Last week was very busy and I was really looking forward to the weekend with time for some stitching. The problem with looking forward to something is that often it just doesn't happen the way you picture it. I'd imagined a very busy weekend of stitching and it was a busy weekend but there wasn't any stitching until this evening.
On Saturday morning we went for a walk with Scamp. He's missed out on his walks recently because the weather's been very wet. Being a small dog he loses body heat very quickly so in the wet we let him out into the garden and just take him for very short walks. The weather yesterday morning was dry and it even felt quite warm. Scamp was very happy and really enjoyed running across the common.
I've just run and run and run. Could you please move on, there's nothing to see here except a happy but tired dog in need of a nap
As always at the weekend there were household chores needing doing and then I had arranged to meet Kathryn at our local fabric shop. This shop sells a complete mixture of fabrics, fashion fabrics, quilting fabrics, bridal and curtains. I wasn't in the market for fabric but I needed to buy some more curtain tape to finish off my curtains. I stroked some of the quilting cottons but didn't buy anything as I'm trying to reduce my stash as storage is a problem.
Kathryn Lucy and I went swimming in the evening and I think I overdid it. My legs felt like jelly when I got out of the pool This getting fit is hard work. After dinner I sat and caught up with a couple of programmes I'd recorded, and I worked on John's jumper. It's growing but very slowly. I'm not sure I'm enjoying knitting the body on a circular needle as it seems to take forever to get all the way round. This is a picture I took a while ago, it now measures 13 inches.
My goal for February is to make 18 rosettes for my hexi quilt. This evening I made a start on these hexies. I won't get many made as I'm just too tired but I really want to move this quilt forward.
So tomorrow is back to work for another manic week. I'm starting to think I'm just too old for all the stress but I really do like my job. I've decided to give it until Easter and if it's still really stressful then I'll retire. I have to give 3 months notice so that would take me to the end of the academic year. I'm hoping it won't come to that but I need to get my head round possible ways to make the whole job more manageable. All suggestions will be gratefully received.
Lyndsey
Gracious me where did January go. One minute it was the middle of the month and the next it's February. Does time run faster as you get older? I really don't remember days flying past so quickly when I was in my 20's and 30's.
Last month I managed to sneak in a finish at the last minute on my monthly goal. It's now waiting its turn to go into the machine as I had laundry to do this weekend. I hate it when I don't get my day off in the week as you spend the weekend doing household chores.
As it's now February it's time to think of a new monthly goal. To start with I was going to pick finishing my curtains. I have fabric for new curtains for the kitchen and the living room but I just hadn't got on with them. Fabric for both sets of curtains has a pattern on it and for some reason I'd lost my nerve at matching the patterns. So the fabric had been put away for ages. Yesterday I got it all out. One of the curtains for the kitchen was finished except for the hem and the other needed to be stitched. I re looked at the fabric and the pattern match and wondered why I had found it so difficult. I pressed all the fabric and soon had it joined almost perfectly.
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From then on the curtain simply flew together and by evening I had them hanging at the large bay window.
I looked at the fabric for the living room curtains and the match is straightforward so I'll make them next weekend. All I need to be able to make them, is sole use of the dining table as they are quite large.
Having checked that, I knew that I needed another goal for the month. What haven't I worked on for some time and really needs moving forward? Ha got it, my grandmothers garden hexagon quilt. I fished the quilt out of the storage box. I needed to stitch on 5 rosettes to complete the ring so over the day I managed that.Here's how far I've got.
The next row is going to be a white ring with the rainbow colours at the centre. Here are my fabrics for this row. I've already prepared the orange middles.
I need to make 36 rosettes for the next round. Each rosette has 7 hexagons, all 1 inch, that's 252 hexagons to be prepared and then stitched together. I only use 6 colours rather than 7 as it's difficult to get blue and indigo. I'm not sure I can get 36 rosettes done in the month especially as February is a short month so my goal is to make sufficient rosettes to go round half of the quilt. i.e. 18 rosettes. If I make more it will be an added bonus. I currently have 2 rosettes completed.
Whilst working on the hexagons I need to complete my two projects for the blog hops this month. In addition I'm away for a weekend for winter camp. It's going to be fun trying to get it all done in time.
Lyndsey
