I tend to undervalue the winter season. I get my nose all out of joint because it gets cold, snowy, & icy. I can get downright pouty about it. But this weekend was a little different. Friday afternoon they were calling for a blast of wintry mix - cold winds, freezing rain, sleet, maybe some snow. That's not the type of stuff I like to mess with. Plus, I was feeling kind of not like myself with my messed up ribs. I got home from work, shut the front door, & didn't open it again until Saturday mid morning to check the mail. Mike & I totally hibernated in the house & I actually didn't get restless. It was wonderful. I should let myself enjoy down time like that a lot more often.
Friday night I spent a lot of time working on my quilt top. I have been working on this sucker for longer than I can even remember. It's downright embarrassing how long I have been messing with it. And I say 'messing' because what usually happens is I work on it, I make a huge mistake, I stuff it back in the cabinet for a year or so. Then I drag it back out. Rip out the mistake & fix it. Stuff it back in the cabinet. Repeat cycle. Please tell me I'm not the only one who does these kinds of things...
I determined Friday night that I was going to stick with it & get the top done. I hung in there & did get the whole thing sewn together. I was on row six or so when I realized why my quilt top did not look like the quilt top in the book. You see my squares with the red blocks? It's a little hard to tell from the picture because it's at an angle, but that is a nine square block. It's exactly the opposite of how it should be. The red should be the five squares & the white/red should be the four squares. Since I have it flipped there isn't actually a chain in my Irish Chain quilt. Huh. Perhaps I should pay more attention to detail? Mike says he likes it better this way anyway. He's a sweetheart. Then he promptly said it needs a red border. I slugged him. And then I agreed with him so that's my next step.
When I had done enough sewing that my eyes were starting to cross I dragged out one of Mike's spare plywood slabs (one perk of a wood working husband - there are always odds & ends of plywood lying around!) & I laid out a jigsaw puzzle. I'm not sure why, but puzzling has been kind of fun for me lately (insert old fogey joke here). I know that my nerd status has now been confirmed, as if there was ever any doubt! Over the course of the rest of the weekend I put this 500 piece bad boy together. It was nice looking at a springy scene while we were drenched in icy wetness. And I had to have something to do while Mike watched football!
Mike was not to be outdone by my craftiness & while I was sewing he finished up this Baby Bear Puzzle. Isn't he the cutest? This puzzle is exactly like one he made for our nephew for Christmas except it is much smaller. He has made three now that are all varying sizes; I call them the Papa, Mama, & Baby Bears. All we need now is a Goldilocks!
I'm thinking that these quiet tasks are really good for us right now. Especially me. I tend to hurry through everything, not at all taking the time to savor what I am doing. Puzzling & sewing cannot be hurried through. Not unless you want to make a lot of mistakes & I am hoping to be done with the sewing mistakes! And I'm supposed to be taking it easy so my ribs can heal. It's so hard for me to sit still but right now just toting laundry & pushing a grocery cart can make me uncomfortable. I'm glad I've found a couple of things to do that will keep my hands busy, keep my pace calmed, stimulate my brain waves, & fight off cabin fever.
What kinds of things do you do to keep yourself busy during the winter hours?
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