Saturday, May 19, 2018

It was cloudy and a bit cooler this morning which was a good thing; I was out the door with my long pants and long-sleeved shirt by 8:30. I was tackling the roses at the back of the house. After two hours of pulling bindweed and clipping back blackberry canes I was ready for a break. I sat out on the deck with a cup of coffee but I was having trouble “just sitting” so I got my book out and finished it along with my coffee. After 45 minutes I headed back to the yard and spent another hour cleaning up the clippings I created. I’m hopeful that when the roses begin to blossom I’ll be able to enjoy them without seeing blackberry stems or bindweed flowers.

When I got inside and cleaned up I noticed that my arms and legs were quite scratched up. I was wearing old clothes which are thin and have seen better days; those clothes appear to have rips in them in about the same location as my scratches. I had some anti-bacterial pine tar soap that worked wonders for my scratches last year but I don’t have any left; perhaps I’ll head up to the market tomorrow and see if I can find the woman that I bought from last year.

I spent a bit of time working on a card top after lunch. I watched a video last night from Missouri Star Quilt Company and it was the perfect block for the themed card I needed to make. I don’t usually make a particular theme for my cards but I have been over the past few years for this one special person. Stay tuned for a view of it.

I don’t think I’ll do much this evening. I’m tired and I think I’ll veg in front of the TV – I may not even pick up my crocheting project.

Friday, May 18, 2018

I’ve had a couple of busy sewing days. I worked hard yesterday morning to get a card ready for the mail – quilting done and hand sewing as well. After dropping the card into the mail after lunch I headed out for my afternoon sewing session. Progress on the bag is slow, but the zipper is in so I’m breathing a sigh of relief. I had hoped at one point I would have it done for my trip to Vancouver but with only one week before that happens there is no chance. I barely was home in time for supper and then headed out the door to a Guild demo night.

We stitched about seven quilt tops together last evening – some of the blocks we were working with were a bit “off” and finding 20 blocks that went together was a bit of a challenge. I stayed as far away from the decision-making as possible and stitched together a quilt top. We were back at it first thing this morning and I put together another top and helped sandwich a few quilts. All totalled we managed a dozen quilts which are ready for quilting, binding and presentation to whoever needs them. Community quilts are where we spend the bulk of the money the Guild earns from the quilt show and raffle. Everyone who participated today got a door prize – a sandwich to take home to quilt and bind.

I left before all the work was done. I wanted to get the boulevard mowed and our own grass needed another trimming. I keep getting out the weed whacker for the edges but I don’t think I’m getting any better at it. While I was out and had my gardening clothes on I picked a bucket of weeds and did some watering. There is nothing but hot dry weather in the forecast and a few of the plants in planters were looking a bit limp – the lavender and the lilac in particular.

I’ve got two more cards ready for binding tonight.

Wednesday, May 16, 2018

At every Guild business meeting this year we’ve been bringing home a small bag of cut-up scraps. We are to make a 12.5″ block from the fabric in the bag and, at the end of the Guild season, we’ll put the blocks together for Community Quilts.

I’ve kept up quite well but I got behind in April. At the May Guild meeting we were encouraged to take extra bags because they needed 20 for each quilt top, and I also think the Program Committee didn’t want any bags of scraps left over.

Tomorrow night (and Friday) we will be putting the blocks together. When they were counting up the blocks on Tuesday they said they needed more; I told them I had four blocks at home that I’d finish by our meeting Thursday.

So that’s what I did all day – four blocks done and one Splendid Sampler block as well. It is hard to find a traditional block or even a pattern that will match the various pieces in our bags. Most of my inspiration comes from my Quilter’s Block a Day Calendar. I cut as many pieces to size as possible and then fill in the rest with whatever I have left.

I thought I had hit the jackpot on one of the blocks when I was able to cut all the pieces to match the pattern – sadly the block I cut for was only nine inches. Can you tell which one has an add-on border?

Tuesday, May 15, 2018

I had a wonderful weekend at the studio. I skipped stitching on Thursday afternoon and headed to The Rock on the mid-morning ferry. Even though it was a bit breezy I sat outside during the ferry trip. I decided that if I was suffering from allergies the sea air would do me good; if I had something else I thought the sea air might kill me and then I’d know it wasn’t allergies! We have a lot of trees around the studio but none of them are flowering and I felt better by the first afternoon.

We did a couple of walks, I sat outside on the deck and did nothing, I read, I did a bit of cross stitching – all relaxing activities. We walked down to the lake just across from us in hopes of seeing some turtles sunning themselves but there were kids playing in the water and the best we could do was a sighting of some tadpoles and a snake. We went out for dinner one night (we usually do when I’m over there) and we went to Shelter Point for dinner on Mother’s Day; it was opening day for the concession and they had a crowd.

We both came back over on Monday because Pat had to renew the insurance on his truck but after taking care of that and a bit of shopping he was back out on the noon ferry. I spent some time upstairs and finished my chenille quilt; it needed to be squared up and have the binding attached. I sat out on the deck last evening and did the hand stitching before getting it into the washer and drier for a finish today at the bee. I’m pleased with how it turned out; I’m not sure what I’ll do with it now that it is done though.

Today I was back at the bee and working on card tops, as well as blocks from The Splendid Sampler. I have a few cards that I need for this month so as I do a top for a card I do one block for my sampler. Since I was in a hurry, and all the original blocks I have left are complicated, I’m doing these tops for the second (and third) time. I’ll continue working on them tonight.

I’m still not sure if I have allergies or an odd cold; since being home my eyes are watering and my throat is a bit sore but I don’t have that horrible cough that I had last week. No matter what it is I hope it goes away soon; Christy gave me some natural allergy relief products and I’m using (and enjoying) them. I was well taken care of in the smelly department for Mother’s Day – essential oils, lotions and bath bombs!