A puzzling day!!

Happy Mother's Day

I must say, it feels great to get back to sewing, and, well, I just picked a "random" project to work on. Actually, it's on my Visual To-Do list under UFO, so I'm allowed to work on it! I had picked five projects under the UFO category, and my plan is to finish them all this year. They are in various states of completion. 

When I first started the sew-along quilts, in year two (2004), we did something different. Instead of choosing one large quilt, we picked two small quilts from a four-season collection. The fall and spring quilts (two of each) are waiting to be quilted. I have no idea if I started the summer one or even where it would be. But I knew that the winter one was not done. WAIT -- I will confess that at the time, I NEEDED to make two of everything. Why? Because I'd have one ready to show and the other was in bits and pieces to show the progress, or at least that was my plan. 

Well, neither of the winter ones got done! Here's what's in the box! There are some completed blocks and some embellishments, though I don't think all of those embellishments belong to this quilt, so I'll do some investigating later today. 

What was in the box

I put the completed blocks on the design wall for both quilts. 

Progress on both quilts

Some of the fabrics (larger pieces for backgrounds) were pulled, but lots of fabric is missing. So as I watched a presentation, I was sorting through my blue scraps. You don't know how handy those scrap bins are, and because they are sorted by color, it's easy to find what I need. And can you believe I found some scraps for the fabric I was working with? Yep—this quilt was started in 2004, and I still had some scraps. That fabric is now history!

Digging through the scraps

As I was putting the scraps back in the container, I wasn't paying attention, and OH— the darn thing fell on the floor. So the scraps were put back in the container, but the lid doesn't fit as well as it did when I started. 

Oopsy!

However, I got all the pieces cut for my two cardinal blocks. 

Ready to sew the cardinal block

These four seasonal quilts are made with the stitch-and-flip method, which requires extensive marking of diagonal sewing lines. BUT, now that I have a projection line on my sewing machine, I no longer have to draw lines. That speeds up the process a wee bit. 

The projection line on the sewing machine!

While I was working, I was sewing the scrappy half-square triangles as enders and leaders. I came across these in the tray. Hmmm -- the minimal size I work on now is the one in the bottom right. The ones on the left are far too small, and I do not know why I even considered sewing them. 

Srappy triangles to sew or throw!

In addition to rifling through the scrap bins, I had to dig through the blue yardage bin to attempt to find more of that one background fabric. Shoot—I don't have any more. And if I had been paying attention and not made several miscuts, I would probably have had enough. But I fixed it, which you'll see in a moment. 

Rifling through the blue yardage basket

Those two cardinal blocks were major puzzles, and I had to pause the audiobook several times to read the pattern and figure out the order of partial seams and flipped corners. And then my two blocks were done!!! I believe the legs have to be embroidered, but otherwise - done!

The cardinal blocks are done!

Here's what I did to address the fabric shortage. 

A wee "patch."

There are six more blocks to make for each quilt. I might as well keep at it, as I was on a roll and enjoying the process, and I'd like to get one more UFO done and one more thing off the current project table. 

So last night, before shutting off the lights, I pulled fabrics for the next set of blocks, which are some log cabin blocks. 

Fabric pulled for the log cabin blocks.

And this morning, I cut all the pieces to make 8 blocks - four for each quilt. 

The log cabin blocks are ready to sew.

I still had some time, so I decided to prep the next block, which has some piecing and appliqué. 

Prepping the next block

My goal, though it might be a stretch, is to get all the piecing done for both blocks today. And I hope to trace all the appliqué. I feel much better and seem to have my sewjo back, which is great since I have a lot to do. And it's good to take a rest from it every once in a while. 

I also got a lot done on the jigsaw puzzle. Oh shoot - I did look at the artist's name, and I've forgotten it, but they are Canadian. (Malika Pannek - a German-Canadian illustrator who lives in Canada). Oh, shoot—I just saw on her website (The Paperhood) that she has two new jigsaw puzzles. 

For the longest time, that building on the left was just floating, but now it's attached to the side, and I'm working on the building on the right, as well as the big tree. I'm not nearly as neat as when I worked on some of the others. There are pieces everywhere, but all is good. 

Good progress

Here are a couple of things I discovered on my morning walk. The for-rent e-scooters are back on the sidewalks, although they seem to be different models from last year. I noticed this sign on them that you can't really miss while riding. Do you see what it says? "No riding on sidewalks," and yet every one of them is ridden on a sidewalk. It's a disaster waiting to happen. 

A note on the for-rent e-scooters

I also spotted the little white e-car again. The driver must live in the retirement home down the street, and there is a multi-purpose path (right beside the sidewalk) that connects the retirement home to the gas station. He always parks in the handicap parking, which looks ridiculous since his car is so tiny, but it's close to the entrance. I have never seen the gentleman outside the car, so I wonder if he drives there and gets them to bring out what he is buying? Or does he just park there to have a rest? 

He has followed me several times down the multi-purpose path (I typically walk on the sidewalk), but he comes up slow behind me, until I hear him, and then he zips past. Now, if only we could get the e-scooters to do the same thing. 

Talk about gas prices jumping. When I walked Murphy past this station before 8 AM, the price was 190.0. Half an hour later, when I walked Lexi past the station, the price had dropped by 18 cents! Please note that our prices are per liter, not per gallon, if you are reading from the US. There must have been some good news about the supply to cause it to drop that much! 

Fill up the car!!!!!

Then, as Miss Lexi and I were forest bathing, we turned the corner, and I spotted something white high in a tree. So we went to investigate, and OH MY—there was a cat in the tree. It didn't seem stressed and was as quiet as a mouse, so I guess it didn't need rescuing. 

Cat in the tree

While you can't see the cat in this picture, it was quite high up!

The trees where the cat was sitting

And Miss Murphy—well, she is not happy these days. Because the weather is still quite cool, and I wasn't outside. However, she can see me sitting in the kitchen while I ice my knee, she decided that we should play ball. She grabs the ball, throws it in the pond, then gives a sharp bark, and stares at me!!!!

MOM - Let's play ball

And when I didn't go out, she sulked. I felt so bad that I went and threw the ball a couple of times for her. She is 10 or 11 and shows no signs of slowing down, although I think she is having a bit of trouble with her back legs. That is a common issue for this breed and this age of dog. I must consult the vet or check online to get her something to help with her joints. I probably should have done that a long time ago. 

MOM - I'm so sad....... come play with me!!!!

But then we had quite the storm later in the afternoon, and she was frantic. I finally had to put her thunder shirt on her to try and calm her down, but it didn't seem to be working. 

MOM - I'm scared!!!!!

She was trying to find a quiet, dark place to hide. I opened all the doors to the closets and rooms in hopes she would go into one of the spaces and settle down, but that didn't happen. And what's wrong with the stash room? When the lights are off, that room is dark, and she hides behind the shelf. But dogs can feel the storm in the air, and that was not making her happy. 

MOM - it's so scary!!!!

Thankfully, the storm didn't last long, and she was back to her happy self. 

I also got a customer quilt loaded on the long arm, but by the time things settled down at the house, it was getting too late in the day to start, so I'll be at work on that today. 

And I took KU out to lunch as it was her birthday. We went to the crepe place in the mall and OH MY --- the crepes are to die for!! They have sweet and savory options, and it's so hard to choose which to have. And they are super filling. If you're ever looking for something different and are near the mall, you should try this place. I only go there for special occasions because it is way too decadent to eat often. It is also busy and slow as they cook each crepe to perfection. 

While I was at the doctor's, I asked for a renewal of my medication (bone density), and I got a call that it was ready for pickup at the original drug store, which I changed at least a year ago. And the pills are not the same. I checked this morning, and they are the original ones she gave me that must be taken 30 minutes before eating. Sigh...................   I have to call her and get her to give me the other drug, which allows me to take it with a meal. 

The sad thing is, there was NO warning on the drug packets that the drug needed to be taken 30 minutes before eating, and that you are not allowed to lie down for 30 minutes. 

On that happy note, I'm out of here! There's a lot on the agenda today, including Mother's Day brunch, so I must get things happening! 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!