Mission Accomplished

Mission accomplished; the cutting table has been cleaned up. I still have a little box of scraps to trim up for the scrap drawers, but that shouldn't take long.

I could clear it all away because the Trail Mix top is complete.

I like it a lot more than I thought I would. It's very mid-toned and blendy, which is not my usual style, but I like how the colours flow into one another. I've picked a couple of fabrics for small borders, but it will wait until I go down the shop. There's a lot more room to deal with borders down there.

While I was trying to decide what to work on next I contemplated the Split 9-Patch blocks.  I seem to have just started them, but when I counted I had enough for the first quarter. 36 blocks went up on the wall, and I was rather pleased with how they look.

I need a lot more HSTs, and the go cutter is down in the shed, so I made a heap using the 8-at-a-time method. 6" square, draw diagonals, stitch 1/4" either side.

Cut in half vertically and horizontally, and there you have it; 

8 HSTs that just need a sliver of trimming. It was really quick to do, and in no time I had 80 ready to trim. It was nice mindless sewing.

I spent some time in Adelaide recently, but it wasn't a successful trip. Thomas and Isla started dreadful colds with hacking coughs the first morning of my visit, so I had to stay away from them. Luckily Finn, Seonaid and I didn't get it, but we couldn't go anywhere or do anything while those two were so sick. After 4 days they were well enough to be bored, so I taught all three of them to play Solitaire. That was a raging success.

This is a poignant moment for me; my Mum loved playing cards, and she would play Solitaire (which we called Patience) for hours. Watching her great-granddaughter lay out the cards as she had done so many times almost made me tear up.

Thomas showed me a card he made for me in school. It was so sweet, but the portrait of me was a bit grim.

Finn also drew his version of me. What's with the eyebrows? I asked. They show how happy I am, apparently.

Sheesh. My self image is a bit dented.