Wow, the past couple of weekends where really crazy! I started to feel funky by Tuesday night, and by Wednesday I knew I had a cold. My son also had a stomach bug that prevented him from going to day care. So both of us stayed home Thursday and Friday. The main difference is that despite his diarrhea, he was his same old self, super energetic and non-stop busy-bee… mom on the other hand could barely stand up! My husband could not stay home either day, so I had to manage the best I could. The tough thing is that it’s been ridiculously cold in New England (I guess around the country), so I could not take him outside for him to burn energy. We could not go too far from the house because of his tummy issues, and I would not drive the way I was. AND the boy is the outdoorsy type, I mean he wants to be out and about all the time!
So by Saturday I was pretty beat up, but a bit better from the cold. We went grocery shopping in the morning, and early afternoon I had a meeting at my local quilt shop for a block of the month program called “The Queen and Her Court.” They are offering two colorways, floral and batik.
The session lasts about one and a half hours, we get to see new fabrics, news from the shop, show and tell, and a raffle. It was very nice, despite the fact that all I wanted was to lay down. I decided for the “floral” colorway, although I am extremely tempted to make the batik also. The program for the block itself it very reasonable (25 to join, then free if you complete the block and show up for the monthly meeting.) The quilt is pretty big too, 96″x108″. The finishing kits range from 133 to 145 dollars, and although reasonably priced for the amount of fabric I know that I will make the Civil War Tribute quilt, and I’m also enrolled on the “Buck-a-block” program… It’s very easy to get carried away with so many beautiful fabrics and designs waiting, but I do like finishing things, so I think I’ll stick to the plan. I also learned that they collect blocks for charity quilts, very easy nine patches the work out to be 12.5″ unfinished, so when I went home I manage to finish 3 of them. A lot more will come.
I spent the rest of the day doing house chores, because I knew I would have to work on Sunday. You see, I have been crazy busy at work. My project is under construction, and it is at a very fast pace. I have been up to my eyeballs everyday just to keep my nose above the water. I had a ton of emails waiting for me, and the thought of having my Monday spent doing filing, and reading emails was depressing. Besides my little one woke up 6:30 that morning already asking to go out. The nail in the coffin was a beautiful Wheeler and Wilson model 8 waiting for me in Newburyport, a quaint coastal town about 50 minutes from Boston…
She was on the third floor on this house that has seen 4 generations of the family. The grandmother had just passed, and the daughters were doing inventory on the house. The machine is pretty dirty, but it is only dust (please disregard the mess in my kitchen.) One can see it was loved, and they told me she made a lot of quilts. The cabinet is also in good shape, although one drawer, and the drawer’s bottoms are missing. They also have some unfinished quilt tops, and they asked me if I could finish them!
As far as working on the next podcast, I am back to writing a lot of material. Recording time has really been the issue, not to mention that because of my cold I have no voice now… Last weekend was taken by the cake I made for my niece’s third birthday. I love baking, and cake decorating, and a few years ago I taught myself how to use (and make) fondant. It took me 9 hours to complete, and on Sunday we spend the day with her in Boston.
It’s made with 3 layers of yellow cake, and one layer of coconut ganache, and one layer of passion fruit mousse (my own recipe!). I’ve made all 3 cakes she had in life so far, and the bear you see beside the cake was the topper of her first cake that my sister-in-law kept frozen all this time! I keep a little “gallery” in my Webshots if you want to check them out.
In the middle of all this I manage to start a scarf to use the beautiful hand-spun yarn from Under the Plum that I won from Craftlit months ago. The lace pattern is from the “Woodland Shawl“, a free pattern I saw on Ravelry, and generously provided by Nikol Lohr, AKA Thrifty Knitter.
I’ve only knit for a couple of hours, but this thing is so quick I am almost done. The lace is beautiful, but very easy and I had it memorized in the 3rd repeat. Like all lacework it’s going to need some mighty blocking, but I’m very pleased with the way it’s turning out!
So I’ve kept busy the past couple of weeks, and I have several posts on pattern review on the way, and I will be launching podcast 3 soon. I can feel my mojo coming back! YAY!
Filed under: Charity quilt, Child, Craftlit, Family, Knitting, Podcast, Queen and Her Court, Quilting, Under the Plum, Wheeler and Wilson 8, Woodland shawl, Yarn | 1 Comment »
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