A Busy Day

 Yesterday was grey but not dark. The wind blew making it feel colder than it was. The high got to -2.3C. This morning it is -11C and calm. It is suppose to be sunny with a high of 4C. 

Lifestyle

I spent the morning cleaning the hardwood floors upstairs. I used a wood cleaner that I like and was amazed at how much dirt there was. When I did them the last time, the water wasn't that dirty and it wasn't that long ago. Once done, I did the stairs and landing to the front door. It is a hands and knees job in which I scrubbed the carpet treads (which I hate). That area was dirty as I had expected. We use the front door or the door in from the garage which opens onto that landing. 

I did stop a few times to rest while doing the cleaning yesterday. Most was for pain when my knee, hip, or back got tired. It wasn't a lot which was great. This morning, I'm not having much pain as it seems I got lots of stretching while cleaning yesterday. That makes me smile. 

I'm eating well but my weight is stuck at the moment. I'm doing everything right and it seems to be just me. It will come off when it is ready to. I am not craving sweets or salty foods. I grab a few grapes if I'm hungry but not that often. 

Sewing

I headed down to the sewing room to make a dress for one of my Gotz dolls. I dug out a pattern that I tested but hasn't been published. It is beautifully designed. I puttered at it for
almost 3 hours and am ready to hand sew the bodice lining in place and add snaps. 

I put lace on the skirt and used up almost .9 meter of it. I said I was going to use up the lace trim and I made myself do it. 

After admiring the dress for a few minutes, I put the sweater on that I knit to go with the dress. 

I love them together. I made a note to myself to make the skirt shorter on this dress. I'm not going to shorten this one. 

I have gotten tights from My Dolls Best Friend and they are lovely. I am wanting to try sewing tights for the dolls as they are suppose to be easy. If they are, I will make more, if not, I will buy more tights for them. I got socks at Walmart and looked at the Dollar store. The ones at the Dollar store were almost as expensive as the Walmart ones. 

I watched a video on Tula Pink cleaning her sewing machine. She does hers daily as she said she sews all day. I did learn a few things from her especially about thread. Thread that is wound criss cross (Glide is) is suppose to stand upright on a thread holder as the thread comes off the top of the spool. If it is wound on straight (Aurifil), it can be used on a horizontal thread holder. The other thing was confirmation about needles. I like Microtex needles for sewing and she uses them exclusively. Now to get them in bulk. 

After watching the video, I went down and cleaned my sewing machine. I didn't use oil on the microfibre swab this time but did a good job of cleaning it. I was dirty but not that bad. I haven't used it much since early January. 

I took the pattern out for the pet stockings and it confused me to death. I read the pattern and will look at the pattern pieces again. If I have it right in my mind, I will be putting the pattern together so I can sew them later on. 

Knitting

I knit a lot last night for some unknown reason. I finished the 2nd sock's heel flap and turned the heels.

I took a look at the beautiful triangle turning the heel makes. 

The strangest things give me satisfaction. 

Thoughts

    I had a small pity party yesterday as it was Valentine's Day. Once over it, I moved on reminding myself that the Spousal Unit would have been upset if he had seen me moping about in the late afternoon. 

    I am wondering if I stretched (unpinched) a nerve when cleaning the stairs. I will be talking to the physiotherapist about this. If so, I will be washing more floors on my hands and knees. This isn't the first time this has happened after doing floors this way. 

Today

I have more floors to wash and I want to tidy up the kitchen. I have to get garbage ready to go to the curb this afternoon. Sewing will be to finish Lily's dress and to start putting snaps on the bibs. If I have time, I will bag up some stuff to go to the thrift shop. I hope to pick up the gusset stitches on the socks and start knitting them. I'll be home today as I have nothing to get. 

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