and getting out

 I guess I do periodically just need to get out of town for some reason or other. Where I live feels very small, there's not a whole lot that is attractive to me. But when I can drive a half hour or an hour (Sherman or Hagerman or Sulphur or the Tishomingo NWR or sometimes even Whitesboro), it makes the rest of the time a bit easier to take.

I think I'm glad I didn't try for hiking today - I mowed the lawn after I got home and almost had an asthma attack. We've got a lot of pollen, the air is very dry, and there are some big fires around the area that could be carrying smoke into the area. But maybe another day I go to Hagerman and walk around and see what there is to see. 

I needed a few things at Ulta, and JoAnn's is practically next door, so I went there too

And I regret to inform you I'm back on my nonsense (about the big color-shifting yarn cakes)

I have a pattern for a simple side-to-side knit blanket saved on my computer (I *THINK* is was from a tweet Louise Tilbrook posted, she has a bit about it on her Instagram but anyway - for those who knit? It's essentially the "grandma's favorite" dishcloth, but with plain increases instead of yarn overs (and then just decreasing once per row on the second half, because there are no yarn overs to deal with). Yes, I have to finish the Color-Bar afghan and perhaps the ripple afghan before I start YET ANOTHER blanket, but this yarn was on sale, I like the color combinations a lot - and the colorway name amuses me ("Sasquatch"). And the idea of something you can just motor away on without thinking - you increase for half the yarn, then decrease for the second half. (Or: I will increase until it seems big enough even if I'm not halfway through the yarn)

I also ran through Denison (after that, I was able to get over to Pottsboro easily - on 120 - and went to the Brookshire's for groceries). I went to the antique mall but only bought a couple greeting cards (a new item, made by an artist - a couple of birthday cards with cats because a couple people have birthdays coming up, and then a card with a hummingbird that would be a nice mother's day card for my mom in a few weeks). It seems that that antique mall is carrying more "new gift type" items and I wonder if more people who sell vintage or antique stuff are doing so online (Through eBay or such) because it seemed like there were fewer items.

But I also admit I'm becoming .... well, maybe not more minimalist, but definitely less maximalist than I was, after having to box up a lot of my stuff in hopes of getting some renovation done (And I may have a new lead on someone who can do it, since the last guy fell through). Though I suppose there are a few bits of furniture I would replace if I found something good-quality (better quality than what I have now) that was new, or that was a good quality antique. 

I also went to Quilt Asylum, and wow, is it nice to have them open again and CLOSER to me. I did hear the owner saying "the rent here is less, I get more foot traffic...." so I hope that means she can continue on and the shop keeps on going. One of the things I really like about the shop is that they have fat quarters of nearly every fabric they have on the bolt, so if you want to put together fat quarters for a quilt top, it's easy to do (they also have big tables where you can lay them out if you want) and you don't have to ask them to cut for you. (I'm sure it's a pain to cut "one" fat quarter - basically it's a half-yard piece cut in half again the opposite direction - so it's closer to square than a regular quarter-yard cut would be)

These are the ones I bought today plus the ones I bought on my earlier trip; I was trying to get sort of coordinating ones with the thought of making a fat-quarter quilt. (I have LOTS of patterns for using fat quarters, and usually 12-14 fat quarters will make a top for a twin-sized bed, or slightly bigger. I use the smaller quilts a lot - I often put one over my feet in the summer when it's too warm to have one up over my shoulders, or I layer them in the winter when it's cold. And it takes less time to make the quilt, and less fabric.

Another fun thing about "indie" quilt shops is that every one of them literally has different fabrics. There may be some overlap in lines or prints, but you will not find two shops with the exact same selections. It's very much what the owner's tastes are - and I remember from the "old" Quilt Asylum having a lot of these "arty" fabrics (they carried a lot of the Kaffe Fasset lines). I like them, too. Some of those have tiny biological prints - there's a dark-background one in the top row with sea creatures, and one (lefthand side of the bottom row) with big coneflowers on it. 

The yellow-green up there at the top was a piece I bought because I realized I had *nothing* that would work for the sashing corner stones on the top I'm making (it's odd colors). Oh, I probably have *something* but the vast majority of my fabric is now in the storage unit and I didn't feel like having to truck over there and dig through boxes. I was selecting "blind," from the stand point of I didn't have the fabric with me that I was trying to match. And it can be HARD to match that particular shade of yellow green, and if it's off, it's REALLY off. 

But I think I did a good job, here it is with the fabric I am using for sashing:

Now I just have to get the rest of the fiddly blocks sewn up and then I can start putting it together. (I have a big piece that will work for backing, so I can take it and get it quilted - I think I will take this one to Lulu and Hazel to have it done, often in the early summer they are less overloaded)

But now I'm tired after mowing the lawn so maybe I just sit in my comfortable chair and make blocks for the Color-Bar blanket. I have six more I think of the black, and I think I have enough yarn....