Week 34 - Back to Nebraska

Despite having a totally relaxing vacation, I didn't feel ready to be back at work. Re-entry was a slog!

It took me more than a day to just catch up at work but by Tuesday lunch time, things were pretty much back to normal. Lorri had called to ask if I wanted to eat in the park, which we've done a few time over the summer. I unabashedly asked for any garden surplus she'd be willing to share, picked up my grab and go from Mocha C's and enjoyed catching up over lunch.  She brought me green beans (I'd specifically requested those so I could make 3 bean salad), a few tomatoes, a funky cucumber and half each of a water melon and cantaloupe. Nice.

I spent the rest of the work week just getting through the days and then knitting at night. I was completely non-productive. I did try to walk at the lake at twilight on Wednesday but my ankle, which had been bothering me since Saturday, was still not right. I realized halfway across the dam that it might not be a good idea to be walking alone, without my phone (I forgot it) somewhere that would be hard to access if my ankle went out. I turned around, deciding that any further walks need to be in my neighborhood.

So, how's this for a slacker? I took 2 hours off on Friday so I could go to Lincoln. I needed to grocery shop and wanted to hit a couple of thrifts before meeting at Anne's house for dinner on the deck. I brought the 3 bean salad I'd made and Rene was picking up chicken strips at Russ'. It was a lovely evening and a nice end to my first week back. Well worth the 2 hours of vacation time and I had enough food to restock my cupboards and fridge.

With my errands and socializing done on Friday, I was ready for a low key weekend. I'd been such a slug all week that I still had some post-vacation stuff to do on top of all my regular chores. And that's what I did, along with some knitting and streaming. Then I got inspired.

I got an email from Pinterest with a crumb quilting pin, which has been on my radar for awhile because I love using things up and have plenty of fabric scraps. It made me think of the grab bag of scraps that Andrea had found at a quilt store and gifted to me earlier in the week. It was sitting right on the bar so I grabbed it and dug in. After watching a quick YouTube video to see crumb quilting in action, I headed down to my craft room and started quilting. OMG! This was SO much fun! I whipped up 3 squares with the scraps from Andrea's bag and then pulled together 2 bag of scraps that I'd gathered when I was organizing the basement and threw them in the wash. 

I went upstairs to watch some TV but instead of getting ready for bed when the show was over at 9:00, I went downstairs to start ironing the scraps, which were fresh out of the dryer. I ironed until after 11:00, at which point I forced myself to stop so I could get some sleep. I could so have kept going.

Many of the scraps brought back memories of past sewing projects - some as far back as high school. Yes, I have 40 year old scraps. It would take a bit more time to get them all ironed but I was super excited to keep making crumb blocks, which I'll share for sure. I know there will be lots more.