Monday, April 25, 2022

I expected rain this morning and was looking forward to a full day in my sewing room. The sun was shining when I got up so, after walking up to the mail box, I started the yard work. I finished clearing the bed along the side of the house; the blueberries aren’t looking very good and I think we might have lost the red current. We’ll get some fertilizer and new soil on them and hope for the best. I pulled most of the weeds (there are always several small ones I miss), planted some sunflowers and transplanted some periwinkle.

I finished up about the time Pat finished his first online session of the day. We sat outside on the downstairs patio and had our coffee. It was nice to be out there but all we did was look at the yard and think about what needed to be transplanted to where and what needed to have a good trimming. We also found some spots where we’ll put in some colour – after talking about pansies this morning with the cousins I think I’ll be getting some of them.

I was able to get one card top done after lunch. I was paper piecing using the freezer-paper method and although I had a few issues the one pattern worked four times. When it was all done and I put the pieces together it was completely wrong. I went back to the book and convinced myself that the error was in the pattern and nothing I did. There was no way the four squares I made could turn into the four triangles in the photo.

Now that I’ve had another look at my paper-piecing pattern and the pattern in the book I realize they are different. I was making the Iowa Star but the picture I was looking at was Stars Above. I adjusted the fabric colours when I made the first top but now I wish that I’d done it more like the photo in the book (the right photo). I have a couple more to make so I’ll do them a bit differently than I originally planned.

With that mess behind me I cut out a couple of blocks for the Guild bee tomorrow. I’ll pack up my sewing machine and accessories before supper and then I’m going to work on my Peppermint Purple project (Pat has a long online session tonight).

Sunday, April 24, 2022

I finished my card this morning and got it ready for tomorrow’s mail. I did a bit of cleaning up and I should have started on my next round of cards but my Home Circle blocks were so close to being finished that I decided to finish them.

While I worked on them this afternoon I listened to an open mic that Pat was hosting. There were some good musicians in the group that played today. A few are Powell River folks but most were from the States and joined because of Pat’s participation in other open mics.

The blocks are finished now and I’ll take my pattern book downstairs to see exactly how these blocks are put together using the Circle of Nine technique.

I’m off to the Hall tonight as it is the monthly Coffee House. I’ll be selling memberships and tickets to upcoming shows.

Saturday, April 23, 2022

After my last day of yard work Pat bought me a pair of knee pads. They don’t help me get up off my hands and knees when I’m down on them but they sure do work to stop any sort of discomfort from kneeling on the ground.

When I went out this morning my intention was to transplant the succulents. I transplanted and moved several of them last year and they did really well, spreading themselves through the planter. Unfortunately the alyssum and the California poppies also did well and were invading the succulents. I dragged a big pot from the back patio and started to transplant some of the succulents. It wasn’t long before I determined that the pot wasn’t going to be big enough.

About that time Pat came around to see how I was doing and we decided to transplant the alyssum instead. I still had to dig up a lot of the succulents to get the grass and weeds out of them but they went back in the ground in relatively the same area. I still have work to do out there and I’ll have to keep my eyes open (and hands busy) keeping up with all that I missed in this first go-around.

I don’t actually care how the alyssum does in this new spot. We purchased a few plants a few years ago and they have spread and/or reseeded themselves ever since. If they work in this new spot they might help to keep the other weeds down and if they don’t survive we can always get new ones.

I had lunch on the deck and noticed that the Snowbirds are back in Comox doing their practice runs. They generally fly over Powell River at some point but so far I’m only seeing them in the distance.

I was able to spend some time in my sewing room today. I couldn’t get the binding for my mystery quilt off my mind so I dug around and found some that will work okay. It doesn’t match any of the fabric in the quilt top but I think it is a good choice overall. I still need to purchase some backing fabric. I wonder if my bill at Deb’s shop will be higher or lower than my bill at Ken’s garage.

I almost have another card top finished. Lots of little pieces in this one.

Friday, April 22, 2022

I finished my flutter quilt yesterday so that is my quilting UFO off the list. I did a bit of the hand stitching in the morning, a bit while I waited to leave for my Thursday sewing session and a bit more yesterday evening. On my way to sewing I dropped a package in the mail (your calendar block is on the way Kathryn) and stopped at the bank to make a Hall deposit.

When I started the car I noticed that my ABS and Trac Off warning lights were showing so I worried all the way there and back that something would go terribly wrong. Pat didn’t think it was a serious enough problem that I shouldn’t be driving so I continued on. When I looked at what the warning light meant it didn’t seem too ominous so I waited until today to call the mechanic. The mechanic I use is the husband of the woman who has the wide backings for sale. I always prefer to spend my money at Deb’s but sometimes a cheque simply has to go to Ken.

I’ve been sewing all day with Stacia and Deloise. I got the borders on my Guild mystery. I didn’t have enough of any one of the fabrics that I used in the quilt but I was able to make a smaller border with two of the fabrics from the top. I don’t have anything just yet that will work for binding but I’ll worry about that when it is actually quilted.

Once that was done I made a few more blocks for my Home Circle/Circle of Nine quilt. The blocks are 15″ but they are pretty easy to make. I just have three more to do and then I can put it away until we sew at Panorama. I’ll be shopping for some background fabric when we are doing our shop hop on the way.

My back is sore again tonight – too much standing – but I should get some knitting done tonight. Pat has a couple of online events tomorrow but nothing for tonight.