Quilting and Other Thoughts

Random thought - Does your hot beverage taste better if you slurp it? Loudly? 

Although Stonefields, designed by Susan Smith, has not been far from my thoughts in recent months, I have not done anything on it since completing all the hexie flowers for the border back in January. So, here I am. I got the big ironing board out. The cutting mat nearby. I prewashed more of the fabric I chose for the outside border. This will have to satisfy the Chookshed Challenge for this month. Number 10 on my list was to prewash fabric for a new quilt start, but I realized that my next few quilt starts will not require the fabrics to be prewashed. I will be using pre-cuts for those. I have thought about, obssessed about, talked about, planned and dreamed about doing this. I even laid out three rows of hexi flowers onto one of the 4 outside borders. Then put them away. Again.

The thing is, I fear messing it all up and making mistakes. As if I haven't made mistakes before. Like cutting the outside borders too narrow the first time. At least I still have 4-5 yards of the chosen fabric. 

Easter had us hosting family and clearing all the tables and spaces in the SonRoom. Had to clear away everything again for the accountant who finally showed up after changing the dates 3 times. We filed our taxes and both of us get refunds. He gets $20 and I get $15. I had to have the tables cleared again before my Writing Group filled the space on Sat. 

I picked up a rake to start clearing the flowerbeds now that spring is really here. I lasted about 5 minutes. The pain in my hands has resurfaced and I had difficulty grasping and dragging the rake. I got 2 slivers. There had been crocuses popping up in the lawn and tulip leaves emerging through the now frostless dirt. And now daffodils everywhere. I love the smell of the dirt in the spring. So inspiring. And its been raining off and on. Love the spring rains. You don't have to shovel rain. It soaks into the ground. The grass has been cut twice so far and the tractors are out doing tractor in the spring stuff. New little pigs arrived last week and new beef animals arrived this week. All that should keep my Sweetie occupied. 

I've been reading again. Lots of books. And Bricks and Mortar is on the table again this week. Haven't done anything on that either. 

A good friend, who has been attending our small group and was part of my writing group, passed away unexpectedly after major heart surgery earlier this month. She was 63. She did not get her book written. Her very life was an open book. She affected countless lives in her family and friends and others with her joy and total acceptance of broken people. She had received incredible heart healing from a difficult life and years of addictions. Her story is a ripple effect of how allowing the forgivenss of Jesus Christ and Holy Spirit into our hearts transforms us from the inside. She sat here a few days before her surgery, explaning the proceedure to come and hugged everyone before she left saying, "God loves you and I love you. The world is a better place because you are in it," Yes. The world is a better place because she was in it.  

blessings,

Chris

Spring Has Arrived

 So what has Chris been doing for the past month? 

My Sweetie and I went to India for 2 weeks. That was a lot of fun. Long flights and lots of hot food. We visited our school and got to speak at 2 pastor's conferences about how we stayed married for 54 years. 

I have been working on the book and getting closer. I hired a Canadian editor and have received back more than half of the chapters with comments and recommendations. I have a lot of work to do. Now to figure out how to save the applied changes. Steep learning curve for this Gramma. 

And guess what?? I had to give up yet another pair of scissors! You would think I would learn. They actually made it through 2 airports in my carry on. But not the third. Dang. That was the same ariport last time. They were not really good ones. The scissors not the airports. 

The RSC colour for March was red. I pulled out lots of reproduction red scraps and cut and cut and cut. Then I sewed and sewed and sewed.  There is a lot more work to these tiny blocks than meets the eye. I joined the Chookshed a couple of times to zoom with friends, but this is as far as I got for OMIGOSH. The Chookshed Challenge number for April is  10 so I get to prewash fabric for a New Quilt. I can handle that. 

April's RSC colour is pink so I got started with that by pulling out some scraps. Now to cut and cut some more. 

We are doing year end books and getting ready to file our taxes next week. That means I had to go through my inbox and delete 3600 unopened emails in the hunt for the few invoices I missed through the year. I hope I got them all. 

We have booked the Alaskan Cruise for end of summer with Elly and Devan. And the flights to Vancouver. The girls are mentally packing their bags. Only 5 months to go. Elly asked if there will be a washing machine available. This girl is addicted to doing her laundry. And they have been told it is carry on only including winter coats and hats. Yes, we will be swimming on the cruise ship. Not in the icy glacier waters. She knows how to do her laundry by hand. 

My men have collaborated, not only on doing the books, but prepping the barns for new baby pigs (arriving today), but also ordering baby beef animals.  

Easter is coming and so are my relatives for dinner on Sat. My neice the massage therapist arrives tomorrow!  But first, tonight, we have our church Small Group meeting here so I had to pack away all my quilting toys for another day.  

Blessings,

Chris