Sit and Sew, Get Up and Move

I love days when I can sew for hours at a time and make significant headway on some projects. The O block wallhanging now has borders and has been added to the “to be basted” pile. I have a list of the backings I need to get. And I’ve got more than half of the Blue Thistle (that is its working title) star blocks made.

(Please excuse the wonky picture. I know some of my photos look like I took them after a glass of wine. I blame my hand-me-down iPhone.)

I’ll need 13 of these blocks and about that many of the second block. I still have to cut the fabric for the other blocks, but once I do, those should come together quickly.

I can’t chain piece in long sessions. Even though I had all the pieces for these star blocks cut, I only chain pieced enough for 2-3 blocks at a time. I have trouble sitting still; it’s not physical pain but a need to get up and move around frequently. As much as I loved my transcription job, one of the downsides was sitting for long stretches. I had a lot of muscle and joint problems during that time and don’t want those to resurface. My occupational therapist daughter says that the fascia around the joints and muscles “shrink wraps” as one ages and contributes to mobility problems, so I try to stay active. That’s easy during the summer when I am gardening. I have to work a bit harder during the winter, though, to avoid becoming a couch potato. I try not to sit for more than 15 minutes at a time. I also make periodic trips up and down the stairs for cups of tea or to throw laundry in the washer. Yoga helps, too.

I am going to have to set aside a day soon to deal with scraps. This is bin #3:

That Accuquilt cutter will make short work of turning these leftovers into useable pieces. I definitely need more hexies, for one thing, and I can always use 2-1/2” strips for binding. I think I should also make another tumbler quilt.

Robin and I are getting together today to mark each other’s pants for hemming and have lunch. It’s much easier to mark pants with someone who sews. I bought a few more pairs of tall jeans from Kohls and they are about an inch too long. I don’t like my cuffs to drag on the ground and get frayed, fashionable though that may be.