A Do-Nothing Day

The month of October has seen me sewing obsessively. Yesterday, I took a needed day off from it. Mike had an idea to drive into town and deposit our ballots. Great idea, I said, and now that is done. With apologies to Don Raye, who wrote the lyrics to This is My Country..."I only know I swell with pride, and deep within my breast..." Yeah...it just makes me feel all teary with patriotism.

Now...fingers crossed I get my way, because honestly, what's good for me is good for me. Deep, I know.

So we ran a few errands. Mike wanted to recycle some cardboard, but the recycling depot is closed on Sundays. Bummer. No problem though, Mike just heaved the cardboard over the fence and into the bin as if he played for the NBA. My hero! We made a quick trip to the grocery store, since it was close to the ballot drop box. While there, I started looking at substitutes for brown sugar, and I found the one I was looking for.

According to the ad, it tastes, bakes, and measures like regular brown sugar. Zero calories and just 4 grams of carbs. Now I just need to find a recipe with a low enough calorie count to give this a try. Sadly, most of them contain a lot of butter, which ups the calorie count significantly. I'll keep searching though...just you wait...I'll find something.

So I didn't do much other than housework after we got home. It didn't seem like enough to write a post today. Then, my friend Karen kindly wrote asking me how I store my embroidery floss. Thanks for asking, Karen, because it gives me something to talk about. So here goes...

All my embroidery floss is stored on these little plastic floss bobbins. These are widely available. You can find them at Jo-Ann, and I've also seen them on Amazon.com. 

When I'm working on a project, I load all the floss for the project onto one of these little ring clips. And these are widely available at any office supply store. They come in different sizes. I think mine are around 2 inches in diameter.

So, here's the floss ring for my current project. 

I use a pencil to write the color number on the floss bobbin. When I've used up this floss, I can simply erase it and write a new number.

Leftover floss is sorted by color and stored in this little divided box. (I love all that shiny color.)

It makes a tidy little package I can take along when we travel, if I want to.

Unopened skeins go in another box with larger divided sections. These are kind of just thrown in there.

When I have more than one skein of the same color, I clip them together with safety pins.

You should also know that I don't necessarily use the color printed on the pattern if I have something I can substitute. Embroidery floss piles up like fabric scraps, and so I try to use what I already have on hand. Also, there are substitution charts online, and that helps if you happen to have a different brand of floss than the pattern specifies. There's an excellent chart right here, and it includes several different brands. Most often, I'm using DMC or Cosmo, but I've also used Weeks Dye Works. Of the three, it's my least favorite. Between DMC and Cosmo, I can't tell much difference. DMC is easier to find and less expensive, but Cosmo has a beautiful collection of variegated floss colors. Their colors also seem more "shimmery" to my eyes. 

Okay, so today I'm visiting a podiatrist upon the recommendation of my doctor. I've had a life-long difference in leg length. My own theory about this is that I have a very subtle curve to my spine. It's never really been an issue, but I've grown to believe it accounts for my chronic right knee pain. I tend to stand with my weight on that leg. If I stand with the weight on my other leg, my right foot doesn't touch the ground. It means my right knee has done all the work for most of my life, and it really wishes the left knee would pitch in every now and then. So...enter this recommended podiatrist...to see if a lift or some sort of custom orthotic might help. I'm not really committed to this idea, but I'm willing to give it a try. Besides, as I get older, I notice I'm tilting more and more to the right. Possibly, I'll just tip over one of these days and then I can yell, "I've fallen and I can't giddy-up!" 

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Yeah...I've always wanted to say that.

So I'll probably get back in the sewing room today. I want to make four more masks. Matthew picked out these next two for his two masks. He likes this color combination since it matches a jacket he brought back from Guatemala.

I was going to make myself a Halloween mask, but it seems a little late in the game for that. Instead, I'll use this fabric with fall leaves, and that should be good through Thanksgiving.

After Thanksgiving, I want to wear a mask made from this candy cane fabric. Fun, huh?

If there is still time left in the day, I'll get busy doing the applique on the next Dancing Chickens and Flying Pigs quilt block. Oh yes, and I still need to make a quilt back for Waste Not Whatnots before I can put it in the to-be-sandwiched pile. Sandwiching is pending since I'm running out of quilts for quilting.

Okay...so that's my day. What are you doing today?