Progress Has Been Made

 Yesterday was a lovely warm day with sunshine and a high of 23.3C. We didn't break any high temperatures as last year it was 26.9C. There is a haze in the sky from the fires in Alberta. This morning it is cloudy and 9C. We are to have showers and a high of 19C. 

Lifestyle

I was out the door to weed again yesterday morning. I tried to use the Dutch hoe under the deck with poor results. Pulling them was too hard to do. I ended up having to spray the weeds. I may have to go back and do it again as the results seemed poor or I missed some of them. I proceeded to the shed where I weeded the beds and sprayed a bit. I need to get the pruning shears from the shed as the rose bush needs a bit of pruning. When done, I checked the tree in the front yard and it seems to be dead. I will do another check on it in the next couple of days. I'm now ready to tackle the ditch. 

I got two lots of flowers delivered yesterday. One from family here and one from daughter. I think the tags got mixed up after talking to daughter but I love them both. 

I had to put them into the laundry closet for the night as Elliott was getting up on the counter to check them out. He loves the green leaves which means I need to find him his grass seed and plant it. 

My glucose reading were great yesterday. In the low 5's which is where I want it. I am also sore from weeding and feel that what ever is pinched is getting worse. I will need to do some exercises, more stretching, and put heat on it. I really hate that it seems to be flaring up. 

The house was warm yesterday so I opened the windows at dinner time. That cooled the house off and I slept well all night. 

Sewing

I spent over 2 hours in the sewing room working on the doll's dress. I marked the seams, back facing and pleats. I serged the seams. I did put in the pleats and pressed them carefully. Next I pinned and sewed the side seams together. More pressing. I cut interfacing to support the buttonholes and buttons on the center back. It was a lot of work getting to that point but I was pleased with how it was turning out. 

I took out the basting along the center back and part of the neckline on the bodice and inserted pieces of interfacing to support the buttons and buttonholes. The pattern doesn't call for this step but I like to do it. 

The last job of the day was to gather the skirt and carefully attach it to the bodice. I teased the pleats in place with a pin and gave them a gentle pull to make sure they were laying straight. Once done I basted the skirt to the bodice. I did two rows to make sure the gathers were laying straight. 

Overall I am pleased with the dress. I have enjoyed taking my time to be precise/accurate. 

I got my loot bag from the Makers Gonna Learn and it is is wonderful. I gave my friend one book as I had 2 of them. She was happy to get it. I now have to put it all away so I can use them when I get back to making items using the Cricut. 

Daughter and I had a discussion on sewing up our stashes and trying not to buy fabric for the next while. For me that means pressing all the starched fabric and cutting out the placemats, finishing the doll's outfit and continuing on embroidering the cardinals for my quilt. I will only need to buy the backing and binding fabrics for the cardinal quilt when I am ready to sew it together. When I need to do another project, there is lots of fabric in the stash to sew up. I need to be on a fabric diet once again buying only what I absolutely need rather than what I want. 

Knitting

I found the pattern I want to knit for the Gotz dolls. I need to bring up the needles so I can start on it. 

With the house cooler, I tied the front and back of the vest together with yarn and pins. It is now ready to be sewn together. It is done by hand as I will need to be accurate so the cables line up and have the cast off rows disappear. 

Today

As it is already wet outside, I plan on folding laundry, doing a bit of housework and tackling the front entry. The stairs coming up and the landing need to be swept and washed. The stair going down to the basement are going to have the carpet treads removed and cleaned up. I want to sew on the dress this afternoon, and knit tonight. My neighbour may be over to remove the old dishwasher as the new one will be here on Thursday. 

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