Wednesday, January 27, 2016
When I was unpacking my project bag from yesterday’s bee I thought I would work on the projects I didn’t get to. There were a couple of birthday cards at the top of the pile. I got one top finished, along with another 9-patch. I was taking the pattern for this 9-Patch from a photo I saw online so I thought I’d to a quick calculation to figure out how many patches I needed; I’d hate to make too many!
Creating the pattern proved more difficult than I imagined. I started out using graph paper but then I realized a spreadsheet would be better because I could fill in cells with colours and get a more uniform look. I tried to copy what I saw in the photo but there wasn’t enough of it showing to really see how many blocks in a row or how many rows there were. After several stops and starts (thank goodness for Copy, Paste and the Paintbrush tool) I came up with a diagram that I think I’ll be happy with. Although once I’m to the outer edges I may decide to add a couple more blocks on one or both ends. Getting the pattern to come out even and still be within the size I wanted was tricky. When I took a break I told Pat I thought maybe writing a pattern was a lot like writing a song – lots of do-overs!
I took my break because the lamps we ordered on a Boxing Day Sale arrived today. When we took them out of the box they were packed in styrofoam “boxes” that were taped together. The styrofoam was the type that crumbled almost as soon as you touched it so, by the time we were finished, we had little bits of it all over the kitchen and living room. It was a quick cleanup with the vacuum but I have a stack of boxes filled with styrofoam to take to the recycling depot tomorrow.
When we tried to put the lights in place by the various chairs in the living room the cords weren’t long enough to reach the plugs. We switched the two couches around but didn’t like the way that looked. We changed a couple of chairs around but that didn’t look good either. After several attempts we finally got something that we were both happy with. We have one guest who comes to our House Concerts and he always stays to help put our furniture back in place. I’m sure he thinks I’m crazy because I can never remember where things are supposed to be; he doesn’t understand how often we rearrange things. I guess rearranging a room is a bit like writing a song as well – lots of do-overs!
We didn’t have any of the proper bulbs for the new lamps so Pat made a trip out and got what we needed. Once they were lit we liked them so much that we immediately ordered two more. They will be an early birthday present for Pat. We may decide to give up TV watching in the basement in the evenings just so we can sit in our chairs and read.
I eventually got back to my sewing and got another card top finished. And, in case you are wondering, I still need more than 150 9-patches!