For those who've been following, you'll have noticed I didn't post yesterday. That's because when I got up, I hit the ground running. There was lots to do:
- I finished preparing all the income tax receipts for my little parish church -- created, printed, folded, enveloped, sealed, and some stamped for mailing.
- I finished the second baby sock of a pair and re-did the first one because I'd muffed the heel flap. (After 50+ years of knitting baby socks, you'd think...but !! 😆
- I did up my dishes.
- I shovelled the walks -- front, back, public -- again!
- I went to the Post Office and came home with goodies:
- Back-ordered hand-dyed flosses -- gifts from friends to go with the sampler they gave me for my birthday last fall; and
- GADGETS!
I rarely buy anything from Amazon (goodness knows, Jeff Bezos doesn't need my money!) but when you live In the Middle of Nowhere, sometimes...you just hafta. Take a look at the photo above (click on it to see it in a larger size). First, see those funky blue and pink things on the left? Yeah, those! Apparently their normal job is to keep wires -- especially iPod and other skinny ones -- from becoming a tangled mess...but the stitching world has discovered they're wonderful for holding excess fabric out of the way when using a hoop or frame.
I thought I'd try them out, because the clips I used for the Growth Chart project last fall were heavy, and generally got in the way. (Sorry; I don't have a photo of it with those clips attached.) These little wire-holder thingies have magnetized ends, so they attach top and back -- and they're light as a feather. They don't interfere with the work. (Yes, they're silicone-coated...in a perfect world that would be more environmentally friendly but...sigh...)
Next, see the needles, threaded, just to the right of those thingies? Those needles are sitting on a teensy-weensy magnet; there's another one just like it underneath. I got a pack of 'em -- each magnet is just 5 mm (about 1/4 inch) in diameter. Perfect as needle-minders without the weight of larger ones.
Now, I'm not averse to fancy needle-minders -- the kind I've been given as gifts or that you might receive as a souvenir from a retreat or with a limited-edition project -- but I find they're too heavy on my light-weight linens...and I had a problem with the magnets on a couple of the ones that came out early in the game (i.e., over 15 years ago). Those ones weren't coated. They were the 'ferrous' kind, and one of 'em left a black mark on some linen a while back. Blessedly, I got it out (!) but decided those needle-minders were best left clinging to the metal base of my stitching station set-up!
I was a happy camper as I headed into my evening stitching. 💗
On today's agenda: quilting up "Sunset", the Thimbleberries comfort quilt I made for a neighbour who's poorly. He's been in hospital -- again -- and I'm not sure he's home yet, but now that my Art in the Park pieces are finished, I can get to work on quilting this up, binding it and taking it to his care-giver for him.
Today I'm grateful for many things:
- The snow's stopped and milder weather is moving in so a daily walk will be more pleasant -- and no shovelling (for now!);
- I've lots to do to fill my days:
- I've a homily to write for Sunday;
- I've got that quilt to quilt up;
- I've got an Artist's Statement to write -- specifically about my Art in the Park Residency experience;
- I've got another pair of baby socks to knit (twins, remember!);
- SAQA Seminar is ON, and there's a Zoom chat -- with small groups -- this morning. This year's topic: "Material Matters" -- about the materials used in the textile world, and how we can use them wisely, to protect the environment;
- I'm having dinner with a friend Sunday evening;
- I'm seeing my daughter for a brief visit next weekend; and
- There are new floss-tubes to watch while I stitch...
And so...this is the last of my daily 'Examen' posts. That doesn't mean I won't do another here or there, but the habit's been formed in my mind and heart -- finding "what sparks joy" (as Ms. Kondo would say) every day, and expressing gratitude, whether in public or in my journal...or simply in my prayers.
I leave you with a link to Nina-Marie's Off the Wall Friday (she's quilting a top this weekend too!) and these thoughts:
- I'm grateful for the work of my hands; I'm grateful to have had this space in which to express myself for the last twenty years;
- I'm grateful for the knitting/stitching/quilting/art/faith communities to which I belong and for the friends I've made there;
- I'm grateful for my art and life adventures;
- I'm grateful for the technology that connects us best when we use it for sharing thoughts, kindness, ideas and creativity;
- I'm grateful for the 'gadgets' that help us in life and work --
and most of all, Gentle Readers -- I'm grateful for YOU!
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