Almanizer and A Mental Health Day

For about the last week I have been crabby, and I mean ugly crabby.  I am usually a very happy person and it takes a lot for me to become crabby, but I have been.  Yesterday when I was told I could take a vacation day today I jumped at it.  A long time ago an older woman (she was probably the age I am now at the time, and at 16 I thought she was nearly geriatric) told me that every once in a while she would take a mental health day, and she would do something that really made her happy.  We all laughed about it, but you know she was right.  Sometimes a person just needs a day to something that is not stressful to forget all the junk that goes on.

The first thing I did was to finish my Halloween quilt so it is ready for next year.  This pattern by The Wooden Bear is so easy it is just fun to do.  Since I am not fond of spiders I only put one on there...and I pretend he is cute. :)

Next I decided I should work on another Christmas ornament for my all handmade ornament tree this year.  I was a little worried at first about using black thread for a Christmas ornament, but after it was finished I really did like it.  I only have 34 more to make (there are three patterns by Blackbird Designs for each month), and I think it is safe to say they all are not going to be finished this year, but maybe next.

Since it was still early in the day I decided I should try to figure out how big I am going to make my 9-patch quilt.  I had thought I had all of the blocks done at 168 (I had made a few extra), but now I'm thinking I want it queen sized...so I made a few more from the strips I already had cut.

With another 19 finished I'm at 187 with a goal of 210.  I also need to get the sashing cut and the 2-inch squares for the border.  I think tomorrow I may try to lay out all the blocks and see what colors I need to add yet.  I still have quite a bit of fabric left so I do have some choices.

Last, but certainly not least, I made the block for today.  It is number 314 of 366 and it is a 12-inch block. All in all I think my mental health day was a success, and I may even finish this posting before 11 p.m.  Tomorrow will be another busy day, but I can smile thinking about all the fun I had today.  Happy Stitching!!  --Kristen