Day Two

Today I finished clearing off my chair, and cut some two inch strips. I also moved a small set of plastic drawers to a spot under my cutting table.

The work is made a bit more difficult as yesterday I did something to send my lower back into spasm. As they say - aging sucks, but it’s better than the alternative!

Renewing my Vows

Well, I didn’t actually take any with regard to quilting, but perhaps it’s time I did. I have been gifted with a lot of fabric with which to make cat quilts (for donation to shelters), and it’s about time I got down to work.

So, starting today, I vow to spend some time in my quilting room every day. I’ll be cutting fabric, sewing fabric, organizing - what have you - every day. I need to make a dent in the mountain.

Mind you, I will be taking a short break when we travel, and that’s coming up soon. But aside from that - I will do this.

Watch this space for progress.

Quilting

I've been away from this process for quite a while. There are various reasons, but a big one has been that my sewing studio is not functional as such. I'm working on it - a little bit every day, and I can hardly wait to get something under my needle again.

New Friends

Yesterday we attended the Twisted Stitchers Quilt Show in Ajax, Ontario, and it was wonderful!

It was a chance to reconnect with old friends, and to make some new friends as well. The fact that I had considered not going at all, and then only went at the last minute, made it even more special. If we hadn't gone at that specific time, we wouldn't have met new friends, one of whom is from Australia! Life is all about synchronicity.

And I fell in love! There is a darling little quilt frame for sale from the Ultimate Sewing Centre. It is approximately one-third the size of my SuperQuilter Proflex, and would free up *so* much space in my studio. I want! Now I have to find someone who would like to buy my current frame. It's set up for king-sized quilts, so it's large!

And - bonus of bonuses - I slept about 4 hours straight last night without coughing once. And - when I woke up - my trigger thumb was gone (on my right hand). I still have some stiffness in one finger from arthritis - but progress is progress. I'll gladly take it. The gold elbow in my left arm seems to have subsided somewhat as well. Perhaps there really is light at the end of the tunnel.

Until next time,

Peggi

I Kissed a Girl

So, today, I did a thing. (No, I didn't kiss a girl. But if I titled this "I made a quilt", who would care?)

It's a real thing. It's something that I've never done before, and it was completely outside my comfort zone.

Well, at least, it used to be.

I spend a lot of time crocheting beds for animal shelters and adoption centres. I also spend time on decluttering (well, now and then). In the process, I go through my many, many, t-shirts, and decide what to do with them. Some are still in good shape, but I haven't worn them for a very long time, and they are of no use or interest to other people. (After all, who would want to buy a convention t-shirt for a convention they've never heard of - if they have even heard of conventions?)

I thought that perhaps I could make a kennel quilt with some of them. There's lots of material, and only minimal quilting is required. They don't even have to be bound.

I even got brave, and decided I wouldn't need stabilizer.

Now, this is the first time I have ever tried this, and I made lots of mistakes. But I learned a lot too. So all in all, I'm happy with this. Now let's see if any of the cats want to lie on it.

I should note that this is the first time that I have experimented with making something completely out of my head, too. So, go me!

A Picture

As promised - this is cat bed number 7, toward my goal of 50.

Because it's 2017!

It's a brand new year, with brand new opportunities. And I've decided I don't want to waste them.

So here I am, blogging again. And it will be about my creative activities such as crochet, quilting, and sewing.

In November, I set a goal to crochet 50 cat blankets in one year. Since I can average one a week rather easily, this is an achievable goal. And so far, I've finished 6. (Pictures will follow maybe tomorrow.)

These will be donated to Cuddly Cats Rescue and to the Animal Emergency Clinic in Whitby.

I've also got several flimsies completed to make into Kennel Quilts, and these will be donated to Second Chance, which rescues cats, and some for the Humane Society of Durham Region.

If anyone else wishes to receive either of these, I will add them to my list and just keep going.

This means that I will be using a lot of cotton fabric, and a lot of yarn. If anyone has any extras that they would like to send my way, I would be grateful! ;-)

I've also got several quilts that need to be sandwiched and completed, as well as some WIPs and many kits/projects on the go.

I plan for this to be a productive year!

Happy New Year to all, full of positives and possibilities!

Peggi