Sneak Peak Plus

Last weekend I finally got new orthotics.  My old ones were currently over 10 years old and are starting to fall to pieces.  When I walk with them I am getting a lot more blisters and aches up and down my legs, so I figured it was time to get a new pair.  The new pair are higher in the arch and fit a full shoe rather than a 3/4s.  The right foot is perfect.  The aches in my legs are less when I walk and I really don't feel like it is there.  The only difference is that it is higher and at times I feel like my foot is coming out of my shoe even though it isn't.  The left foot is a different story.  Within the first few hours of wearing it I had two lots of blisters forming in the arch of my foot.  Consequently I am now wearing one new one and one old one.  Thanks to this and a head cold, walking did not happen much last week.

By Thursday I seemed to have a relapse with my cold and ended up going home early and having Friday off.  I really hate taking sick days.  Especially the amount I take due to migraines. You get the feeling that people stop believing you are ill and that you are just chucking a sicky.  I could be on my death bead and feel guilty for not going in to work. 

Here is Lilly in one of her tops that calls her the angel.  If they had one called the annoyer then that would have been more appropriate.  She insists on curly up next to me on the lounge.  Not just next to me, she has to be so close that even though she is not technically on me she is definitely super glued there.

On days like today when I am not on the lounge she gets there herself.  Yes this dog managed to get herself all nice and snug like this with no help from any human.  She certainly knows where to get.

Last weekend I also promised myself I would finish the quilt I was making for my friends new baby.  That is until I got a really bad head cold and wound up doing nothing.  Bob (as they call bub at the moment) is due this week so this weekend has been one super sewing session. 

I managed to get the front section completed yesterday and the backing put on.  There is still some quilting stitching that needs doing but I really needed to get down and do some hand stitching.  I have 28 stripes that need blanket stitch to hold them nicely in place.  That was today's job.

It took me half an hour and a google search to remember how to start blanket stitch but the instructions I found worked opposite to me so somehow I managed to alternate between the two once I got started.  I also did not have a very sharp needle that would allow the embroidery thread through the eye so it took forever to punch it through the five layers I have.  I would have completed the embroidery before the backing went on but it would have been stitched over when I started to quilt it and that would look horrid.  Anyway it took me over an hour to do one small stripe (16cm around the outside) and it looked terrible.  I also started to weigh up how long this would take and realised that Bob would probably be one year old by the time he got the quilt.

Finally I decided to try it on the sewing machine.  There was a blanket stitch on there but I had never used it.  A test run went well and I even figured out how to turn the corners (which was my main worry).  I put the quilt in the machine and started on my first stripe.  It was a dud so I had to unpick and try again.  I did something I have not done in years, I put the machine on a snails pace.  First stripe looked great.  Second stripe, just as good.  By the eighth stripe I was finally used to how the machine moved with this stitch so I was able to speed up again.  I am currently half way through them and plan on getting it finished tonight.  Well maybe the stripes at least.  The rest may have to wait until tomorrow. Anyway here is a sneak peak. 

What! Did you think I was going to show you the front side.  This is a lovely view of the neat stitching at the back.  Front side will be shown once delivery has been made.  :)