It's not been as productive of a week as I would like it to have, but things HAVE gotten done. And that's better than nothing.
First up is Bramble Blooms 2. Last week I had pinned on all the arc-flowers and sewn some of the red ones on. This week I finished the reds and started into the yellows.
It doesn't look much different here than it did last week unless you look closely to see the edges turned under on some of the flowers. The centers are still just hanging out on safety pins, but all is well. I'll get there.
I honestly have NO idea where Salem was until I went to take this photo. I hadn't even gotten the quilt onto the floor and she was ready to pose. She wouldn't sit still at first, but about the time I was ready to give up, she flopped and gave the lovely slow-blinks. She looks rather pleased with herself here. (The eyes closed shot looked better, so it ended up here.)
I also got another box for cat toys and have started stuffing and sewing them shut. I'm not terribly motivated - there are still a LOT and it takes some effort to get them done - but I'm trying.
There should be more in this box, as this is two rounds of sewing, but maybe you can see to the right of the box where there is catnip all over the floor? I got through about 15 toys and the kitties who are usually pests had made the rounds, poked their heads into the catnip jar, played in the box and got bored and went for a nap. Then FInn, who spends a lot of time in my bedroom with Gabby (with the door shut because she is afraid of Toby), decided he needed to a part of things. And flopped the half-full container of catnip onto the floor. I wasn't paying enough attention, but he also, for a big oaf of an orange boy, moved fast on that action.
Now it's closer to a quarter full. (I scooped up what I could.) And the cats are extra stoned. (They also randomly jump on my lap covered in it, as I haven't gotten the vacuum up there yet - I had just done it the day before he dumped it, so I'm being stubborn...and the cats don't seem to mind - rolling in catnip is fun!)
So I gave up that day and went back for a little while today, but ran out of bobbin and it was close to lunchtime, so I think that was a good time to call it a day. I do have about 40 in there. It's a big box.
Maybe I'll work on one of these this afternoon? The hubby went up for a nap just a bit ago, so it's quiet - maybe I should take advantage of that and read?
Speaking of reading, just one book this week.
This one wasn't bad, it just took a long time to get anywhere. The first 2/3 of the book was developing characters and the story, which wasn't all bad, it just felt slow.
It's the story of a young woman who is asked to move to a very small town in Michigan's upper peninsula to help care for an elderly woman who was a good friend of the woman who raised her (not her mom). She breaks off an engagement, packs her bags and takes off in a rickety old car without giving herself time to change her mind.
She struggles to fit into the town and seems to be very good at making decisions that make the transition even harder, though there is another elderly woman who is not making things any easier either.
I kept reading, hoping for things to turn around and they finally DO, but it takes a lot longer than I wanted it to. (It's a book, not real life, so the author can turn things around (or not) whenever they want to, but sheesh, I struggled to want to keep reading at times.) And then whole weeks pass in the turn of a page. Literally.
The struggles do resolve, or at least pass into the normal part of life, as struggles often do in the real world. And honestly, that part of the book - the learning to accept things and do what you can do - was probably the best part of it. A reminder that life is what it is sometimes and we need to just get through it as best we can.
It wasn't bad, it wasn't exceptional. It was just okay. And I think that's a good part of why it took me a little longer to read than it probably should have.
I started the next book a few days ago, by an author I've read and liked before, but this book is different than the last and I'm not entirely sure I like it yet. I'm only a short way in, so we'll see how things shake out.
Off to figure out what to do with my quiet afternoon. An afternoon I didn't expect, as there was supposed to be a 3rd birthday party for a great-niece, but her mom is ill and, though trying to still go through with the party, the rest of it cancelled it for her. No way we want her germs!
Happy quilting!
Katie
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