Monday, February 19, 2018

Olympics and a Little Stitching

I hope you have been enjoying watching the Olympics as much as we have.  I always say I like winter Olympics better than summer ones.  It's probably because it's cold and gloomy outside and this is a great way to see wonderful athletes compete and exceed in less than balmy conditions.  While I grumble and moan about the snow and the wind, they let it energize them.

Saturday morning I made my coffee, happy to realize that I had a full day of stitching and sports watching in front of me.  I had decided earlier that this was the weekend for a good pot of chili and a nice warm quilt to stitch.  Nothing was going to dynamite me out of the house.

My daughter and her bulldog Baby came over for a while in the morning.  By the time they got there we were in the midst of a beautiful snowglobe type of snow.  Oscar was glad he got to have a playmate to romp around outside with. The snow only lasted about an hour but it was long enough for the dogs to get wet and tired from their play.



After they left I got started putting the last few borders on the quilt for my grandson.  I pieced the back all together and then came to a stopping point because the packages of batting that I had were too small.  A larger one would require a trip to my local quilt shop and I wasn't going out the door.



Annoyed I pulled out my knitting and settled in to watch some figure skating.  A few days before I had started knitting a shawl and it was coming along nicely.  I don't know about you but I can't just watch tv.  My hands have to be busy.  I could have picked up some hand quilting to work on but at the moment the cat was settled into the middle of that project snoring softly.



So while the chili bubbled on the stove and the skaters blades flew over the ice a world away, my fingers were kept busy with yarn and needles.  A lovely way to spend a late afternoon.  The sunset was lovely too. 


Warmer weather and wind have melted much of our snow but rain and ice are predicted here in Iowa for tonight and tomorrow.  I hope you all keep warm and have something satisfying to occupy yourself with.

Tuesday, February 6, 2018

It's called the "Bleak Mid-winter" for a Reason


February - the words of the song "In the Bleak Mid-Winter" fit it perfectly.  Snow on snow on snow.  That is apparently what we are going to have for a little while longer.

We had almost seven inches of snow yesterday and it's supposed to snow again tonight and Friday.  It is so satisfying on a snowy day to know that there are several quilting projects waiting for me to keep me busy.





I have loved working on these little six inch block of the week patterns from Moda.  The project has come to an end now and I just have to figure out how to set them together.  I have 63 blocks.




I am going to redo the Snail Trail block because my rust and yellow fabrics don't seem to have enough contrast.









This weekend I finished this little wall quilt, except for the tabs on the back to hang it .  Right now it's just pinned on top of another quilt.  It will be a gift.

So I content myself with the whir of the sewing machine while the wind blows outside and the snow flies and Chloe remains contented to curl up on my old afghan created in a bleak mid-winter long ago.