Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Refusing to Think Sensibly

I started a new quilted wall hanging over the weekend.  I don't have a pattern to follow other than the idea in my head.


This is what I've done so far up on my design wall.  In the back of my head, I knew by the time I added a border or two to this, which will be the center, the piece would be too big to fit in the space I want to hang it.

But did that stop me from proceeding?  From making more blocks than I needed?  Noooo.  (Dummy.)

Yesterday morning when I ducked into my quilt room to look at it with fresh eyes, it was clear as day that I had to cut the blocks down from five across and five down to four across and four down.  Very simply, that had to be done or it wasn't. going. to. fit. where I wanted to hang it.

Fortunately, I have only the top two rows sewn together so it won't be too hard to take off the end blocks of those two rows.  Then I'll take off the two blocks on the end of the next two rows down, and discard the whole bottom row.

Then back to the drawing board to see where I go from there.

* * * * * * * *

Hubby and I have both been up since 3:30 this morning.  We tossed and turned all night long listening to the wind.  (And this is in a house where we don't usually hear much of anything going on outside!)  Finally surrendering to Mother Nature's shenanigans, we got up three hours ago.  (Yawn.)

I just checked our local weather.  We're having sustained winds of 25.3 mph, gusts up to 56.4 mph and a wind chill factor of -19.9 degrees.  Actual temperature reads 2 above here at our house.  Very light snow falling.  (Although with the wind, it's hard to tell for certain.)  Sure would be interesting if there was an appreciable amount of snow along with these winds.  I do believe that would be an old-fashioned blizzard.

Last night before the temperature started plummeting, we were having freezing drizzle.  Glad we don't have to go anywhere today.  A great day to be at home.  A really great day!

29 comments:

Unknown said...

The winds are horrible here to.... I told Russ last night this winter is bad with the winds....- 18 here with the wind chills....Then they are calling for 3 to 6 inches of snow Thursday night Friday morning...The birds have been eating like crazy...

Love your quilt. Stay warm and safe from the winds...Lisa

Carolyn said...

'bout time you spent some time in that quilting room of yours :)
We spent a windy day outside yesterday, cleaning up barn muck. Wasn't "quite" as cold as you got though....only had to wear a sweater.

Trailshome said...

Brrrrr, it's cold here too today in Indiana, but not that cold. Sounds like a good day to stay inside close to the stove. We tapped our maples last week, and the temp has been below freezing most of the time since. Not getting much out of the trees in this weather. Warm sox and lots of hot tea are the ticket today!

Lisa said...

Sounds like a perfect day to work on your quilt! Maybe you think more like a creative person, so that throws all sensibilities to the wind as you go through the creative process.... learning and trying new things, seeing what works, what doesn't work.... yep, that's more like you Mama Pea. Hope you're warm by your wood stove and working away on your new design. Hugs to you!

Anonymous said...

Sounds like a good day to get a nap in! That will be on my agenda after getting up at 4am for the 2nd day in a row :) Rain here. Hope you all stay snuggly warm.

Katidids said...

That is cold. You k now the past few nights everyone I know has had a hard time sleeping....season changes? Winds blowing hard here also but not the cold temps...
Aak! The taking apart portion is a attitude buster! I have these one sided convo's withmyself...now, you knew that wouldn't work etc..Now, your design board...details details...is it a flannel board?

Sparkless said...

That's going to be a very nice looking quilt. We got a dusting of snow last night and now it's a melting mess. I hope the your wind slows soon and you can get a nap in today or at least hop in bed early tonight.

Kelly said...

Enjoy your day in! I think we are getting your freezing drizzle over the next couple of days, YUCK!!!!!
Your quilt is looking pretty ☺

Tombstone Livestock said...

Quilting sounds like knitting in the frog pond, ripit, ripit, ripit. Have fun in your quilting room today staying warm and dry. Keep Papa Pea inside by the fire today too.

Susan said...

Your title gave me so much hope - that I wasn't alone in this. I am not a fan of wind (pun intended) either. It makes me jumpy. And we sure have had a lot of it lately (as in the last two years). The very nice thing about this extreme weather is that you have permission to quilt to your heart's content. Can't wait to see the finished product!

Mama Pea said...

Lisa - Gosh, seems a good portion of the country is getting these high winds. What's going on? Should we be worried?

Hubby just suited up to go out to get a couple of wheelbarrows of wood from the wood shed to our back porch wood box. I offered to go out with him but he said two of us shouldn't have to endure this awful, cold, biting weather. (He earned a couple of points there, of course.)

Mama Pea said...

Carolyn - Working outside in just a sweater, huh? We do that in August.

I'd like you to send a note to . . . to . . . to I-don't-know-who saying I MUST spend more time in my quilt room. Could you do that, please?

Mama Pea said...

Trailshome - Yep, there's been talk up here already about getting equipment ready for the maple sap season. But we never start before March. The crop wasn't much last year so everyone has their fingers crossed for this year.

I like your idea of warm sox and hot tea. Sounds very cozy!

Mama Pea said...

Lisa - I read something supposedly said by a professional quilter once. She said (to paraphrase) if you are quilting and are not failing at least 50% of the time, you're not being creative enough. Harsh, eh?

It's a little after 1 p.m. already and I haven't made it to my quilting yet, but still have hopes to get there today. (Geesh, it's another one of those days that little things keep going wrong. Is there something negative in this wind that blew in??)

Mama Pea said...

Stephanie - I actually did lie down on the couch this morning around 8 and slept for an hour. I had hit a wall (a very tired wall) after we had breakfast at 6:30 so finally gave in to the tired cries of my body.

Mama Pea said...

Katidids - Yeah, ripping out is a lot like going backwards. ;o]

I will post some pictures of my design wall(s) in a blog post either later today or tomorrow. I know you're thinking of one for yourself so mine might give you some ideas.

Mama Pea said...

Sparkless - Thank you!

Even though I had a short nap this morning, I'm looking forward to a good night's sleep tonight . . . barring more high winds, that is!

Mama Pea said...

Kelly - NOBODY should have to have freezing drizzle in the winter . . . or any other time for that matter!

Mama Pea said...

Tombstone Livestock - The poor guy had to go out and do some work on our solar panels on the tracker pole. Why do these things always need to be done in the worst weather?

Mama Pea said...

Susan - If we thought sensibly, we'd never get the great ideas we do (occasionally), right? That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

Michelle said...

We are expecting a storm also. It's a good day for jammies and a book.

Lisa said...

I hope not..... but that same 'wind' seems to have been 'blowing' a lot here lately too.

fiona@fionacampbell.ca said...

I think more women should refuse to act sensibly!!! (And I think the quilt is going to look great!) Enjoy your cozy time indoors and stay safe. We've got snow here and I'm off to try and plow the laneway before the kids get home (it's either that or meet them with snowshoes! well, not quite...)

Mama Pea said...

Michelle - Hope your predicted storm doesn't turn out to be anything dangerous. I got dressed right away when we got up at half past too early this morning, but I am looking forward to getting back into my jammies and robe early tonight!

Mama Pea said...

Fiona - Thanks, friend! So how much snow did you get . . . or are you still in the process of getting?

Erin said...

Freezing drizzle, blech! Loving what you have going on the design wall so far! I have gotten up early like that so many times and always feel just awful by 9 am, hope you get some restful weather soon.

fiona@fionacampbell.ca said...

Enough that the cable on the plow snapped! At least I got the laneway plowed, as well as the path to the woodshed. UGH!
Sleep well tonight!

Mama Pea said...

Erin - Perverse that it may be, I always feel so much better knowing other people are unbalanced (!) enough to wake at 3:30 in the morning . . . and stay up. You hit it on the head when you say it makes you feel just awful by 9 a.m.!

Mama Pea said...

Fiona - Why does equipment like the snow plow always break down when you need it? Must have something to do with the fact that you USE it during bad weather. Hrumpf.