Week In Review - October 8-14

Ok....My butt is seriously dragging this morning. 

And when I was thinking about this past week....

Well, I'm exhausted!

I had this vision in my head when I stopped working part time I would have ALLLLLL this time to just sit around and read and write and sew and knit.

Sort of, it's working that way.

But this past week started off with a WONDERFUL workshop.

I have never taken a workshop like this before and it was gifted to me by Texter as my birthday present. It was "Fear No Fabric" and was a chance to learn how to sew on 20 different fabrics and use a Bernina sewing machine.

Ok, when the sewing machine costs more than my used car did....color me excited!

I really wanted to take this class because of the costumes I make for the girls primarily. I am self-taught for the most part and wanted to learn some little 'tricks' on working with different materials.

I got it! Leather, tulle, burlap, cotton...just about anything you can think of. And learned how to make some great top stitching and insert lace, which was quick and easy and painless.  

So two days of blissful sewing and surrounded by several dozen sewing ladies (and one man). What a great time.

Once home, the sewing bug continued (plus mourning I couldn't just pick up one of these machines and carry it off) and I worked a bit on figuring out the blocks on the Joy quilt and getting all the parts together.

The center blocks are together and I am piecing it all together. There is a big "X" which will fit in there and then a couple of pieced outside borders to go. But it's getting there...slowly, but surely. And it will be HUGE. I may have to rethink a bedroom in sage green.

One thing I have seen with this is the difference between 2013 piecing and 2017 piecing. My skills have improved a bit and it is fun to see it in one quilt.  Unfortunately, due to 'things' going on the next couple of weeks, I will have to put it up for a bit and then come back to it - yet again.

I have been doing a bit of reading and prepping for NaNoWriMo this past week.

And then on Wednesday I broke off the corner of a molar (on Dollar Tree Sugar Babies-can we say 'stale'?) So far, no pain, but now a trip to the dentist this coming week to figure out some repair other than the putty you can use when fillings fall out. 

But to make me feel better, when I got home, my Hobonichi order was there! About 4 days earlier than I was expecting it.

I splurged this year and got one of each size. But they will all have a purpose! More to come on these lovelies later.

Then Saturday was 'go-go-go' day!

First was the Fall Fest headed up by Miss OK who is actually Miss Downtown Helena!

After handling 2400 pounds of pumpkins, she is still going strong and was buzzing all over the area, making sure everything was running smoothly.  She makes me tired.

Lady K painted another ceramic from The Painted Pot. Luckily, the ones she has done in the past survived the fire. It will be a fun souvenir of our Fall Fests in Montana.

Between polishing off a couple of bags of blue cotton candy, she posed with Ghostbusters (who are super sweet with the kids and love doing what they do).

And ballerinas...

The library was hosting Susan Adrian, the author of Nutcracked. We now have an autographed copy of the book which I will be reading to Lady K before bed. Her friend, Jordyn, dances with Queen City Ballet also. So hopefully, this year, we can make it to a performance of Nutcracker and see Jordyn dance. The issue? Can Lady K sit semi-still for an entire performance of Nutcracker?

Then after dumping Texter and Lady K back home, I hit Gulch Distillers for another class. This one was "Gin It to Win It" and discussed making gin at home.

A discussion of the different botanicals you can put in your gin and how to make it at home. They make me want to go home and put everything in mason jars! This will be utilized when we move to North Carolina - both the jars and the gin! Savvy has promised me I can 'brew' away when we move.

I met up with my friend Clare, who is a jewelry artist extraordinaire! And she likes gin!

And we met "Ginny"...

And distiller, Matt Bacon. Ginny is the vat where they make gin.

So, since this was a 'gin' class, I had a fantastic Bee's Knees. Along with a piece of cake one of the attendees made using Gulch Distiller's Apple Brandy.

So my second drink had to be a 'Brandy Apple'.

Then it was home for a quick nap and then to Jensen Jewelers to be the door greeter for their diamond event....

Whew!

And this coming week isn't going to be any slower.

• Clean house for upcoming visitors from South Carolina (Texter's in-laws/Kayden's other grandparents)
• Finishing up a gift for a friend's birthday
• Writing workshop at the library
• More NaNoWriMo prep (going through a ton of pictures for story ideas)
• Start and finish a Charlaine Harris book because it will be due in a couple of days and someone else has it on reserve
• Book group meeting
• And lots of Montana sightseeing!

So off for some breakfast and more coffee!