It’s January and the summer weather has well and truly arrived. Hot, humid days. Nights too hot to sleep. I have never lived in a house with double glazing before now. It might be great in winter, but in summer I have decided that leaky, wooden windows definitely help keep the air circulating better.
A quick catch up on what I have achieved since last posting.
I have started the Quilt Show BOM. The first block is nowhere near finished, but I have bought enough fabric to add variety to the quilt, and all the templates for the month are prepared. I got reacquainted with my fabric stash whilst searching for the right mix of colours, and came to the conclusion I need more darks, and fewer mid-values. Of course everything I have bought since has been mid-value. I love Free Spirit fabrics, and have noticed that most of what I buy is all the same, value-wise. However, I think that reflects the fabric range, rather than my unconscious bias.
Clara and Klaus the friendly mallard ducks have been hanging around for weeks now. We have purchased poultry food, and take them a cup full when they arrive. If we’re not fast enough with our service, they either increase the volume or come peck on the conservatory window to hurry us along.
Otherwise I have been crocheting a new blanket. It will get cold eventually, and then I’ll be grateful. In the meanwhile it’s very warm under the pile of wool being fashioned into a lap rug. Air conditioning helps!
Exercise-wise it’s been New Year, new me. I have been up the mountain twice to wander around bush tracks, photographing the local botany. The plants in this region are similar to those I remember from my doctoral studies, but with some local subspecies thrown in. It’s been a decade since I left the field, so long enough that I am submitting photos to search engines because my memories have faded. The bush is still my happy place, despite years spent living in town, without easy access to the mountains.
This beauty is Ourisia macrophylla, excuse the lack of italics. It’s currently flowering at mid-altitudes all along the pathways.
Otherwise I have had a quiet start to the year. I’ve resisted the urge to join anymore clubs, groups or BOM’s, and have instead picked up forms to fill out so I can start volunteering again. I’m hopefully going to start at the local Hospice shop, sorting donations. I prefer a back room job, away from the retail side of things. Opening boxes is fun, except when they contain dead insects….or live. I’ve gotten pretty used to chasing cockroaches that arrive in donations, and not freaking out.
I almost forgot about my latest Jen Kingwell quilt, Flutterby. I have finally started sewing it together, with the bottom two rows constructed. It will need borders, but I haven’t thought that far ahead yet. It’s constructed primarily from Jen’s fabrics, and I am feeling so-so about the whole quilt. It will probably end up being donated or gifted I think.
That’s it for now. I guess the challenge this month is to finish Block 1 of the BOM, and make a little more progress on Flutterby. Audrey has also released the next hints on her QAL, so I need to start thinking of borders and corner squares. I think it’s time to buckle down and get some quilting done.
