So, hey. I just want to say, that if you get bronchitis, it sucks. You cough, and cough and cough and do little else besides cough and sleep. In fact, today was the first day this week that I didn’t wear pajamas all day. I even went to work. It was a big day.

In fact, I took a picture of my happy bronchitis face. See how happy I am? So, so happy.


3.52 down for the count

During my time on the couch this week I’ve been thinking about wanting to get down to business on some of my projects. I started piecing these blocks over the past summer and due to other projects and craft shows that I did last fall, I never finished them up.


new quilt blocks

Today’s plan was to figure out how many I have completed, and how many more I have to go. At this point, I have 23 finished blocks and I’d like to have 40 finished for a 5×8 grid. Each block is about 12 inches square, but even with 40 blocks, I’m not sure about the size.


getting projects back out

So here’s my question for my fellow quilters: Do you always have a set size in mind when making quilts? Part of me is concerned that if I don’t at least make it as large as a twin size that it will be useless if I ever decide to use it for something other to cover up with on the couch. Any input into how big you decide to make your quilts would be appreciated. I’m having trouble coming to a decision on what I should do.


in progress

Hopefully I’ll be seeing a little more of my sewing table in the next few days (minus the cough drop wrappers, of course). I’d like to get these blocks tied up so I can do some top piecing here in the next few weeks!

Let me be honest: I’m currently sick and grumpy. I’ve had a bad cold since last Wednesday and then I lost my voice on Friday. It’s now almost a week later and my voice is still nowhere to be found. It really sucks.

However, here is a list of things that are currently making me happy:

*Watching Curling on the Olympics. I watched an hour of it yesterday in between my napping and I found it completely intriguing. I have no idea what the heck was going on, but boy, I couldn’t take my eyes off of it. I need to learn more about it so I can become a hard-core curling fan.

*Having a freshly organized shelf of cds. I will be the person who buys cds up until they stop selling them in stores. I just can’t get behind the idea of spending money on a downloaded song. I need the cd in my hand so that I can leaf through the liner notes. I’m fuddy like that.


a clean house

*Knitting socks! I ended up going with the green yarn for my socks, and despite several false starts, I’m off and running on the Interlocking Leaves pattern. So far, I’m very happy with them.


sharing the couch

*Ice cream. ‘Nuff said.


yummers

*And a nap to top it all off!


2.52 cat nap

I easily get all wrapped up in group projects. Every October I get all riled up to knit only socks for Socktoberfest and then this past November for Vestvember I knit my first actual wearable garment. There’s just something fun about knowing that a group of people with a shared hobby are working on the same things you are. So, beginning tomorrow night, I’m going to try knit a full pair of socks for Ravelympics 2010.


decisions, decisions

I want a challenge, but I don’t want to knit something so tough that I won’t be able to finish. I’ve pretty much decided that I’m going to knit a something toe-up, which is relatively new skill to me. I had pulled out these five yarns hoping that one of them would inspire me to pick a pattern, but I’m still torn. I’m thinking I’d like to use the green (Dream in Color Smooshy, in Happy Forest) to make the Interlocking Leaves socks. However, I could still persuaded to pick something different. I just can’t make up my mind.

I can start casting on tomorrow night as the Olympic opening ceremonies begin. I have this feeling that I’ll still be having trouble deciding what to make.

This little blog is a funny thing for me.

I love keeping it. I hate feeling like I have nothing to say. And I would be crushed to end it.

But I worry about what I should say. Does anyone really care about what I make? Should I write only about quilting or knitting or both? What if my pictures are lousy? Will anyone leave comments anymore?

Ultimately, I’ve decided that I cannot worry about those things. I cannot worry about whether or not people like what I make, like what I write about, or like the pictures I take. If I want Hip To Piece Squares to live, then I need to keep this blog for me.


picking back up

So this is where I’m beginning at again. I’m working to encourage myself to finish projects that I’ve started ages ago…not because I NEED to finish them, but because I still love them. They need my attention, and not my anxiety of worrying that they won’t be perfect. That’s the way that I need to think about this space. I don’t need to keep writing because it’s something that I need to do, but because it’s something that I love.