Here we go again, another week, and another dice roll. Oops, don’t think it happened last week, but who’s counting these days? This week I will be working on number one from my List of Six, my neutral strings blocks. This was started quite some time ago, so I’m pleased to have it to the top of the list again. I had stitched a whole pile of neutral string pieced blocks, made ages ago when I started on “Roll, Roll, Cotton Boll”, a Bonnie Hunter mystery quilt. This was as far as I got with the quilt, and last year I made a child’s donation quilt using some of these blocks. This is number two using these squares, and believe it or not, there will still be enough for a third small quilt!
Put any quilting on the floor, and the cat comes to check it out!
I’m using a teal blue fabric for the sashing, and the rows are now being pieced together. Let’s see how far I get this week.
Assembling the rows
We had a busy day yesterday when we had a tradesman in the house. Finally, our heat pump was getting some attention, after weeks of being in Lockdown. Now that New Zealand has dropped down to Alert Level 3, some businesses can now operate as long as they adhere to the strict rules now in place. In these Covid 19 days, having a tradesman in the house takes some planning. While the tradesman was working, for social distancing reasons, we were asked not to be in the same room as him. I decided to distance myself in the caravan, taking Gemma with me.
I had packed my library book and knitting and with the kettle on the gas hob, a cup of coffee or two, I was quite happy. It was a lovely morning, the sunshine was streaming in the windows, and Gemma soon settled down for a snooze.
Relaxing in the caravan
We had decided to get a new replacement heat pump, rather than repair our existing unit. Jonathan was busy outside at the back of the house replacing the outside unit, while Robin stayed inside. These units have gas inside (I didn’t know that) which had to be sucked out and safely contained. The new unit was installed, and as the unit is complete with new refrigerant gas, when the system is sealed the gas is released, and that part of the job was completed. After a socially distant lunch break (Jonathan solitary outside on the patio and us inside) the second phase was done, installing the interior unit. Finally the job was complete after a satisfactory test run, and we were good to go again – ready and waiting for the next cold spell.
Installation complete
While Jonathan was busy working, with the company van parked outside, two neighbours came knocking on the door wanting some work done on their own heat pumps. With two extra jobs to be logged, the company will be pleased with that, I’m sure.
7 comments:
I remember the Neutral Blocks and they did make a nice quilt and these with the blue will also be pretty..
It's nice to be able to distance yourself and Gemma in the van doing some knitting and enjoying a few cuppas..
Great to have the heating sorted for the colder weather.
I am sure you can get 3 out of those blocks as BH's quilts always have tons of them, don't they? Your neutrals against that blue color look super...nice work in progress
Stay safe now
~ ~ ~ waving while the sun rises Julierose
Lovely to see those blocks being worked on.
Glad you could get the work done. Well worth keeping out of the way.
We have a plumber coming tomorrow to repair some taps. Hope it goes as well as your work.
Gemma is gorgeous. Very interesting quilt in progress. I like the blue with the neutrals. Looking forward to seeing where this finishes. Stay at home order, except for essential businesses, very much in place here in the northeast of the USA. Does not change my day much. I am a stay at home quilter by preference. I do hope the health of the world improves soon. May you an yours be well and safe ... <3 Pat
I bet the man was thankfully to get more business after not working a month - and what a nice unit you have now for the winter. We need to get a new one sometime and stop repairing the old one - ours is electric though we are not set up for gas. a camper comes in handy sometimes when you need to be out of the house but no where really to go
Glad you had the caravan as a safe retreat while the repairman was working.
I've loved reading your posts and seeing the work you've been doing. You've been very busy and finished some beautiful things. I so admire your skill and enthusiasm. Since we've been in lockdown I can't seem to get any enthusiasm to do anything crafty, I really must make an effort particularly as I now appear to have come out of the fog I've been in since the announcement was made and all our plans cancelled. Our son has his caravan on the drive in case he has to self isolate as he is still working as a key worker. Keep up the good work, love reading your blog and always look forward to the next installment.
Judith nb Serena
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