No fingerprints!

I'm down to quilting the last eight to ten inches of border on the Peppermint Pinwheel Quilt. I presume I will finish that this evening, and begin application of the binding and sleeve. The fingers on my left hand, which are under the frame, hover between leather-like callous, and bloody stubs. There are a couple spots which have been pricked so continually, that by bedtime, little chunks of callous have fallen out, and I literally have holes! I had the quilt with me yesterday, as my DH and I went to an auction, and I worked in the car and in my seat at the auction nearly non-stop. A lady sat next to me, and complimented the evenness of my stitches, so that was encouraging! I was afraid they were beginning to get larger as fatigue crept in.

I had an e-mail notification that my software for the Civil War Diary and Civil War Love Letter patterns shipped on Thursday. A follow-up on the tracking information showed it was in Indianapolis on Saturday night, so I'm hoping to find it has arrived when I go home for lunch today. I know I have several projects lined up for post quilt show, which will be Saturday, April 5. Can't believe it is so close, and on its heels, our annual trek to Paducah. A couple of our veterans can't make the trip this year. I'm sure we will have a good time, but it just won't be the same without them. I'm going to try to be on a fabric "diet" this year, though I have considered that a few charm squares and fat quarters won't hurt.

At yesterday's auction, DH bought a little plastic bag with about 20 advertising thimbles in it. They were all quite dirty, and you can imagine my surprise when he handed a silver one to me. It was slightly out of round, but a few seconds with it wrapped in an old rag, and a gentle prod with a pair of pliers, and it is nearly perfect again. After we arrived home, and he was cleaning them up, he found another. Not too bad for a $4 investment! Both of them are free of holes, with their biggest problem being a lot of black tarnish. They polished up pretty well, and reveal a country scene on one . . . . house, trees, pathway and sunrise (or sunset depending upon one's viewpoint), and an interesting fleur de lis type design on the other. I told him I was delighted to have two silver thimbles for a present on our 42nd wedding anniversary. He said no amount of money was too much to spend on me!

Next post will have pictures of my London Square top . . . which I have decided needs borders, and the finished Peppermint Pinwheel!