Overnight, I've thought about losing the leaf point. And, I've decided that it doesn't really bother me. Autumn leaves are not perfect. Neither is mine.
With regards to colour, my plan is to have at least one colour in each block repeated in another block. The penguin belly is the background to the heart. The yellow background, and the orange from the penguin’s feet will form part of the daffodil. Leaves from the daffodil will be used in the Christmas tree. Not every fabric will be repeated elsewhere, but one of the fabrics in the block will. This will hopefully give the quilt continuity across the months/blocks.
The block for October has been done. The choice of design was made by The Beloved.
There is a rule of quilting, "Don't point out your mistakes!" I'm going to break that rule, but simply because this was the first bit of American paper piecing I have tried. The longest leaf point should have a bit of yellow at the tip. I forgot to leave a border on my patchwork, and things got a little silly.
This is the 4th or 5th year I have had a hat-a-thon. The aim is to make 26 hats within the space of a month, a marathon of hats. A few of the hats end up with family and friends, but the majority are donated to charities.
A couple of days ago I learned a group on the Island are looking for hats for babies and children. These will be given to refugees on the mainland of Europe. The collection date is 3 weeks away, so I don't know if I will be able to complete the hat-a-ton in that time, but I'll give it a good go.
One of the hazards of being a Time Lord is that life doesn't always follow in chronological order as seem from the standpoint of a neutral observer. This explains why the February block was the first one to be completed. Either that, or it was a nice simple one to get me started. February is a simple appliquéd heart.
The Mighty Squibs have swum passed Bray Hill, taken a right turn at the Quarterbridge Roundabout, on through Union Mills, Glen Vine, Crosby, Greeba Castle, and on to Greeba Bridge. This is just over 6 miles in 11 days! We are definitely on course for finishing those 37.5 miles before Easter.
I am a sucker for challenges. This is so true. Fe challenged me to take part in 'Swim the TT' or as it properly called, TT Swim Challenge 2016. The TT circuit is 37.5 miles long, and a team of four of us is going to swim its length.
Depending on when the challenge started, which might be this year, or today, I have either swum 1.1miles (1.8km) or 0.62miles (1km). I so hope it is the first!
Last year, I took the Cold Sheep challenge. I didn't buy any yarn for a year. The total amount of yarn in the house became smaller as I was knitting and crocheting from stash. However, my general productivity decreased. Out goes the 'no new yarn' mantra and in comes the idea that I can 'earn' the right to buy new yarn. When I use up 100g of yarn I can then buy 50g of new woolly goodness. So far this year I have crocheted 1x 50g ball of delightful alpaca. But this isn't my resolution.
I've started work on 52 Weeks To An Organized Home. Last week was the first challenge (I like challenges): Kitchen counters and sink. Stuff that had accumulated in the kitchen was found new homes, or put in the bin. Electrical gadgets that aren't used every day were relocated to the pantry shelves. The cleaning supplies and DIY stuff were moved to the laundry.The electrical gadgets are close to the kitchen, very accessible, but tucked away, giving clear counter tops.
This week, the challenge is: Kitchen drawers and cabinets. This is a large task, a very large one. Looking over future challenges, there will be weeks when I have nothing to do, eg attic, basement, garage, 'back to school' etc. Therefore, I'm going to split this challenge over this week and next. This week is drawers - we have 6 kitchen drawers. I can comfortably clean, tidy, sort and declutter one drawer a day.
Today was the light bulb drawer. Also in the drawer are some screwdrivers, a ball of string and keys to various windows and the back door. I've no idea why there's a drawer for light bulbs, screwdrivers, keys and string in the kitchen! But that's were they are. My inclination is for them to be in the laundry/utility room with the rest of the tools. That room needs a good sorting out though. If I just start dumping things in there it will turn into a complete and utter mess, rather than the partial mess it is just now. The laundry room's turn will come at the end of February. I'll hang on until then.
Next week will be the turn of the cabinets. The other challenges will be off-set a week until I get to 'coupons'. That's one I won't be doing. But this 52 week organisation isn't my resolution either.
My actual resolution is to make my bed every day! Yup, that's it. Nice and simple. It's a habit I want to instill in myself, and it's working. I've managed 10 days of making my bed. But's it's the 11th! Not a problem, I'm just about to go change the sheets, and I'll make up my fresh, new bed.
My first purchase of yarn in one year was two 50g balls of Drops Alpaca in turquoise. I've decided to make a Granny Square blanket in various shades of blues and greens. When I've used up the 100g, I'll buy some more yarn from Sweet Ginger in Ramsey.
This last year has been rather odd. I decided to go a year without buying yarn in an attempt to bring my yarn stash under control. There was a minor hiccough in November when I was asked for a fox hat as a Christmas present, but didn't have the yarn to make it. The Beloved bought the yarn for me, to enable the present to be made. After the fox hat was made I started using up the leftovers. This resulted in a second hat, and four pairs of fingerless mittens!
My year has come to an end, and I have my 'one year chip'.
Whilst this is a lovely accomplishment, it has come at a certain cost. Instead of yarning (knitting or crocheting), I have been fabric-ing. Two quilts and a Christmas table runner have been made. Fabric has been bought. Essentially I have switched from one form of stash enlargement to another!
Therefore, I am ditching the 'Cold Sheep' method of stash reduction, and am returning to 'two from stash, then one new'. To get new yarn or fabric, I need to complete two projects from stash yarn or fabric, and only then can I buy something new. There will be a little bit of wiggle room, and a tiny bit can be bought to finish a project. However, the underlying principle is 'two from stash, then one new'.
Today, is wet and wintry. I want to snuggle up on the sofa and craft. One fingerless mitten has been finished, and then second one is at least half way done. The pattern for the fingerless mittens is currently being written.
My house is in need of some attention, and today the kitchen and the laundry room are receiving a little bit of TLC (tender, loving care). But I am fearful about those rooms going into shock, so they are only getting the TLC for about 10 minutes in each hour.
This gives time to improve the situation, and get some crafting done. So far, there has been knitting, pattern writing and testing. In the kitchen the chicken has been transformed into stock, and the stock into carrot soup. In the laundry room, three loads of laundry are/have been washed. One load is in the dryer, and two load have been sorted and folded. These will be disappearing upstairs soon. All in all, it's looking tidier.
A few days ago a friend on Facebook lined to a quiz about 1980s music. I scored a very respectable 12 out of 12. This was on 'Black Friday', and rather than have a rant about the insidious nature of this despicable import being forced upon a culture, I decided to be thankful instead. The words of Ian Dury and The Blockheads started running through my head, Reasons to be Cheerful.
This is so much better than being ranty! Reasons to be cheerful. There's so many reasons to be cheerful, and I'm having a hard job choosing just the one thing to post about each day. There is no real order to them, just what pops into my head, and then isn't displaced by something else by the time I come to post it.
1. My first reason to be cheerful is someone named in the song, 'Miss Molly'. Miss Molly was a person I knew on-line. She died almost 13 years ago. The way she approached death was an inspiration to all who came in contact with her. Even though death was stalking her, she was very much alive. She encouraged people live life, and not to fear death.
Reasons to be cheerful - part 1: I am alive, and have a life worth living.
2. I have a stash. No, two, sorry, three... at least, stashes. There's my yarn stash. There's my fabric stash, and there's books. These stashes represent the potential for many happy hours. There's happiness in planning, joy in making and a delight in using or giving things away.
3. Reasons to be cheerful - part 3: This is the song that started the whole thing. It would make no sense if it were not included!
4. A wet and wintry day off has created the perfect excuse to smuggle up on the sofa and do some Christmas crafting.
I realised I didn't have photographs of my quilts on my blog. This post is to remedy the situation. My first quilt:
The second, a table runner for my parents' golden wedding:
And my third, a lap quilt for me:
The time between the first one and the second was about three years. Then it was one year between finishing the second and starting the third. The time between the finishing the third and starting the fourth was 5 days. And it was only that long because I couldn't get to the fabric shop to buy supplies! There are unfinished projects around the place. After the two Christmas present quilts are done I am going to get back to them and sort them out.
Today I started work on a Christmas quilt, well, a Nightmare before Christmas quilt. This is one side.
And this is the diagram for the other side.
The yellow has been changed to a bright pumpkin orange. The yellow sashing will be white, and the outer purple will become a dark grey pattern that looks a bit spider-webby, and echoes the colours in Jack's suit.
My summer project has been completed. This is my third quilt, and my first hand stitched one.
Previously, hand stitching and quilting is something that I would not have tried. It takes a huge amount of time to make a quilt by machine, and it's even longer doing it by hand. However, I have found the experience to be strangely compelling.
This quilt is a lap quilt. My next quilting projects are also lap quilt. &They are for my offsping. There will be a TARDIS quilt, and a Nightmare before Christmas one.
The National Sports Centre offers a system whereby your GP can refer you to trainers to help with your health. In the last 6 years my shoulders have dislocated 3 times, and there are many, many subsequent dislocations. It takes about 18 months for my shoulder to heal, and I've had enough. I've asked for help in targeting the muscles that will help hold my shoulders in the right places.
The system means I have 12 free sessions at the gym and swimming pool between now and Christmas. The woman handling my induction this morning will be seeking out exercises specifically for my shoulder issues.
Today I spent 10 minutes on the treadmill, keeping my heart rate at around 130. There was 5 minutes on the bike, again at 130 bpm, 50 repetitions on the rowing machine, and having a go on various other bits of kit. This evening I took a half mile walk.
Next week, I'll do more work on the treadmill, bike and rowing machine, and hopefully add in some shoulder-specific things. Then, it will be time to go swimming. When I was swimming back in May I found it to be very useful for my shoulder.
The central flower section of the quilt top has been made. The top, wadding and backing have been sandwiched together and pinned in place. I've even managed to quilt 3 of the flowers!
When this section has been quilted almost all of the hand sewing will be completed. A purple border will be added, and then a wide white one. There are a few flowers left over, and these will be onto the white border (the bit that hangs over the edge of the bed.
