The Hardest Part Is Done

 Yesterday was sunny and warm with a high of 17C. This morning it is clear and 3C. Today is supposed to become cloudy with wind and a high of 16C.

Lifestyle

I turned off the heat while doing the balance sheet and didn't turn it on until 9 pm last night. The house was toasty warm all day.

My first job of the day was to do the balance sheet. I got it done in record time and everything put away. I then spent some time on the family tree and had a huge score. I was looking for information on a child that died and couldn't find anything. I decided to see if I could find it in Find A Grave. Nothing. I then put in my great aunt's name as I haven't been able to find out where she was buried. I found it and was over the moon with happiness. 

I spent some time emptying the dishwasher and tidying up the kitchen. I did take out the items that are to go to the thrift shop to the garage and bagged them up. I also put bags into the containers for garbage and recycling. Back inside, I tidied up the dining room table and washed it well. On a roll.

Next up I gave Rosie the robot vacuum cleaner a good cleaning. I emptied her dust bin and took it out to clean it with pressured air. I also wiped it out while outside as it was so warm out there. I stood and soaked up the sunshine for a bit.

Daughter sent me more pictures and I did inventory. It wasn't difficult to do. It was after 12:30 pm when I got my list of chores done but it felt good to be done them. 

Sewing

I spent a couple of hours in the sewing room yesterday afternoon. I hand sewed down the last small pad and then applied the big one and hand sewed it down. Once they were on, I carefully stitched around the two small and larger pads on the sewing machine. I went slowly to do a good job on them. 

The hardest part is now done and it will be easy to finish. I need to find a piece of material for the lining which will come from the stash. When this one is done, I will be ready to start the one for the contest. 

I have been watching a video on how to make a quilt as you go tree skirt. I may make it after I finish the stockings and the doll's jeans. It remains to be seen but I am interested in making it. 

Knitting

I knit 7 rows last night. The afghan is about 35" long and is starting to keep me warm. It is also getting heavy while knitting on it. 

Thoughts

    It is nice to have a few sunny and very warm days near the end of October. According to the weatherman, we will have two more sunny warm days later this week. 

    I was somewhat sore yesterday but feel better today. I was able to get the SI joint to release which helped. It still isn't in the right spot but much better. My muscles were sore but I kept moving all day. Though they were tired, they didn't cramp up like I thought they would. 

    I am getting back into fall cleaning. I will be starting on the dining area next. I really want to get it done before the end of November as I want to decorate for Christmas and winter. 

Today

I have to do a few small things inside and then will bundle up and start cleaning up the garage. I will work for an hour in there and repeat until it is done. This afternoon I would like to get as much done on the paw stocking and tonight I will knit on the afghan. Another busy day at home. 

Until the next time................................................................

Change of Plans

 Yesterday was a mix of sun and clouds though the sun shone most of the day. The high got to 9C. This morning it is clear and 2C. Today is supposed to be sunny with a high of 16C.

Lifestyle

While looking out the front door window I saw the moon full moon shining. It looks beautiful against the black sky. I was very grateful to be able to see it this morning without it being obstructed by clouds. 

Yesterday morning I cleaned most of the kitchen and then prepped food for dinner. I put the food into the fridge and finished cleaning the kitchen. I even pulled out the stove and cleaned under it. When done, I vacuumed the floor and mopped it. It was a bit dirty but not bad. 

I folded clothes and got them put away. Another job off the list. The sheets were in the washer and dryer and the bed got made right after they dried. I also spent some time doing more inventory for daughter. I am making progress and am now waiting for more pictures. Hopefully this will get done quickly. 

While doing some chores, daughter-in-law called me to help with the bar last night. There was a wedding at the community hall. I said yes. I then got a call asking me to come earlier as the bar would close at 7:30 pm. Better yet. It was a slow bar but an enjoyable one. I was home just after 7:30 pm as we closed the bar early at the bride's request. We even got the glasses washed and put away before leaving and I stopped at family's on my way to drop off the money. 

Sewing

I did get to sew for a bit in the afternoon. I got one of the small paw pads hand sewn on and the other one pinned on. The center pad is next and then I will machine stitch around the three of them. 

I am looking forward to doing the next one as I am learning lots with this one. Sewing around the pads using a "fancy" stitch is slow as I need to make sure I keep the stitches in the right place. The clear plastic foot helps me see much better than the metal one. 

Knitting

None done last night as I was tired. 

Thoughts

    I was sore yesterday. Standing in one position while making sandwiches is hard on my SI joint and muscles. It doesn't happen at home as I stand, move, sit, all day long. I did take Tylenol for the pain, did my exercises and got a release. The muscles were sore; especially the adductor. I sat and massaged it last night which helped. I am hoping today things will ease off and I can have less muscle pain.

    I saw that a place north of Calgary got snow. The first pictures in the afternoon showed a skiff and 16 hours later it was still snowing and quite a bit had fallen. Hopefully we won't see snow until January. I am not ready for that yet. Getting ready is on my to-do list though.

    The wedding last night had a medieval theme. Most of the guests dressed up for it. They did some medieval dancing, had a mock jousting session, and had fun. When I left, they were doing clean up and visiting at tables as they had the hall for the night. 

Today

I have a small list of things to do this morning. This afternoon I want to sew and will stop early to make dinner which is already prepped. Tonight I will knit on the afghan. I am having a quiet day. 

Until the next time................................................................

Hand Appliqué Is Successful

 Yesterday was cloudy, windy and damp. The high got to 7C. This morning it is cloudy and 7C. Today is supposed to be sunny with a high of 12C.

Lifestyle

I was out the door to make sandwiches at the hall. I got to make sandwiches and cut them as there was only 3 of us there. We loaded the car and I came home and sat on the heat pad as my SI joint was sore. It is still sore today and I may have to make some changes to how many times I do it and what jobs I do. 

I did fold laundry yesterday morning and put it away. I was glad to have that job done. 

I spent a couple of hours looking at pictures daughter sent me and doing an inventory of what was in the living room. It is put into the Scott's Schedule Inventory spreadsheet. We talked about who gets what, what is excluded, and what items to separate out from general wording as it will be disputed. I now have more pictures and will work on it today. It isn't hard to do and she has been great to give me information when I ask. 

I was out to family's to return mixing bowls and got invited to stay for dinner. It was a simple Friday night dinner -- hot dogs and potato chips. We had a good visit and I left early as they had to go out to the hall for a bit. 

Sewing

I worked on the stocking yesterday. After a small and successful attempt I got one paw pad to turn over a cardboard template nicely. I hand sewed it in place and used a fancy stitch to finish it off.  I had to sew very slowly around the oval to make sure it was in the right place. 

I repeated it for the 2nd paw pad of that size. 

I was so focused on getting the ovals on to the stocking I failed to see one is tipped in a bit. I still have 2 more ovals and the heart shaped piece to add to the paw and it will be ready to sew together. 

Knitting

I didn't knit last night to let my arm rest. It is feeling much better when I knit every other night so I may start knitting every night soon. 

Thoughts

    I have been looking at videos to see if I can find one to make a tree skirt for daughter. I have found one I like but I have to figure out the yardage. The pattern is not available at this time. 

    Our weather is to warm up tomorrow and Monday. It will be nice to have sunshine once again. It does help warm the house and it also makes me feel happier than it does when it is cloudy and gloomy. 

    This tree is one I love. It is trimmed so it hangs over the road but it isn't in the way. Most falls it turns a vibrant red which makes it stand out from a distance. It is something small like this that brings some joy every time I see it. 

Today

I am going to do some inventory for daughter, clean the kitchen for movement and do some laundry this morning. This afternoon I want to sew on the stocking and tonight I will knit. A quieter day for me. 

Until the next time.......................................................

Progress On The Stocking

 Yesterday was dull, grey, and wet. The high got to 10C. This morning it is cloudy, windy, and 5C. Today is supposed to cloudy with some showers and 8C. We had a storm named Josephine pass by us yesterday. 

Lifestyle

I was tired yesterday as I had slept poorly. I pushed myself to do things like clean up the kitchen, fold the laundry, put on a load of laundry, and deal with a bit of clutter. 

I was out at 11 am to have the tire fixed on my car. It was the same issue; leaking at the rim. The technician cleaned the rim really well and we hope it is now fixed. No charge as they were at fault. 

Sewing

I did work on the stocking yesterday. I printed out 2 more patterns and made a full stocking so I could cut out the fabric in a single layer. I was tired enough that I went looking for the 2nd full stocking only to realize that I hadn't made it. I did laugh at that. 

I cut out the back and front of the stockings which was easy. I then drew lines using chalk that disappears when you apply heat. I quilted the two pieces using glide thread in the colour Vegas Gold. It was perfect. A subtle contrast that didn't yell at the world. 

I really like how the stocking looks overall. 

I cut out one of the paw pads and glued it to a scrap of fabric that has fusible fleece on it. I set up my machine and did a test run on machine appliquéing it down. I need to do one more where I don't run out of bobbin thread. 

I did take my time and stitch slowly around the whole thing and it is quite nice except at the top where I ran out of bobbin thread. 

Knitting

I did knit 7 rows last night. I had to add a new ball of yarn about 3/4 of the way on the last row. 

Hopefully I will remember to measure it tonight before I start knitting. 

Thoughts

    I know my exhaustion is from not sleeping well which is caused by worrying too much about things. Yesterday I stepped away from it all as people have to do what they think is right. I know what I would do but it isn't always what they would do. 

    I did sleep extraordinarily well last night. I wasn't up once during the night and had plenty of deep sleep. I wish I could sleep like this every night. Unfortunately I don't. 

Today

I am out shortly to make sandwiches at the hall. Once home, I need to fold laundry and start making dinner for two nights. This afternoon I will work on the stocking and see how far I get on it. Tonight I hope to knit. 

Until the next time...................................................................

Ditching The Jeans for A Christmas Stocking

 Yesterday was a mix of sun and clouds with a high of 13C. This morning it is cloudy and 5C. Today is supposed have rain with a high of 11C.

Lifestyle

My day started out with a few issues. When filling the car with gas I saw that the tire I had fixed was low once again. I drove carefully to the tire shop, had it filled, and made an appointment to have it looked at today. 

I got to the quilt shop a few minutes before the tea party was to begin. I knew all the ladies as we met last month and are guild members. We snooped shop before we went into the tea party. 

We had a great time admiring each other's work, talking about things, and laughing at funny stories. The owner told us there were 125 people voted and it was close. That is great as it shows we all did a great job of our placemats. Once I was done at the quilt shop, I went to Walmart to get a few things and to Winners to return an item. Then it was home. 

Sewing

I put the jeans to one side as I wanted to try out a new technique. My challenge with the Christmas stocking is to use the 10 degree ruler but not do patchwork. One step at a time.  I grabbed some old fat quarters from the stash and cut two of them up. I got 13 pieces cut and sewn together. 

I found only 2 fat quarters that were the same length. The third one was 2" shorter. I found 2 more in another pile at the end of the sewing day. 

What I found out is that you need an odd number of pieces when making a piece of fabric. With 3 fabrics you will need 5 of each to make 15 pieces. With 5 fabrics you will need 3 sets of fabric. 

Next I folded the fabric in half and it isn't square. I'm okay with that. 

I put the pattern piece on the fold and it was perfect.

My next job is 

    to put fusible fleece on the back of the fabric and quilt it.    

    to make two more copies of the pattern. I will tape the pattern together so I can cut it out flat. The third one I will cut out the paw pieces so I can use it when I fuse down the paw pieces to appliqué on. 

    to do a test run of appliquéing pieces onto another fabric so I get the look I want. 

I did buy the fabric for the paw stocking for the contest. 

The 4 fabrics are for the stocking body and I may use only 3 of them. The top dark is for the paw pieces and the cuff. The light is for the lining. I know I will need to find another piece of fabric next week to go with this so my wedges are alternating not only in colour but placement. 

Knitting

I didn't knit last night as I let my arm rest. The weight of the afghan is making it sore so I am trying to rest it every couple of nights. 

Thoughts

    Yesterday was fun and I did enjoy myself. The ladies are avid quilters and I'm not. But it is fun to see what they make and talk about in the quilting world. Some of the ladies are very artistic and most are known for something -- the bargello lady, the halloween lady, etc. 

    I am slow this morning as I had to install new firmware so I can import pictures from my phone to my lap top. It took a bit of time for the firmware to work and the I had to do an extra step I found on google to get the first download to work. Upgrading is a painful process sometimes. 

Today

I am going to do some laundry, a bit of housework and then take my car to have the tire fixed. After lunch I will work on the stocking prototype and I want to knit tonight. A quieter though busy day for me. 

Until the next time...................................................................

Doll Jeans Started

 Yesterday started out foggy, then sunny, and then cloudy. The high got to 15C. This morning it is partly cloudy and 2C. Today is supposed to be sunny with a high of 15C. 

Lifestyle

I went down a rabbit hole yesterday morning. I decided to do a few minutes of research on the Spousal Unit's family tree. The person I chose was his great aunt. I started doing her children and then grandchildren. It was interesting as one of her grandchildren married a Doukobor (Russian pacifist group). He was a high school teacher and police officer. I found the research really interesting and wondered if the Spousal Unit knew about them as he did know about this person's brother. 

I did clean the kitchen to within an inch of its life. I scrubbed everything down really well and was pleased with how it looked. I then proceeded to cut up chicken to marinate for dinners and put on chicken to make broth and meat for soup. When done all this, I cleaned the kitchen up once again. And I did it again after I made supper. 

Sewing

I decided to make the Gotz dolls a pair of jeans. I actually cut out the pattern and got the pieces cut out. Another jigsaw puzzle. I had to read the instructions several times to understand what to do. I carefully followed them and got the fronts ready for the fly and fly cover. 

I decided to make the pockets next. You sew the design onto the pocket pieces with the pattern piece on top. You add the backing (right sides together) and sew them together. I like the method but I need to make another set. One line of stitching came out of the pocket when I ripped the paper off. I need to stitch from the cut edge to the cut edge and back stitch. Otherwise the method worked perfectly. 

The top of the pockets is folded down 1/4" twice and top stitched. 

I found out late last night I had won the table runner contest. I was shocked as I thought the one with the maple leaves would have won. 

I said I wasn't going to do the next contest which is a Christmas stocking. The staff want me to take part so I am thinking about it. My big question is do I need to make something no one needs and give it away. And what the heck do I make for a design. 

Knitting

I did knit last night and got 7 rows done. The ball of yarn is almost gone. 

Thoughts

    I am stunned that I won (once again) the contest for the table runner. They probably won't let me compete again (LOL). Thought it was a lot of work and got me frustrated, I am proud of the end result. It is traditional yet modern. 

    The tree behind my house has finally started to change colour. It is a mix of red, and green and should look amazing when it is fully changed. I am hoping it gets to that point this fall. 

Today

I have a couple of small things to do today before I head out to New Minas. I have to attend the tea party and get a few groceries. I may sew if I have time and I will see if I get to knit tonight. It all depends on how I feel once I get home. 

Until the next time..................................................................

Placemat Completed

 Yesterday was sunny until late afternoon when the clouds started to show up. The high got to 13C. This morning it is cloudy, foggy, and 3C. Today is supposed to be a mix of sun and clouds with a high of 14C.

Lifestyle

I started the morning out typing the minutes of the hall meeting. No issues there. I just need to reread them and send them off. 

My issues started when I went to print the bank statement. My printer kept saying off line. I was up and down the stairs quite a few times. Each time I took items downstairs and put them away. Each time I looked at the printer it said the firmware needed to be updated. My issue was - I was running out of time as I had to be at the doctor's office at 11 am not noon as I had thought. I got out all my paperwork to do the balance sheet and left. 

I got to the doctor's office at 11 am and there was a small crowd waiting for their flu shots. I waited about 10 minutes and it was my turn. The fun began as the doctor's son said I was "normal". I ask what does that mean. The receptionist said it was because I was 65 I got the normal dose of the flu shot. I said let's try 75. She checked and said oops. And we laughed like crazy. I got the normal dose as the nurse said I had no major health issues. That made my day. 

Once home, I decided to google about the printer. I went down to see if it had the wifi password and it didn't. I entered that. It didn't print. I then googled how to update the firm ware. I did that. The printer printed what I needed. I did the books later in the afternoon. No issues there as it went smoothly. Getting there was the issue. 

Sewing

I sat downstairs and hand sewed the binding onto the placemat. I was done in a couple of hours and I do like the end result. 

I found this picture of another placemat that I like. I may make a couple of them using fabric in the stash. I wouldn't put in the pocket and I would do the piecing up each side or a plain strip of fabric up the right hand side. There are options for this placemat.

Knitting

I did not knit last night. I rested my wrist which flares up after knitting on the afghan. 

Thoughts

    I really have enjoyed the sunshine the past couple of days. It has been so nice to sit in a bright house and feel the warmth of the sun coming through the windows. 

    I have been following the election of municipal governments in the area I lived in when in BC. Ashcroft was just a glance and I knew who would win. The village next to it surprised me. The mayor came in last and his wife just got in as a councillor. There was a huge shift in people's thinking once again in that community. The Alberta referendum was interesting but all the numbers aren't in. The only thing known is that the people voted not to separate from Canada. 

    I didn't have the big reaction to the flu shot like I normally do. My arm is sore at the injection site but I didn't feel tired from it. I am happy that I was able to truck along all afternoon getting things done. 

Today

I am going to clean the kitchen and prep dinner this morning and put away a few things that I have put off. I want to sew this afternoon but am not sure what I will make. It really should be the doll's jeans. Tonight I hope to knit on the afghan. 

Until the next time..........................................................