Cold Snap

This month I have juggled three important tasks: building a paneled, vaulted ceiling for our home, sewing and mending for work and fun, and tending pets and spouse. The ceiling has taken precedence and I have had to be a willing helpmate. Willing means I'll do it whether I want to or not. It has been a lot of long hours, lots of physical work that I am unaccustomed to, and giving what feels like patronizing amounts of praise to Mr. Thimblepie. It is turning out incredibly, and we both feel lots of pride and satisfaction. We have been at it for 13 days without a day off. Here is a photo of the work in progress:

Clear acrylic finish, you can see above the light where it stops. 

As we progress, we both feel new aches and pains, and that is especially true for Mr. Thimblepie, who misstepped from the scaffold toward the ladder, and fell 7 ft. He landed on his feet but hit the ladder going down. It was scary to watch. Fortunately, we will be finished with the ceiling today. Tomorrow we will finish the main hallway ceiling, which is a normal height and we will be working on the ground.

My second task, sewing, had to take a backseat. Frown. My sewing loft is going to be glorious when the sawdust settles later today, and I can spread my work table and stuff back out. It is all shoved to one side of the loft right now. I have managed to do some sewing because it is a high priority. I finished 2 Operation Kid Comfort quilts and a pillow sham with fabric donated by a local quilt shop, Huckleberry Patches. Here they are:

Sister quilts.

Big kids get a pillow sham.

I am taking breaks from building and sewing to play outside with the dog, and to cook yummy food for the spouse. Today I made humus, and we had fresh eggs for lunch. Dinner will be enchiladas and sourdough fruit cake for dessert.

I also finished my January goal for A Lovely Year of Finishes. My goal was to get the pattern drafted for my wool applique button project. I did that, and started the applique, using some delightful embellishing techniques learned last year from Sue Spargo. I am doing my wool colors differently from the traditional Pacific Northwest Tribes. I am using an ecru base, then steel blue and lastly some hand dyed teal. I am still searching for more mother of pearl buttons. Here is the work so far:

Finished size will be 18" x 24".  

Have you been busy with New Year resolutions, too?