Mental jet lag

 I've been home a week now, and while my sleeping schedule is back to normal, my brain seems to be stuck in lower gear. My thinking feels sluggish, I frequently forget what I am doing or what I went into a room to fetch (more often than usual for middle age), and generally I feel apathetic.  Perhaps it is some feelings of  anticlimax after months of preparing for the trip and then seven weeks of travel challenges? Perhaps I'm still recovering from the stresses of travel and language difficulties? Don't know, but I hope I snap out of it soon.

I've been trying to clear the decks in my sewing room to make room and time for all the new projects I brought home (and the previous purchases that are in the queue waiting for attention).  I sewed a backing for the Australian BOM quilt so it is ready to be sandwiched for quilting at some point in the future and I could put away all the materials from it.  The Sampler wallhanging that I made in the shop class last summer had been hanging around waiting to be hand-quilted (because that's what the teacher wanted us to do) - I abandoned that plan and quilted it by machine instead using my walking foot.  The outer 'border' is actually wide binding, the first time I've tried to do such wide binding.  On my first go, I did the corners the way I normally would, which didn't work at all.  After consulting Google, I ripped the binding off and did it again properly although my corners are still a bit lumpy. I can't remember which website I consulted, but this site shows the same technique. I'm glad it's finished. I don't love it, I like the Victorian theme I went with but it's a bit 'matchy matchy' for my tastes.

About a third of my design wall was covered with pinned on patterns and pages of things I didn't want to lose or might want to try. I took all that down and sorted through them.  One of them was an AQS article on making christmas ornaments using selvedges. I have a bag of selvedges I've saved up, so thought these might be a way to use some up.  The bell was my first attempt, sandwiched around Bosal foam. It came out a bit small.  The stocking was my second go, I finished the edges which looked better and added some christmas light beads I had in my stash. DH was a bit puzzled as to why I am making Christmas decs in June. Also it hardly used up any of my selvedge stash.

I'm finding my normal day backpack a bit heavy and bulky after only having my lightweight travel backpack during the holiday.  I wondered if a sling bag might be a smaller option when I'm just going to the shops.  Missouri Star happened to do a video on the 'Jenny Bag' from Sallie Tomato, which looked like it might work for me. However, the pattern is only available in hard copy and it was sold out.  But the bag didn't look too complicated so I drafted my own pattern based on hers and have been working on my version using some lightweight canvas I bought in Japan. This is the front and back and there will be a gusset joining them together, with the raw edges finished with binding.

This week I chose yarn from my stash and knit this year's Shetland Wool Week hat, called the Buggiflooer Beanie. It was fun to be knitting in colourwork again.  I'm blocking it over a bowl, the corrugated rib is underneath so as not to get too stretched.

We went to see DS at his apartment last weekend, so that I could hug him and give him his presents from Japan (a shoe bag I sewed from fun Japanese fabric, cat shaped salt and pepper shakers, and some cat post-it notes).  We went out to lunch and then to the Milton Keynes mall, where I finally got to visit Neil's Fabrics in the marketplace who often advertise their discounted fabrics on Facebook.  There are bins of £1/metre fabric outside, mostly stretch fabrics or dressmaking fabrics. The wooden hut is quite large and lined with fabric rolls inside.  There are some Rose & Hubble quilting cottons, some cheaper printed cottons, polycottons, a good selection of plain jersey fabrics, and quite a lot of dressmaking fabrics.  I didn't buy anything but it was fun to look.

While I was in Japan, I never came across any gluten free bread - it does exist but only in bigger stores I think. I really missed being able to have toast, sandwiches etc. I also reflected that it was pretty dumb for me to own an older bread machine that only makes normal bread, when I am  now gluten intolerant. I used to make bread for DH and DS occasionally, but DS has moved out now.  So when I got back from Japan, I ordered a new model machine that has a gluten free cycle, and we gave away the old machine which was at least 10 years old and possibly even 20 years old.  I've only tried the gluten free recipe which came with the new machine so far, but it makes a lovely loaf of yeasty fresh bread. It is wonderful on the first day, but doesn't keep well at all even in the fridge.  I will try freezing some slices next time. Meanwhile I am enjoying fresh bread warm from the machine for the first time in at least a decade.

I've slogged on with the garden, trying to do at least an hour of weeding most days. I have found some absolute whoppers: weeds a metre high, huge patches of chickweed, creeping buttercup everywhere, self-seeded perennials where I don't want them - I've filled up probably 20 plastic trugs and DH has been to the dump twice. Plus clematis and roses flopping all over the place that needed tieing up, things needing staking, or cutting back. It's looking more like a garden now, and the roses are doing well.  It's supposed to turn hot this weekend though, up to 30 degrees, which will be hard on things.