Wednesday 21 February 2018

Some Hand Work to Share


     Monday was the Family Day Holiday in Ontario.  I decided to take a weeks vacation around this holiday and Dwight decided to take a few days as well.  We went up to the Collingwood area and stayed in a Bed and Breakfast.  Part of our Plan was to go to the Scandinave Spa.  It's an outdoor spa in the Blue Mountains which has hot pools and cold pools along with a dry sauna and steam room.  We have gone to this spa in the winter before and really enjoyed it.


    
      It was great to get away but things didn't go exactly as we had planned.  Dwight came down with a cold so we spent a little more time in the B&B than we would normally have.  We planned to visit the spa on Tuesday after the long weekend, but found out it was due to rain on Tuesday.  The spa is great if it's snowing but we didn't think we would enjoy ourselves  in cold winter rain.  We attempted to go on Sunday but we found out that on the Sunday and Monday of a long weekend you have to line up  half an hour before the spa opens to get a booking for the day.
   
     So we didn't go to the spa.  We did go for a walk in the woods and we did go to a winery and a cidery (and came home with lots of goodies) . We also ate some great meals.
I brought along my E.P.P. project which I haven't worked on in months.  I've decided to start putting the stars together as I make them.  I'm liking this method of constructing the quilt top as I go.  This way I can reuse the paper pieces.  I also used silk thread for the first time on this project.  I'm not sure where or when I purchased the silk thread, but I think it was when I was working on needle turn applique.   It's a great thread to use for E.P.P.  It's pretty much invisible.  It does take getting used to though as it is slippery and likes to slide out of the needle.

     We came home yesterday and I spent part of today finishing the quilting for my One Monthly Goal.  I'll share it on Friday once I get the binding on.  I have continued to meditate daily and today I increased my time to 15minutes, although I found it difficult to focus on my breath as my thoughts were all over the place.  

     My plans for the rest of my week off are to do lots more quilting and to babysit the grandkids on Friday.  What are you up to this week?

10 comments:

Kate @ Smiles From Kate said...

Sorry you didn't get to the spa, but it sounds like you had a great time anyway. Paper piecing is very portable and your blocks look great. I used to use silk thread with needle turn appliqué, it is so fine and can barely be seen. I used to put a knot in the tail which helped stop it from becoming unthreaded. When you find yourself lost in thoughts when meditating kindly and gently bring yourself back to the practice, it happens to everyone including the most experienced meditators, that's why it's called a meditation practice :-)

Pamela said...

I'm using beige silk thread for my temperature quilt epp and it's perfect. The getaway sounds nice, even without the spa.

Little Black Cat Quilting said...

I love a good EPP project on hand. You can go months without working on it, then just pick back up where you left off so easily. I never thought I would like hand sewing until I took the plunge and tried it. There's something so soothing about it! 😊

Pam @ Quilting Fun said...

Sounds like a very enjoyable vacation. Your EPP is looking wonderful.

Raewyn said...

It sounds like it was lovely to get away but a shame you missed the spa - it does sound like it would be a great experience though. Your stars are looking good, too. I like to join as I go as I'm too impatient to prep everything and then start to sew! Some people form a little knot at the eye of their needle with their silk thread but I've never tried that - they say it helps with the slipperyness!

helenjean@midgetgemquilts said...

sometimes although the plans aren't as intended, it still works out well. I don't like taking clothes off in the cold, so I could have been pleased about the queues!

Quilter Kathy said...

Sorry you didn't get to the spa... I've never been, but I've heard lots about it!
Fun to see your EPP project!

Anja @ Anja Quilts said...

I love your stars. Too bad your vacation didn't turn out as planned. I'm hoping to try the meditation this week.

Jill said...

Sounds like you had a lovely mid-winter break. Your stars are perfectly pieced. I have not yet tried EPP. My OMG is becoming elusive this month.

Yvonne from Quilting Jetgirl said...

The EPP looks great. I hope that your husband is feeling better. I am playing catch up from being at QuiltCon and in the middle of being under the weather myself.