The weather started out quite cool this morning so the morning walk was pretty short. By the time the sun went down in a cloudless sky, the temperature was almost 80 and many of the windows in the house were open. There was also a slight breeze and very low humidity. Not the kind of weather I expect a few days before Christmas.
In this beautiful weather, the dogs spent most of the day chasing squirrels, and each other, in the backyard. I even took took them on an extra walk midday to make up for my cutting their walk short this morning. Now the girls are stretched out on the couch sound asleep and Alex is in his kennel, of his own accord, snoring to beat the band. I even caught an hour long nap late this afternoon without fighting the dogs for a comfortable position on the couch.
I was able to make a couple of things for my Dad and to try out a pattern from a new, to me, designer. For my Dad I made a lumbar support pillow from stash ultra-suede that I had embroidered earlier with an appropriate seasonal greeting. I will not share the embroidery disaster that preceeded this pillow but I think the results are pretty good. I am hoping that it will help reduce some of the strain on his back when he is sitting in his wheel chair.
I also made a lap robe for my Dad so that when he is out in his wheelchair he can cover the waist and groin restraints he has to wear. I made it out of the bag he used to carry his QC robes before he became a judge. The first picture is of the bag he used for his judge's robes, which is indentical to the one I used for the lap robe except for the color. The second is of the lap robe (it's about 39" square) with Alex trying to decide if he should sleep on it, play with it or steal it. I added black fleece to the sides to make it wide enough and used the same fleece for a backing. I hope he likes it.
The pattern I tried out was for a wallet from Turkey Track Designs. I picked up the pattern at Stitch and Stash in New Port Richey with the understanding it was from a local designer. The pattern was well laid out but the instructions themselves were a little whacky. After carefully cutting out and labeling the peices with their alphabetical labels (as instructed!) all of the construction steps did not use the alphabetical labels but the longer piece descriptions. This was a pain as I cannot imagine they meant me to label each piece with, for example, 'inside large card holder' rather than a 'G'. The results are okay but that lump on the side is a velcro closed, attached, change purse which is not very attractive or useful. I may try this one again but eliminate the change purse.
The paperwork was all related to my Dad's illness and it took a couple of hours to get all the forms completed and faxed, checks mailed and phone calls made. Not a big deal but I had dreaded completing it so I was pleasantly surprised when it all came together.
The hair cut... well that was a small problem as my regular hair dresser will be off her feet for a few months as she broke her femur in a tub fall. Apparently she broke it just below the ball at the top of the femur and there is now a metal plate in her leg to assist in its healing. As a result I had my hair cut by one of her colleagues who may have done a good job but there is so much stuff in my hair that it might take days for me to see the cut unfettered by gels and potions.
The best thing that happened is that my present to myself came today. It is called the Big Board Tower Set and I got it in white. You can see it here - http://www.traceystables.com/products/img/IMG_5477.jpg. The people behind these products have been wonderful throughout the whole process. I met the guy who makes and delivers the units at the Quilt Festival. Unlike many vendors at the Quilt Festival, only a small deposit was necessary to place the order with the rest paid today. Most of the vendors make you pay for it all up front and then wait months before a delivery is scheduled. In addition, delivery was free and sales taxes eliminated because the order was processed in Wisconsin. It's in the garage right now as it will be going upstairs and I think I should wait for Paul to help me or a disaster will surely ensue. Come soon Paul, I have lots of ironing that needs to be done for my next quilt project.
A pretty perfect day. I will now go and clean-up the kitchen and settle in for another Hitchcock festival, this time with my own set of films rather than AMC's. I hope your own Friday was as good as mine and that the rest of the days leading up to the BIG ONE are full of fun and finished projects.
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