And, then they rested

On Saturday, we cleaned in prep for the holidays.  Now, we can have guests.  Our house is normally clean enough to be healthy and dirty enough to be happy, but today, you could perform surgery here.  

Okay, maybe not, but it sure smells good.

I set my mind to finish the hand quilted Cmas quilt yesterday afternoon and I think I got within about 30 minutes of being done.  There are a few little short segments to put in one corner and it will be ready to bind.  By hand of course.  

The quilting doesn't compete with the fabric or pattern and I am very happy with it, and to be finished with it.  I wondered if we'd be able to hang it this year, and barring anything awful, I believe we will.  

I love that feeling when a long project is finished.  Now I need to get in that sewing closet and figure out what I can finish next.  I'd love to piece something new, but I'm holding myself back from starting a new project.  

I took off another couple days last week and one of the things I did was to fix this shirt.  I made it many years ago when I was learning to make garments.  It was for a shirt making challenge where we did a little every day and added a lot of features, like my name embroidered in the collar stand and my monogram on the inside of the cuffs and the host did a good job of making sure we all ended up with something to be proud of.  Of course, with me working full time, it left me doing a lot on a weekend to catch up.  The host suggested a vintage pattern, so I used one from the 70's or 80's, so it had huge cuffs and an extremely wide collar and I don't think I ever wore it.  If I did, it was only once.  I could live with the cuffs, but the collar made it hard to wear.  It hung in my mending pile for a long time...a really long time.  Last week, I opened the collar stand and took out the collar, pulled all the top stitching and turned the collar wrong side out, re-cut it and finished it and sewed it back into the stand.  It took a couple hours but now I have a new shirt to wear.  A really nice one.

Of course, that makes me want to dive into that mending pile and get something else done.  

Weekend before last, I did another plant giveaway.  I gave away about 40 plants.  Lots of seedlings and divisions.  There were a lot of echinacea, iris, and society garlic, plus some one offs that I'd dug up or grown from seed to see if I could.  It was going so well that on Sunday, I pulled out some more things I had been waffling about and put them out there.  By mid-afternoon, it was all gone, even the sign, the box the sign was taped to and the stake that held the box up.  Later, I found those things, except the sign that described the plants.  And, I found this little note written on a corner they'd left.  That felt pretty good and when we walked the dogs this weekend, I saw pots all over the neighborhood that had come from here.  

The garden is looking rough right now and behind the greenhouse looks like a nursery because of all the plants I've dug up and potted.  The garden will have a different layout next year.  It will be like a fresh start.  But,for now, the green zinnias are putting on a nice show.

And, the nasturtiums are putting on a late show

It's a good thing I got this picture of the maple tree on Friday because it lost most of its leaves over the weekend.  It happens really fast here.  

Things at work are a little rough right now.  My boss is kind of "unraveling".  His new job takes organization he doesn't have.  My peer and I are trying to help but instead of reaching out, he's withdrawn in and I'm not sure he can hear us.  When I took this job, I was told it would be like standing in front of a firehose, and it is, almost all the time.  My old boss helped prop me up against it and I'm trying to do the same for my new one.  But first, he will have to realize he needs help and can't do it all alone.  Time will tell whether he's a boss that relies on his team to succeed or blames them for the struggle.  I've worked for both kind.  

Everybody have a great week!  Can you believe it's nearly Thanksgiving?  I'm thinking of roasting a hen or a turkey breast instead of a full size turkey this year.  A nice fat hen is more than enough to feed us all on the big day.  I think this every year.  And, every year I put ten pounds of turkey in the oven and then struggle to eat the leftovers before they go bad.  I hate to waste food...which probably comes from being reminded of the 'starving children in Africa' my whole childhood.  What you say to your kids sticks with them for a lifetime.  

Be well and find something you enjoy.  Make some finishes to mark the time.  

Lane