An unexpected day of freedom

How strange that I would think of that as a blog title - every day of retirement should be a day of freedom - yet I seem to fill them with commitments!

Today should have been a day's sewing over at West Ashby.  Throughout last year we created a block a month and I was looking forward to starting to complete the quilt.  However, and after the car was packed etc, the tutor rang to cancel - she sounded very poorly.  Initially I will admit to feeling a little confused - what was I going to do with this unexpected day?  But then I remembered the list I made several days ago of jobs that needed to be done - now was the time to get stuck in.  (I should add, at this stage, that I am going away for a few days next week so a number of jobs were craft related - ie getting things prepared to take.)

So, first up was a Tuesday night block - this was cheating really since it went so easily together and I was avoiding the second 48 piece block.  Just as I was finishing, Wendy rang wanting to borrow my appliquick tools so I popped round with them - complete with apron, slippers and Daisy!  By the way Wendy wants it to be known that she wasn't responsible for Donnygate yesterday (puppy love was played on the radio today - ah!) - and that I didn't need much persuading.  All I can say is that that's her story!!


 





After hoovering around, putting the washing on, cleaning the kitchen and ironing a few more backing squares for the Tuesday night blocks, I then started on last Sunday's Splendid Sampler block.  My intention is just to take hand sewing on holiday so I needed to make the block before tracing the design.







Talking about tracing, I then had this week's Splendid Sampler block to trace - as well as 24 Christmas ornaments to sew onto my Anni Downs quilt border.






By now the rain and hail stones had finished and the sun had been out for some time so it was out to the garden to mow the lawn and scatter some grass seed.  I am not sure how much the birds will leave for me but I didn't want to protect them with twigs - Daisy brings enough of them into the house as it is.


 
 



Finally I just couldn't put it off any longer and gave myself a couple of hours to cut and make the second 48 piece block - it would feel like a wasted day if I didn't manage to complete it.  whilst there are still some faults it went together a lot quicker than my first attempt - perhaps I learnt something along the way!









Tonight?  Well it's Shakespeare live at 8:30pm - I've even traced a Shakespeare design and have a rose design for additional SS blocks.  I think that an evening of hand sewing is called for - I've done the preparation after all!