Things I used to do

 I went to a Lace Day today, for the first time since life as we know it halted.  It had been cancelled in 2020 and 2021 but my 2020 ticket remained valid. When the organiser called me and said brightly 'Hi, it's X from XX' and I was thinking who the heck are you until my rusty brain dredged my memory and found dim recollections of when I used to go every year.  And just trying to think what to take with me for the day was quite challenging - luckily I had a written list from the old days so I just had to locate items such as my table stand that I hadn't used for two years.  We all had to show a negative lateral flow test to get in, and there weren't nearly as many people there so I could have one end of a table all to myself.  It was much quieter than it used to be, and people I sort of recognised all looked a lot older (as do I).  Even though it was quiet, it was strangely exhausting to be in society for five hours and I had to crash for a nap when I got home.  I have started learning Bruges Lace from the Edna Sutton book that everyone recommends, which is good apart from when it tells you to do a technique that it doesn't actually explain in the book. But I worked through three basic edgings for a few inches each, and moved onto a zigzag braid and it was nice to have a quiet environment to concentrate on the new techniques. I picked up a £2 pack of bias tape makers from the secondhand table which I'm sure will come in useful, I don't think I have the largest size although some of the others are probably duplicates of what I already have.

If you recollect I joined the UK Quilter's Guild in November, and eventually received my joiners information after Christmas? Today I unexpectedly received 8 fat quarters of Liberty fabric which is the current subscription gift. I wasn't expecting to get it as I thought I had joined beforehand, so that's a nice surprise.

The 25 block applique quilt is finally completely finished and labelled and on the bed. The needle turned applique designs are mostly from ‘Grandmother’s Last Quilt’ by Blanche Burkett White but some also from ‘Rose Sampler Supreme’ by Rosemary Makhan. Batting is Hobbs Heirloom Premium 100% wool which was a pleasure to handquilt through and is surprisingly warm on the bed. I started this quilt in 2007 when we lived down in Middlesex, and optimistically thought I would make two blocks a month and be finished in a year.  The handquilting alone took me two years.  It's not perfect but it's probably a level of achievement that I will not duplicate again in terms of amount of handwork and time. So I'm proud of it and love how it looks.

I have trudged through to completion of the final block of the Tilda Wreath Quilt so I just need to join it up into a top now.

I've finished the construction of the roombox kit including the lighting and garden area so it's ready for furnishing now. There is a plexiglass front and matboard frame that go on the front but I've left them off for photos.

I'm pleased to have finished this long cupboard residing kit but still can't find any furniture arrangement that I like the look of. I think really I would be happy to sell it but it's not something I would trust in the post, and the odds are low of finding a local collector who wants to buy it.  I'll see.  I keep putting bits of furniture in and moving them around, hoping to find something that 'sparks joy' and would justify the box taking up space in my dollshouse room.

I downloaded a cutting file to make a little cardstock box on my cutting machine, and also this handy notepad holder. As DH says, it's quite neat what the machine will cut out but at the end of the day it's only cardstock so not very robust.  I'm working on another mini album at the moment, just enjoying playing with the pretty scrapbooking papers.

After an extended dialogue with the sewing machine engineer via What'sapp, including stitching samples on various materials and trying to get the machine to skip stitches while being video'd (it wouldn't, and in fact started immediately behaving much better than it has done for some time), he has now sent me some Organ Super Stretch needles to try. I've never heard of Super Stretch, but I looked them up and apparently they have an extra long scarf so that stitches won't skip when sewing jerseys and microtex fabrics.  So I need to try them on various samples and report back.