Working On A 15 Year Old UFO

 Yesterday was a lovely mix of sun and clouds with a high of -5C. Last evening it was clear and -11C (windchill -16C). This morning it is partly cloudy and -7C (windchill -10C). Today is suppose to be mainly cloudy with a high of 2C. We are to get rain tonight. 

Lifestyle

I was out the door at just after 8 am to walk at the arena. I got there and no daughter-in-law. I forgot she was busy this morning. In I went and walked on my own. I did 7 laps using my poles. There were 6 of us walking which was nice. By the time I left, there were 10 people walking. When done walking, I did some stretches and came home. 

At home, I had a cup of coffee and put heat on my hip. Once that was done, I did some tidying up around the house. There wasn't a lot to do but I got it done. I had to charge the battery on the vacuum cleaner and while it charged, I cleaned the filter. 

The low tire light came on when I started the car at the arena. I came home and put the car into the garage thinking it would stop in a warmer spot. At 3 pm I looked and it was still on. I went over to the tire shop and they filled the tires as all of them were low due to the cold snap we had. They had done several vehicles that day. I thanked the person and came home a happy person. 

I struggled with low glucose all day. I was tired and cranky just before meals. At dinner I was quite low and I ate extra carbs to help bring it up and stay up for the night. I am hoping it did the trick. I will know when I go to eat breakfast. 

Sewing

I cleaned up the sewing table so I could lay out the UFO I want to work on. I cut the backing and sandwiched it together. Choosing the right colour thread was hard as the backing is light (used from the stash). I finally chose a beige variegated thread which shows on the darker colours. 

I am doing stitch in the ditch which means I have to stop, pick back to where I jump out of the ditch and start again. I do a lot of tying off but it works for me. I started on the outside edge of the light border and moved inwards to the center block. Once that was done, I did the outside of the tiny black border and around the corner of one inner triangle. 

I was happy with my progress so I decided to stitch the bottom of three branches in the corner block. I do like it as it adds some depth and holds the block in place. 

I am happy to be working on this after it has sat for 15 years waiting for me to finish it. I was going to take it up to be long arm quilted but decided against it. I think choosing the thread colour was the hardest part for this project. Where to quilt comes as I am working on it. I hope to have it ready to bind by Monday.

The other UFO is still on the stash shelf. Once the cardinals are done, I will look at it and make a decision on whether to finish it or let it go. If I keep it, it has to be done by the end of February. It means looking for tiny red buttons to add to it. 

Knitting

I worked on the vest last night and got a lot more rows done. It is hard to take a picture at the moment and I will take a picture of it once I have the one front done. This will be the last vest made from this pattern. I will have made 3 of them. 

Thoughts

    I was so grateful to see the sunshine yesterday. It certainly put me into a positive mood. We may see some sunshine today and rain tonight and tomorrow. Then it will be cloudy with flurries and cold again for the next week. 

    I am enjoying walking on the track in the arena. I got a good pace yesterday and kept it up for most of the 7 laps. I will use the poles all the time for the next while as I find they help me keep walk straight and I can focus on my stride. I know that the physiotherapist will be working on my SI joints and tight adductor. 

    I put the shirt on hold for the moment. I need to buy the embroidery pattern and spend some time getting it ready for embroidery. I have to be in the right frame of mind to do that. It means printing the pieces out and then laying them out on the shirt to see how they look. Choosing the threads is messy and requires me taking a lot of pictures to send to daughter. Then I have to do a stitch out and repeat the process over and over until I get it right. It was easier to do the cardinal yesterday. 

    Today's decluttering challenge is batting. I will go through the box of batting I have and sort it. It isn't a lot and I know I will use it up quickly. I also toss the scraps into the trash. I have lots of batting for smaller projects which is perfect. 

Today

I have to do yoga this morning and then will do some cleaning up in the living room. I also need to do a load of laundry. This afternoon I will work on the cardinal wall hanging and I will knit tonight. 

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