fiberhart

It feels

like forever since I last posted-I haven't usually gone more than a week. I have been working on the red, black, and white UFO I mentioned in my last post. I got all 27 blocks done, then managed to screw up the size when I was squaring up one. So, now I have 18 in one size, and 9 slightly shorter (but same width) blocks. I hadn't a clue what I would do with them- and then a co-worker gave her notice, she's leaving for greener and less stressful pastures. So, this week I took 3 blocks and made them into a small wall hanging. I think she'll like it.

Since I had 1 block a slightly different size, I decided to make the hanging wonky. I added an extra border to the smaller block, put different lower borders on all three. And since I didn't want to mess with inset corners and binding, I used Melody Johnson's escape hatch technique. It was easy, and I quite like the results.

I came up with my own quilting patterns, most of which I think turned out very well. I used red, black, and white thread- sometimes, I had a hard time seeing where I'd been while I was quilting! Got some good ideas for backing fabrics for future projects- mostly, the busy calicoes I quit buying years ago. Here's a look at the quilting:



I particularly like the 'spiral vine' I used to quilt around the hearts.

Not much else going on. No offers on the house, but the market is just starting to pick up after winter. We're managing to keep it clean, just in case we get a call that someone wants to look at it. At this point, I'm rather hoping we don't get an offer for another month or so. I've just scheduled cataract surgery for my left eye, that happens April 2. Even though it's a relatively simply procedure, it would render me useless for packing for a week or so.

I can't wait to see the difference after the surgery. My left eye is extremely nearsighted- to the point that I joke with the doctor about being able to see the chart on the wall, forget the letters on it. And the nearsightedness has gotten significantly worse, which the docs say is how my cataract is making its presence known. Post surgery, I should have similar vision in both eyes- slightly nearsighted. I'm younger than most cataract patients- but, I'm grateful to be living in an era when the technology to deal with these medical issues is so advanced. I'll probably experience more anxiety as the day gets closer- you'll hear about that!