Sunday, September 10, 2017

Thank you to everyone who wondered about my absence and sent their good wishes. I’m back on my feet, feeling much better, but still not quite at “normal”. I see improvements every day but I’m patient and allowing myself time to heal and trying to listen to what my body is telling me – that included naps for several days, early bed times, and very carefully watching what I eat. I’ve started taking a walk every day, adding a block or two each time and, hopefully, by the time my books are due at the Library I’ll be able to walk there and back.

I’ve managed to keep up with a few things, laundry in particular, although I haven’t had a go yet at the sweeping, vacuuming, dusting, or scrubbing. We have a sold-out House Concert on October 2nd so I’ll have to work myself up to it before then. I’ve managed a Cranberry Hall Board meeting, a Guild business meeting, a movie and a couple of doctor appointments so my days are still busy. I am going to try very hard not to stress myself out over commitments I have made; in light of that I’m trying very hard not to make any new commitments.

I’ve made some progress on a cross-stitch project I’ve been working on, and I managed to do some knitting over the last couple of evenings. About the only thing I haven’t spent much time at is my quilting. I finished up a couple of cards that were partially done before I got sick but haven’t moved beyond that. I was hoping to get back to the sewing bee on Tuesday but I have another doctor appointment lined up for that day so I’ll have to wait another week.

I’m well enough for a daily post again, but will I have anything to write about? Who knows!

Friday, August 25, 2016

Is my life boring? Perhaps, but it suits me just fine!

I spent the morning working in the yard. I went over a small bed that I’d done before and it took no time at all. Another larger bed, some of which had been done once, took the rest of my yard time; there is still one patch that needs to be finished but overall I’m pleased with how easy the second time around appears to be.

I’ve spent the afternoon putting together another card top. Although I like the results of paper piecing, it does leave a mess in its wake. There are bits of paper and fabric all over my cutting table; I think I’ll clean that up before I start my next card top.

Wednesday, August 23, 2017

I started my day by mowing the boulevard and the front yard. There wasn’t much grass on the boulevard but those darned yellow flowers just keep popping up no matter how dry it is. Pat had cut down most of the grass yesterday but I think going over it with the mower smoothed it out. That was all I was going to do but Pat was busy trimming and shaping some of the bushes in the yard so I picked weeds until he was ready for me to help gather up his branches.

I’ve been doing the machine stitching on the small hand stitching project I’ve been working on at my Thursday afternoon sessions. Hopefully by tomorrow I’ll be ready to stitch down the binding. I’ll find another project to take with me but I’m not sure what – maybe another fall project from the same magazine I’m working from, maybe one of my many wool felt appliqué projects, or maybe I’ll pull out that “raising children” stitchery that has been on my mind since Stacia finished hers.

I will have to do some fast reading tonight. My books are due at the library tomorrow and I’ve barely started the last one. It should be a quick read but the library closes at six tomorrow and, now that they have moved, it isn’t as easy to drop my books off on the morning after they are due (but before the library opens). So far the book isn’t good enough that I want to pay a fine on it.

I’m not making a lot of progress on my knitting project. We’ve been watching a sub-titled show on Netflix and I tried to do my knitting while we watched. I’ve spent the last two nights taking rows apart trying to find where I made my mistake – only four rows to a pattern but when there are over 300 stitches in a row it takes awhile.

Tuesday, August 22, 2017

I had a good day at the bee; the card I was working on was very complicated but I finished the top before leaving for the day. Yesterday afternoon I pretty much redrafted the pattern and I was glad to learn today that another Splenderite had the same problem. I had a few seams that needed to be done twice but my redrafting appears to have worked. Fortunately I made another copy of the pattern so when it comes up again for my second set I’ll know what I’m doing. I often think when I do a card that hasn’t come up yet on the Second-Time Around that I should get ahead and do it; I do that when a block for the Second-Time Around comes up and hasn’t been used yet for a card – provided it is appropriate for someone on my list.

As one of the first four quilters in the hall today I brought home a lovely bouquet of sweet peas. They are sitting on the table beside me and I can smell them from my chair. No Guild library work today; on the way home from the bee I stopped at the fabric shop to make an arrangement for 40 fat quarters for my Guild Challenge. I discussed my plan with two long-standing Guild members and they liked my idea but suggested the Challenge goes over better if fabric is involved.

We occasionally go to one of the Indian restaurants in town but I always refuse their rice pudding because their recipe isn’t as good as the one I earned my Brownie cooking badge for. We had cream left over from Cranberry Day so I have a rice pudding in the oven. I hope it lives up to my memory of it!