Progress Inside and Outside

 Yesterday felt cooler which was nice. I think it was the wind. The high got to 23.9C. This morning we are having thunder and rain and it is 18C. We are under a weather watch for this morning - heavy rains (up to 2"). We are to have a high 21C. At this time, the rain has stopped and the sky is brighter. We had about 1/4" of rain fall.  

Lifestyle

Yesterday I swept the floors and did the usual tidy up. I also wiped down the washer and dryer as they were dusty. Once that was done, I did my exercises. I am really stiff on the right side once again. I have slowed down to monitoring my gait while walking. I do feel frustrated about this set back. 

Next, I headed outside to do yard work. I sprayed the dandelions along the driveway and in the front and side of the house. Once that was done, I grabbed my gloves, weed pail, hat, knee pad, clippers and headed out to work under the deck. I pulled weeds and picked up old nails that were in the gravel. I worked about 45 minutes on my hand and knees and got 3/4 of the 5 gallon pail filled with weeds. About 1/4 of the area is done.

The weeds were quite easy to pull and what is left are small and can be covered with weed cloth once the gravel is moved to one side. The remaining area looks like a lot of work but those weeds will be easy to pull out. 

The work on the hedge and this area are budgeted for and I would love to have them done before winter. I hope it will happen after lawn mowing has ceased; late September/early October. I have a plan for next year but need a quote so I can save money for that job.

The lightening, thunder and rain woke me at 5 am. It wasn't as close as the bad storm so I fell back asleep. When the alarm went off it was still raining and there was thunder and lightning. Elliott decided to add to the fun with him growling, barking, and running around the house until I got up. He wasn't scared, he was just being Elliott. 

Sewing

I had a long afternoon in the sewing room. I did take breaks to stretch my bad side and tried to sit straight rather than hunched over the sewing machine. It is hard to break habits. 

I started out making about 6.5 meters of piping. That was a lot of fun as I have used up .5 meters of fabric I bought the other day. 

I used 1.3 meters of the piping for the handles and button loop on daughter's bag. The colour matches the bag to perfection. 

I used a scrap of the fabric to make a button for the bag. I interfaced the fabric and hand gathered the circle to fit it on the button form. I spent a lot of time making sure the flower was centred.

At this point, I stopped sewing for the day and focused on the stash shelving unit. I moved some shirting fabric to be measured and donated. I found a piece of expensive fleece in a camouflage  print and put it on the cutting table. I trimmed it square and it is ready to be serged and hemmed for a blanket for the dogs. I got this fleece when working at the fabric store. It was a remnant for 75% off. Not enough for a garment but enough for a blanket.

I moved some fabric in organized piles to the bottom shelf of the shelving unit. The batting I was going to ditch will be used in a couple of reusable grocery bags. There is cowboy boot fabric to make aprons and other kitchen items for daughter. The third pile of fabric is for stockings for daughter's cat and 2 dogs. Next is my shirt and the last is a UFO wall hanging. I can see what projects I want to make easily. No fabric is at the back of that shelf.

The pillow form is for a cushion that I am prepping to make. The fabric is on the cutting table ready for me to cut out and bag up for my next sewing day at the quilt shop. I need to cut out a table runner and 2 more cushion covers for the spare bedroom. 

You can see the mess on the third shelf from the bottom. I have been digging through the quilting cottons to see what I have. I did take the pile on the left hand side and organized it. It is fabric that daughter sent me to make piping. The smaller pieces are on the top and the yardage on the bottom. It is neat now but no picture has been taken.  

I left the sewing room feeling relatively happy. There is still a huge mess but it is slowly coming together. I did go through the buttons in the knitting bag and have them downstairs ready to put away. I didn't touch any tubs yesterday as I am thinking about the ribbons I have. 

Knitting

I unknit the leg back so the last decrease was removed. I counted the rows and knit until I had 75 rows on that leg. I stopped at that point and started on the other leg. I have done 5 rows on it. I will knit it to the same place and then try the leggings on the doll and decide how much more I need to knit before I do several rows of ribbing. 

Thoughts

    Though I am disappointed that I have regressed with my gait and my right side is sore, I am determined to get it back to as close to normal as possible. I did my exercises twice yesterday. I am working at sitting tall and straight. That makes my torso sore but I know it is for the better. I am also working on walking correctly though that is harder to do. 

    I noticed I am feeling calmer and am happy about that. I am puttering around doing things that need to be done and dealing with things when I am ready to do so. I know I am healing from the Spousal Unit's death. I have accepted that I miss him a lot and will continue to do so. But I know that I am ready to move forward with my life and enjoy it to the fullest. 

     Though the sewing room is a total mess, I am enjoying the process of purging and cleaning. What do I want is my foremost question. It certainly isn't having a lot of stash - fabric, trims, notions. As I work through the room, I realize I was dealing with issues from the past and as I think of the why's I think of how I don't have some of those why's any more. Buying fabric was a stress relief for me. As the stash grew it became stressful as I tried to cope with it. There are elements of disappointment, disgust, and sadness that I am working through. There are more important things that I miss -- the Spousal Unit visiting with me while I sewed. He had done that for years and I miss those visits. I miss designing projects in a calm space. I need a calm tidy space to be creative in. It will become that calm tidy space that my mind needs. 

Today

 I have to do some grocery shopping and then I will spend time doing a few things before I work in the sewing room. I am at the point where I can prep the lining for the bags and start sewing them together. I want to do a bit more digging and cleaning on the shelving unit. Tonight I want to knit on the doll's leggings. I also need to do my exercises twice today. 

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