I am so glad it's Friday

It has been a long week. I did get more t-shirts hung up on the design wall and here is what it looks like right now.

I still have a few more I have to work in somewhere. I don't want to put them on the back. I think once I start sewing them together I will be able to work a few more in. This is going to be a big quilt!

My Christmas present to myself came. I will put this leaf blower to good use and save my shoulders which always end up sore after raking. I think it will be too wet this weekend to try it out.

Have a great weekend!

Next project

Although I am not done with the project I can't show you, I am already working on the next project. I had taken it off the design wall to work on the secret project so it is going back up! It is a t-shirt quilt for my nephew's cousin. The t-shirts are all cut up and interfaced so I am now arranging them. Here is what I have so far.

I still have a pile of them to figure out where and how I am going to incorporate them all!

I received a box yesterday with two more Christmas presents. This is the last of them except for a bottle of wine I need to get. Wrapped!

I watched my neighbor's house when they were out of town over Thanksgiving so they are watching when boxes arrive at my house this week and sticking them in the garage. We have never had problems of thieves taking packages, but I have several coming this week so I don't want to take a chance. Besides, this will make feel better that we are watching out for each other.

Relaxing, sewing, knitting, yard work, shopping

It was a busy four days! Of course Thursday was all about relaxing and talking to family. I finally got the top done for the project I can't show you. Yeah!! I got the backing sewn together, the batting cut, and cut out the binding. I will work on putting the layers together after work this week.

I had to take my car in for a recall repair. The dealership is across the street from a Home Depot so instead of just sitting, I went over to the HD got some steps in and picked up another item on my Christmas list. I still had a bit of time when I got back to the dealership so I got some knitting done on this scarf and later on while I watched TV - almost 4 inches.

Friday I started with the yard work despite the fact that it had rained and was still misty at times. I spent four and a half hours mowing, raking, trimming, and placing rocks. Saturday I worked in the yard another 4 1/2 hours and on Sunday 1 1/2 hours. I hauled 19 loads of sweet peat mulch up the hill from the backyard where I had stored it under a tarp

to the front center flower bed and for around the zebra grass.

Here is what the edging looked like before I finished ripping out the old plastic edging and placing the rocks.

Here you can see the contrast of the rich, dark mulch against the dirt. I had set the lavender plants high so that I could mulch them heavily so I needed to get them mulched before the ground froze.

And here is the center bed all done! I did have a big Shasta daisy plant that I split up to fill in the area around the Mugo pine. I should have lots of pretty white flowers next year!

I covered most of this bed with the black plastic I had on the mulch pile. The plastic will help kill the weeds over the winter. This bed has been a complete mess for years so it is time to clean it up.

As I hauled mulch from the back to the front, the deer were watching me.

Most of my shopping is being done online. It is great not having to deal with crowds! I got everything wrapped I have bought so far. I have a couple things still coming and I have to go get a bottle of wine, then I am done!

I did do some shopping for myself and I am very excited about one purchase. I will show it to you once it arrives.

Oatmeal cookies and a four day weekend!

The dust was really bad at work so as soon as I got home I hit the showers. I then headed up to the kitchen and made some oatmeal cookies for Superwoman at work. Superwoman is a lady who is a laborer for the company I work for. She works hard every day cleaning up the messes the contractors leave everywhere, directs traffic when needed, and all kinds of odd jobs. We try and help each other out, and she makes me laugh. When I was eating a biscuit yesterday, she asked me "is that a cookie?" I said no, and she said "where are those oatmeal cookies you said you would make me? Make sure you don't put any raisins in them. I can't stand raisins." I laughed and said I would make her some which was last evening. Here they are - some without raisins and the other ones with raisins and pecans.

I am so looking forward to a four day weekend. My plans are to get quilting on the quilt I can't show you yet, figure out what my next project is going to be, do some yardwork, take my car in for a recall repair, and clean out the garage.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Plugging along

I got some stuff done when I got home from work - two loads of laundry, dishes, baked biscuits, and took a long hot shower.

I did get a little done on the quilt I can't show you. I am plugging along on that top and I am very excited to get the top done.

Productive weekend!

I did the usual stuff - dishes, laundry, cooking, and grocery shopping. I did spend most of Saturday and some on Sunday working on the quilt top I can't show you. I made a lot of progress! I only have another 3 1/2 hours of work and the top will be done! I washed the backing so after I stitch it together - it is 44" wide fabric - I can get right to pin basting the quilt as soon as I am done sewing it. My plans over Thanksgiving is to put some major hours into free motion machine quilting this. The top is approx. 92" x 60" so it is not a big quilt. I already bought the quilting thread so I am ready to get 'er done!!!

My brother called on Sunday and said he was headed over to another brother's house to do one final clean up on the leaves. I needed to hand over the other nine guitar hook covers and I told him I would come and help him with the leaves. We got that job done in a little over an hour. Mike also bought a small mower from some guy and mowed the grass too. Here is the before and after of the back.

I am so looking forward to a four day weekend! I am already formulating a plan of what I want to get done besides the quilt. Of, course my list will be longer that I can possibly do!

only two more years

That is how long I am going to be at this job site Wanda. It is going to be a long two years. I have a heck of a cough today from breathing in all the dust. It is so noisy in here today I can't hardly hear myself think.

My goal this weekend is to get the rest of the quilt top finished for the quilt I can't show you. When it is done I can clear off these scraps and put them back in the bin.

Only five hours and 10 minutes and I am out of here! Have a great weekend!

Where have I been

Work has been frustrating and ridiculous. Frustrating because issues don't get resolve with no leadership. Ridiculous because the drywall finishers and installers continue to make horrible messes and do not control their dust. I am already coughing this morning because of the dust. As some of the areas are painted the amount of space to set up our working space is getting smaller and smaller. We can't move into the painted spaces because the flooring is going to be laid on Monday. One side of the space they are still hanging drywall and on the other side they are putting down floors. It makes no sense to me.

The last of the copper was installed in the MRI room on the floor. Now that is one shiny room! That fellow is soldering all the joints.

The day after the floor was done, they poured a floor leveler on top of it.

Walls are going up next. They have to build the walls, attached all the electric, data, etc. then stand the wall up. They cannot penetrate the copper. Crazy.

I have been not in the mood to sew when I get home. All I want to do is get in the shower and wash the dry wall dust off of me. I scrub and scrub and I still feel dirty. I hate this place. Today I am going to take my laptop and go sit in the cafeteria and work. I am not going to sit up here is the dirt all day!

sewing, knitting, leaves

I worked on the quilt I can't show you and stitched up the rest of the guitar hook covers.

Friday when I got home I was tired because I had to spend 3 hours doing traffic control. See how this truck is so close to the corner?

People couldn't see around the corner to pull in front of the truck and they would end up having to drive in the left hand turn lane. I had to set up cones to make the left hand turn lane for them and direct the traffic coming toward the intersection use one lane and not the left hand turn lane. It kept me hopping especially when the semi truck came thru and I had to move all the cones so he could get thru.

Saturday I met one of my brothers over at another brother's house to rake leaves. I got there at 8 am and it was 25 degrees. There are two huge maple trees and they produce a lot of leaves. Yes, that is a bit of snow among the leaves. The leaves were frozen together so the blower just would not have worked.

Three hours later the back was looking better.

My brother had a big tarp that we would rake the leaves onto and then drag the tarp out to the curb to dump the leaves. I would squash the leaves down so we could put more leaves on top. We hauled 9 loads to the curb. Here is the pile after we finished topping the pile off with the leaves from the front. I went the grocery store when we were done, got something to eat and crashed. I was tired!

I did get a bit of knitting done on this scarf. I am using the hand dyed wool yard from a scarf I knitted two years ago. I took it apart and am knitting it again wider; the first time it was too narrow. I got about 3" knitted. I have another scarf I am using now, that teal/blue one, and it is too narrow also. After I get this gray one done I think I will undo the teal one and re-knit it.

See all those truck and equipment? I think we are going to get that parking lot paved today.

TGIF and snow!

This morning we had our first snow of the season. It was coming down hard.

The roads were a little slushy, but there were no issues getting to work. The city has not picked up all the leaves yet so their equipment has not been converted to snow removal yet. Many of the trees still have half their leaves on them. The snow now has turned to rain.

I had to help with traffic control yesterday for at least 2 hours and that tired me out. Around here traffic control also means running after cars and trucks that do stupid things so it is not just standing in one place. Traffic control also means giving directions to visitors and patients who don't know where to go, getting pedestrians safely across the street, and getting cars out of the parking lots where their line of site is impaired because of equipment parked in the street. It can get crazy! It looks like the concrete guys are working today which means I could be out in the rain helping with traffic. I brought an extra shirt to put on because the temperature is 35 degrees. Yesterday it was a pleasant 43.

My only goal this weekend is to try and get more done on the project I can't show you. I have been too tired after work to work on it. Have a great weekend!

Pauline - you are a no-reply so I can't email you, but I appreciate all your comments!

this week

My work/life balance is all out of whack. I am so exhausted when I get home after a 9 1/2 hour day I have no energy to do any sewing. Last night I did vacuum the front Weather Tech floor car matts. They were full of dirt from work and hauling rocks. No pics. It was all I could do to get that done, a shower, and something to eat. I am not going to work at six anymore. I was leaving the other day and the project manager looked at her watch and said it's only 3:30. I said I had been here since 6. She said that was my choice to come in and do whatever I do when I get here. Really? I now don't come in until 6:30 and I am still leaving by 3:30. Today I had to move my office AGAIN because the contractors needed to get in the space to sand and mud. How is that for whatever I do!

guitar hook cozies

I was absolutely beat when I got home from work. I ended up running all over the place, dealt with issues that weren't my doing, had to move my office area again, and try to actually do my job. Here is my new office area - yes it is dark because there are no lights! We only have temporary lighting in the corridors.

I did get some guitar hook cozies drawn

They are almost done installing the copper in the MRI room. It is quite shiny in that room right now. The copper will be covered with drywall.

The weekend

I spent time this weekend working on the project I can't show you. I'm am close to having the top done, but I was slowed down because I kept nodding off. I did get the grocery shopping done, laundry, and baked pecan pie for my brother for his birthday.

I did a few hours of housework before my brother showed up to get his pie and hand over a sewing project. He needs me to make little covers for guitar display hangers.

He had a cover for one hanger, but he needs 15 more. My brother had some furry fabric in black and I had Velcro. While he was at my place, I stitched one up. Here it is inside out

And here it is right side out.

Only 13 more to make. They don't take very long to sew together so I should have this job done in the next couple of days.

Dresden plate - new fabrics added

I had a 10 hour work day yesterday and I was a whipped puppy by the time I got home. I was up early this morning and had some time to play around with the Dresden plate. I cut out one piece of each of the vintage fabrics from my stash to audition. I pinned them together and I like the way they fit in. Kaja, you were right about the large print!

My plans for this weekend are to work on the project I can't show you (my goal is to have it finished by the end of November), cut out the other pieces I need for the other 11 Dresden plates, and make my brother a pecan pie for his birthday which was on Halloween. I don't know that I can do any yardwork; it all depends if it dries out a bit from all the rain we have had for the last two days and the possible rain forecasted for today. Have a great weekend!