Friday, May 20, 2022

It was a lovely morning and I headed out the back to sandwich my quilts. It took me all friggin’ day but I have three done. It was an added bonus that just as I was taking down my tables it started to spit rain. I’m glad I didn’t give up after two because tomorrow might not be a good day.

This is a Community Quilt. I didn’t piece it but I’ll quilt it before handing it back. It is similar to my May quilt that I won’t have to think too hard about what to do with it.

This is my mystery quilt for this year. I won’t be at the year-end Guild party when we have the big reveal of everyone’s but I’ll pass this along to someone for them to show. As I load the photos I see that this one is very very similar to the Community Quilt so again, I shouldn’t have to think to hard about what I’m going to do.

This is another Guild mystery from three years ago. I never really liked it much and I still don’t. It is longer than that would fit well on my tables and I didn’t do a very good job of basting the layers so it may all have to be done over. But at least the fabric is cut down to size.

Thursday, May 19, 2022

Another quiet day upstairs. I decided this morning that I was going to catch up on my blackwork projects. I sorted myself out last night on the Botanical Garden and got it caught up to date (until tomorrow). This morning I did two sections of the Peppermint Purple project and I’m caught up on that until next week.

Since I finished my knitting project and used up all the scraps I’m allowing myself a new project. Mum had started a tablecloth but after several attempts there was no way I was able to pick it up where she left off and make any sense of it. My tension was way off compared to hers so it has sat in a bin for years and years. I’ve always held on to a pattern for crocheted curtains so I’m going to attempt those with the cotton that Mum was using. I have several places I could use curtains but I’ll see how it all goes before I get too excited.

I packaged up another project to take with me in June; the mailing box is filling up. I have one more project to gather supplies for and one kit to dig out of a bin (after I find the right bin) and then I think it will be done. You never know though I may throw in other projects, particularly depending on what my June challenges are.

I’ve been playing with my scraps this afternoon. There seems to be no end to the various bags and bins I have them hiding in. And in spite of all my organization I’m seldom able to find the right size scrap in the right colour to actually finish an entire project.

As I was waiting on my rapid test results this morning I thought how strange it is to have a negative result be a positive!

Wednesday, May 18, 2022

Yesterday when I told the Guild President I would be the Chair for the Program Committee she gave me a big hug – it felt like a reward for saying Yes. But last evening she called to tell me she was sorry for that hug as she had just tested positive for Covid. In an abundance of caution Pat and I are staying away from one another for a few days. I slept in the spare bedroom last night and I’ve spent most of the day upstairs. I had a negative test this morning, not surprisingly, but we’ll keep this up until I’ve gone about five days with testing negative.

This bit of a scare has put a huge damper on all the things I was getting back into. I’ll drop my yoga class and avoid the Tuesday and Thursday sewing dates. I don’t want anything to get in the way of my June trip and I’ll gladly stay home to keep safe between now and then. It’s unfortunate that just when I finally felt safe to “come out” this scare has chased me back inside again.

When I say inside I just mean away from the public unless necessary. If the wind and rain ever stop I’ll be back out in the yard. Pat got some strawberry plants today and a couple more hanging baskets that were on sale. Our plan is to plant everything into our pots as we don’t have a lot of good places to hang baskets and the soil in the baskets seldom retain the water and are harder to maintain.

I have accomplished a few things today; I don’t think it has anything to do with the fact that I’ve been upstairs most of the day. I finished my calendar block and used a new technique for the binding; it is always nice to have something small, but not too small, to test these new methods on.

I finished knitting another scarf last night and now I’m crocheting the remainder of the yarn into one of my scrap afghans. I should be working on my blackwork but the section of the Botanical Garden I was working on has a mistake in it somewhere so I’ll have to sort that out before I can carry on.

Pat is online most of the afternoon and again tonight so being on my own won’t seem weird at all.

Tuesday, May 17, 2022

The company I called about getting our gutter cleaned were fully booked for two months but they suggested another company. I called them yesterday but heard nothing back from them. They called this morning and said they could do the job right away. Not only did they clean gutters but they washed the outside of the windows – all the windows that we can’t reach on our own. My sewing room windows were filthy; I thought they needed to be done both inside and out but it has made such a difference with just the outside done that I can put the inside off for awhile. Getting that gutter cleaned was good timing – another wind and rain event is happening tomorrow.

I had a good day at sewing – well at least I finished one project. I was working on another calendar block and I had so much trouble getting everything going in the right direction. I had someone help me and I did what she said needed to be done and it was still wrong. I eventually got it sorted out but one of the 2″ squares had been sewn on all four sides before I got it right. To be fair to myself, the photo I was working from was very poor and having low toner in the printer (a new cartridge is due to arrive tomorrow) and only a black and white copy didn’t help.

I haven’t been practising the “NO” word enough and got talked into leading the Guild’s Program Committee for the next two years. I originally said I’d go on the Committee and work with my friend Moreen but then she agreed to stand for the President’s spot on the Executive. Both the President and Past President said it would be best if someone who had been on the Committee stepped forward (I’ve been on the Program Committee for two years) so I said I’d do it. They also told me that I didn’t have to decide on all the classes myself – it’s a Committee and if together we can’t fill the slots then we go back to the Guild membership and see what they want.

I was feeling okay about it because I already had three people come forward with classes they would teach and the ladies who were doing the block of the month were staying on. It wasn’t until I realized that I’d also have to arrange the demos once a month and probably have the key to open and close the room that I started to panic just a little. I’ll try to track down all the information on classes and demos that had to be cancelled during the pandemic and start from there. I’ll also need to find at least a couple more people to work on the Committee, preferably people I can delegate some of the work to.

I got my second booster this afternoon. I was surprised that even though I’ve had Pfizer all along the suggestion now (because I’m over 30) is that I should have the Moderna. I didn’t have any side-affects with the first three shots and I’m not expecting any this time around although because it is a new one I might have a reaction.