September 2019

Wow, here we are more than halfway into October, and I haven't posted my September recap...for good reason though. I've been traveling a lot, with little time at home between trips. September found me gone for three weeks - 2 in Ireland, a quick 40ish hours home, and then a week in Memphis. Both trips were for work and both were great. I was able to sneak in a little sightseeing in Ireland over the weekend and enjoyed seeing a little of the city Cork, Blarney Castle, and Spike Island. I included a link to Spike Island - it is a very interested place - similar to an Alcatraz with just as many interesting stories, and just closed as a prison 15 years ago!  If you ever have an afternoon in Cobh (pronounced Cove) Ireland, I highly recommend this tour! In addition to some nice sightseeing, I had two great weeks of work with our team there - it is always nice to be able to work face-to-face with people who you usually talk to over the phone.

The English Market in downtown Cork

A beautiful Dahlia at Blarney Castle

Some yarn bombing in a window at Blarney Castle! 

Entrance to Spike Island

St. Colman's Cathedral in Cobh, Ireland

Bye, bye lovely green country! 

After a quick partial-weekend at home, I left again on Monday morning for a leadership training course in Memphis, TN. We spent the week exploring our own leadership styles, setting goals for ourselves, and visiting some nearby places to learn about leadership - it was humbling and very inspiring to visit both St. Jude's Hospital and the National Civil Rights museum. Even though timing wasn't great, I was very glad for a week to reflect and think about my own goals and style.

Lorraine Motel, sight of Martin Luther King, Jr's assassination and also home to the National Civil Rights Museum

The last week of September saw me home, running between tennis matches for my son, orchestra for my daughter, and working with my Girl Scouts to help them finish up their Silver Award. I am glad to say that all went well!

All this travel made the crafting time limited, but I did take a few projects on the road with me. I crocheted back and forth from Ireland and finished up a skinny scarf for my daughter - it is long and you wear it doubled and then pulled through the loop. She wouldn't model it for me today since she stayed in her pajamas all day :)

I also got my September Flip-It done - just in the nick of time. I like this one just as well as the others and am looking forward to starting to work on the finishing for these monthly projects. I have a plan to have a rotating display for them.

On the quilting front, I only spent a couple days with my machines - I repaired an old blanket, loaded and started quilting a top for my mom, and also made my project for my quilt group's 1/2 yard challenge. We all bought 1/2 yard of the same fabric and made what we wanted with it. I shared this sneak peek of mine in September, and we just unveiled them over the weekend. Mine is a laundry bag! Perfect for all this travel. I will share a picture of it with the other projects as we end October.

A slow month for stash and stitching days, but here is the accounting:
Fabric added this month: 0 yards
Fabric used this month: 3/4 yard
Fabric added year to date: 4 1/4 yards
Fabric used year to date: 33 1/8 yards
Net fabric used: 28 7/8 yards

Days of crafting in September: 13 = 43% of the days in the month - my lowest for 2019 so far.

Hope you all had a nice September and are enjoying your October. I am just back from my fall retreat so will have more to share soon!

Linking up with Kate at Life in Pieces and Donna at Quilt Paint Create