Quilt and novel finishes

For my youngest granddaughter, with special thanks to my better half for his participation in the photography department.

Wow, what a couple of writing months it has been! Quilting excursions too, but writing is far more draining, probably because I don't make super-futzy quilts lol. Okay, EPP quilts are pretty involved, but their pace is so much slower than a novel, I don't feel the truly overwhelming sense of AHHHHHH that a book's completion provides. But with the last two quilts of 2023 washed, dried, and gift-wrapped in addition to THE END being ethereally slapped onto my Word document, my goodness I'm feeling....

Um, how do I feel? Well, my right shoulder is bothering me, so I'm not doing any hand-sewing at the moment. I'm pretty full, as we went out for a celebratory breakfast this morning after I finished my novel, and I'm in a chatty blogging mood, although my thoughts are kinda scattered. This book ended up pretty long-ish, currently at 137K. That's a hefty first draft, and I have no immediate idea when I'll open it up again for a second look. Probably not until after Christmas, in that I don't want to start the read-through, then go away for a few days. Better to let it sit in my hard drive for awhile, allowing the noveling fairies to work their magic, haha. Future Me rolls her eyes, but Past Me smiles widely. She's in a jovial mood, Christmas less than a week away.

She's excited to share quilts with the granddaughters, as they chose the fabric over summer, and they don't know the quilts are done, hehehe. Past Me is far more hyped for the holiday than Present Me, while Future Me shows little regard for all the fanfare, preferring to quietly contemplate whatever it is that Future Me finds so engrossing. She knew I'd write books one day, she was aware of the whole sewing gig, as well as who would be dwelling on another plane at this moment in time. I don't need her level of awareness; I'm grateful just to be done with my book today.

I really am thankful, in that my goodness I was ready to wrap up this novel! It's been coming for a few days, and I didn't write yesterday with the knowledge that perhaps today would end the tale. Which it did, great! Sort of strange to not write with only one chapter remaining, although I wasn't one hundred percent certain of that, but I was eighty percent sure. Okay, eighty-five. That's pretty dang certain, let me say, and tomorrow morning I can wake up and not think, "What will happen to my cast now?"

(But I might start to ponder the next installment of this series, lol. And is Future Me smirking from her quiet corner of the room? I think so!)

For our eldest grandgirl; what will she think of all the Pikchus?

As for the quilts.... I think they're adorable, Pikachu included. No hand-quilting on these, but plenty of machine quilting so they will be durable for a long time. Lots of simple four-inch square patchwork, a couple of prints shared between them for they are sister cozies and will probably be swapped by my grandgirls over time.

Goodness, is it really just Tuesday? I feel like it's Thursday at the very least. But that's a blessing among many, in that now the rest of the week is free for....starting another quilt! But not another book, lol. Yes, I have another quilt on the design wall, pictures of it soon. Since I'm not hand-sewing in the evenings as my shoulder mends, I needed something to keep me busy. Large rectangles will make for a quick finish, well a fast quilt-top completion. I don't plan to actually wrap up this blanket until early next year, but that's fine. The usual maddening hustle and bustle has kept itself to a minimum this Advent season and I have reveled in being able to breathe without deadlines hampering every step. I need to remember this next fall, perhaps I'll set a reminder to make certain I don't extend myself as I used to. Past Me stops smiling, giving me a look that says, "What's gives huh?"

I smirk back: "You'll know soon enough."

Meanwhile Future Me giggles uncontrollably in the corner....