Just keep swimming, just keep swimming...

About a week ago, my laptop decided that the internet wasn't important and refused to talk to it. At all. After many hours of research and attempting several different "fixes," none of which fixed anything,  I finally bit the bullet and re-installed windows. In between getting it back up and running the way I want and a particularly exhausting week at work, it has been a rather slow going week.

Mini Innocence was at the top of my to do list as I watched TV this week. (Go Commander McGarrett!) By the way, by far my favorite episode of Hawaii Five-O is Season 3, Episode 23.

Before

After

This evening was the first time I felt up to anything other than TV and cross stitch, so I attempted to embroider my very first embroidered quilt label. It came out semi-decent, but I'm still having tension issues that I'm not quite sure how to combat.

The border was part of a purchased pattern that I duplicated and rotated to make a complete square. I attempted to use variegated thread for the lettering but I think a solid would have worked better. This label is for my Kona Slate Rock quilt, which has been renamed "Belisama." The quilting is finally completed, so only the binding still needs to be made.

While that was stitching out, I spent some time playing with the pattern I'm developing for water bottle carriers. It is slow going, but once I have a system I think it will be a quick stitch. This is a piece of test embroidery that I am experimenting with to make the bottle carrier.

I've made some important lifestyle decisions lately, and am hoping that once I detox from certain things I've eliminated that I'll have more energy and feel generally better. At lot of it is learning to listen to myself and not push too hard, working with the natural rhythms of ups and downs rather than fighting against them.  One of the things I am starting to work towards is establishing Sunday as a determined Day of Rest for both Jack and I, which means nothing that we view as work. I'm going to have to step up my game a bit during the week to avoid things like laundry and dishes on Sundays and another monumental task will be changing my attitude towards church and family lunch from things I feel obligated to do into things I can relax and enjoy. Its going to be a long road but a happier one I hope.