10.31.14

I think I am ready for the furniture. I expect to take delivery of it some time next week or the week after.

Here is what I ordered.

          This is a queen-sized, cherry bed with storage drawers.

                                                        Cherry nightstand.

Cherry high chest. It is almost as tall as I am. I will have to have a step-stool to dust. D19" x W38" x H62"

A second cherry dresser, also, fairly tall. D19" x W56" x H51 1/2"

I did not find drawer liner paper that I liked so I ordered bulk-rate gift wrap; ivory with a glossy finish. It was economical and it says it is from recycled paper. I got it from NASHVILLE WRAPS.

10.30.14

Paint is done, carpet might be in by the time you are reading this. Here are two samples that come close to color and design for the carpet.

Well, not THAT close. The bottom sample was carried by the store that is in my county. I would like to have done business with them but they never called to come measure the room I wanted to carpet. After two weeks, I took their samples back and went across the state line to the place that did the original carpet for this house. 

I can't wait to see what I ordered.

10.29.14

PHOTO by SANDRA HARRISON 

A lot of you did not know I was going to Italy tomorrow, October 30. 

The plan was to go and spend a couple of days in Spain, take a Mediterranean cruise, and visit Turkey, Greece, Italy, France, then go back to Florence for a few days, and then head home sometime around the middle of November. 

All through the planning, I never thought it would actually happen, so I told very, very few people. 

BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS

It turns out I was right. 

The trip is cancelled and refunds have been refunded. 

Instead, I am painting, carpeting, and re-outfitting the master bedroom.

When I finish drafting this post, (last Sunday afternoon) I will be getting ready to apply primer to walls I suspect were never really painted. I will post this Wednesday. 




These made the final four, even though it looks like there are five of them. I put my second favorite under the first favorite, just to see. There are huge splotches on every wall and I have looked at them at various times during the day to see how they fare in different light. It is amazing to me how different the tiny "chips" are in the store when compared with home light.

(Edited to add: Quilty Friend helped with the color application and the final room looks GREAT)

Valspar Scent of Coconut
as seen online

I finally chose Scent of Coconut, which looks very lemony to me when I am at Lowes Depot. Over here to the right, it looks like dingy-white.

I had to make two trips to choose color samples because I came home with some very school-bus-ish ideas of warm color. Well, they looked nice in the store, that is all I have to say.

I chose flat paint, rather than the satin that the samples came in. I doubt I will care that the walls are more washable the glossier they are. Because I was just a little concerned that the color was a touch too pale, I wanted all the light to sing with the color and not reflect back. This may be the first time I did not chose satin, eggshell, or semi-gloss for paint.


Photo update

"Cutting in" of primer began around 2:00 p.m., 10.26.14. It looked surprisingly gray while wet but when I checked in the a.m. of 10.27.14, the whole room looked great.

The walls drank the primer like they were parched and it took three times to cover all the sample-splotches.

Quilty Friend showed up the next day and "cut-in" the color.

Great color, yes? I had the dehumidifier going all night and all day. Must have emptied about three quarts of moisture so far. The paint sets up GREAT when the dehumidifier is going.

10.28.14

TEA TIME TUESDAY

I would love to give credit to the maker, but I can not find the origin of this photo I found on Pinterest. I looks like the body is knitted and embellished. The leaves seem to be cut from felted, knitted fabric. It is a dandy one, isn't it?

10.27.14

MONDAY MANTRA

10.21.14

TEE TIME TUESDAY

I am not a golfer, by a long shot.

Tea time with real tees

But I do enjoy miniature golf. It is  silly, fun, and the worse you do, the funnier it is. My small town (actually, the next bigger town--I have to travel through a place called LICKLOG to GET to the next bigger town), has two miniature golf courses. One is called Butternut Creek Miniature golf and Ice Cream Parlor (I am not sure, but it may be closed) and the other is part of the Jim's Smokin' Que experience. I have not been to either one but If I have a houseful of multi-generational folks, you can bet I will suggest it.

10.20.14

MONDAY MANTRA

Each day is new. There is no need to begin to live it the day before.

10.18.14

I can:
Grill food with an 85% rate of success

Find and fix the problem when the auger system fails on the pellet production component of the grill's smoker unit

Replace a sealing ring below the kitchen drain

Remove a pee-trap, clean it, replace it WITH the required water (but I remain unsure about how to correctly SPELL pee-trap--I mean, it's PLUMBING, so, PEE, right?)

Go to the dump alone, although playing Guess That Smell by myself is not that entertaining

Make coffee with a broken coffee maker (but I can't fix the thing)

Install a Command Hook suspended shampoo holder in a bath enclosure

10.15.2014

I went to Friendship Group a week ago. I haven't been since May and it was a nice way to get back in the rhythm of socializing. I am several months behind in my black and tan blocks. Country Stitches Quilt Shop has a program each year for Friendship Group participants. This year Priscilla has a fat eighth of Kona black and a fat eighth of a tan print as a monthly offering. I can't remember if I have shown you what I am making with mine. I will take some pictures today if the sunlight cooperates and put them in at the bottom of this post.

I haven't been doing anything quilty at all, but I have been doing a little dummy-knitting. You remember, my term for that knitting process where only your hands have to be engaged, not your brain? I have pulled some yarns and rededicated them to short, simple, dummy work. I can always find homes for scarves. I might even branch out to hats since the only thing that really takes any brain work is the decrease and there are several ways to get around THAT.

10.14.14

TEA TIME TUESDAY

I was lucky enough to visit the STASH TEA store when I was in Portland in June. 

This one does not smell very much like chocolate and does not at all taste like Nutella to me. 

This one smells faintly like caramel but doesn't really taste very much like it.

This one, I actually like, though I have had Chai that I thought was stronger in flavor. I am not really sure what Chai is, but it makes me think it should be spicey and taste like a 1920s luxury cruise in the Indian Ocean. With orchestra and a tartan "rug" wrapped around me as I recline on a teak deck chair.

10.13.14

MONDAY MEANING?

I know it is difficult to read but it says THE UNIVERSE IS UNDER NO OBLIGATION TO MAKE SENSE TO YOU and it is attributed to Neil DeGrasse Tyson. 

I don't really have a mantra today but I can back up Neil's claim as stated above. I do not even feel the need to CONSTRUCT meaning from the universe. 

Maybe it is because early on, my parents gave me space to wonder about it. Thanks for that copy of The Epic of Man, Dad. I mean, Santa Claus.

10.7.2014

TEA TIME TUESDAY

I had FIVE cups of tea yesterday. Five. It was rainy, windy, and cold and tea seemed like a great idea several times during the day.

When I was in Oregon in June, I was lucky enough to spend some time in the STASH Tea Store. I bought as many of the flavored teas as I thought I might like. My small town grocery does not stock much in the more exotic tea flavors, although I have to admit, they have an amazing selection of brands compared to when I first moved here about four years ago.

Yesterday's teas included some of those flavored tisanes as well as a decaf chai and some of that green tea I discovered. 

The first time I made the green tea in a small one serving pot, I had the water too hot. Did you know green tea must not be made with boiling water? No wonder I never found one that tasted good to me. I do not believe I ever made it correctly.

This  Breville electric kettle has five settings and will brew at the 
exact temperatures for green, white, oolong and black teas, as well as
the correct temperature for French press coffee makers. The HOLD
button keeps the temperature for 20 minutes for your second cup.

This makes tea making almost TOO easy, doesn't it? How do you suppose the ancients made green tea without this contraption?

10.6.2014

Some of you who read my blog may think the Monday Mantra is a little fanciful. 

Well, I can tell you there is a lot of power in a phrase you instruct your brain to repeat, especially if it is a positive message. 

It has been an intensely difficult summer; one which I thought I could not get through. But,  

I CAN

I WILL

I have been nurtured and lifted by kindnesses from family, friends, neighbors, and former colleagues and for that I am so very grateful. 

In those low moments, when the entire world is asleep, and I have only me, I have to be the one to rescue me. 

I CAN

I WILL

10.04.2014

To the non-American, native English speakers of the world: 

I understand the attraction of beans on toast as an evening meal.

8.23.14--TOO BUSY

Got a quilt back from the long-arm basting people--need to put it on the quilting frame and locate some fresh needles! Have had the perle cotton right here for almost a week.

Gone this morning to get Dana Bolyard's and Russ Adams' autographs and a new book.

Busy finishing up the trial run for my Quilt of Valor quilt. I sewed initial seams together yesterday morning and the rewrite I gave the pattern seems to be working out GREAT. 

The quilt involves five 10 inch Variable Star blocks, one 20 inch Variable Star, and one 40 inch Variable Star. Choosing the economic way to make the "flying goose" units has been my mental challenge. I dislike applying a bias edge to another bias edge and I have decided to use Half-Square Triangles for the two larger Star blocks. For the five smaller blocks, I will use the lesson from Audrey on how to make 4 of those units at a time. 

Pictures when the light is better and they have received a good pressing!

8.22.14--

Fabric to try out a Quilt of Valor block before using
the lovely red, white and blue specially set aside.

Trying out a quilt block. 
I usually check ERRATA on patterns I am following--even though following patterns is a rarity for me. I have learned the hard way not to cut EVERYthing out or buy ALL the yarn I need (when I can't get that dye lot again) 

My Audrey class mentioned in passing that I should make a whole block first. That meant I should NOT CUT ALL MY PIECES and THEN TRY OUT THE TEMPLATES.

Darned good idea. Glad I paid attention.

A famous magazine published a Quilt of Valor pattern I desperately wanted to make. I have spent several days on the math of it because it doesn't give finished dimensions for each component. I am working back from the total size and up from some of the more identifiable cuts to guess. Think I have it. Cut the first two components to check out later today.

And because I have experience with ANOTHER DIFFERENT one of their publications, I knew better than to just cut willy-nilly. Thank heaven I learned. Thank heaven for my Audrey class and for dear Audrey. She tells me it cannot be done with the dimensions and templates given. I was sad because I really liked the quilt. 

At the time of this post, I am awaiting a return email from the designer. She is checking her templates against the published ones. The person who FINALLY returned my email at the magazine said a computer drafted the templates and she is sure they are correct. She does not mention if anyone actually sewed out the block... but she did suggest I cut it bigger. Too bad if I do that, I have no idea to what size it must be trimmed because there is no mention of it in the pattern.

Never mind. Audrey is going to teach me to machine applique. Then all (100+) leaves will be in the right spot. 

8.21.14--NEW IDEAS FROM A NEW AUTHOR

Someone I know wrote a book of quilt patterns! Dana Bolyard is a quilter whom I met via the Bless My Stitches Quilt Shop, in Murphy, NC. 


IMAGINE QUILTS  Is published by Martingale--That Patchwork Place. Every book they put out is well done. If I am considering buying a quilt book but am not sure whether or not I really "need" it, I look at the publisher. If it is Martingale--That Patchwork Place, that usually makes up my mind for me. 

On Saturday, August 23 at 10:00, she will have a trunk show and book signing at the Bless My Stitches shop. 

One of her quilts is on the cover of MODERN BABY which has designs from a lot of new, fresh, modern quilters. I think she is on her way and I can say I know her!

8.20.14--BEARLY HERE

With my Fisher Space Pen  for scale

The main problem with cleaning up the studio is that I keep running across projects that I have not seen for a time. Sunday, I spent  a little time making a small teddy bear. She is supposed to be a ballerina bear, but no matter what, her tutu didn't suit her. 

Next to her kit picture

I just put a ribbon on one ear and she has personality enough to carry it off. I hand sewed the seams on this one, using ladder stitch with a seam allowance so tiny I do not have numbers for it. 

Head, arms, ears

She is made of a mohair fabric that has a bit of a canvas style back. 

One ear, sewn and turned

The challenge was to make sure TWO cross threads of the canvas were in the seam allowance rather than just one.

8.19.14--TEA TIME TUESDAY

Looks like summer. MrWallPaper.com

You can get free wallpaper downloads like this if you are bored with your computer screen. I grabbed it because it looks like summer and happy and tea.

8.18.14--MONDAY MANTRA

The Journey is the goal.

8.17.14

Mulberry Silk Sliver lightly needle felted to acrylic felt base.
2.5" X 3.0"

I am pretty excited about felt. I am not as enthused about penny rugs as I thought I would be and rug hooking? That is going to be another post. I promise. But needle felting and knitted to felted fabric, and nuno felting I find fascinating. As with every new or continuing interest, I absorb myself in it. Research keeps me on the computer. Amazon  gives me title ideas. My library finds them and emails me when they are ready to pick up.
Here is what I have read so far:

Felt Jewelry by Teresa Searle. Nice pictures, unusual ideas, great close-ups on techniques. Most ideas involve bulky felt beads, bulky bangle bracelets, bulky pendants, weird rings, odd headdresses and such. Lots of room to springboard off the ideas into the home-dec area. Some of that bulky stuff could translate into napkin rings, and curtain tie-backs.

Felt, Fabric, and Fiber Jewelry by Sherri Haab The first 25 pages are photographs of supplies and basic instructions I did not need. There are a lot more different types of projects in this book but as the title says, fabric and fiber are also included. The projects also include lessons on how to crochet, how to make polymer beads, how to tie some basic knots, how to do basic jewelry wiring. A lot of basic information but not much in-depth. Still, a few great ideas, room to do more.

500 Felt Objects, Lark Crafts

Like a trip to a museum you hold in your hand.

There is a brief section about the ancient history of felt and its architectural properties. Although there are no pictures of yurts and most of the pictures are couture show stoppers, there are quite a few bowls and containers, furniture, and sculptural installations. It makes me want to find a source for industrial felt. 

8.16.14--CAMERAS

I couldn't possibly tell you all names of the different kinds of cameras I have had. I vaguely remember the kind with the flash cube that would advance to the next side of the cube for a new bulb. I remember one that had no flash at all. I remember making a pin-hole camera in the fifth grade in Mrs. Martin's science class.

But my most recent three cameras, aside from secondary camera features found on electronic devices intended for other purposes than picture-taking, are what I am thinking about today.

I bought the Sony Mavica soon after playing with one in a computer class. I took a class as part of continuing education for teachers. We used the cameras and were amazed at how easily the floppy disk would pop out of the camera and make the pictures instantly available on the computer. We were taught how to print the pictures and that we could even purchase PHOTGRAPHIC paper. I bought one. It was a lot of money for us, and a spur-of-the-week purchase, but they had it at the drugstore and the price was affordable with a credit card, so off I went to the band event to take pictures of my sons.

.

Later, I wanted a camera that was a little more sophisticated. Besides, enough time had passed that none of the computers I used had floppy drives. Except, of course, the ones I was allowed to make available to my students. If you ever want a piece of technology that has outlived its contribution to the user, look in a public school teacher's classroom. That is a post for another day.

I researched for several months and then asked Santa for the Sony H7.1080 I had thought I would be able to later add a zoom lens, but I did not research thoroughly. It will not take a lens but its wonderful Carl Zeiss lens does almost everything I could want. It is a WONDERFUL camera.

Then, a month ago, I received a Nikon D80 from my brother. It came with a AF Nikkor 28-200mm lens.
It was three days before I could figure out how to turn it on. 

I have a great manual I used to learn how to remove the teeny memory disk, change and charge the batteries, and attach and detach the lens. The learning curve is pretty steep. 

I am used to setting my shot using the screen. While the Nikon D80 has a screen, it is only for viewing the shot after it is taken. To make the shot you have to look through the viewer. This is a challenge since I am farsighted. Very farsighted. Glasses off while enjoying nature, glasses on while trying to take the picture. Glasses off finding a new bird or leaf or whatever, glasses on to take the picture. I found out that there are no lens settings for getting right squat onto something to take its picture. Well, there probably are, but I need to go back and study the tutorial more. This thing has bells and whistles I haven't even found yet. 

Sony: Original shot and cropped version

Nikkon: Original shot and cropped version

8.15.15--I DID IT!

A few weeks back, I talked about all the ways to get the effect of the LeMoyne Star (THIS post) without encountering the Y-seam. None are as satisfactory as the old traditional way when executed correctly. In my Audrey class, the time came for LeMoyne Star and I was determined to do it traditionally. 

It took me FAAAARRR less time than I thought it would--due almost entirely to starching the fabrics before I cut them into shape, and to marking the back sides of the pieces' seam junctures.

It took me FAAAARRR less time than I thought it would. Still, it would probably take me all day long to get four of these. At 9" finished, that is one slow quilt. Maybe I would pick up speed as I went along. I am afraid I would just get to the "that's good enough" stage toward the end of the afternoon, though.

This block, despite being one of my triumphs, went into the basket for a Loaves and Fishes quilt. It will be part of a drawing to increase $$ for one of the local charity quilt efforts. Maybe I will win it back!