At the End of a Week

How did it get to be Friday?

The peeps are doing very well. I would love to keep them inside for a few more weeks because it’s easy for me to check on them, but they will outgrow that makeshift brooder box before long. Also, I need to do laundry. It is nice to know, however, that 1) I can hatch chicks successfully in the incubator and 2) We have a good setup for young chicks if it’s too cold to put them out in the coop. Now we just wait and hope that we didn’t get 12 roosters.

[I told the husband that I would like to keep one rooster out of this batch. I like to keep the bloodlines of my good roosters going if I can. The big rooster that died a few months ago was sired by our original Buff Orpington rooster.]

The weather is supposed to improve this weekend and I think the chicks will get moved out to the coop where they can keep the big chickens awake with their constant peeping. That brooder box is also much bigger.

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I sent the pencil pouch off to DD#2. She saw the picture on my blog and was very happy with it. She told me yesterday that Nordstrom is planning to close 16 stores. Her store probably is not in any danger as Nordstrom just closed another store north of Seattle last year. If the store in Spokane closes, however, that is going to be a huge blow to their downtown retail sector. They lost the downtown Macy’s store a few years ago.

The husband commented that DD#2 probably snagged one of the last good retail jobs. That industry is going to undergo some seismic changes in the near future.

I was in town yesterday running errands, so I stopped at Joann Fabrics to peruse the remnant rack. I also found this book:

My sister has cats and I thought she might enjoy this. She said she’s been thinking about doing counted cross-stitch again but embroidery might be a nice change.

I am attending an Accuquilt Zoom presentation this morning put on by one of the quilt stores in town. I went to an in-person demo they hosted last year and enjoyed it very much. That Studio cutter is getting a lot of use. I have a huge stack of 5” squares for making comforters next fall.

And after a few fits and starts, I worked on the Get Out of Town bag.

My can of spray baste refused to behave properly because it’s almost empty, but I didn’t realize it until I went to use it or I could have picked up a new one at Joanns. Oh well, I got one piece quilted. When I quilt the second piece, I’ll just have to pin it. These bags are assembled by first quilting the exterior and lining together with a piece of foam between them. The smaller pieces are cut from the big quilted pieces. I used a black 40wt thread on the top and some Aurifil 50wt in the bobbin and quilted straight lines about 3/4” apart. The lining is a coral print and the exterior accents will be turquoise. I have no idea where I got this lovely Alexander Henry remnant, but I think it will make a nice bag.

My stash is so full of bright, retina-burning prints that it isn’t funny. I don’t usually buy large-scale prints because it’s hard to use them in quilts, but I must have liked the colors in this one.

The cowpeas are getting planted under hoops tomorrow. They are outgrowing their pots. And now we’ll find out how they do in Montana.