Old Friends and Stuff

 

We are replacing the carpet in our house, the whole house. It is well past time to make the change. Be aware that when companies say they will move the furniture, they mean they will the big stuff. You must pack up everything in the big stuff. So for a week now I have been packing china, clothing, everything.

Packing my sewing room was an over whelming task. I must admit I put it off until last.  Besides, once I pack all my sewing room I would not be able to quilt in any manner until the new carpet is laid and everything put back in its place. I can’t go that long without quilting! Think of the withdrawl I will go through.

Once I did start on the room it was like meeting old friends again. Some fabrics I see every time I open the closet where my fabric is stored.  Some fabric was shy, hidden in back corners where it migrated. Some had been grouped together for a future project and placed out of reach.  The notions drawers had treasures not seen as other items had been placed on top of them.  If it sounds as if it was not well organized, you are likely correct. The room began its life organize but with time habits changed, time got shorter between projects with little effort put forth for organizing in between.

My daughter came over one afternoon to help. She stated that I need to redecorate the room. I need a theme, new paint and cabinets. I think she is correct.  So when the carpet is laid I will go the local big box store and look at paint chips. She and I will draw out a floor plan and shop for storage units. I will pick a theme for the room and maybe I will become organized again. Don’t hold your breath.

Happy 4 of July

I am proud to be an American. Every person in the world has the right to be proud of their country. Politics is a small part of a country. They may have the natural beauty of the land or their rich heritage.  Yet many have a dream of coming to America.

I am a retired military spouse. For 23 years I picked up and moved or waited. There have been good and not so good assignments.  Germany where the East and West did not meet and my husband was always in the field. We wives took advantage of the time and traveled the countryside. Usually for the goodies we could buy.  That assignment was where my 11 year old daughter learned to cross stitch and I learned to quilt.  Some people on that assignment remained friends to this day.

Many years and several assignments later we spent 3 years in Hawaii. The second child’s paradise with 3 soccer seasons. I learned Hawaiian applique and a lot about art quilting. These lessons gave me more ‘tools’ to put into my tool bag.  I have seen many countries and had many experiences for which I am glad to have had. Each one made me appreciate what I have at home in America.

 Let’s remember on this day the work and sacrifices our fore fathers made so we could live in freedom.

New Era in Communications

I just bought an IPhone. Now, I am of an age that I can remember party lines. If you picked up the phone you needed to check if someone was already talking before you could dial a number. Times have changed and it is for the better. Recently it became time for our family to update our phones.

So we went into town and shopped for the best deals. One stop was at the local Best Buy. A nice young salesperson, Betsy, helped us and we made our decision, IPhones.  Now I can check my email on the phone and a lot of other stuff too. There is a learning curve but not difficult. In fact it is somewhat easier than my previous phone.  I know I like the larger numbers, it’s a lot easier to read.

By the way, Betsy’s mom is a quilter too.

The Dark and Light

Last night we had a thunder and lightning storm. I had class and I left my house 10 minutes earlier than necessary so I would be in ahead of the storm and not in it. All the way down the highway I could see flashes of lightening in my mirrors.

As I parked at my student’s home the wind caught up with me. It shook the car violently. I must admit I was nervous. Once inside her home the rain and thunder began and pounded for about 45 minutes before passing on.

This morning I sit on my screened porch writing this blog. The sun is shining, there is a light breeze, and the heat temperature as dropped 20*.  The breeze shakes the tree leaves and rain water falls down. It is beautiful and inspiring and last night’s storm is a memory.

Workshop Memories

A few days ago I conducted a Jelly Roll 1600 workshop. A jelly roll 1600 is a strip quilt made from 40 strips of fabric each measuring 40” long X 2 ½” wide. Each strip sewn together into one long strip, ends are brought back together and sewn side by side increasing the width and decreasing the length.  You can to heirloom creations on ‘you tube’ for further explanations and instruction.

17 ladies arrived in time for set up and on the dot of 10 a.m. I began to speak about the process when the electricity went off and we were in the dark. We were in a lower level room.  The building manager, a fellow quilter, made some phone calls. Apparently a utility transformer was at fault and the whole area was without electricity.  We were assured that it would be fixed soon.

Some of the ladies used the apps. on their cell phones for flashlights and we took our refreshments to an upstairs room with windows. As they proceeded to get to know each other, I was fighting back panic that I would have to cancel the workshop.

The electricity came back on in 30 minutes and we were able to continue the workshop. Everyone had a terrific time and made some beautiful quilt tops. It will be a workshop they will remember for a long time.  You know when a class/workshop is a success when the students ask when the next one will be.

Color wheel...ing

This morning’s agenda was to have a blog entry about my workshop a couple of days ago. But first I planned to color my hair. I do this 2/3 times a year, when I get bored looking at the gray. I have a favorite brand and color.  I went shopping a couple of weeks ago and the store was out of my brand color, oh well I did have a coupon for another brand. I choose my color and saved $2.00. I bet you can see where this is going already.

This morning I did the deed. Combed thru the wet hair and decided to let it air dry a bit and clean the kitchen or throw a load of laundry in the wash.  At noon I thought I better go in and curl my hair. I screamed when I looked in the mirror. Orange! Granted it wasn’t carrot orange but definitely orange tones. I have fair skin and yellows & oranges make me look like I have jaundice. 

I made a quick phone call to my local salon which lucky for me she had an opening in the afternoon. She did her magic and it is toned down and mellowed. It fact my husband rather likes the results.

The lesson here- if you know something works stick with it. In quilting a little yellow or arrange will show up very well. Use it sparely. Last, use a color wheel to determine what colors will complement each other and not clash.  Oh, and sometimes it pays to buy the best rather than trying to save a dollar.

No pictures for this entry.   The workshop entry will be written later this weekend.

Life is Good!

On Tuesday a friend of mine, Renelda Peldunas Harter, and I gave quilt demonstration. We both have blocks featured in "Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks, Vol. 5".

We drove about 45 minutes  to Windchester, Virginia to the "Scrappy Apple" quilt shop. We each had prepared a talk about our blocks and the piecing techniques and etc. I bought my laptop computer to show color options if someone wonder how the block would look in an another color. I had print outs of placement layouts. We were ready.

I must admit I hadn't heard anything from locals  as to their attendance. I feared that no one would come. Renelda admitted her own thoughts of maybe 4 or so showing up. We arrived a few minutes early to set up a felt board and unpack our visual aids. Image our surprise that there were 6 ladies seated and waiting for us! In all we had 15 ladies attend our talk and demonstration. Questions were evidence of serious interest. The morning was very successful for ourselves, the audience and the shop. Gleefully we treated ourselves to lunch afterward. On that day, life was good!