid the one half but still have the other half to get done.

It is really hot out but I think I’ll put up with the temperature in my studio long enough to finish those two blocks and maybe get some cutting done for my next Splendid Sampler block. It is hand stitched and I can do that in the cool of the basement.