Back to Jo-Ann's

I must be spending a fortune in that store!  I went back today to get a small piece of contrasting fabric, and ended up buying a rotary cutter, which of course requires a special mat to use the cutter on.

I originally thought I didn't need a new piece of equipment, and that scissors were good enough for my grandmother so they would be good enough for me.  Well, to tell the truth I prefer the scissors but I don't have enough years left to do everything the old fashioned way as I'd like to.  A rotary cutter can be likened to a pizza cutter, except that the handle is a heavy, sturdy plastic, and has a shield that can be brought down to protect the blade (or to protect Gypsy from the blade!)  I got a cheap cutter for $20, which is ok to begin with.

So I cut some fabric this afternoon with the new cutter and managed to keep my fingers out of the way of the blade.    That thing is some kind of sharp!  I sewed some pieces together on my new sewing machine, which I love, but my sewing skills have deteriorated over the years.  Perhaps it is my eyesight that has deteriorated, but I managed to get several blocks pieced together.   Now putting them all together in a larger design is the next challenge.  I'm making this Whatever on my own with little or no instructions - just winging it.  Fortunately I plan to keep it small so that I can get used to handling fabric, pins, scissors, the machine, etc.  It's been such a long time.

I still hope to take a class in quilting when I'm back from NY in the summer, and learn the correct way rather than make it up as I go along.

Dang, it's cold here.  It actually isn't all that cold outside, about 50 right now, but it has been a grey day and feels cold to me.

I mentioned Gemini in yesterday's post, and in case some of you may not know what I was talking about, Gemini is one of the astrological signs.  It is my ascendant, or rising sign, and people with Gemini in their chart love to talk and can't keep their mouths shut.  In my case, I intended to write a short post which is very difficult for me to do, and I tend to blabber on and on.  My Dad was a Gemini (b. June 11) and even though he was a shy man for the most part, he loved to talk as well as to write.  He wrote poetry to my Mom, and letters to politicians.  I don't write poetry but I do write letters, and I think there is a bulletin board in the Congressional Cloak Room as well as in the White House, with a list of names that can just be disregarded as harmless complainers.  None of them ever pay attention to what I'm saying - and that applies to both sides of the aisle!

I'm going to drop off my unassembled elliptical to Donald & Jeannie before heading to the gym this afternoon.  I think I could actually assemble it, but my brain cells are currently in use by the sewing machine!