Thursday, July 7, 2022

We had a lovely visit with Peggy and Bill yesterday. They caught the ferry across in time for us to have lunch and then we had a good visit in the afternoon back at the house. I owed them big-time for following me along on my disastrous trip home and giving me a bed for the night.

I did a bit of Hall work this morning but somehow I ended up with more questions than answers for things that happened while I was away. I still have to collect my thoughts enough to send out the financials and, hopefully, some of the answers I want/need will come on Monday night.

I spent some time out in the yard this morning. I weeded the bed down the side of the house; it was easy enough to do because I knew for sure what were plants and what were weeds. The alyssum had really sprouted up again but I didn’t even try to save it. I can only see four sunflowers that have germinated but those four are doing well; not that they wouldn’t be better with a bit more sun. The succulents are spreading too.

I went back to my Thursday sewing today. I’ve got a Thursday project that I leave there and Gail lets me use one of her extra sewing machines so there isn’t much to pack up for the afternoon. I got quite a few more blocks finished and I think with one more week I will have them all done. I cut for 80 blocks but I think I’ll divide them into two smaller quilts.

Before I left for sewing I bit the bullet and sent out the form for the Program Committee survey. I was pleased that when I got home I already had five responses. And even better is that several people offered to teach either classes or demos; there were even a few who said they would serve on the Program Committee.

Pat is playing out at Lund again tonight so it will be leftovers for my supper and maybe some TV and knitting.

Tuesday, July 5, 2022

I’m hoping that getting back to the Guild bee today will be the reset I need to get me back on track and into my routine. I stitched down a binding on a quilt; all I need to do now is get a label made and attached. I also had time to start work on my Pinwheels for Caroline project; I’m going to make this one my Tuesday project and see where I get to by the end of the month. I had a couple of short meetings about Program Committee “stuff” and the last person I had asked got back to me with a positive response. I think we will have enough people now and hopefully the survey I send out will provide us with enough ideas for demos and classes.

The pile on my ironing board is getting a bit smaller. I was able to put away the new fabric I purchased for That Fairy Tale Quilt; it took me until today to find out where I had stashed the project. I also dug out my 1.5″ strips and put them together with a new pattern I bought; this will be my leader and ender project. There are a few scraps that need to be put into the appropriate bins and I’ve moved some fabric for two 3-Yard quilts to the cutting board. But up next are a couple of cards.

I’m not making much headway on my knitting project. I have the pattern sorted so that I can count the stitches after every row but I’ve had to rip it all out because I knit a row that should have been purled. I started over and, ten rows in, I made the same mistake but I’m only taking out that one row. We’re watching something with sub-titles and I’m not able to read and knit at the same time.

Monday, July 4, 2022

I’m not sure you can count it as progress but I accomplished a few things today.

After doing a bit of tidying up (not in my sewing room) I remembered that my UFO Challenges should be available. I’ve already decided that next year I’m going to stick with just one challenge a month as opposed to three but I’ll struggle on for the rest of this year. My scrappy project is a new one for me – Pinwheels for Caroline. I got the pattern from Stacia and have been doing some of the pinwheels for a miniature version. But I’ve also been collecting squares to make it as is suggested in the pattern and that is the one I’ll be working on this month. It may work as a leader and ender but for now I’ll get a start by focusing just on it.

My piecing challenge is to finish off my Splendid Sampler blocks. I have a few bonus blocks from the original series left to do; there are two bonus blocks from the second series as well as four more blocks. As I’m using these for cards I’ll get the blocks done but set them aside to choose from when I need a card.

I have a huge pile of quilting to get to so I didn’t think adding one more to the list would do any harm. This one is based on a block from a Guild on the Island. Before the pandemic we met with several other Island Guilds every fall. There was always a block and if you made the block your name was put in a bag and you might come home with a full set of blocks. I don’t attend the meetings but I loved the block and made one using colours that our Guild had picked for our Blocks of the Month. The block pattern is from 2018 and my photo is from 2020.

I got the Hall’s newsletter out and did a bit more work forming my Program Committee for the Guild. I had another question I wanted to add to our survey and I heard from the woman who is preparing it; she wants to meet with me tomorrow because she has a new program that she wants to use rather than the one we’ve been testing. I’m okay with however she wants to do it and if changing her program keeps her interested so much the better.

I cleared off my cutting table enough that I could trim a quilt so I’m ready to take it to the Guild tomorrow. I also pulled out some fabrics for my scrappy challenge so I’ll have more than enough to keep me busy. I added a couple of Mum’s patterns to a Cross Stitch Buy and Sell group; I’ve used them before and usually had good luck.

My ironing board is still covered with bits and pieces from my trip but I think I’m making progress.

Sunday, July 3, 2022

Although rain was forecast it didn’t feel like it while we had our coffee on the deck. So while Pat went for groceries I went out and tackled some weeds. I was concentrating on the front patio and I got about half of it done. I’m trying a new method for weed control – spraying ammonia on the roots that I’m not able to dig out. Pat suggested I do the other half using the vinegar mixture and compare them and I think that’s a good idea. Although to be fair to the ammonia side the rain started late in the morning and it is still raining so it may not have had a good chance to work.

I had to go out this afternoon to pick up some cards, make a deposit at the bank and get some gas. It took me three tries before I was able to leave the driveway. I was all set to go and realized that I didn’t have my car keys with me. I found them in another purse and headed out again. When I got into the car I realized I had taken my shopping bag and deposit into the house when I went for my keys and I had left them there. So back in I went to pick those up.

I was able to get everything I needed at one store and I considered that a bonus. We have a couple of new salads to try as well as new soda stream flavours (thank you Kathryn). I got my gas ($50 only gets me half a tank at these prices) and was getting out of the car when I realized I hadn’t gone to the bank. I guess I’ll try again tomorrow.

I was determined to find the missing fabric and pattern today so I shook out all the fabric I bought thinking it might have been bundled inside; no luck. I shook out all the projects I worked on thinking it might have been stuck inside somewhere; no luck. I had pretty much given up on finding it so I started to put a few other things away. When I was looking for a small bin for one of my fabric collections I found the pattern and fabric – I had already put them away in a bin!

So with the kind of day I’m having I’m going to attempt my Botanical Garden stitching for the rest of the afternoon. I still have some reverse stitching to do on the last section I did but I’m confident – well hopeful – that I’ll be able to concentrate enough to move forward. Now, if I can just find the new cross-stitch needles I bought on my trip I’ll be set.