Wednesday, July 11, 2007

Reporting back...

As the weeks pass, the fallout from the flooding is becoming more apparent.

We were not as badly hit by it as many other people, and we managed to carry most of our things upstairs in time, yet the noise and the heat that the dehumidifiers and huge fans produce are becoming increasingly difficult to live with. We have three dehumidifiers and fans dotted around the ground floor to get rid of any remaining water in the flooring and walls, and they have to be on 24/7. The house is soooo hot, and we are not supposed to open any windows so that the dehumidifiers can work most efficiently. Ack! Still, I shouldn't complain - in comparison to a lot of other people in this region we got off fairly lightly.

Which is why I'm moving on now to what I've been up to in the last two weeks:

1) First of all, I got a job!!! Yay!

2) tidied around the house and thrown a lot of things out that were either damaged by the flooding or that we discovered while shifting things and decided we didn't need.

3) Finally finished the baby quilt for B's little girl, shortly to be sent off to Germany with the baby cardigan:


I used Heather Bailey's instructions for Continuous Quilt Binding, and I love it - so much more neat than my previous efforts! I'm still not convinced of my wonky sewing, and if I made this particular quilt again I would choose some blue thread for the back of the quilt (not keen on the pink), but overall I'm happy with this.

4) Since I was in a finishing kind of mood I tackled a project that is so old I can't even remember when I first started it, although I'm fairly sure that the yarn came from Sherrill at Baa Bonny Belle (thanks again Sherrill!): my Jaywalkers:

I like them (and, as you can see, so does Bean), even though, due to the fact that I knitted half of one sock a long time ago, there is a change in tension, which means that one sock is just right, while the other (the one that was started first) is rather tight around the leg - looks like I don't knit as tightly nowadays... Still, as with the quilt, it's not enough for me to bother changing it and I do like the socks. Somehow the colours remind me of dark cherries, which in turn reminds me of my birthday when I was a child - we always had crates full of cherries in June. :-)

5) I won the birthday contest on Craftylilly's blog and received my price (arrived yesterday) - a beautiful skein of Duet sock yarn in the colourway 'best friends'. Thank you Jennifer, I love it!! Looks like I'll be knitting more socks soon. :-)

6) I received my Gimme Your Stuff swap parcel from Ankaisa in Finland:

It was full of lovely things - a knitting pattern booklet, some pretty yarn, some fabric, two fabric bags, and some pine soap in a cute knitted bag, Thank you Ankaisa!!

It's been a busy few weeks... :-)

8 comments:

  1. Anonymous9:44 pm

    The Bean's little hands are so adorable! I'm sorry about the pain of the flooding. It must be especially hard with a little one around.

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  2. Ugh, the flooding and the aftermath sounds dreadful. It must be extra hard with the little one too.

    I'm glad you like your prize!

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  3. So sorry about the aftermath of the flooding. Ugh. Still, as you say, it could have been worse!
    Congrats on the new job (though I bet it will be tough to leave the Bean!).
    The quilt is beautiful, I'm sure the baby will love it.

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  4. Congrats on the job! You're really good coping with the clean up, I would have whined at least a little :) if not a lot! Bean's got the cutest hands !!

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  5. Oh my - what a flood! And how I wish we could have some of your water, for we've been dry as a bone for weeks and weeks.

    Lovely knitting.

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  6. Anonymous3:07 pm

    Hope you dry out soon, ironic isnt it, down there its nothing but floods, up here, where you'd expect all the weather to be, we've been having a pretty serious drought.


    Angela

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  7. Iris, more about the job when you get a chance to post. What fun, exciting projects will you be doing in this new job? Will you get to telecommute and stay with the bean?

    Hope you are doing well...tickle those little toes for me.

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  8. Hi!

    I found your blog from a fellow quilter and love your quilting. Just wanted to let you know of a mini-quilt swap I am hosting. We'd love to have you if you are interested. The details are given at the blog link below. If it happens that you are not interested, I'd still appreciate if you could spread the word in the event some of your blog's readers might like to participate. Thanks!


    Margaret
    http://fourseasonsquiltswap.blogspot.com/

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