Balancing work and play

I took Friday off.  I needed to be away from the job and my calendar was clear and I had stuff I wanted to do that I don't get paid for.  I didn't accomplish a lot.  Some shopping, put a couple plants in the ground, a little light housekeeping and a nice dinner.  A great way to spend some "stolen" time.  The rest of the weekend was also balanced between work and play, but there was more emphasis on working around the house.

Last weekend, I picked up a set of fabrics at the quilt show that I thought would look nice together.  I hemmed and hawed, trying to make myself feel guilty about starting something new when I have so many projects going on (there's a reason my UFOs hang just inside the studio closet door where I have to walk past them to get to anything).  I looked at patterns and played with the fabric and picked what I wanted to make and changed my mind multiple times.  I had carpenter's star in mind and looking at pictures of other people's quilts gave me something to do between projects during the workday.  I pulled additional fabrics from stash to go with the ones I'd picked out at the show.  And, just when I was about to give up and fold everything into the stash, I found the perfect photo for inspiration.  It's not a carpenter's star, but it shows up in searches for that pattern and it was perfect for the green, gold, orangey red, and blue fabrics from the show.  It didn't matter that I wouldn't be using the fabrics I'd pulled from stash to go with the fabrics from the show.  

I cut the first few green HSTs and then had an idea.  What if I cut all those pieces in half so I could use the complimentary medium shades I'd pulled from stash?  So, I did.  I don't often cut fabrics and audition them, but decided to here.  This is everything laid out.  Forgive the sewing machine leg...that's from underestimating the size when I started laying pieces out from the center.  I am very happy with what the added variety gave me.  The dark blue point on the right is what those are going to look like (fingers crossed) when they're assembled.  So far, everything has gone together perfectly.  I have the blocks made for the first 5 rows and will start to put them together into rows soon.  When finished, with borders, it should be about 30" square.  Just the right size for a small, fun project that I can knock out quick.  I'm taking time to really do this right, trimming pieces before attaching to other pieces so that everything will fit together just perfect and it's paying off in matching points.  

I've been wanting to sew on the featherweight for a while, so I pulled it out and set it up in the floor next to the pieces and have been enjoying how well that little machine does.  Perfect lines with very little pull to left or right from the feed dogs.  That pulling is so annoying when I'm trying to get small precise points.  

In other news, while Rob power washed the deck on Saturday, I cleaned carpets.  On Sunday, while he sealed the deck, I worked in the yard and watered everything good.  One of the things I had to do was hang shade cloth in the greenhouse.  We had trees cut last year and without that shade, 80* outside was building to 100* in the greenhouse and the sun was burning the leaves of everything out there.  I hung the shade cloth and it was much more pleasant out there yesterday.  The plan is to make some repairs to the greenhouse and paint it to match the house and put a new roof on.  The new roof will be gray plastic, so hopefully I won't need to create artificial shade after that.  

My other big accomplishment was the grill.  My grill had gotten into bad shape and I was thinking about replacing it, but there's nothing wrong with the grill.  It was the insides that was the problem.  So, I cleaned it out really good and replaced all the insides; the burners, burner covers, grates and even the thermometer on top.  It cost about 30% of what I new grill would have cost and didn't add much to the land fill.  I can hardly wait to put a steak in there.  

I've been doing so well with orchids that I gave myself a new one on Friday.  It's the first one I've bought and paid full price for.  And, I love it!  It reminds me of daffodils, which I have trouble growing.  Just what I need, something else to take care of, right?

Work's been busy, but I'm finally getting my head above water.  Last week, I found myself with time to look at pictures of quilts during the workday and that felt really relaxing.  We're gearing up for more in-person meetings and I've RSVPed for a couple things.  One night, I'm having dinner with some of the company's upper management who will be in town for some meetings.  These people know me and I'm not going to miss the opportunity for some face time with them.  I worked with them when they were not nearly so important and we will swap stories from the old days, I'm sure.

Everybody have a great week!  Find something you enjoy and do it, even though there are more pressing things that need to be done.  Once in a while, it can be a good thing, and for me, it satisfies that need to be rebellious in a fun and productive way.  

Lane