'Mile a Minute' Progress

My string bag is now virtually empty - I'd been making 10 blocks at a time and I don't think I've got enough strings left to make even another 10.

Here is the result - a year's worth of strings and oddments that I think many people would have thrown away (though I have to confess that I did use my pre-cut 2.5 inch squares for the centres just to have that bit more variety). I can't tell you how much I enjoyed making this and how much I love the finished effect. The colours though are a bit bleached out in these pictures, they are brighter in 'real life'.

I am just so sad that I'll have to wait another year to build up enough strings for another one. I know I could use strips from yardage but I just don't think I'd get the same effect - this uses lots of odd long triangular pieces from cutting straight the sleeves and yokes of shirts and besides, I just love the notion that nothing is wasted and it's kind of for free. I'm going to put a dark navy border on it to make it up to a big enough size to use as a throw on my kitchen sofa.

Siobhan commented that sewing mile a minute blocks is kind of like therapy and I couldn't agree more. I've had a bit of a stressful time lately for a variety of reasons culminating in a trip to London for my son to have an MRI scan last Monday. We were in an awful car accident nearly two years ago and my son was badly hurt and in intensive care for a short period. Thankfully there is no lasting damage and the driver of the car who caused the accident was prosecuted, but for insurance purposes my son has had to have MRI scans of his head. This was the third try - he had a panic attack in the first, traditional enclosed tunnel-like one and then they tried another wider one which was supposed to be less claustrophobic but he still panicked. This was the last resort, a 'wide open' scanner where he didn't have to go into a tunnel and I am glad to say that he was okay and stayed still enough for them to do the scans (not easy for a ten year old) and he was very proud of himself. On the positive side, after that was over the two of us had a lovely afternoon and evening in London (including a trip to Hamleys Toy Shop in Regent Street for a reward) before heading home on the train.

This morning we went to Birmingham. I like to go to the 'Rag Market' - of course it doesn't sell rags any more but it does sell fabric and has lots of haberdashery stalls. I like markets anyway - I'm far happier in a market than a globalised chain store.

Have a good weekend everyone.