Just dragging my sorry butt behind me on Thursday....

It was an effort to do anything on Thursday Our Little Munchkin's Quilt Day.  As it was sewing day I did get it all out and made a good start on it.  It will be 6 blocks across and 8 blocks down.  Each block being 10 inches square.  Plus there will be a border around it as well.  I got 32 blocks completed:

There are 8 of each colour pair.  I have the other's cut out ready to go, but was pooped by that time.

Thank goodness there was enough of the grey neutral material to tie it all together.  I wanted to keep the pattern very simple as there is such a mixture of patterns in the material.

I sat in the front breakfast area of the kitchen as the light is better there.  I normally sit in the back of the house.  I have no idea what was going on, but it was so busy with traffic today.  

Next Thursday I am going down to the community centre to sew with a group of other ladies,  I am not fussed about the company although it's always nice to chat to others.  What I am doing it for is to be distraction free for a few hours.  I get side tracked in the house with bits and bobs and I do want to get this quilt top done.

I do have a question for any quilters out there.  I am thinking of getting someone else to do the quilting for me.  Do you have any idea what I should be paying someone to do it, it's single/twin sized?  I will of course provide everything, they just have to do the actual sewing.  I'll even sew on the binding myself.

Had the music on today and this song came on:



I will admit to dancing along to this!!!  Well not dancing, just swaying side to side!!!  What an incredible woman she is.

Multitasking

"Watching Swagbuck TV," and earning points while trimming up the mini blocks before sewing them into the main blocks for dd quilt.

Too hot and humid to do anything else!

Sunday at home........

On Sunday I had to sew the blocks for the block of the month club.  This month's block is called Cubed Lattice.  Would you believe both the blocks below are the same pattern, I just set them differently.  One thing that was different with this block was that it used four different materials in the block and up till now I have only been using three materials.  Tuesday's meeting will be the last one for the year.  I am not sure if I'll join the 2010/2011 club.

We had a day at home on Sunday.  As well as sewing, I went to church and for once there were a few more people than normal there, including a couple more children.  Sunday school is in the basement of the church, and I swear this morning those kids had hob nail boots on, as they sounded like a herd of elephants, I thought I was going to have to say to the Vicar to speak louder, and I am one of the few who doesn't wear a hearing aid!!!

Got all the paperwork and information gathered together for the meeting with the financial planner.  That itself was a job and a half, as they need to know so much.  Between me and dh we got it done, and things aren't looking too bad to our unprofessional eyes!  Mind you after the meeting, we could be proved wrong!

It's dh's birthday today, 29 and holding I'm guessing!!!  We are having blood work done first thing, and as dh has to fast for his tests, I decided to take him out for breakfast after he has done his test as a birthday treat, it will be a full English fry up!!  Mind you the closest we get to that over here will be fried eggs, a couple of sausages, hash browns and two rounds of toast.   Also having this kind of breakfast after he has his blood tests is more advisable as it won't make his tests look bad!!

Interesting list and a quilt block.......

This list was published in the Toronto Star on Saturday and I thought it was interesting:

Ian Law - Better Driving

After 40 years and a couple of million kilometres of driving under my seatbelt, I have witnessed many transgressions committed by motorists.

Here is my list of the 10 worst motoring offences.

• Impaired Driving: whether it is by drugs or distraction, this is the leading cause of death and destruction on our roads. Alcohol, street drugs or some prescription drugs negatively affect four of the most important functions of safe driving ability: judgment, co-ordination, vision and reactions. Just as dangerous is being distracted by cellphone conversations, texting, chatting to passengers, day dreaming, entertainment systems, or any other distraction that prevents a motorist from focusing on driving.

• Running Red Lights: This is also one of the deadliest motoring mistakes. Running a red light for purely selfish reasons or due to distraction will eventually involve you in a serious collision. Saving that little bit of extra time is never worth the risk.
• Following too close: I am always amazed by how many motorists tailgate other vehicles. Each and every day I have drivers following much too closely behind me and I have to take action to avoid this threat to my safety. When I encounter a driver that is too close to my rear bumper, I will gradually slow down and keep right in the next available passing zone. Most motorists don’t even realize they are following too closely. At highway speeds, the average driver needs at least half a second to recognize a threat and then react. This equates to roughly 15 metres or five car lengths just to realize they need to start braking. With some drivers creeping up to within one to two car lengths of the vehicle in front, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize that just isn’t enough time.

• Parking in handicapped spot: Too frequently, the driver is obviously not physically challenged at all. Most drivers who use these convenient parking spots genuinely need this convenience. Shamefully, some motorists have a permit that applies to someone in their family but they use it for their own benefit. It is these illegitimate users that make my radiator boil over. This is not only very selfish, but can lead to someone who really has difficulty walking, having to park much farther away because the few handicapped spaces are occupied by those not really in need of one.

• Left lane driving: It still boggles my mind that drivers will occupy the left lane on a multi-lane highway and then stay there regardless of how many vehicles are lined up waiting to pass. By now there has been enough press about this motoring indiscretion that you would think drivers would have clued in.
• Driving in middle lane: Too many motorists will poke along in the middle lane of a multi-lane highway at a slower rate than the majority of traffic when they should be in the right lane. Trucks too, are notorious for this and it leads to traffic bunching up as it tries to negotiate around the blockage with the resulting multiple-lane changes occurring.

• Failing to signal: Applies to both lane changes and turns. It is not wise to surprise other drivers with your next move and it is also disrespectful. Signalling lane changes notifies other motorists in all directions and is also a sort of an electronic “excuse me please” request to occupy the space in front of you. Not signalling is much like butting into line.

• Impatience: Each day as I commute in rush hour traffic, there are always a large number of drivers who need to get to work 10 minutes ago. They always zip out to the left lane, follow the other late drivers much too closely and then come to a screeching halt as the left lane soon becomes overpopulated. I seem to always catch up to these impatient drivers as I motor along in the much less stressful right lane saving fuel, brake and eventually insurance costs.

• Cutting off others: Most motorists will speed up slightly to block another driver from merging into the space in front. This only leads to frustration, possible retaliation and road rage. It never teaches the other driver to not pull in front of you.

• Fog lights: They’re frequently used on clear nights when there isn’t even a hint of fog. These lights are for a specific purpose and not to show off your cool German car. Fog lights are to be used in thick fog when your headlights become detrimental to illuminating the road. Some drivers say they like to use them to light up the side of the road. If so, when you encounter oncoming traffic simply turn them off.

It was a wet and miserable day on Saturday and I didn't seem to get much done.  However I did sew the black, white and red quilt block for the month of June.  It's called a Twist Block:

Now in the scheme of things I didn't think this was a difficult block to make, as the border is put together similarly.  Only two more months to go and then all twleve quilts blocks are done.

Oh and by the sound of it, all hell broke loose downtown Toronto with the protests, see here.  Once again like most things, a small group of people out to make trouble.......nothing else to say on the subject :0(

Busy quilting.

I spent part of Wednesday sewing this months block, Buckeye Beauty   I actually sewed the pink one first as I have decided the pattern that they give me, always gives me problems; and as I have more pink material than the black, white and red, I can't afford to waste that material.  So here it is:

With the sashings:

This is the first three blocks all with the sashings attached:

This is the pink and cream one:

Here are the three pink and cream blocks. I haven't attached the sashings yet, as I haven't got the material picked out yet. I don't think I have enough material for the sashings, as it takes 1.2 metre's per colour, and I need 2 colours.  What colour's do you think will look good for the sashings?

It was a lot colder on Wednesday, had to put the fire on just after lunch as dh was saying he thought the house hasn't been as warm.  Meanwhile I was sweating buckets...........oh the joys of those hot flashes!!!

A bit of fun today!! California Raisins - "Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer."

Answer to some questions and more photos.

For those of you asking about Molly, her allergies are sort of under control. I have her on one half pill of Vanectyl-P twice a day and that sort of works.   Any less and she scratches and chews like crazy.  I have enough pills to last until the end of the month, and then I'll talk to the vet again.

Back on this post I mentioned we had a strange nasty smell coming from the top of the basement stairs.  Pleased to say we have discovered the source of this smell, it was a dead mouse.  Actually a dead stinking mouse.........dh has a light with a camera on the end of it, and it was behind some pipes.  I had to use tongs to haul it out of there.  So we are back to smelling pretty nice in the house again :0)

On Monday there was a lot of activity at the bird feeder.  The chickadee's were out in force.  We had six Blue Jays at the feeder at one time.  There were some Dark-eyed Junco's and a couple of Northern Cardinals (both males)  and even a Downy Woodpecker (a female).  Sorry I only got the one photo of the Northern Cardinal.

I managed to get another block done for the second block of the month quilt I am making. This one is in creams and pinks. I was hoping to have a couple of different greens in my stash for the sashings.

"Away in a Manger," a classic Christmas Carol, I am not sure who is performing this, it may be "The Southwell Boys Choir"? They have such beautiful voices though don't they?