Monday 20 April 2020

Day 26 and counting.

Today is day 26 of the UK lock down and it has been confirmed that this will continue for a least a further 3 weeks. This is also nearly the end of my second week of holiday during lock down. Last week we should have been staying in Wales and enjoying walking in Snowdonia but instead we have done some house maintenance and redecoration. I've been really good and only been going out for shopping and for exercise. We haven't been doing either every day but we do seem to be doing a lot of eating and I feel like I've put on weight so I'm going to do some yoga on the days we don't go out for exercise. Having been good now for 26 days what I'd really like is to be able to go out and play. By play I mean a really long walk out in the country, say 8 to 10 miles or maybe a little more.That is my current idea of heaven. This weekend Lucy, John and I should have been walking in Suffolk but that is obviously cancelled. 

Since I last posted we have been keeping busy. We are currently decorating our bedroom. This was planned for this week and just prior to lock down I went shopping for curtain material. There are two windows in our bedroom but they are single sash size so single width of fabric for each curtain is fine.  The curtains for the one window are all finished and I just have the hem to do on the second pair. The room is coming together well and the painting is almost finished. This is my curtain fabric. The colour is slightly different in person than in the photo.



Over Easter we found some jigsaw puzzles up in our loft and John and I had fun making one of them. We weren't sure if all the pieces were there and once we had completed it we found that 4 pieces were missing. 


We also made up this 1000 piece puzzle. So many of the pieces looked the same with green leaves. 


I've been working on the hexi bag over the week Today i had completed all the pieces and needed to set them out before stitching them together. I lay them out on the ironing board so I could try and get a good mix of the fabrics. This first piece is for the back and flap.


and this piece will be the front.



Next I covered them with freezer paper and ironed it using a hot iron. Now all the pieces will stay in the arrangement I've made whilst I stitch them together. I shall be starting that job this evening.



The pieces are joined using whip stitch. I also decided I wanted to use up the double knitting yarn I had left having finished Alex's scarf. So I found my crochet hooks and tried out some granny squares. This design makes a denser square than the usual stitch. I think I like this design and will use up the scraps. Not sure how many squares I'll make but the idea is to use up all my double knitting yarn.


In amongst all this puzzling, stitching, curtain making, decorating and crocheting we celebrated a couple of birthdays. Both my daughters had birthdays this week. Lucy currently lives with us and so last night we had a birthday dinner. We all got dressed up and enjoyed a delicious curry. Afterwards we had birthday cake that involved far too much chocolate. A hole made in the middle of the cake was filled with smarties.It was very good and not surprisingly,considering the amount of chocolate, there is still some cake left.


After dinner we played Smart Ass which was fun. Our older daughter lives with her partner and they celebrated her birthday by having a virtual birthday party with friends over the internet. Using the internet to socialise is different but keeps you in contact with friends and family. On Wednesday we went to the pub and took part in a pub quiz, all on the internet. John and I didn't win the quiz but enjoyed doing it.

Tomorrow i'm back to work after my two week holiday. Even though I am working from home I have that 'I don't want to go back to work feeling'.  As I haven't got to travel anywhere I can at least et up a bit later than usual.

I hope you are all looking after yourselves in these strange times. Stay safe.

I'm linking this post with Kathy for her Slow Sunday Stitching

Lyndsey

7 comments:

  1. So many wonderful things to keep you busy. Wonderful walks are something my daughter has enjoyed immensely since she moved to the UK. How nice it will be when your room is complete and our lock downs are over.

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  2. I think everyone all over the world just wants to get out and 'play'. Hopefully before too long we will be able to. Clever idea to iron your pretty hexies onto the freezer paper to keep your arrangement in tact. Happy Birthday to you! Your celebrations do sound like fun. A virtual birthday party......sounds fabulous. Oh my goodness, just look at all those jigsaw puzzle pieces.......so many of them look the same.

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  3. It looks like you’re making the most of family time during the lockdown. Our son is living with us for the time being as well, and it’s been nice having him around. I worry less, for sure.

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  4. Lots of fun projects. Your curtain fabric looks lovely. It sounds like you have kept busy even though you are in lockdown. I am still making masks and occasionally work on the latest Bonnie Hunter Mystery. We are getting used to ordering groceries on line and then just going to pick them up. Glad all is well with you.

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  5. What a clever idea for keeping your pieces together! Your bedroom curtains look lovely. We should have been in Wales last week too! We had rented a lovely house in Towyn, right by the sea, I was so looking forward to it, but I guess we can go next year. As long as as many people as possible are safe, that is the important thing!

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  6. Wow, you have been busy. I think that is the key to staying same at the moment. I'm not sure I would have the patience for those puzzles though!

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  7. That cake made my mouth water! Looks delicious!
    Your hexie project is beautiful!
    That water scene puzzle would be a hard one for sure... great job!

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