Projects Done and Off The List

 Yesterday was another lovely day with a coolish wind. The high got to 19.4C. This morning it is cloudy and 9C. We are to have showers and a high of 19C. 

Lifestyle

I started off the morning finishing up the stairs. All went well until the last step when the tape would not come off the bullnose when I removed the carpet tread. I sat forever (it seemed) picking off the tape. It did come off but only after it gave me one good fight. I am happy that job is done and off the list. 

The carpet treads are in the trash and I now have to clean the stairs with Bona. I couldn't do it yesterday as the nerve in my lower back kept hurting (pinched?). 

Once the stairs were done, I went out to the shed and brought the chairs and tables up onto the deck. I will get help with the umbrella as it is a 2 person job. 

Before lunch, I went out to pay the water bill and talked to a lady who use to work at the vet clinic. She left to help one of the vets set up her clinic near Halifax and then took a job at the county office. From there I went and washed the car. 

I was keeping busy so my glucose count would come down. It did. It went from 5.7 at breakfast to 4.6 at dinner. I am back under control once again. 

My back and hips have been very sore so I stood out on the deck yesterday afternoon and did some stretching exercises. They did help a lot so I will need to repeat them a couple of times a day. I know they are sore from rain coming but not like it has been. I have a feeling the sciatic nerve is more pinched from all the outside work I have done. More than likely from being hunched over under the deck. 

Sewing

It was a busy day in the sewing room. While the Goo Gone soaked on the stairs, I cut out the jacket and lining. After lunch I finished the job. 

As I cut them out, I got to thinking how much the shape looks like an Edwardian jacket that Bernadette Banner made. The sleeves would need to be slashed so there was more fullness at the top and the length would need to be shortened so there was no cuff. Has me thinking but I know it won't happen in the near future. 

I have enough scraps left to make the shoes and something else if I want to. 

My next job was to press the fabric for the 2nd border of the placemats. I wrangled the 1 meter of fabric under the Cricut heat press and cut out the strips for 2 placemats. I then pressed the center fabric and cut them out. I will be making 4 placemats as I have plenty of fabric. No pictures were taken of the fabric but I will do so as soon as the 4 are cut out. 

While cutting out the fabrics, I had block #4 stitching out on the machine. It finished up as I finished cutting out the placemats. I did some trimming of threads and called it a day. 

Knitting

I knit on the vest last night. As I was finishing up row 2, I realized I had made 2 mistakes on row 1. I had to unknit and fix them. I now have 3 of the 7 rows knit on the neckline. 

The cable is not letting the neckline sit correctly. There are 2 rows of decreases done at the markers and 4 more rows of decreasing to be done. I am sure it will be a really nice neckline when done. 

There is a lot of vest to wrangle when knitting and I know if the house is warm I will not be knitting on it. I will get to warm with it draped on my legs. 

Thoughts

    I went through my spreadsheet looking at how I am progressing. I have sewn 50% of the fabric I purchased this year which is good. The rest has been from the stash. I am trying to focus, once again, on sewing up the stash. I know I have some fabrics to buy to finish projects. I am trying to refrain from buying fabric that I won't use immediately. I would like to have most of what I bought sewn up by the end of the year. I know one piece won't be as I bought it for future projects. I knew it would sell out quickly and not be brought in again. I am also trying to redirect my sewing back to what I want to sew. I have enjoyed sewing what others want, I now need to focus on my list. 

    I couldn't spray yesterday as the wind was blowing and I didn't want drift going hither and thither. I am hoping to spray on Friday if there is little to no wind. I need to get the jobs done. The hedge will need to be weeded shortly. I need to make a plan on how to get everything done between the rain we are to have.  

    I looked in the shed to see what I need to do in there. Cringe, moan, groan. There are less gardening tools than I had thought but there is lots of things that need to be tossed, rearranged, and ??. I need almost a full day in there with the big door opened. I want take things out onto the lawn while I do the sort and purge. I need a nice day to do that. 

    I looked in the garage and walked back out. Too much to deal with right now. I will start on it slowly as I know I need to deal with it. I can't ignore it forever. I can work in there on wet days as I have the car parked outside. I want to set up tables to put things onto while I sort through everything. 

    I am ignoring under the stairs as I can do it when it's too hot to be outside this summer. It will get done before fall. 

Today

I am heading out with the Singer Featherweight to have it serviced and to see if the gentleman can fix the power cords to my liking. I will do a bit of grocery shopping on my way home. I want to try to finish cutting out the remaining placemats plus the batting, backing, and binding. I will knit tonight. 

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