Tuesday, July 25, 2017

It was lovely to get back to the sewing bee today but, after being away for over a month, there were certain things I forgot. When I packed my bag yesterday I thought it seemed a little light but I had a couple of rulers, a cutting mat, and my small pressing board already in my sewing machine case from our time on the Island. As I packaged my projects yesterday I added to my bag everything I needed for each card. This morning before leaving I came back upstairs to print off my library listing; once my lunch was packed and my coffee cup was in my bag I was ready to go.

After a lot of chatting, making coffee and tea, and getting my machine unpacked I was ready to go. I took out my ruler, cutting mat and pressing board. But wait … I forgot to bring my small iron with me. No problem as the Guild has plenty of irons, although not as convenient as having one at my workstation. Next up, thread my machine but wait … did I forget my thread? The bobbin in the machine was full but I looked everywhere for my thread, only to find I had already put it on the machine but hadn’t threaded it. So far the day wasn’t going well.

The first card I needed to work on was English paper pieced. I printed off my template page yesterday so started to trace the pattern onto the back of the fabric. It was then I realized I didn’t have any extra card stock for the number of pieces I needed to make. Fortunately I found some freezer paper in the Guild cupboard. Although the method is touted in some blogs, I prefer the use of card stock to get a sharper edge. I managed to get all the pieces cut and basted but that was all I got done all day.

I thought, maybe, my co-worker might have done some organizing in the Library but it was just as Gavin and I left it when we unpacked the boxes. At the end of the day I started to sort through the books with the aim of getting some amount of organization back into the shelves. I didn’t get very far but I’ll spend more time at it next week; I’ll need it fully set up by our September meeting. As I was working on the shelf at the end of the day several people were in and out putting away their sewing “stuff” and many of them hadn’t even noticed the shelf yet so I guess it isn’t missed.

I still have the Guild blog to write but then, if there is time before supper, I’m going to go out and spray the weeds in the driveway so they’ll be ready to pull later in the day tomorrow.

Monday, July 24, 2017

There was no excuse not to get back to my gardening today. It was a little cool so I thought I would work at the back where the sun was the brightest. There are a lot of weeds in the cracks in the driveway but I hadn’t sprayed them yet so they weren’t ready to pull. The only other “bad” spot was up in the roses. I pulled bindweed from along the fence as I made my way up the rock wall. Once I got back into the roses I realized that a sleeveless shirt and short pants weren’t the ideal clothing for my job but I didn’t want to crawl down and then back up the wall again so I carried on.

The bindweed was wrapped around everything – roses and blackberry stems; I just tugged at it and what came out with it came out. At times I was clipping what I thought were blackberry stems and it would be a rose stem; in those cases I just told myself I was pruning the roses. It was a good time to be doing that patch as the roses are pretty much done (although we often get a second blooming) and the blackberries are just ripening. In fact I found a few ripe blackberries as I was working and they got eaten on the spot. It took more than an hour to clear out about half of the area, and almost another hour to clip down the stems and put them in a box for the dump. I was quite proud of myself and after a short break I looked out the back door. Sadly, the half of the area I finished isn’t the part you see out the door. Pat says he thinks the other half will go much faster.

I was covered in scratches on both my arms and legs so I was glad that my new pine tar and pumice soap also had an anti-bacterial and anti-fungi quality. Although it is still early I’m not seeing that any of my scratches look overly red or raised so perhaps the soap is doing its job.

After a trip to the Post Office and the grocery store (I’m still looking for a Kellogg’s cereal with a Personalized Spoon offer) I started packing for the bee tomorrow. I’m not sure what state the Library will be in so I may have to spend some time getting the books set up. I have four cards due for August and I have them all packaged up and ready to stitch. Once that was done I spent a bit more time on my O Canada project; all the pieces are fused to the fabric but still need to be cut out. Next up I have to trace the pattern onto my background fabric; I’ll do that after the pieces have been cut out so I know whether or not the pattern needs to be reversed for tracing.

I’m going to make a couple of phone calls and then I’ll do some more cross stitching.

Sunday, July 23, 2017

I feel like I’m back on track. We’ve had strong winds today and they have blown away the clouds and, if the wind abates, it will feel like summer again. Perhaps the breeze blew away all the cobwebs in my mind too!

I finished restitching my two Splendid Sampler blocks last night. One of them was an easy fix but the other required some reverse stitching, recutting and more stitching. I’m happy with both of them now so they can be added to my wall. As I dug through the bin to get the blocks, I found a third block that I started on the Island but never finished. It involved just a bit more work in the studio and then I settled in with the hand stitching on it. It was all done by dark, just a few minutes after Pat arrived home. I’m still two blocks behind on my Splendid Sampler schedule but they are both pieced blocks that I hope to get done at the bee on Tuesday.

I started my new project this morning. It involves a little cutting and a lot of tracing as most of the piece is appliquéd. Late this morning Pat and I drove out of town to pick up the filleted fish from last night’s adventure; very nice of Dan to do all the messy work! Dan and Judy have a lovely spot and their yard is amazing. As we munched on home-grown cherries, blueberries and raspberries we had a good visit. We see them often but seldom sit down for a chat.

After we got home I finished the tracing for my project. I haven’t cut into any of the fabric yet as I want a second chance to be sure it is all correct. For what’s left of the afternoon I think I’ll start a new cross stitch project; it is a repeat of something I’ve done before and, although there is a lot of work involved, it is easily done in small batches.

Saturday, July 22, 2017

It was a better day today – not weather-wise but I’m feeling more energetic. Perhaps I’m not really more energetic but I’ve reached the point where I need to get some things done.

I started the day at the Farmer’s Market; Pat was playing a set for the first hour. I was first in line for the bread we like, but I missed out on the beets I wanted by two people further ahead of me in that particular line-up. I bought soap from two different vendors. I’ve bought from one of these vendors often; I picked up a couple of different lavender combinations. The second vendor was beside the bread line-up and I bought a couple from her as well; one is a stain removing soap (she guarantees it will take the stain of salad dressing “drops” off the front of my shirt) and the second one has some pumice in it (good for after playing in the dirt). I also got some lettuce and a couple of small cucumbers. I’m pretty sure I spent more than Pat made!

This afternoon I’ve been wrapping cards and patterns. All my Facebook sales went through and I had a couple of cards (that will be delivered late) that needed to be in Monday’s mail.

Pat has gone fishing this afternoon and won’t be home until dark. I’m hoping that gives me enough time to do some repairs (or restitching) on a couple of Splendid Sampler blocks that I was unhappy with from my Island sewing weekend. Not all my cleaning and sorting has been done yet but if I can get these last two things finished up I gave myself permission to start a new project tomorrow – Oh Canada! – that I’ve promised for the Cranberry 75th Anniversary celebration.