I am mended...

Okay - so the cracked rib has healed. My three weeks of commuting via auto has come to spectacular halt (in which I realize that I hate driving the car back and forth to work and I don't know how anyone can do it - unless they absolutely have to). Granted the halt itself (I merely hung up my car keys) wasn't so spectacular as the eureka moment in which it occurred.

I was sitting (as usual) in peak flow traffic listening to the daily commute radio tweeters and road warriors announcing congestion hot spots, helicopter reports, what road is closed, open but down to one lane, has a new pot hole, a widening old pot hole, black ice, sheer ice, flying truck debris, and whoever lost their couch on Deerfoot Trail - please pick it up at the side of the road (and bring your hefty garbage bags because it's now in pieces).

Meanwhile in an effort to keep myself entertained I try listening to an audiobook (no luck). I read billboards for muscle supplements, free car washes. Bongs and plenty more! A store that sells "girdles that instantly take 10 inches off my waist" (I kid you not). An electronic sign blasts "only 14 months til "not this Christmas - but next Christmas sale -SALE SALE SALE!"

I wearily turn my jaundiced eye to my side view mirror and what do I see? This little wiener merrily riding along on his bicycle. And that was my eureka moment. I want to be there...

I had decided to resume driving for one primary reason. I was afraid of falling. Granted falling for me is nothing new. I fall / stumble all the time. I always have. I have been known to lose my balance while merely standing. I am the poster child for the word "clumsy." Having said that my latest "worst injury" was sustained while merely pushing my chair away from my desk. I prefer to say I was "bucked off" because it was so unexpected and dramatic.

Anyways - I am back to happily walking to work. I am enjoying the snow and cold, crisp, crunchy ice under my boots. It is nice to smugly resume my renouncing of all cold weather haters with a "the problem isn't the weather - it's people who don't dress  for the weather". Yes I can be a royal pain.

Having said that - today is a snow day at home for me. I've got some buns rising on the counter, and I've updated my quilting blog "stitchcat studio." Stitchcat is my sheepless alter ego - since I don't have a cat (and it seems most studios do) it seemed like a good compromise...

The "second" first quilt...

Learning half squares

This is my "second" first quilt. I'm calling it that primarily because I was so long in between quilts I had to take another "beginner" quilt class! I also wanted to take the class to get comfortable with my new sewing machine.

I learned about how to make half squares and how to square my blocks. 

I tried my hand at free motion quilting along the border which I thoroughly enjoyed. It was a liberating experience once I decided to just "go for it!" (I highly recommend the Wendy Butler Burns "Machine Quilting... and more" class which I took online via Craftsy).

Unfortunately - in my exuberance of actually getting the quilt done and sending it off to a newborn kin - I forgot to take a "finished quilt" photo! However here is the last picture I did take. (I'll be more attentive next time!)

  

The "second" first quilt...

Learning half squares

This is my "second" first quilt. I'm calling it that primarily because I was so long in between quilts I had to take another "beginner" quilt class! I also wanted to take the class to get comfortable with my new sewing machine.

I learned about how to make half squares and how to square my blocks. 

I tried my hand at free motion quilting along the border which I thoroughly enjoyed. It was a liberating experience once I decided to just "go for it!" (I highly recommend the Wendy Butler Burns "Machine Quilting... and more" class which I took online via Craftsy).

Unfortunately - in my exuberance of actually getting the quilt done and sending it off to a newborn kin - I forgot to take a "finished quilt" photo! However here is the last picture I did take. (I'll be more attentive next time!)

  

A new website...

Good morning! Long time no write. As you can see since my "Under Construction" post there has been nothing going on. And I mean nadda. NO construction either. Just a de-struction of sorts. I strained my bicep (lifting my bicycle onto a bike rack  - which put painting walls and ceilings off the agenda. This was follwed by a vacation to San Francisco (where I spent hours at Britex and came home with one fantastic fabric remnant). Back to work - fell off a chair and broke a rib. That was a month ago - and I am finally getting back to where I can start sewing again.

But - in the meantime this weekend I found a new "Ravelry like" group on the net - with a slant towards sewing and quilting. It's just getting off the ground but it looks like it has lots of potential. I've joined up using my sheepless alter ego "stitchcat". Click on the image above - you will go there...

A new website...

Good morning! Long time no write. As you can see since my "Under Construction" post there has been nothing going on. And I mean nadda. NO construction either. Just a de-struction of sorts. I strained my bicep (lifting my bicycle onto a bike rack  - which put painting walls and ceilings off the agenda. This was follwed by a vacation to San Francisco (where I spent hours at Britex and came home with one fantastic fabric remnant). Back to work - fell off a chair and broke a rib. That was a month ago - and I am finally getting back to where I can start sewing again.

But - in the meantime this weekend I found a new "Ravelry like" group on the net - with a slant towards sewing and quilting. It's just getting off the ground but it looks like it has lots of potential. I've joined up using my sheepless alter ego "stitchcat". Click on the image above - you will go there...

Humpty Dumpty sat on the wall...

So - a few weeks back I fell off a chair at work ( and no I wasn't standing on a wheeled chair trying to dust cobwebs off the ceiling). I landed on a recycle bin ... and broke a rib. Turns out it is definitely a "no laughing / sneezing / coughing" matter. I am s l o w l y healing.

I am now afraid to go outside because of the snow and ice,

I am afraid to ride my bike.

I am afraid of falling...

I think I am getting old.