Slow and steady

What a relaxing time we're having! It's so fun to be in a small group, so there is NO drama, no crisis, no over-talking, and well --- this is my favorite retreat! No need to name you -- you know who you are! We don't see each other often, so it's nice to catch up with family and mutual friends. 

Recently, we made desserts at the retreat optional, and so far, we've not had any dessert. Guess what? I do not miss it, and I feel better. So optional dessert is going to become the norm! 

I had a Zoom call yesterday morning, and then we had a quick lunch, and we were off on an adventure. Well, it turned out to be a bust! Our first stop was the bookstore. OH - closed on Tuesday. OK - no matter, we'll head over to Fabricland, just around the corner. OH -- it's closed. FOREVER! And the last day was on Sunday. OK -- so not to be discouraged, we had one more stop. And it was OPEN. 

Do you know where we went?

Red spoons!

How about now? In case you are wondering, that's my haul -- who cares about the others! OK -- so I did share  - a bit! 

Afternoon delight

Then we were back to the house, and I popped out to get a geocache, which was nearby. I did not walk as it was a bit far, and the air is very unsettled. Lots of smoke, and it rained on and off all day. I didn't bring rain gear, so I stuck close to the house. 

The shoe posts

The cache was here, and as I was getting back in the car, I spotted two ladies walking down the road. As they approached the car, they asked if I was geocaching. Yes -- they do not geocache, but they live right next to these posts, so they often see people stop. 

Oh -- I bet you are wondering why I am still geocaching. I'll tell you that story tomorrow. 

I stopped my scrap cutting to sew part of a project we were all sewing. We didn't have a pattern for the project, so at one point, we had to send an SOS to a friend to help out. And as usual, she came through with flying colors!! It's the SECOND time I had to request a pattern SOS from her! I'm going to owe her something! Thanks -- you know who you are, and we greatly appreciate your help. Three of four of the projects are done! Mine is still in the assembly stage, but I want something I have at home to finish, so I'll do the lining today and finish it tomorrow. 

But I had part of my project done and sitting on the table and imagine my surprise when I came back to my table to find this. My "friends" were using my project as a template and left it like this! But I still love them!

My project!

And then it was back to cutting. This pile of brown scraps seems overwhelming, and I swear it doesn't seem to be getting any smaller. It's like an archeological dig as I go through the layers. 

The pile of brown scraps

Here's my nice and tidy cutting table. My two bins of cut pieces are on the bottom, and the pile is at the top. There is still a lot of stuff going back into the scrap bin, but as I mentioned, there's loads of fabric in there for a string quilt and cutting some 1 1/2" pieces. I'll leave that for the next time. 

My cutting table

But honestly, there is a lot of fabric in those bins, and whether I do it now or later, those scrap bins will be good ways to sew up quilts. There is NO NEED to purchase new fabric at my house. The scrap bins could keep me busy for a very long time! So thanks to Linda for the inspiration!

I had a wee nap yesterday, and what's with the weather? Yes -- we have smoke, but the temperature is cool. I'm in shorts and well - it's cool!!!

It's time to get back to work. Everyone is still asleep but I've been up for a while and I would LOVE to get through that big pile of brown scraps today, but I really doubt that is going to happen! 

On that note, I'm out of here!

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!