And we’re off

I pulled two almost all-nighters and they had nothing to do with packing for our trip to Alaska. I accomplished that in three hours; one backpack for me and a carry-on bag for my projects – camera, quilt hoop and yarn. My hula hoop and jump rope fit in the backpack.

My foul weather gear takes up most of my clothing space. No fashion show here. We learned this week that 1) noone has been to the lighthouse yet this year (I hear, “expect dirt and critters”); 2) the “big” boat won’t be ready for our 60 mile trip along the inside passage so we’ll take the tender (hence the full foulies); 3) oh yes, and the ramp is out so we’ll dingy our stuff ashore (hence the need for rubber boots). Yet I’m psyched.

Tim found this great slide show to put me in the mood, put together by an artist in residence a few years ago. You can find it here.

I lost sleep due to self imposed deadlines. I had to weave several placemats to complete a set I made for my daughter and I did – in 24 hours! The first part of the set only contained three placemats due to warping mishaps. Now she has a complete set of eight and she will know how much I love her.

Then I had to finish a quilt to for my son since I will be away for his birthday. So I had to finish it six weeks early. I’m a crazy woman but I did it. 3072!! That’s the estimated number of stitches I sewed to finish the binding. The quilt is 96″ x 96″ so the circumference is 384″ with about 8 stitches per inch for a total of 3072 at the rate of about 500 stitches per hour or 8 stitches per minute. I must be slow and crazy.