The Hedge is Weeded

 Yesterday was a sunny warm day with a high of 26.4C (humidex 28C). This morning it is clear and 10C. Today is to be hot and sunny with a high of 29C (humidex 30C). 

Lifestyle

It was, once again, over to empty the dehumidifier at family's. The morning humidity is running about 60-65% with the tank full. Evenings are 40% with about a half tank. This is my last morning as they will be home today. It has been a fun experiment. 

Once home, I grabbed my garden gloves and hoe and started to weed the hedge. I was about 2/3rds done when I hear a "hello". My neighbour had stopped in to visit. I haven't talked to him for quite a while. We had a good chat, looked at the garden, admired the Spousal Unit's rose bush, and he headed home (across the road). I went back to hoeing and finished the hedge by 9:30 am. It felt great to have the job done, be out in the cool morning, and visit with a friend. 

With the job done quicker than expected I gave myself the day off from doing housework. It was great to relax, move slow, and enjoy myself. It was just what I needed. 

Sewing

One of the first things I did was watch some of the video on quilt as you go with a sashing.  I then cut out the 9 squares for the "blocks" of the quilt. Then it was cutting out the backing and batting. 

They are now stacked ready to pin together so I can quilt them. 

Next up was to sew the sleeves on to the Orange Blossom outfit. It was a lot of work getting the hems done, the seams serged, and the sleeve caps gathered. Tiny seams. I worked on one sleeve and got it in. I was a full 90 minutes prepping the sleeves and getting one in the bodice. 

The last thing I did was cut out and make the flying geese for Block 7. I did it wrong but it is staying like this. 

I laid them out and realized that I was to have a reverse of each block instead of the same. Grey center with cream wings and cream center with grey wings. Oh well, it looks fine and I did the exercise. The presenter did her layout wrong and it still worked. So will this once I get the layout the way I want it. Then they will be ready for me to sew together very carefully. 

The next two blocks have a lot of pieces and I am hoping I have enough fabric. I have used a lot of the fabric so far and am holding my breath that I have enough to finish the quilt. 

Knitting

I finished the two hats last night. It wasn't a lot of work; more measuring to make sure I had the length correct. 

The remaining yarn is wound into balls and will be put into a box to use up or sell. I am now ready to finish the doll's sweater. 

Thoughts

    Getting outside and doing some yard work was the best thing I did. Not only did I get a lot of fresh air, I moved and did some work. I noticed I did not feel stagnant the rest of the day. My next outside job will be weeding around the shed and thinning the carrots. 

    We are going to have it quite warm for the next week. I will have to do outside jobs early in the morning and be inside the rest of the day. As long as we don't have a lot of humidity, I should be okay. I should also go outside for a bit each morning while it is cool and do a few things. 

Today

Once I am done at family's, I am going to do more cleaning in the family room. I want to sew this afternoon and knit tonight. Another day home as I don't need anything. 

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

An Amazing Garden

 Yesterday was a mix of sun and clouds (with a tiny misty shower) with a high of 22.5C (humidex 27C). This morning it is clear and 12C. Today is to be sunny with a high of 25 (humidex 28C). 

Lifestyle

I am winning at getting family's house humidity down. I had to empty the tank in the morning but the humidity was only 60%. In the afternoon, the dehumidifier wasn't running (40% humidity) and the tank was about half full. Yes, I was excited as it has been a lot of work getting it to this stage. (I had to empty my dehumidifier this morning -- about 5 days since I did it). 

Once home, I worked on the family room. Garbage/recycling was taken out and sorted and then I put away more items. I set up a table to work at and organized the area. That part of the family room was swept. I only have the TV stand and coffee table to polish and the floor to mop to finish that part. 

The craft area has been moved to behind the chair I sit in. I have everything I need in that spot either in a trolley, a box, or on the table. At the moment, I am happy with it as it is close to the table the Cricut is on. I can use one chair for the two areas. At this point, my energy left me and I drug myself upstairs. 

After lunch, I had a nap and woke still feeling tired. I hardly moved for the rest of the afternoon. After dinner I went out to check the garden and it was nice out there. I picked weeds and pruned tomato plants. 

The cucumbers are growing rapidly. 

I removed 2 tiny tomato plants from the box. They are from last year's tomatoes. 

The carrots are growing and need to be thinned over the next week. 

The tomatoes are growing rapidly. There are lots of blooms and small tomatoes. I pruned them and put branches back into their cages. 

The beefsteak tomato is growing. 

I am amazed at how good the garden looks. 

Later in the evening, I looked outside and there was a rainbow. 

It actually was a full one though the other half was faint. 

Sewing

I got the soles on the shoes. I now need to look for black elastic to put around the shoes to hide the gap between the upper shoes and soles. 

I also cut one 7 1/2" square for the next quilt I am going to make. 

I have 8 more to cut out. I am going to make a quilt as you go quilt which will have sashes on it. This will be a small quilt as I don't want to man handle a large quilt again. And, yes, it is the same print as Elliott's quilt and this one will got to daughter's cat. 

I didn't look at the Orange Blossom outfit as I was too tired to deal with the instructions. I am ready to start on the sleeves. 

Knitting

I finished the socks but not without having to unknit a few rows. I had decreased the toe on the front but not the back on one row. It was almost bedtime when I got finished but I am happy they are now ready to put away into a Christmas box. 

I will finish the hats and doll sweater before I start working on more socks. I also have to wind some left over sock yarn into balls. 

Thoughts

    I think I am tired due to the heat, humidity, and the fact I ate ice cream which disagreed with me. I am also worrying about the humidity in family's house, trying to do a lot each day, and not taking the time to slow down and relax. 

    I am coming to the end of the fabric I cut for projects. Once the doll's dress is completed, I am going to clean up the cutting table and cut fabric for more projects. I have enjoyed having stacks of fabric ready to sew. Not my usual style but it is growing on me rapidly. 

Today

I have to do the dehumidifier at family's and then I want to hoe under the hedge. The wet and warm weather has brought forth weeds. I would like to sew on the doll's dress this afternoon and knit tonight. 

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

A Lot Of Purging Done

 Yesterday started out wet and ended up warm and humid. About an inch of rain fell and the high got to 23.5C (humidex 32C). This morning it is dull, cloudy, and 17C. It rained earlier this morning. Today is to be cloudy with showers with a high of 21C (humidex 26C).

Lifestyle

It was out the door between downpours to tend to family's dehumidifier. The tank was full and the humidity was 60%. I am winning!! When I went over later, the tank was half full which is great. 

Yesterday's chores started off with a cleaning of the kitchen and the bathroom. It was nice to have those areas clean and sanitized. The appliances were even wiped and shined. I didn't do the floors as they are clean. 

It was down stairs next. I didn't take pictures as I needed to focus on purging the craft supplies. What a job it was. I got out all the tubs and went through everything. I tossed, organized, cleaned, and wrote a list of what I need to make. All the likes are together, a bag of trash was acquired, and some items went into the donate box. Everything was put away onto the shelf and cart. I didn't finish but everything I did is organized. What is left can be done in quick time. I could feel my creativity coming back as the craft space got cleaned and organized. But, it isn't done yet. I still have to clean the family room and set up a craft table to work at. Using the coffee table is not ideal. 

I stepped outside last night and it was so warm and humid I came back inside quickly. Not my favourite weather. I haven't sat on my deck this year. It has been too hot, too wet, and too windy to enjoy it. I will enjoy it in the fall if we don't have to put it all away due to a hurricane. 

Sewing

I did sew yesterday afternoon. I got the shoes ready for the sole to be put on today. I also put little flowers I found in one of the craft boxes on the shoes. I will attach them at the end. 

My next job was to work on the dress. I prepped the back and did the gathering rows. Next was serging seams. Shoulders were sewn together and the neckline was attached. It isn't perfect as I learned a few things along the way. 

I should have put the gathers closer to the center front. The instructions were a bit vague and I know the next time I will measure it differently. The designer has you gather the areas so they measure a certain distance. It would be just as easy to measure the neck band, pin, and the gather the areas tight. Live and learn. 

I haven't done the top stitching on the hat yet but I will. I am still thinking about the flowers on the top of the hat but may omit them. 

I looked around the sewing room again and will be tackling it once the family room and bathroom are cleaned. There is still more purging to be done. One tub is the laces I use for doll clothes. I rifle through them and don't use a lot of them. It will be sorted one afternoon while I watch TV. In my defence, I bought lace when I saw it as it is hard to find here in Nova Scotia. Even the 2 big fabric stores don't have a good selection. But, some of the lace is not suitable for dolls but great for someone to use in crafting. 

Knitting

The foot on the sock is done. I knit 48 rows last night. I think that is a record for me. 

Stitches have been moved back into place and I'm ready to start the toe. It should be done tonight if all goes well. If not tomorrow night. 

Thoughts

    Though I still didn't feel 100% positive yesterday, I did feel better mentally. I know the mess in the basement has been one thing that has had me stressed and feeling negative. As I worked at cleaning it up, I did feel better -- calmness started to return. What I am realizing is that I don't need to have a lot of items around me and I need to buy only the items to do a project. Excess makes me feel stressed. I need to keep reminding myself of that. 

    Daughter was telling me that they had a lot of thunder and lightening yesterday afternoon. No rain in their community in BC. It hit east of them and another community had so much rain there was flooding and mudslides. Videos and pictures show how bad it was. I also saw from pictures in a community north of where daughter lives had down pours also but it didn't seem to be as much. I guess I will see more on Facebook today. It brought back memories of the terrible storm we had last July. 

Today

This morning, I have to do the balance sheet, take out recycling and garbage, and continue cleaning the family room. I will continue working on the dress this afternoon and knit tonight. As it is Canada Day, most businesses are closed. 

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