… is finished. Six left to do and the blocks for this will be finished.

The back:

Looks like our lovely lengthy January thaw is coming to an end. While it was quite mild on the weekend, by tonight we’ll be back into the minus temperatures and snow is in the forecast for later in the week. It’s odd to think of snow now. I always feel by the time we get to the end of January we’re through the worst of it. This has been such an odd winter so far that I’m actually hoping we get a real spring, which we haven’t had for years.

I am slowly working my way through the comments left late last week. When my wrists were really hurting, I was limiting my use of the keyboard. Now that they’re feeling better, hopefully I’ll get caught up.

The cats were pretty much doing this all weekend. I think they’re getting rested up for the Olympics. Lester with a teddy bear:

And Smudge — well, perhaps he’s practising for the lounge competition.

I tried to do some applique last night but that slightly different movement was too much for my wrist. I’m dying to try some of the Dresden applique collection, but that will have to wait till my hands have recovered from this latest flare.

So I grabbed an envelope from one of the boxes and started this pink ice block. While I clearly won’t have these blocks finished this month, I’m still aiming to have the blocks finished before winter is over.

The back of the centre of the block:

Thursday afternoon I had an eye doctor appointment, after which I had a raging headache. I think I reacted to the drops used. But I found out some great news. There’s now a contact lens for dry eyes that sounds like it may be the solution for me. I wore contacts for decades, until about 7 or 8 years ago when my eyes just got too dry to wear them comfortably. I can’t wait to get a trial pair to see if that will be the solution for me.

Lester resting:

And Smudge showing how he guards a toy while he’s lounging:

Another one done. Now there’s 8 to go. I have already started the next block.

The back:

The kitties are getting in some serious training time for the lounging event. Lester in a rather typical lounging position for him:

Smudge in a variation on the classic lounging pose:

… is finished. Nine to go!! This is the palest of the pinks I’ve used for the blocks. The colour doesn’t quite show up accurately in this picture. It’s more pink than the peach that it appears in this.

The back:Our weather has been really topsy-turvy. Extremely cold and then mild enough to rain. I can’t believe how close we are to Christmas!! It finally got me motivated to get baking supplies to ensure that I have on hand what I’ll need.

Smudge curled up with a teddy:

And Lester snoozing in his kitty bed.

… is done. There are four more blocks for which I have the pink diamonds ready so now it is just a matter of printing enough diamonds on 6 other pink fabrics and a few more of the triangles and squares on white and I’ll have everything to finish the remaining 10 blocks.

The back:

It was rather cold and very windy here on Thursday, so the kitties were curled up in cozy warm spots. This picture of Smudge is one of my favourites — but I think I say that about almost all of them.

And I love this shot of Lester. He’s so alert in this!

… is finished. Block 20 has been started. I’ve decided to make 30 blocks in total, so will pick out more 10 more pinks to use. My goal of finishing it this year looks pretty unobtainable but it will be finished this winter!

The back:

Wednesday was interesting. Snow overnight, then rain and more rain through the day and then the temperatures dropped. We didn’t go out, but I have a feeling the roads must have been terrible.

Lester looking up:

Smudge looking too adorable for words!

I had started this Pink Ice block before the Inklingo Orange Peel collection was released. I’m absolutely fascinated by the Alabama Beauty block and plan on printing the pieces I need for it later today and hopefully getting it pieced tonight. Then I’ll finish this Pink Ice block.

Tonight will be the last night we’re taking care of Winnie, so I plan on spending some extra time upstairs with her. She is such a character that I know we’ll miss being around her as much. Perhaps we’ll have to ask for daily visiting rights, particularly when it comes time to feed her dinner.

Lester on the windowsill on a rather overcast day.

And Smudge also on the windowsill.

… is done. The blocks finish at 9″. I’m thinking another 12 and then it will be time to start auditioning fabrics for sashing. Although I think it’s probably not something I can accomplish, I’d love to get the remaining 12 blocks put together before the end of December.

The back:

Another rather overcast day and more sleepy kitties. Lester in the kitty bed:

And Smudge on the couch: