Yesterday, we went to visit an old friend we hadn't seen in years. She's 4 days younger than me, but looks much older. She moved to San Antonio a dozen years ago and we lost track of one another. She's had some physical injuries and I don't think she's received adequate medical care and is using a wheel chair for mobility. She made some life choices that prioritized others over herself and seems to be paying a heavy price for that. Now she's alone, home bound, in an apartment where animals outnumber people 4 to 1 and reeks of smoke, relying on her married son as a caretaker. She has plans to turn things around and we'll have to see if they work. I sat and counted my blessings, and in my head I named them one by one, starting with the good man that was sitting next to me. I have been lucky. But, I have also made some good decisions.
She showed us this quilt that I made a very long time ago for her and had forgotten. I knew it was my work because I still have scraps of some of these fabrics in my stash. If I re-made it today, I'd use a little darker fabric in the centers of some of those blocks, but everybody starts somewhere and learns from there. The places I looked closely at were well pieced. The quilting was even, but I couldn't figure out a pattern to it.
I put the last stitches in the baby quilt yesterday afternoon. I thought I'd be able to finish on Saturday, but it was late yesterday afternoon. I kept finding places to tweak and I kept getting distracted. Anyway, I'm declaring it done now and not looking at it too close anymore. Today, I'll launder and pack it and tomorrow, it will go in the mail. Hopefully. You'll probably be forced to look at it one more time after it's laundered. I don't think a quilt is finished until it has been, and all the puffy bits can stand up and show the real finished product.
As I was trying to figure out how to play a song on Saturday, I stumbled on a teacher that was offering Christmas carol tutorials. I spent some time re-creating her chord charts for a dozen carols that I immediately started learning to play. I don't see us sitting around the ukulele singing carols by candle light on Christmas Eve, but who knows, right? This new teacher is a little more fun than the one I originally took classes from. His classes get harder and harder and in about 6 months, I've progressed to the point that I'm ready for lesson 7 of 10. I'm an advanced and well-practiced 6, ready to move forward. The new teacher seems to have an easier curriculum, built around learning to play songs that include new, simple chords. But, my favorite part is that she includes a lot of new strumming patterns. I was getting pretty tired of using the same pattern on every song. She also has lessons on picking the uke like a banjo. I'd really like to learn to do that.
Everybody have a great week! Remember the good old days, but also remember why they're the past and not the present. Put on your own oxygen mask before assisting others. And, maybe learn something new to enjoy. Learning is fun (words my 13 year old self never thought I'd say).
Lane
5 comments:
I’m sure it meant a lot to you to see your quilt hanging. Thanks for sharing. Mary
How fun to see one of your original quilts. I hope your friend succeeds in her plans.
Your baby quilt came out fantastic! I love the colors you used. Such a nice change from "boring beige baby" or so-old baby pink (or baby blue) colors so often used. And it's a nice touch to repeat the daisy in the quilting.
Your post today reminds me that I have made plenty of bad decisions in my life, but hopefully I've learned from them. I'm 75 and still 'kicking' just not as much. Hopefully I'm making better decisions and do consider myself lucky. Thanks for sharing.
Love love love that baby quilt! I'm sorry to hear about your friend. I hope things improve for her.
Lane, I followed your blog years ago and lost track of you, but just stumbled across your link on someone else's blog roll sidebar thing. Glad to see you're still quilting. That floral appliqué quilt is beautiful and yes, I agree that a quilt doesn't seem finished and ready for gifting until you've laundered it. I love that bumpy texture but more importantly, I don't want the person who receives it to freak out if they wash it the first time and it comes out of the laundry different than it was when I gave it to them. I'm sorry to hear about your friend, but glad she is displaying and enjoying the quilt you made for her. I am also not surprised that you couldn't spot any piecing imperfections in your earlier work. ;-). Hey, question for you -- I remember that you are something of an expert when it comes to vintage sewing machines. I just found a circa 1970s Necchi Royal Edition sewing machine in my late MIL's things and had it serviced so her granddaughter can sew with it. When I picked up the machine they said something odd to me about it not being a great machine for knits because those fabrics "hadn't been invented yet," which I know is false because this machine has zigzags and a handful of other utility stitches... Do you know anything about Necchis in general or machines of this era? I don't want to give my niece a machine that is just going to give her grief, but she was excited when I told her I was getting Oma's machine serviced for her.
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