A Bag Is Emerging

 Yesterday was cool and cloudy with the occasional shower. The high got to 9C. This morning it is cloudy and 4C (coolest temperature was 3C at 3 am). Today is supposed to be mainly cloudy with some showers and a high of 11C. 

Lifestyle

Yesterday morning I heard noises in the yard and it was the people who mow my lawn. They were mowing the jungle!! They have had only 2 days to mow in the past week and were out getting as many lawns done as possible. 

I spent the morning cleaning the dining area and it was due. I moved furniture, swept floors, dusted, scrubbed, and ended by mopping the floor. Everything is neat and tidy. I am happy to have that job done. 

I did do my exercise for my SI joint as it was sore. I had a funny crack that vibrated in both the joint and my shoulder. I have a feeling my SI joint is upset due to the cold damp weather and me trying to do housework with it rebelling. Maybe by mid week it will be warmer and the joint will be happier. 

Sewing

I spent the afternoon sewing on the Altoona bag. I sprayed basted the layers together learning that you spray the fabric and not the foam. I drew lines on the fabric and quilted that huge piece of fabric. I used a 90/14 top stitching needle in the machine and I am impressed at how nice the stitching turned out. 

I cut out the dark fabric for the bottom and turned under the long ends and clipped it to the bag. 

I also cut out the strips to hide the side and boxed corner seams. They are in the lining fabric. I cut out the top binding strips and sewed them together and cut it to the correct length. I did the same for the handles. I am ready to sew the handles next. I made a lot of progress on the bag yesterday and am loving it. 

I have some good size scraps left over so am going to use them as much as possible. I know I can make one or two mug rugs but I can also see if I can make a 6" block for the bag. Trial run for the bag for the contest. 

Knitting

I knit on the afghan last night as I didn't get yarn out for the doll's sweater. I was too tired to deal with anything small. I had to count while I was knitting as I was afraid I would make a mistake on the blanket stitch but once I had the first row done it was easy to figure out. I now have 16 rows done. 

I realized this morning I have the wrong side of the blanket showing. I will endeavour to take a picture of the right side tonight. 

I am going to have to hunt for more yarn for this blanket as I think I have half of what I need. I plan on going to Dartmouth one day and will look for it there. 

Thoughts

    I slept much better last night. I was really tired all day and pushed myself to do things. I really just wanted to sleep but knew that was the wrong thing to do. Strangely enough I walked enough each hour to get 8 out of the 9 hourly activities. 

    I did a check and I was putting out the containers on the deck this time last year. I hope that I can get the rest of them up on the deck soon and start planting tomatoes, etc. in them. Our weather has been colder this year than last year when I checked temperatures. 

    My ideas are coming together for the contest bag. Will I use the Altoona bag pattern? I am not sure until I get this one done. Probably if I can fit the seagull block on it. I need to figure that out with the bag I am making at the moment. I will be looking for a simple 6" block pattern to use some of the scraps and see how it works. 

Today

I have to do the balance sheet, type the minutes from the meeting and then do a bit of housework. I want to sew this afternoon and do a bit of knitting tonight. I am out for dinner at family's so don't know how much knitting will be done. 

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