Doll's Shirt Almost Done

 Yesterday was a mix of sun and clouds with a high of 3C. This morning it is raining and 10C. Today will be wet with a high of 10C. 

Lifestyle

I folded the laundry and put it away. An easy job but one I seem to put off for some unknown reason. A couple of small jobs were done in the kitchen. 

Then it was out to get groceries. It was fairly quiet so I was able to shop without worrying about crowds. All the food items I bought were on sale. I also picked up a new spoon rest. 

Once home, I put everything away. I have a bit of a stock pile that will last me for several months. I am hoping that I won't have to shop for another week. 

I did make myself dinner for last night and tonight. I decided to make chicken, rice, and a vegetable. It was good. 

Sewing

I did a lot of sewing yesterday. I worked on the doll's blouse and got the cuffs sewn before lunch. They were easy to get looking nice as I took my time sewing. 

In the afternoon, I focused on getting the cuffs onto the sleeves. First round I had the cuff on the wrong sleeve. I got that fixed and then got the 2nd cuff on. I did all the hand sewing on them. 

Next up was to do the hem and it was a case of serge the hem and then sew it up. Finally I tackled the gathering at the back. I was worried about that but I took my time and got it done without pulling out my hair. Handling a 1" piece of twill tape and gathering the center back to 3/4" was difficult. I drew blood from a pin when doing it. 

 A close up of the gathering at the back. 

I am a bit worried that the cuffs are going to be too small for the dolls. They do not close on this doll's wrist. I may have to take them off, draft the cuff pattern larger and redo them. I will finish the blouse and then think on it for a couple of days.  I just have to hand sew the front facing in place, add snaps to the front, and sew a button on at the top. 

When I needed a break from the blouse, I did a bit of work prepping a project for April. I took a few minutes here and there to cut some fabric, find a backing, and look at the lace for a ruffle. Once it is cut out, I will put it on the shelf ready to sew. It was what I needed when I was feeling a bit stressed with the blouse. 

When the doll's blouse is done, I am going to cut out the fabric for the next 3 projects. All are easy to make and should take me less than a week to make once they are prepped. 

Crafting

I spent some time getting Cricut up on my laptop and have an ornament ready to cut out. I have everything to make it so will take part of an afternoon and get it done. That will be one more Christmas gift made. 

Knitting

I knit on the socks last night and love the yarn. It is soft and easy to use. The pattern is also easy to remember. I am just over half done the leg of sock #1. 

I love this yarn and hope to buy more of it when I get more of the yarn in the stash knit down. 

Thoughts

    I measured my windows and I could not get the easy installation system I wanted. The window was 1/8" too wide. I did not place the order. I was disappointed and will now look for wide bubble wrap. 

     I looked at the quilting cottons spread out on 2 shelves on the shelving unit and may tweak how they are piled. I am happy to see all the fabric I have. Several piles are projects I want to make this year and some are waiting for me to get ideas of what I want to make out of them. As I get space on the shelves, I will move fabric around so that I can have the fabric on one shelf. Being able to see what I have has made me less stressed out and I am not digging through the fabric looking and making a mess. 

Today

I am off to Dartmouth with my daughter-in-law for some shopping. She has an osteopathy appointment this afternoon and we will be home after that. I don't think I will be sewing today but will knit tonight. 

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

Working On Reclaiming Projects

 Yesterday was sunny and warm. The high got to 16C. This morning it is partly cloudy and 0C. Today is supposed to be a mix of sun and clouds with a high of 7C. 

Lifestyle

I was tired yesterday and had to force myself to move. In the morning I decided to do laundry and it is waiting for me to fold. I packaged the family pack of chicken breasts and then I decided to play with the flower arrangements in the bedrooms. 

I got the pale pink peonies in from the car and cut the stems apart. I worked on my bedroom arrangement first and I am happy with it. 

Later on I found a pink glass dish and put it on the table with the arrangement. When done that, I worked on the arrangement in the spare bedroom. I may have to find one more flower for it in a darker colour. 

The clock was a gift from Montevideo and I haven't put a battery into it yet. 

I looked for 3M picture hangers to hang one picture in my bedroom and found none. I need to get some so I can get my pictures hung up in the bedroom. 

I was basically done doing what I had planned and I wandered around looking for something else to do upstairs. There was nothing to do. I then decided to rest but not nap. I sat for an hour looking at ideas and making a shopping list. I also looked at blinds again for my bedroom as there is a bigger sale on. I need to get the tape measure out and do a proper measure as I can order the blind with a couple of upgrades for the same price as the blind with no upgrades. 

Sewing

I did not start the sewing machine yesterday. I would have made a mistake that would have upset me. I did look at the fabrics on the two shelves and got some inspiration. 

    1. I can make 2 mug rugs and a smaller table runner from a piece of winter fabric. I have everything for that. 

    2. I can see my fabric and when my eyes landed on a piece of navy grunge fabric, I knew I would use it for trim on place mats I have planned. 

My tiredness did lift so I decided to take the bias edging off some wide white eyelet for table runner. I don't know what I did right but the thread came off in one long piece. Two minutes and the job was done. 

I have pressed a bit of the lace and cut the top part off so it is 1/2" above the embroidery. I can gather it and sew it onto the winter table runner. 

I cut the lace I was hand sewing on to the purple cotton/linen blend fabric. I going to make something else from it. I have  left over purple fabric plus some cotton print to use for something fun. 

These two projects will go onto the list for April. I can think about what I want to do with the purple fabric while I am sewing March's projects. 

This week Sewing with Cinnamon is about using a small overall hexagon print fabric and doing a project with it. She gave two ideas; doll's jacket and quilt. I looked for fabric at one of the quilt shops and all they have is a Halloween print in a small hexagon print. I am thinking what I can do for this project using what I have at home. 

Knitting

I finished the toque and I will not be making it again. I do not like how few decrease rows there were at the top. 

I will do another hat pattern I made years ago as I do like it a lot more. It is thick like this one. 

I cast on the first sock using the Green of Wheat yarn. I got 15 rounds knit and love how the colours are working in subtly and how soft the yarn is on my hands. 

I am ready to start the pattern. It is an easy pattern which I haven't knit before. 

Thoughts

    I slept well last night. I was in bed early. I am hoping I beat the time change which had made me very tired yesterday. I wish we didn't have to do time change. With the possibility of 3 provinces not changing time, I am hoping that it will spread across Canada sooner rather than later. 

    The snow has really disappeared with the warm weather we have had the past few days. There has been water running in the ditches and I am sure the ground is soggy. We do have rain and snow in the forecast which means I can't get out to check my yard just yet. I will do a check from the back deck and from the side of the garage. 

    I just sat and figured out what I need to sew this month. I have been doing more purging fabric than sewing. I have several easy projects to make plus one craft project using the Cricut. I am right on track with my knitting. I need to focus on sewing a bit each day to get through all the projects. 

Today

I have to fold laundry and get some groceries that are on sale. I need to make some dinners for the fridge as I am out of meals. I hope to work on the doll's blouse today and get it almost done. I will knit on the socks tonight. A fairly quiet day for me. 

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

A Long Day Out Of The House

 Yesterday was sunny and warm with a high of 15C. This morning it is partly cloudy and 5C. Today is supposed to be sunny with a high of 16C.

Lifestyle

I did a few things before leaving for New Minas. I had to get the vacuum cleaner ready for daughter-in-law which meant putting things into a bag for her. I also did a tiny bit of tidying up. 

At New Minas, I went to Giant Tiger first. I got what was on my list plus a couple of other things. I also picked up a couple of things for daughter-in-law. No extra shopping as I needed to go to Michaels. 

At Micheals I went to see if they had the paper I needed. Not yet so I will look elsewhere. I did buy a bunch of peonies in a pale pink to cut apart for the house. They were on sale for 50% off plus another 10% off for seniors. 

My next stop was Walmart. I spent a lot of time in the store grocery shopping. I got what I needed plus some other items. I did look at a lot of things as I wanted to see what was available. It was past noon when I got out of there. It was time to go home. 

Once home, I got things put away and sat down. I got really tired due to time change and the house was warm and stuffy. I opened a window and didn't close it until 10 pm. 

To stay awake, I went to the local hardware store and got a paint pamphlet and two paint chips. I need to find one more paint chip so I can look for items for daughter's birthday and Christmas presents. When I go back for the last paint chip in her colour, I will get a few blue ones for me. 

I was out to visit my friend after dinner and we had a great visit. I got home late and know I will be tired today. But it was worth it as I feel much better mentally from talking with her about everything and nothing. 

Sewing

I didn't sew yesterday. I did think a lot about the fabric in the stash and what I can sew it into. I also thought about some other projects I want to make which will need me to buy fabric. 

Knitting

I didn't knit last night but I did wind the yarn for daughter's socks. 

I am looking forward to knitting with this yarn as it is very soft to the touch. 

Thoughts

    Thank you Carole for the idea of using bubble wrap. I had forgot about that one. I will have to look for some to put on my bedroom window. 

    The snow has really melted. The ditch has water running in it. The 6 ft piles of snow are now about a foot high. Most of the snow will be gone as we are going to get rain starting tomorrow. It is also going to be cooler which is okay. 

Today

I am going to have a quiet day today as I am tired. I have to do laundry and get a few things tidied up in the house. I may work in the sewing room after lunch and will try to knit tonight. I hope I won't nap as I am wanting to get my body in sync with the time change. I have been struggling with that. 

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

It Gets Worse Before It Gets Better

 Yesterday was mainly cloudy with rain. The high got to 10C. This morning it is clear and 1C. Today is supposed to be sunny with a high of 12C. 

Lifestyle

Yesterday morning I cleaned the bathroom and laundered the shower curtain. There was pink mould showing up on the shower curtain so it was time for it to be done. It is plastic so I can bleach it easily. Putting it into the dryer was fun as I got the floor and myself wet. The bathroom is now clean. 

The next job was to do the balance sheet. It went rather quickly and I was done before I knew it. 

I took a bit of time yesterday afternoon and read my book. I haven't looked at it for a long time. When I read it, I think of my uncle by marriage and how a lot of his siblings were Home Children from England. His oldest sister (my great aunt by marriage) was a Home Child for a couple of years and was domestic help in a home in New Brunswick. I am enjoying the book very much and will have to spend more time reading it. It also takes my mind off the mess I am creating in the sewing room. 

Sewing

I did sew on the doll's blouse yesterday. I worked slowly and got the laps on the sleeves. I didn't even get stressed out as I was very careful. I also set the sleeves in before calling it done for the day. 

There is still quite a bit to do before it is done. The cuffs are folded back and need to be interfaced. Then it will be hemming the blouse and then doing a bit of gathering at the waist in the back. I will be waiting for the snaps to arrive sometime this month. 

I tackled the cottons and it was very stressful. As soon as I started to move things around and not deal with them, I stopped for a break. That included lunch and sewing on the blouse. It was hard to make some decisions. 

I have a bit of a mess on the cutting table. One pile is for zippered bags. The winter fabric is for mug rugs and the larger piece is going to be folded and put away for now. While handling that piece of fabric, I decided to keep only the newest winter/Christmas fabrics. The rest was put into the donation pile. 

I have most of the fabrics on 2 shelves and it is sorted into piles so I can focus on sewing them up. Some pieces have projects attached to them, others are there because I want to sew them up. 

I am not done yet as I had to leave it be. I was feeling stressed and started to move fabric from one spot to another. I wasn't dealing with the fabric. 

I have realized that my tastes have changed in the fabric I buy. I am less excited about Christmas fabrics and have a small pile of them left to sew. The rest will get sewn and what I don't sew will be given away. Truthfully, I am tired of having a stash. 

Knitting

I worked on the hat last night and have to start using the light ball of yarn to finish it. This hat takes almost 100 grams of yarn. I am down to having about 6-8 rounds left to knit. 

I have a tub in the basement to put these types of projects into. I will buy some dark coloured socks to add so that when the knitting is handed out, they can get a pair of socks to go with it. 

Thoughts

    I surprised myself yesterday by walking down the stairs with ease. Usually I have to make sure I focus on going down the stairs as it can be painful. When I got to the bottom step I realized I had very little pain and that I had done it without thinking. That is a great improvement for me. 

    The snow has melted a lot in the past 2 days. I can see more lawn this morning. The huge piles of snow from shovelling the driveway are almost 75% gone. It is great to know that spring is coming. 

    I priced blinds for my bedroom and was shocked at the price. I am going to go to Home Depot and get styrofoam insulation and use it. I know of people who do that. 

Today

I am going to go shopping in New Minas this morning. This afternoon I want to play with the fabrics in the sewing room and then I hope to take fabric to my friend for her quilting group. I hope to finish knitting the hat tonight. Then it will be on to knitting socks. 

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

Toppers Completed

 Yesterday was cloudy, then sunny, and finally it rained by late afternoon. The temperature rose all day and it was 7C at midnight. This morning it is cloudy and 9C. Today is supposed to be a mix of sun, clouds, and windy with a high of 11C. 

Lifestyle

Yesterday I started out the day folding laundry and putting it away. I put the sheets into the washer and while they were on, I got to work turning the mattress. It is a job I do twice a year and I don't like to do it. The mattress is heavy and awkward to push around on the foundation. But it gets done. 

I cleaned the kitchen. That included wiping walls, scrubbing counters, cleaning the stainless steel, and organizing the electronic cables. Those cables are like snakes and I finally decided to contain them with twist ties. 

As I don't have a drawer to put them into, I keep them in a basket. I also mopped the floor and it was dirtier than I had thought. I am pleased with how it looks. 

It isn't a big kitchen and I've worked hard to keep the counters free of clutter. It was one thing I have always done. 

My last job was to tidy up the couch where I sit and knit. It wasn't messy but it needed to be tidied up. When that was done, I went downstairs to do some work. 

My goal was to get all the fabric on the floor into 2 bags to go to the donation centre. 

I did that and found a roll of embroidery stabilizer on the floor. I labeled it and put it into a box. I put everything in an area so I can get it up the stairs and out into the car easily. 

The red box has to be emptied into recycling and garbage. I use it when I am decluttering. 

Sewing

I did not look at the fabric yesterday. It was a day off as I needed to think a bit on how I will sort the cottons into piles. I am wanting it to be organized so I can grab what I need for a project and make it. 

I did sew the binding onto the two toppers and was happy that there was only about 20" of binding left. It is in a bag for a quilting group to use in scrappy quilt. 

I took the two toppers and the doll's blouse to the family room and hand sewed. I really enjoy hand sewing as it relaxes my brain. I turned on the tv and watched a series I enjoy and save for hand sewing. 

I was thrilled with how the topper looked on this bedside table. I need to find something else to put on it. For years the bedside tables and dresser was empty as Elliott use to push everything off of them. My bedside table has its topper on it also. 

Other than pictures and a couple of small items, my bedroom is finished. I have to look at what I have first and then will go looking for what I want. 

I have to be super careful about how much I can put in the room due to my sleep disorder. I cannot have a tv in it. The only electronics is my phone which is silenced at night. 

Knitting

I did knit on the hat last night. I got over an inch done last night and forgot to take a picture. 

Thoughts

    I am deciding if I will put black out blinds on my bedroom windows as this room gets a lot of sunlight and becomes quite warm in the summer. I will have to do the measuring and figure out the cost. I don't want to remove my curtains as I do like them. 

    The snow is melting quite quickly with the warmer weather we had yesterday. If the temperatures are going to be warm for the next few days, most of the snow could be gone. I am amazed at how fast it went overnight. 

Today

I have to clean the bathroom and will go downstairs and start sorting the cottons. I want to get the fabric I will sew this month into one area so I can grab them quickly. I want to put the donation boxes and bags into the car as I will take them to the thrift store tomorrow. I may go and visit my friend this afternoon and will knit tonight. 

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

More Done In The Sewing Room

Yesterday started out cloudy and then turned sunny. The high got to -3 (windchill -7C). This morning it is cloudy and -4C (windchill -7C). Today is supposed to have showers with a high of 8C.

Lifestyle

It was another day of doing a few tiny chores like taking out the recycling to the garage. I did a load of laundry and it is sitting in the dryer waiting for me to fold. The spaghetti sauce was put into containers and most was frozen. The pot was soaked as it needs a good scrubbing. 

I was sore yesterday and realized that both my knees were stiff. The barometric pressure was dropping slowly with the rain coming in. I did hobble around most of the day and was tired from the pain. I ended up rubbing my left knee cap and it hurt in spots. The muscles in my right leg are sore as they are rebelling as I am pushing them to do something new and they want to do the old thing. 

Sewing

I spent a lot of time in the sewing room yesterday. Before lunch I worked on the 2nd topper and got it finished. After lunch I pieced the backing for both toppers and got them quilted. 

I cut the last of the blue fabric and added to the binding I already had. The toppers are ready to have the binding sewn on and then it's hand sewn. 

I looked at the doll's blouse and didn't work on it. I do have a plan on what I will do next. I have to do some hand sewing before I can work on the sleeves. 

Remember this from the last post.

I tackled the top two shelves. I hauled all the fabric to the family room (no you are not seeing the mess) and sorted through it. It was a trip down memory lane for some of the fabric and some "what and why did I buy this fabric" thrown in. I put the fabric I was keeping into a pile and then measured the fabric I am donating. The number was staggering - 48.75 meters of fabric that had been in the stash between 9 and 15 years. Most of it was for another life and some was for fantasy sewing.

The fabric I am keeping was put back on one shelf. If it isn't sewn in the next year, it will leave the house. 

There is a pile of fabric on the left side of the first shelf. It is expensive flannel I will use to back a lap quilt. 

On the 2nd shelf down are two pieces of silk organza I had lost in the stash and dress making rulers I need to deal with. I was happy I found the silk organza as use it for press cloths. 

Am I ready to tackle the last shelf? Not at the moment as I have to bag up the fabric to go to the donation center. It will get done and I may spread it out over 2 shelves so I can see it easier. 

Knitting

I knit last night and am making progress. It is slow knitting as it takes quite a few rows to knit an inch. 

Thoughts On Organizing My Life

    Have I always been organized? No. Two very fast moves, blending my mother's possession in with ours, and renovating left me unorganized for quite a few years. While we renovated the house in Ashcroft, we lived in chaos. There was stuff everywhere and I was climbing over old furniture to get what I needed. It was then that I decided to get our lives and house organized. As we renovated each room, we would unload everything from that room and I would go through it with a fine tooth comb. The amount of stuff we let go of was amazing. When we sold that house, we had purged 50% of what we had brought in to it. When we sold the house in Kamloops we let go of a lot more as we were moving across Canada. 

    Since moving into this house, it has been a lot of work to get everything organized. We brought too much with us even though we had pared back a lot. We both had emotional attachment to the possessions we had brought with us. I think part of it was moving here and what we had was comforting in a new and unknown province. I picked away at it slowly but there was a lot of feelings of guilt when I tackled areas of the house. I did keep it organized. I was on top of it. It wasn't bad as long as I did kept up with the cleaning and organizing. Miss two days and I felt like I was living in chaos. 

     It was difficult to do anything while the Spousal Unit was declining with Alzheimer's. I was exhausted taking care of him and he was trying to keep track of all our possessions. Just moving things was hard on him. I had a spell after his death that I did very little. I was grieving and getting my hip, etc. worked on. Physically and mentally I was in survival mode. Cleaning out the Spousal Unit's possessions was done when I was ready to tackle it. There were a lot of decisions to make. Some were easy and others were very difficult. 

    I have picked away at what I didn't need. It was slow going but I could see that I was getting more organized once again. I still had things I wasn't using and needed to get rid of. Since coming home from Montevideo, I made a decision to purge hard and keep this place minimal, organized and tidy. In actual fact, I am on round 2 of cleaning and decluttering since coming home. I am pretty happy with the upstairs but need to continue working on the downstairs. It is coming but it isn't where I want it to be. I am struggling with it as I am letting go of things and have to work through emotions that can run high. 

Today

I have to clean the kitchen today. Once done, I have to fold laundry and put it away. I have to bag up the fabric to go to the donation centre and get it ready to load into the car along with 2 boxes. I want to finish the toppers and hand sew on the doll's shirt. I will knit tonight. I am aiming for a quiet day. 

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

Some Sewing and Some Clean Up

 Yesterday was a mix of sun and clouds. The temperature dropped all day and at 3 pm it was -8C (windchill -14C). This morning it is partly cloudy and -9C (windchill -12). Today is supposed to be a mix of sun and clouds with a high of 1C. 

Lifestyle

Yesterday morning I made a pot of chicken soup and had it in containers by noon. While I was waiting for it to make, I swept the floors, stairs and front landing. I tidied up a few things and was, in all honesty, bored. 

Later in the afternoon I made a pot of spaghetti sauce. I cleaned up the kitchen for the 2nd time and had supper. It was, in general a boring day with me tired. I wasn't at my best yesterday to say the least. 

Sewing

I pushed myself downstairs for an afternoon in the sewing room. I got started on the doll's red and white striped shirt. The white piece on the front gave me issues and I finally had to ditch the instructions and do it my way. The rest was easier to do. 

I have to now hand sew the white yoke and front pieces into place. I stopped there as I didn't want to do it. 

From there, I went to cutting out the squares for the second topper. They are all done and I stopped as I had to sew them together. I didn't want to do that either. 

I took the two tubs of embroidery stabilizer into the family room and sorted it out. I put the stabilizer I wanted into the longer tub and it fit. The rest I put labels on and 7 rolls went into the donation box. All of the stabilizer is good but I don't use it. Since moving here 8 years ago, I have bought 1 piece of stabilizer. I don't need to buy any more for a long time. 

I looked at the upholstery fabric and batting for the dining room chairs. I left them on the top shelf as I am not sure if I will upholster my dining room chairs or not. 

The tub of stabilizer and the stuffing is on the shelf with the patterns. The fabric for the aprons is in with the cottons. 

The bottom shelf is still empty and I swept the floor under the shelving unit. 

My next shelf is the garment fabric. I did look at it and cringed. There is still some emotional attachment to it. 

Knitting

I did knit last night and decided to do a small band of knitting in another colour. 

At the moment I am not sure if I will have enough yarn so I added the stripe so I can do the top in the lighter colour also. This hat will go into a box for the homeless. I am sure they will enjoy any hats I make. 

Thoughts

    I was tired yesterday. Some of it was from shovelling snow, some from holing up in the house due to the weather, and some from a few other things that have been happening. I am going to get out a bit more as I do find that helps me. I don't need to buy anything, I can look and enjoy myself. 

    I am hoping to make and buy  Christmas gifts over the year. I think I am ready to buy a few small items and make some things using up some of the stash in April and May. 

    I have done a bit of reading on the Acadians in our area. The numbers were larger than that of Grand Pre. They were supposedly poorer but they weren't destitute. After the expulsion of the Acadians, English settlers took the land for their own. Over time, the Acadian cemetery washed away into the Minas Basin. Some Acadians were held as prisoners at Fort Edward. There is no real history of the Acadians in our area though some did return. The history of our area evolves around Fort Edward, and everything that happened in the town after it was established. It is also known as the birthplace of hockey. 

Today

I am going to get a few small things done upstairs and then will work in the basement. I do want to sew and clean some. I am hoping to visit my friend if she is at home. I will knit tonight. 

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