Canceling the Busy

Good morning, my friends. As I wrote yesterday's post, I could hear my phone ringing downstairs. You probably get as many spam calls as I do, and so I generally ignore the phone when it rings. People I know have been assigned distinctive rings, and so I know when it's someone I actually want to talk to. With my pedicure appointment, however, I checked it when I was finished. As it turned out, my nail tech had to help out a friend having a health emergency, and so my appointment was rescheduled to Monday. And that was just fine with me. I already had too much to do, and so I was happy for the reprieve.

Before the appointment was canceled, I got out early to fill the bird feeders and water the annuals. The echinacea is taking its sweet time opening.

Looking more closely, I noticed a few more flowers that are close to opening. This will be the star of the garden soon.

Right now, the purple hydrangea is putting on quite a show.

Back inside, I wanted to get through my online class before I needed to leave. I didn't know yet that my appointment was canceled. I learned different ways to add text to an image. Then, I learned how to select just one portion of an image to preserve the color, and then turn the rest of the image black and white. I used to be able to do this in Picasa, but Picasa has been gone for a long time. I really like this effect. This isn't my photo. This is one of the photos I downloaded for learning purposes as a part of the class.

It was when I sat down to do my slow-stitching that I learned my appointment was canceled. I might not have had enough time to finish the last book spine. With my day suddenly freed up, I had time to finish it off. These are the last two I'll need to finish all the blocks for the Shop Hop 3.0 quilt.

I had some things to do in the kitchen, and so I didn't make it into the sewing room until after lunch. There, I made three more blocks for the Amish Sampler. This one is "Hole in the Barn Door."

This one is called "On the Oregon Trail." (Obviously, I had to include that one.)

This one is called "Pinwheel."

Three blocks seems to be my limit. I might have finished one more, but I was ready to quit by then. Here are the blocks I have so far. I need just two more pieced blocks, and then I'll be able to start sewing them into a finished quilt top.

Earlier, I'd made the mixture for some watermelon sorbet. Shortly before dinner, I churned it and put it in the freezer.

It will be ready for us to have for dessert tonight. As for dinner tonight, we're taking our boat out on the river for a dinner cruise for two. I'm going to make a chilled soup and some savory muffins to take along. We'll have dessert when we get home this evening. It should be a nice day on the river. We'll go late in the afternoon when we're expecting the temperature to reach around 80°F. We may or may not go swimming, depending on the water temperature. With this past week of very warm weather, the water might be nice.

This morning, I want to spend some time on my newest slow-stitching pieces. Then I'll make tonight's dinner, and then I'll go for a walk on the treadmill. There should be plenty of time to finish off those last two pieced blocks this afternoon. Possibly I'll have time to start sewing all the blocks together. It might make it into the "quilts to be sandwiched" pile if I can find a good back for it. 

Sandwiching quilts is looming. It's my least favorite part of quilting, but I have just one more quilt ready for quilting. The Catnip quilt has been hanging over my sewing chair letting its wrinkles relax out.

Quilting will commence when I've finished with the Amish Sampler. I'll probably do a diagonal grid for this one, but I haven't decided for sure yet.

So there's plenty to keep me busy and out of trouble today. Mike is still asleep as I write this, which means I have some time to work on my slow-stitching before breakfast. If you're looking for me, that's where I'll be.