Something for me.

This has been a long week. Two nights of it were taken up with meetings, Thursday morning was taken up with the broken tooth.

What knitting I did was mostly on the gift-cowl (and more will be done today as I give an exam in one class).

But last night, I decided I needed to work on something just for me. (And also watch cartoons. I started with a couple of re-runs of My Little Pony while grading, and then moved over to Cartoon Network's fare. I guess they've decided, at least for the nonce, to extend the "real" cartoons to 8 pm again, instead of going to "Adult Swim" (which is mostly, in its early hours, re-runs of King of the Hill and Family Guy) at 7. I approve of this change and hope it is permanent).

I think I am happier when I watch cartoons - even kind of dumb cartoons - instead of watching the news.

I also worked a bit on Moondancer - she has her front legs attached, and most of the first back leg is done. I admit I'm dragging my feet a little on this because (a) the effort of doing another rooted-in mane (The ones for Folio - which was crocheted loops sewn on - and Treehugger - which was knitted i-cord "dreads" that were then sewn on) and (b) trying to figure out how to make the sweater - do I make it so it takes off (which would probably require a facing and snaps) or do I just make it permanently sewn on, which would be easier.

I also realized that since I'm getting close to finishing the quilt in the frame (that might happen this weekend), it was time to start thinking about preparing the next quilt.

It's going to be this one, which I think has hung around unfinished for long enough, and also, it will be mostly v. simple quilting. (In the setting triangles, around the edge, I may do something a LITTLE fancy - loops, maybe, or a flower). I have the backing and even the binding fabric set aside. So I got out one of my stored up batts and opened it out to let it "relax"

This is a quilting thing, or at least a quilting thing my mom told me: with a packaged batt, you are "supposed" to take it out and unfold it somewhere, and let it lie for at least 24 hours before doing the quilt sandwich. I suppose it's to get the folds out of it or something but I admit I now wonder if it's one of those "received wisdom" things that really doesn't do much. Then again, it's a nice planning step, kind of a promise of "you will get to this soon."

I THINK if I clear a few things out of my bedroom temporarily, I will have enough space to set this up on the floor to baste it. I admit I considered taking the whole thing down to church and doing it on the fellowship hall floor - no one would care, especially at a time when no one was around - but it will be easier to do it at home, and if I realize, for example, I forgot my scissors, I won't have to run home. (I could also bring the stuff over here on a weekend and use one of the classroom floors, but I bet they're not as clean as the Fellowship Hall floor is)

And yeah, I have a bunch of batts ahead. During the beginning of the economic downturn, back around '08, I got all pioneer-y and thought, "Maybe it's time to store up stuff that will be inexpensive amusement if this all really goes to Hades and you even have to do stuff like drop having cable." So I have five or six batts ahead, all purchased on good sales or with coupons. Well, maybe I do more handquilting now, with the shop going out of business (sigh). But I also do have a few tops I really want to have handquilted myself - the plus-sign quilt, the Zen Chic quilt (I want to do that with a sashiko design, maybe even use thin perle cotton on it, like "real" sashiko.). Also the Zen clouds quilt that has languished so long, I don't seem to have a photo of the top. Maybe I challenge myself a little to try to do a little quilting AT LEAST every week, and see how quickly I can get a simple top done.

Maybe I dig out the Dramatic Readings of Samuel Pepys' diaries (well, selections from) that I bought cheaply on a Naxos CD set a while back and never listened to, and listen to them while I quilt. (For that matter - my uni library may have some books-on-CD I could check out. Usually television doesn't hold my attention well enough for quilting and if it's something I really want to see, like a movie, I want to be watching, not looking down at what my hands are doing....)