 On Thursday I had 2 election training classes where I learned that I've been designated the provisional ballot person for our precinct. We always get a number of people who want to vote in person but have received an absentee ballot (that they requested). Those people have to vote provisional. There will also be a number of people who will want to register and vote. In between classes I visited a friend so I didn't get anything else done Thursday. Friday started outside with my little pruning saw again. It was lovely to be outside with views like this. Out big Maple is showing off this year.  After I finished my yard work I got back to quilting and finished this veterans quilt. Now it's ready for binding.  Then I got another veterans quilt loaded and ready to quilt. Quilting this is today's goal (after more sawing) and maybe I can get the binding on my veterans quilt.
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 It was out last beautiful warm day so I grabbed my little pruning saw and spent the morning cutting a lot of stuff at the edge of the road. After lunch my friend, Marcy, came to visit. It was so nice to finally catch up with her. We went to a lecture last night but I had a couple of hours before we had to leave. I used that time to get my veterans quilt loaded. I think I'm going to quilt it with white thread to kind of hide my poor choices of red and blue fabrics.
Today I have 2 classes for election day and visiting another friend so there won't be any creative time. I'll post again Saturday.  Yesterday was another beautiful day to be outside and to go buy more plants. But the evening was perfect for finishing the last 35 surgery drain bags. That brings the total to 130 for this batch.  This is what they look like. The strap is a ribbon that goes through the loop on the other side. The patient will be able to adjust the length by tying the strap to the loop. Now I can get on with the Christmas card making.  In gardening news, I bought 3 rhododendrons for Chris to plant today and about 90 daffodil bulbs that I will plant. I'm also repainting the address sign that my brother made for me a couple of years ago. The weather here is just amazing and will be amazing for at least a week so I'll be outside as much as possible. Leaf blowing will commence very soon too.
 Yesterday was a sewing day with my quilt club and I worked on this quilt that will be a veterans quilt. I got all of the HST blocks pieced and brought them home to arrange on the design wall. I'll piece this one at home because I don't want to take these off the wall and try to keep them in order. I have another kit to work on tomorrow.  I also finished to set of 35 surgery drain bags. That brings the total to 95 and I have 35 more to make. I promise you will see the end of this project soon!
 Yesterday we did more yard work. I watered and fed my new plants so that's a step in the right direction! Then we got out both saws and cut a lot more undesirable stuff. In the afternoon I finally got back in the sewing room. 35 more bags have loops now and are ready for straps to finish them up.  But today I get to do something else! It's sewing days with my quilt club so I'm taking 2 veterans quilt kits to work on. I'm really looking forward to 2 days of sewing.
 Yesterday started the same as the rest of the week, with massive yard work. I started clearing at the edge of the road and got half of it done. Then I came in and finished this group of drain bags.  I was packing them all up and remembered that I needed to label them so I tied on labels to all 60 that I've made so far. After that, Chris was ready with the "real" chainsaw to attack the big cedar tree. I was supposed to provide guidance on how many limbs to cut off. I really should have taken before and after photos because we cleared about 6 feet of the trunk of a huge cedar tree. Then we cleared all the limbs. It was a nice workout and now the tree is begging for something to be planted under it. Next I went to the chiropractor and she asked, for the first time ever, "how did you get so twisted?" She did adjustments that she's never done before and I was sooooo relaxed after.  The day ended with some football and crochet. I added a few rows to this blanket and it's about 25% done. I think it's going to be about 50" long. Too big for a baby blanket but a really nice lap blanket.
Today and tomorrow I will take a break from yard work. Mom and I have errands today and tomorrow I'm spending the day with a friend visiting from England.  I spent yesterday morning playing with my new pruning saw. A Holly, a Redbud and some Juniper all look much better now. I the afternoon I spent a little time as the safety officer while Chris powerwashed the back of the guest house. Once he was safely off the ladder, I came inside and spent the rest of the day in my sewing room. I finished off the first group of 30 drain bags.  Then I got the second group of 30 to the point where they only need straps sewn to them. I'll get on that today after more yardwork and a much-needed chiropractor appointment.
 Yesterday I went out in the morning to use my new pruning saw and made a good dent in the work that I want to do around here. Just for the record, and after only one day, that little battery saw is awesome! After lunch I got back to quilting and finished the two veterans quilts. Mom (Glenda) made this one.  Brenda made this one. She is also a longarmer and quilts about half of our quilts. But I needed another top to go on a gray back so she trusted me to quilt this one for her.  I used my new favorite pantograph, Macrame. When I ordered it I had it enlarged some to be wider so this one quilts up pretty quickly.  When I went outside yesterday I saw a Praying Mantis by the guest house steps. I know we have plenty of them around here but I haven't seen one in a long time. It did follow me around with it's eyes as I moved around it. I think they are pretty cool little critters.
 Sooo, yesterday, as soon as I finished posting the blog post, I was perusing Facebook and came across a post for a local group needing help to load trucks going to North Carolina. It was close to where I live so, after lunch I headed over and spent the afternoon sorting through TONS of donations and helping to start loading the trailer. This delivery was organized by two guys who once lived in a remote little town between Boone and Asheville. They have kept in touch with their neighbors and friends and discovered that this area hasn't yet received any help so they left this morning at 3 am with two truck/trailers and another pickup FULL of supplies. They were offered a free tractor trailer truck and had a volunteer driver but were told that a truck that big would not make it through some of the roads. The organizers were OVERWHLEMED, and totally joyful, by the amount of donations and they were still coming in when I left. I left shortly after this photo was taken because we were at a stopping point waiting for the second trailer to arrive. They had enough volunteers, mostly their friends, to finish the loading. When I arrived they were just starting to organize things to put like things together. We had a tower of vienna sausages, a tower of canned chicken and tuna, tons of soups and canned spaghetti and vegetables. There's a massive amount of water, Gatorade and Ensure along with an entire pallet full of pet food and supplies. There was every kind of cracker and snack and a boatload of peanut butter. There were also loads of baby supplies, cleaning supplies, hygiene supplies, clothes, 2 giant tubs of tarps, a box of ropes, chain saw oil, fire starter supplies. You name it, someone probably donated it! It was cool.
As always there were a few cringe moments where we found three separate donations where people obviously cleared out really old crap from their cabinets, including one with USED deodorant! But in the total volume, those were just 3 small grocery bags' worth. It was a fun afternoon. Everyone was working so hard that I can't tell you the name of even one person who was working there! Apparently, the community that will receive these items will be getting together at the local fire station today for a pig roast that was donated and hopefully, this delivery will arrive while they are enjoying a hot cooked meal. Today I will be back to my own yard work and, maybe, get some veterans quilts loaded for quilting.  Yesterday was mostly about yard work. We have about 3 of the 10 acres that require some sort of maintenance all the time. I borrowed my brother's electric trimmer and am working on the bushes and edges of the yard. Next will be weeks of leaf blowing. We also delivered a load of firewood to a friend. After that I did get in the sewing room and work on the drain bags a bit. I finished 18 of the first batch of 30. I'll do more yard work today and will likely finish the rest of this batch later today.  Last night, during football, I picked up the crochet again and added some rows to this blanket. I think this is going to be too big to be a baby blanket but I'm sure the charity will find a good use for it.  I forgot to share that I've been steadily working through the bulky yarn. I made one of these hats before we went to Asheville and 3 of them at the river last weekend. I expect there are 7 or 8 more hats to make from the bulky stash.
I like to rotate my crochet projects so next will be the wheelchair shawl and I'll be back on the hats probably Sunday. Right now, I need to get back out to the yard. Weeds don't wait. |
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I'm Vicki Welsh and I've been making things as long as I can remember. I used to be a garment maker but transitioned to quilts about 20 years ago. Currently I'm into fabric dyeing, quilting, Zentangle, fabric postcards, fused glass and mosaic. I document my adventures here. Categories
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