10/28/24

Quilts come home

This quilt came back this weekend.  It's one of the first quilts I made, back when I hand quilted everything.  Its history goes back to the very beginning of my quilting journey.  

In subsequent years, I made my Mom a quilt and Rob's Mom a quilt.  They had big stitch quilting before big stitch quilting was cool, not because I planned it, but because that's all I knew.  Rob's Mom is very hot natured, so her quilt needed to be very light weight and I believe the batting in this one is actually a piece of white flannel instead of a traditional quilt bat.  

Roughly 28 years ago, a friend's roommate bugged out, owing him rent and he left his stuff behind as his only way to pay.  Part of that was a small fabric stash, some quilting books, and a sewing machine.  My friend (actually they were both my friends and the one that bugged out was one of the most attractive people I ever met and we all benefitted by being near him when we were out, and we all drooled over him all the time) said I could have part of the stash if I would teach him how to use the sewing machine.  I did and we spent a wonderful New Year's Day together talking about sewing and I walked away with two quilt books and some fabrics to start a couple of quilts.  One of the patterns was a flower appliqué pattern that basically made up into this quilt.  I even got a couple of envelopes with flower pieces already traced and cut and ready to appliqué.

The thing I didn't like about the pattern was that there were only four or five flowers provided and you were supposed to repeat them in different colors.  You can guess what happened next, because you know I can almost never follow a pattern exactly.  I started drawing flowers out of the yard.  The daylily, rose, ivy, and sunflower are definitely ones I added.  Not sure about some of the others.  I improvised and it worked and I'm relatively proud of this early quilt.  

This little block also came back.  Somewhere, there are 12 more basket blocks that all use the same basic basket pattern but have a monthly theme.  Not sure if they're in a box in my stash closet or if they ever got finished into a quilt.  I ended up with two of these in different colors.  I think they were maybe the January block because it's not very Christmassy and I think the December block was.  There's not much quilting, just some outline work and a cute border and binding.  Very simple.  Not every quilt has to be a queen sized art project, right?

The main thing I've learned from this election cycle is to never give the Democratic Party my phone number or email address.  Damn, but that shit is basically harrassment.  I think that sentiment is probably something I share with people from the other party as well.  I'm sure they're being worked just as hard.  But, it will all be over soon.  I'm not reading any more polls.  Done with that.  The press should just say "nobody knows" and save the time for real news, like how Cubans are suffering without electricity.  Or what's happening with rebuilding efforts in Florida.  Real news about real people.  I'm currently stuck between being appalled at the racism, misogyny, and bigotry and being disappointed that people I love are so caught up in the racism, misogyny, and bigotry.  It's a hard line to walk.  

I voted last Friday.  I got there about 11:30 and it took about 80 minutes.  I had no idea what to expect in line.  As I stood there, a couple that was maybe a few years older than me walked up behind me.  The man was a very large mountain of a man.  I had to look up...way up...to see his face and he had a booming voice.  And, we had the best time waiting in line.  We laughed and joked and talked about old Austin and engaged with other people in line, told stories about all the places we'd voted in the past and how this church was the nicest, but we wished we'd brought chairs for the wait (he said that was silly, but his wife and I thought it was a brilliant idea).  He and I finished voting first and I saw him waiting in a seat for his wife and I walked up.  I didn't introduce myself.  But, I shook his hand and told him it had been a pleasure waiting in line with he and his wife and he said the same.  Because civility is NOT dead.  It's just hiding from fascists and false christians and they can't seem to find it.  

Everybody have a great week!  Make your voting plan if you haven't already.  I hope you have a good experience and goodness, but I hope you don't have to wait in line for an hour like I did.  In a civilized world, it should be more convenient to vote, which would encourage greater voter participation...oh, yeah, now I remember why the Rs don't want online voting.  

Lane

10/21/24

All by myself

 Well, not exactly.  The dogs are here.  Rob's gone to visit his Mom.  He drove up yesterday and will come home on Friday.  We were worried that Dottie might panic and spend the whole time searching for him, but she's doing fine.  She wanted to sleep on his pillows last night and I knew better than to let that happen.  

I forgot to take pics of the baby quilt after it was laundered, but it came out great!  We got it shipped and it should get there tomorrow.  I talked to my niece and the doctor had told her "any day now."  

Our weather is cooler now, and yesterday I was able to spend some quality time in the garden, cleaning up so I could get the cuttings to the curb for this morning's pickup.  I took a few days off this week too and plan to spend them moving daylilies and iris and potting up some things to give away.  I have a couple of plants that need to go in the ground and plans for where to put them, I just need the time and the cooler weather to get it done.  

We got new phones last week.  That's always an adventure.  First, Rob has to help me get set up and then he has to help Syd.  This time, Syd's phone was the problem, but it meant we got to spend time with her Friday night and then again on Saturday.  I think we all enjoyed it.  

I'd show you things, but I didn't take any pictures last week.  Not one.  Even though nothing happened, there was something going on all the time and none of it was photo worthy.  Life is passing so fast.  They say that happens as we get older.  

Watching trump and vance is like watching monkeys throw shit at a window for attention.  Goodness gracious, what people will believe is amazing.  

Everybody have a great week!  Have you made your voting plan?  Early voting starts this week here and I plan to spend part of one of those days off waiting in line.  

Lane

10/14/24

Lucky me

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


10/7/24

Can he bake a cherry pie

Robby boy, Robby boy.  Can he bake a cherry pie, darling Robby?  

Yes, I "can".   I think this is my first cherry pie.  As we stood in the grocery, looking at the cans of pie filling, I asked Rob what he'd like and he chose cherry.  I am not ashamed to use canned pie filling.  I add a little cinnamon and a dash of nutmeg to canned apple pie filling all the time and it makes as good a pie as I can from scratch.  I thought cherry pie was tart and sour, but this isn't.  I used a pillsbury all-ready pie crust with a crumb topping I whipped up from memory, and it was easy enough that we should be having pie more often.  One can of filling makes a small pie, perfect for two people who don't need to be eating pie every night.  


I thought I'd be showing you a finished and laundered baby quilt today, but I'm not.  I got the binding sewn down last week, but having the quilt in my lap and being that close to it made me notice a flaw.  Around some of the flower petals, I didn't get close enough to the edge when I was machine appliquéing it down.  The edges didn't lay flat on the background and cast a shadow, and more importantly, they were susceptible to anything getting under them and ripping them off.  So, I'm going around those pieces and hand sewing them down.  And, when I said some of the petals, I really meant most of the petals.  The flower centers and leaves are okay.  I must have been paying closer attention when I was sewing them.  Anyway, I spent most of Saturday and half of Sunday with it in my lap, doing hand appliqué on a quilt I decided to machine appliqué because it was quicker and more convenient.  

You'd think I'd learn my lesson about quicker and more convenient.  It's like the short line at the bureau of motor vehicles.  You see a short line and you think 'why am I waiting behind all these people?' so you get in the short line and when you get to the window, you find out it's only for farm vehicles and you have to get in the back of the long line and wait again.  (this joke stolen from a comedian in the 80's.  I have used it hundreds of times since, to illustrate the futility of shortcuts.  And yes, I get the irony of telling this after my canned pie filing story)

Anyway, I have a couple petals left on a small flower and a couple petals on the large center flower and then I'll be done...for real.  I think some of this is a hesitation to finish.  I've enjoyed this little quilt and I guess I'm not quite ready for it to be done and gone.  That's a good sign, I think.  It generally means it's a good quilt.  But, I'm not sure I could define what makes a "good quilt" other than one where most everything goes right.  

Dottie, waiting for her #1 person.  I am at best a distant #2.  He was out front, visiting with the neighbors and she stood at the door with her nose at the crack, apparently hoping to get just a whiff of his scent.  She stood there for a long time and even when I called her name, the most I could get was a quick head toss and then that nose was back in the crack.  Finally, she walked over to the edge of the carpet and laid down to wait for him.  I have never seen a dog get so excited about a person coming home.  And, then look over her shoulder at me, like 'oh, you're still here?' after spending the whole day with me.  

She's getting to sleep with the humans now.  She was waking us (mostly Rob) every morning at 1:30 to go out and then she would get to sleep in the big bed.  I suggested that we might get a full night's sleep if she just started in the big bed and I was right.  That whole 1:30 thing was about getting out of the crate and cuddling with #1, not about having to go outside.  

My doctor started me on a new med.  I've been struggling since my Mom passed and the struggle wasn't getting any easier, so I asked for some help.  It's not the first time.  I ended up taking Monday off and slept most of the day.  On Tuesday, I fell asleep at my desk while reading the most boring document ever written and only woke when my elbow slipped off the keyboard tray.  By Wednesday, I was doing better and now I'm feeling normal again.  It's okay to ask for help.  We don't have to do it all alone.  You won't find a bigger believer in stoicism and pulling myself up by my own bootstraps than me.  I preach it and I practice it, too.  But, that's not always enough.  

Everybody have a great week!  Do something you love, love something you do, or just sit and watch the seasons change out the window.  

Is everything djt says anymore a lie?  I read an article this morning that the reason for the escallation in lies is so he can tell an even bigger lie later.  It was an idea coined by Hitler in Mein Kampf.   We all know what the bigger lie will be and when it will be told.  The waiting is so stressful.  

Lane