The weather has been so warm and springlike, but rain and cold are expected this weekend. It was bound to happen. We have to have some sort of a winter.
Mike went to Lubbock for a few days, so Mama and I were here alone. I probably did more reading than usual and a little more sewing. Our company is changing work platforms yet again, so I've had pages and pages of new things to learn, conference calls and training sessions. I like learning new things though.
As soon as he got home, we watched the latest Downton Abbey that I had recorded. We never want it to end.
All the rice bag/hand warmers were much appreciated. Emily loved them immediately even though she thought they were just little bean bags. Once she learned what they were for, she liked them even better. I make things for fun, but it makes me feel good when people actually use your projects. She says she heats them when she's at home and walks around with them in her robe pockets.
Ryan has many ideas for them - putting them in the freezer for muscles aches or headaches and making them in a doughnut shape for hand warming without having to hold them. I think they may have some of these. Leave it to a South Dakotan to know all about ways to keep warm. I'll have to get some masculine fabric. I can't imagine a snowboarder with little birdies and flowers on his hand warmers.
I think Mama loves them the most. I'll have to make her lots more. She is constantly warming them up during the day to make her hands feel better and actually had me make some for her friends with hand pain.
Looks like I'll be making more of those - and some bigger ones for shoulders and backs. I wouldn't mind having one under my desk to keep my feet warm when I'm working.
I did finish 2 books. I'm a reading machine lately. It helps when you find books that are this good. I read Nightwoods by Charles Frazier, the author of Cold Mountain. I don't remember reading Cold Mountain but loved the movie. I thought this book was pretty good.
I just finished reading another Kristen Hannah book, Magic Hour. I loved it and finished it just over a day.
That's maybe why my quilting goes so slowly.
But I did finish the hexagonal quilt (top) and the companion stacked coins (top).
My thoughts as I sewed this were: OH NO. I hate it. Too much white. Then: Well, I hate it less but still a mistake. To: Hey, I think I like this pretty well.
With a bright binding to match the binding on the other one, I think it's going to work. The two little boys are not going to be too picky, I'm sure.
I still like this fabric.
I decided to take a break from those 2 quilts and work on Elise's quilt - the one that was started too long ago and put aside again and again. I'm not sure why. It's not hard, and I like the fabrics she's chosen. 
But after sitting and measuring each square - nearly 100 of them, I found that I'm off on some little seam somewhere on over half of them. So I'm gradually ripping seams and doing a better job this time. It's slow but the kind of thing I like to do.
We'll go to Andalusia tomorrow to visit Roy, and that will finish off another week - a week without buying groceries or going to Wal-Mart. Maybe that's why it was such a good one.
