Oh gosh—I just realized I'm eating my breakfast in front of my new laptop. That means there's going to be a mess of splashed milk! So I must be cautious!!! The bowl is moved off to the side!
This is the most productive (knock on wood) retreat I've been to in a long, long time. I dug into the second bag of projects as I had finished everything in the first one, and I'll be taking that to the car later today. There is no sense in keeping all this crap in the house, and it's sure going to save time when packing up on Saturday!
But that's the way my brain works. Get it done and clear it out!
While I love my retreat friends, I needed a break yesterday. I think I was dealing with overstimulation—too many questions, too much noise, too much of everything! People try to be helpful, and I'm OK with that. But ask and answer—move on. Do not belabor the point—it drives me mad! And everyone wants to be helpful—again, ask and answer—move on!
So, while I didn't go for a walk, I'm a bit paranoid, which is also driving me mad, but with those shoes, my leg, and now my strained neck muscles, I can't afford another fall. I went into town to exchange our "winning" lottery tickets and walked around town where the sidewalks were not so slippery. It was hardly my usual distance, but what can I do. I'm paying the price for being silly - very silly. While I'm good at pawning off the blame to someone else (all in jest, of course), this one is totally on me, and I can't justify blaming it on anyone else.
I spotted this crocheted garland on a house, and it had all kinds of crocheted ornaments attached to it. It's a very cute idea. I did not go to any quilt store. I was somewhat tempted, but the thought of buying anything more makes me ill unless I have a purpose for it, and right now, I'm good.
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| Crocheted Christmas garland |
But let's move on from all that.
Shoot—I should have taken a picture of these blocks before I started. They were giant pinwheels. Then you cut them into 9 equal pieces, rearrange them, and VOILA—a churn dash with a pinwheel center. I had 19 pinwheel blocks and spent a good part of the day reassembling them into the churn dash blocks.
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| My churn dash blocks with a pinwheel center |
Then came the decision to add sashing or not. So, I laid out four blocks in both orientations. Hmm—I think I like the sashing option better. OK—let's do some math to see what happens. Oh yes—without sashing, the quilt will be way too small, so I'll add sashing and one border. That will make a nice size to be donated to Quilts of Valour. I had not installed EQ8 on the laptop, but it took less than 5 minutes to figure that out. It's not rocket science math!
If you had read my sentence carefully, you would have noticed I said 19 blocks, not 20. Hmmm—there was extra fabric in the bag. I have to say that I did a very good job prepping for this retreat, and when I get home, I'll do the same thing for the next retreat. It saves panic packing at the last minute.
There were just strips of the colored fabric, and I had to piece them together. Let's say that putting that last block together took almost as long as making the other 19. But I got twenty blocks! This is all that was left of the colored fabric!
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| The leftover scraps |
When I get home and process the project bags, I'll add some sashing fabric and fabric for the border and binding, and it'll return to the next retreat.
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| Twenty blocks! |
Then, I moved on to my mitten ornaments. I have five to finish in this style. Well, I got the front of the mitten and the cuff done, but I forgot to pack the lining stuff, so I couldn't go any further. However, it's been advanced, and that's all I care about.
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| The mittens are advanced |
Of course, when I went to bed, I made sure the next projects for the day were ready to go. I actually worked on one of today's projects last night. GASP!!! That never happens! And I've been madly at work this morning and making good progress. I'm about ready to sew the blocks together.
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| Making blocks for the next project |
For those of you who participated in our black-and-white exchange many years ago, YES, these bits are from that exchange!
While ripping through the projects, I won't run out, as I have another bag of half-square triangles that need to be trimmed and a bag of scraps to make an improv quilt. That will take a long time, so there is no danger of running out. The bag of scraps has come to too many retreats, and I should make that one a priority next time.
I'm also going to grab some stuff from those two tables piled high with crap. There is some cutting to do, and this retreat house is the perfect place. So I'll get that all packed up, and things will be good!
There is not so much snow where we are, but loads and loads of wind! The weather is fine if you bundle up and wear proper shoes. I can't believe how "silly" I was. I've lived how many years in Canada? But I'm not going to beat myself up—just learn a lesson and move on!!!
On that note, I'm excited to get back to work. The personal sewing will be set aside when I get home, so I'm taking advantage of this time. I'm not allowing any distractions from what anyone else is doing. I'll look and ooh and ahh—but no deviations!!!!
Have a super day!!!
Ciao!!!
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