Here, have a cookie!

I never indulged in tantrums as a child.  My mother had a way of just looking at us that told us that was not a wise choice, not if we expected to live to see another day.  As a result of that upbringing, and because I never had children of my own, I tend to look on people dealing with screaming children in stores with a jaundiced eye.  Here, have a cookie I've heard some desperate parent say in a cajoling tone.  One should never under estimate the effectiveness of a sweet treat to calm a fractious angry child, and turn tears into smiles.  The same thing goes for quilters.

I bundled up to go out this morning.  It's gotten even colder.  First there was the garbage that had to go out.  With no respite in the weather until Monday or Tuesday (we're supposed to get back up above freezing), I was not willing to live with it in the house.  Lucas has a strong attraction for plastic bags, especially those containing smelly garbage - a remnant of his life as a stray, no doubt.  More urgent, I was out of coffee.  I pulled on my winter boots for the first time since last winter, shrugged into my winter coat (sheesh they're heavy), and while digging in the pockets for my mittens, found $20 in the pocket!  That bit of good fortune would have been sufficient to make my day.  But wait - it gets better.

I stopped by the mailbox on the way out the door, flipped through the advertisements and the bills - then came across three parcel pick-up notices.  Three.  I stared at them, blinking in confusion.  Three?  What the heck had I ordered?  and more to the point, why hadn't the Postie buzzed my apartment to deliver them when he dropped off the notices?! Somewhat confused, but with a light heart now leaping with joy, I made my way to the Postal counter at the convenience store two blocks from my apartment, not noticing the cold, or the wind, and not even feeling annoyed with the Postie who had obviously had my parcel all along, but didn't bother to ring my buzzer (probably under the mistaken notion that I was at work and not at home).  The first parcel had the black tonal I ordered, plus a few other fabrics I had forgotten about completely.  The black with grey and the grey are both Kaufman fabrics, the black tonal is from Kansas Troubles by Moda.

And, then the rest of the package contains fabrics I added to the order to fill up the USPS envelope (it's the same shipping price whether the envelope is half full or jam packed, so definitely cost effective to add a few other items - the rationalization of a fabric addict) - the Timeless Treasures celery green tonal because I don't have any of that happy colour in my stash, the Sandy Gervais Burnt Orange (plus a fat quarter to make up for the fact that the yardage was short) because I can't resist a gorgeous orange, and a cream neutral (another Kaufman) because one can never have too many neutrals. 

I made a pot of fresh coffee and turned my attention to the next two parcels.  I now knew what was in them - Kaufman fusions - from a sale I found in a wonderful new-to-me online shop Craft Town Fabrics in Indiana.  They have Kaufman fusions on sale for $7.48 / yard, whereas those same fabrics (if you can find them) are over $20 / metre here.

I did exercise some restraint (though it may not be immediately apparent) by restricting my purchases in the most part to colours I have little of, buying 1/2 yards instead of yards for at least half of them, and 1 yard instead of 2 for the rest, well... except for one of the oranges and the neutral.  This is my early Christmas present to myself, a luxurious indulgence, and I should add that I did go a full 18 months without buying a new fabric.

Now I have a stack of fabric to iron and fold.  I am persnickety about folding my fabrics so that they all fit nicely in my stash.  I don't pre-wash.  For years I belonged to a swap group that insisted on unwashed fabrics, so my stash is 95% unwashed, and at $4 to wash and dry a load of fabric, it's going to stay that way.  When I participate in a swap that requires washed fabrics, or work on a project that is using the last of my pre-washed stash, I will toss the fabrics I need into the laundry.  But I've learned from experience, that I can mix strips of pre-washed and unwashed fabrics without trouble.  I wouldn't do that if the fabric pieces were large, but when dealing with small pieces it doesn't seem to have any adverse effect.

In walking back to my apartment, I noticed my Filipino neighbours have kept their drapes drawn to minimize cold drafts from the windows and feel great sympathy for their struggle with the cold.  It all comes down to preference.  I would rather deal with a colder apartment if I can have bright daylight, than be warm in the dark without daylight for days.  Besides, I find ironing is a good way to get warm.  I leave you with a couple of pics of my windows and the winter sparkle art between the double glass panes by Jack Frost.


My dining room view.

And my bedroom.