Back into the swing of things!

I've unpacked and done the washing; put everything away and cleared up. I am now back to normal. Why is it that there is such a sense of anti climax about coming home after a holiday? Yesterday I felt quite odd. Quite restless and not knowing what to do with myself for half the day. However today I'm raring to go. I've had lots of time for introspection and retrospection and have come back full of ideas and plans. The thing is will I keep with them? We shall see!

Firstly I have to say that the Singer Steam Press is fantastic. It takes a bit of getting used to especially as there is no instruction book. I have now found out what ALL the knobs and dials do so that is something. It is amazing in that it swivels round so that larger items can be pressed without creasing. I can see the green glow coming up from down under Caitlin! Grin! I have found that things need to be a little damp if they are wrinkled so that they can be straightened out. Very wrinkled things are hard to do...well I'm a novice still so perhaps this is a learning curve. If anyone has one and wants to give me written lessons I'm all ears! Or should I say eyes!

Secondly I arrived home to see that the book I'd ordered from Amazon had arrived. This was Fusing Fabric by Margaret Beal. A fantastic book - all about using a soldering iron. One of my favourite tools! 'Creative cutting, bonding and mark making with the soldering iron' is what it says on the cover. I'm going to try some of the techniques as soon as I get a moment. I doubt it will be this month as I am up to my eyebrows with things to do. Classes start in three weeks and I need to get the quilt blocks together! I have a show to do where I'm selling ribbons and fabric so need to do more dyeing. I have training sessions for my new role as classroom observer. And I have to get my tax returns finished by the end of the month. So not much time for playing. Though I am going to use any spare moments to get some postcards made for the swap I'm in which was organised by Lisa. I have already done some but need to do more. Doing these will be soul food as opposed to necessity sewing.

I need to start thinking about Christmas. Talking of Christmas this picture was what greeted me as we entered the Travel Lodge we stayed in on the way up to Scotland. An early sighting!

Once I have got over the initial mountain of work as detailed above I will be able to organise myself and find more time. For the moment the priority is to get the sampler quilt finished and write up my notes for class. I have this mad panic every year so nothing is new. The summer always seems to stretch ahead and seem endless and then suddenly its gone! Just like that.