Friday, March 25, 2016

I Have No Excuse

Ok this is the third (and last ) start at this blog post! 
As I was saying, I really have no excuse for not posting except maybe laziness. I've had a few people ask me where I've been and why no blog activity, I'm going to try to write something worth reading. Here goes. What have I been up to? Well, I was kept quite busy helping to plan a 5 day quilt retreat for 46 women. Then of course I had to plan and prep what I was going to work on for my retreat projects. 
Mr. O  has been doing some consulting work this winter. That means a fair bit of travelling on his part and he is away for two weeks and home for one so that has taken a little getting used to. I've  been snowshoeing, walking, knitting, crocheting, walking, quilting, walking, oh wait I've said that already… But I have to say I have been fairly diligent in trying to improve my health and fitness. So far I have lost 27 pounds and probably have another 20 to go. It's slow going but I am seeing progress. One of my best tools is the bathroom scales. Yes I know it's just a number but it keeps me on track. There's nothing that motivate more than to see the numbers going down, unless it's seeing the numbers go up! And that motivates me too!


When I look back and try to recall what I've made this is what comes to mind. I've knit four pairs of socks. I crocheted a pair of slippers for my daughter.






I finished piecing a UFO that has been lurking in my studio for about 8 years. A tin can challenge that seemed like a good idea at the time...


I pieced and quilted a baby quilt for my nephews new daughter. I built a house…


Well, it's not finished but the rest is pretty much cosmetic. It Was a different kind of a project I must say. I am not totally happy with the strip piecing. Working with plaids can be a bit challenging. I think things are straight and all lined up and then when I look at the finished results there seems to be a bit of a wave in it. Sort of like real houses! I saw a quilt like it during my travels last year and Mr. O commented that he liked it. I bought the pattern and on another trip I bought the fabric and I thought it was time to get it built. I have some trimming to do and a little more applique to finish and then it goes to the long arm quilter where the magic happens.
I also made an iPad case for my daughter.


One day while snowshoeing I was noticing our tracks. I thought we were travelling in a straight line across the field but when I stopped and looked back it wasn't as straight as I thought it was and I got to thinking that it was sort of like quilting. Looking at the small picture looks pretty straight but when you stand back and look at the whole strip...meh! Not so straight after all.



Looks pretty straight...



Well, maybe not so straight after all.



This is what I used to snowshoe with, but Mr O bought me new snowshoes for my birthday this year, and it is sort of like quilting with templates and scissors and then going to rotary cutters and rulers. What a difference!




Something else I have wasted a lot of time on   been spending time on, is a guild challenge. In January we were asked to bring in a meter of ugly fabric. We all stood in a large circle and we were to cut in 2. We kept one piece for ourselves and the other we were to pass to the person next to us. You kept passing fabric around until the music stopped, sort of like when we played Hot Potato at birthday parties when we were kids. What ever ended up in your hands when the music stopped you had to tear it in half...keep one piece and pass the other on....


This is what I ended up with! The challenge was to make something using these fabrics. You could add one fabric to it, and embellish as you wished. Talk about a challenge! I had all kinds of ideas and tried a few things but finally decided on something I thought I might actually like to keep and use. I cant show you the finished project just yet, but I can give you a peek.



As I am finishing this post the clock just chimed 3:00 am, and I am thinking that it is time to call it a day. 
If I told you I promise to be back soon you wouldnt believe me, so I won't tell you that...

I will leave you with this picture that has a very good message.