Me, Myself and Memories

Updates from January, 2019 Toggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts

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  Noreen 5:37 pm on January 17, 2019 Permalink  

  New Day – New Feelings 

  It may be cold out, but with the sun shining, it makes a world of difference.  Our evergreen on the northwest corner of the house was filled with singing, chirping birds.

  We had a dusting of snow that didn’t take long to push off.  The fresh air felt great and it made me feel so much better than yesterday.  

  Yesterday the mail brought supplies for my Santa Project.  If he is going to get a new suit, I feel he warranted a new belt and buckle.  It is amazing what can be found with a few flicks of the fingertips.  I could very well have contrived a new vinyl belt given enough time to find the right vinyl in the right store in Mankato.  For $15.99 and free shipping I have both items ready to use in time to come.  A second package came that has the closures that I am going to use for Santa’s jacket.  We are getting closer to a start.

  I was content in the sewing studio this afternoon when the cell phone went off.  My good friend Sharon at the Old Alley Quilt Shop called to tell me my quilt had been longarmed and ready for pickup.  I had taken the quilt top to Sherburn when Megan was here over MEA weekend in October.  Sharon had a fall in early November that put her in the hospital for a time as she had broken her hip.  Sharon may have gotten behind with quilting, but I had assured the shop, I was not in a rush for it.  In time to come I will be getting a binding ready for it.  In the meantime, in between time, it is going to have to stay in their signature green checked shopping bag until I finish a few other items.  The suspense will no doubt spur me on.  

  As I mentioned, I felt so much better today in regard to the arthritis.  It is the luck of the draw.  My mother-in-law, Esther, felt the humidity and air pressure had a lot to do with it.  It doesn’t really matter as each day comes into its own and I take it the way it comes.

   
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  Noreen 5:14 pm on January 14, 2019 Permalink  

  Today I road shotgun to Bird Island with… 

  Today I road shotgun to Bird Island with Dennis’ nephew, Brett.  Brett had a break down with his Husqvarna sewing machine.  It is the one on his long arm quilter.  Without realizing it he jammed the bobbin in askew.  It was a good trip for road surface.  Amanda and Kelly are great in the Bernina Shop.  Kelly did get it to the point that the needle would go up and down without breaking, but only while he turned the flywheel by hand.  Brett had grabbed the wrong electrical foot pedal.  Bummer.  I checked with Brett late this afternoon.  It was working but was making a different noise than he remembered, though the machine has been broken down for several weeks.  I did encourage him to perhaps seek out a Husqvarna dealer as Amanda and Kelly are a Bernina repair shop and this machine is quite unique.  

  It drove home the fact that I am so thrilled that no matter what I have for problems, I have the real deal when it comes to the licensed Bernina repair place to go.  

  We made a quick stop in Fairfax so Brett could meet Kevin.  Kevin has sought concrete advice via Brett through me and Brett sunk the I beam into our yard for Kevin to secure our garage via Kevin’s instructions. It was time each could put a face to the fellow.

  It’s been a gray misty type of day, but it sure beats ice and snow.  I know how to come in from the wet, but always question myself as to whether I will make it in from walking on the ice and snow.

   
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  Noreen 2:28 pm on January 13, 2019 Permalink  

  No Slack Time Here 

  Sunday doesn’t always mean a day of rest.  But who is to say that Sunday can’t be a day of being busy and feeling good.  What’s not to like about feeling really good!

  First thing off the bat: I am totally using my old Dell laptop here in the sewing studio until I get the HP Notebook into the GEEK squad on Tuesday.  Passwords are specific.  When keys don’t respond, passwords typed in error can get you locked out of a site.  Not to worry.  The HP will still get a workout in the living room until Tuesday, as Dennis likes to play Candy Crush on it.  It is the only computer in the house of the three of them that had it loaded automatically.  Dennis doesn’t like to play it via Facebook. 

  I enjoy my sewing studio as you all know.  For as much time as Dennis is down here I know he enjoys the ambiance of it.  He may be playing solitaire on the Dell laptop down here or enjoying watching television while rocking away in the rocker.  Hmm.  Today I stretched Dennis’ options.  I have the serger up and running like a top.  I cleared it with Carrie and Jeremy about cloth dinner napkins to be made out of cotton.  Jeremy said the poly napkins just smeared everything around on hands and face.  I can see that happening easily as there is no absorption.

  I causally asked Dennis if he would like to try his hand at it.  Initially he thought he would just screw things up.  I encouraged and he sat down at it.  The cloth I had cut up was a Christmas checked with definite lines to follow under the pressure foot.  Two odd ball spare pieces of fabric to practice on . . .  over and over.  By George, “I think he’s got it.” It is very good eye-to-hand coordination as well as foot control to machine operation.  It’s nothing that has a time frame.  It is just another option when the day may go slow in winter weather.  By the way . . . there are multiple coffee breaks down here. 

  Today was the day I cut into my piece of cork for Nicholas’ wallet.  Why would I think I needed to try this?  I think Kevin’s grandmother, Esther Schafer, was in the same boat when she cut up pop cans into rectangles featuring the brand and flavor of the drink to make Kevin a hat.  I believe they were all Sprite cans as I recall the green.  Esther would punch holes all around the aluminium rectangles and to allow crocheting around each one.  Each one was joined via crocheting to make a circular hat.  The final step was to crochet a brim.  THIS is what grandmothers do!  

  Yesterday I contrived a pattern for the wallet.  It wasn’t very easy on the eyes but it allowed me the comfort I needed before cutting into my cork fabric.  Cork fabric isn’t like walking into JoAnn Fabrics and asking for a yard or two.  It is by the inch.  I voiced my concern to Dennis.  He nonchalantly said it maybe would need a new piece to be bought if I screwed up.  I love how the ole cowboy thinks.  It does bring confidence and comfort.  After taking steps one at a time, I do have a completed wallet.  Is is perfect . . . no.  Is sewing on the cork fabric a lot different than fabric . . . yes.  What did I learn?  Changing pressure feet on the sewing machine is important.  When sewing flat seams, the quarter inch metal foot worked great as most seams are 1/8″.  Sewing around the covering I put on the snap, I had to use the zipper foot as to stay off on the far edge.  I should have made the covering for the snap a bit larger to be able to stay farther from the bulk of the snap.  That would have allowed for better control, thus a better finished look.  On the finishing stitch around the entire project, I should have started at the notched slot that allows for the wallet to fold and gone around from there rather than starting on the side.  The stopping and starting more than once going around the wallet allowed for more threads to be clipped and that could have been avoided.

  This may be my wallet to use as a sample on the real cork fabric.  I think I learned enough to warrant cutting into another piece and ya . . . I am a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to sharing from what my needle produces.  

  So anywho . . . Dennis and I didn’t rest on this Sunday, but in visiting over a cup of afternoon coffee, we both learned a lot about what we can challenge ourselves to do and thus feel good about the learning experience.  Yup . . . we should never say never and should never cease the learning process. 

  One last note today: Dennis commented on how much he enjoys the days when Kevin and Kersten come with their vehicle full of tools.  Whether it was the removal of our house chimney, getting the I beam planted into our yard so Kevin could secure our vintage garage to it, or watching him paint hands on a clock. Dennis says he always comes out ahead as by watching the processes he does glean something he didn’t know before their visit.  It’s a good thing!

   
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  Noreen 6:15 pm on January 12, 2019 Permalink  

  A ‘What if’ Wallet 

  There has been some interest deep within my gray matter of trying some new venues within the world of threads and fuzz.  I have no plans of abandoning anything that has deep roots in my sewing studio.  I just need to know if I can pull off some things that I see on several closed Facebook sites that I have joined.  Expanding horizons is always a good thing.  

  I have made several successful bags complete with the appropriate hardware.  What is the biggest tease for me right now is the cork fabric that is about in fabric stores and on sites.  I plunked around with it at Christmas time and made several sets of drink coasters.  I was curious as to how it would feed through the feed dogs and what type of needle it would take.    

  

  A rough sample of a new project. No new materials were sacrificed for this sample. I do know what it will take for the real deal. Stay tuned.

  I have a piece of cork fabric and I am going to attempt to make a wallet for Nicholas.  I found a pattern online and copied the pattern pieces and the instructions.  It was all laid out and I couldn’t bring myself to cut into the cork.  I decided on making a sample using some canvas.  I took it slow and made notes as I went.  The pattern called for a wallet with just an area for bills and credit cards.  Hmm.  I wanted to put in a coin purse.  More notes.  I am not displeased with the sample.  I learned a lot.  The coin purse area turned out well with enough expansion for a reasonable amount of coins.  I do want to make the back side of the magnetic snap that closes the coin purse look a bit more desirable.  This was enough for me today.  I feel braver knowing the steps, the seam allowances and by all means take it slow.  Tomorrow is another day.

  I will share with you what I touched on yesterday about the ole cowboy and his remarkable traits.  Dennis always knows what time of day it is for meals.  Not so much that he is hungry, he just lives by the clock.  There is a schedule . . . it has to be honored. 

  When I am butt deep in working though things in the sewing studio, I do not have the clock on my mind.  I do not think about what is going on anywhere but what is right in front of me.  I do not care what needs to be put on the table that will then be called a meal.  I totally get into what I am working on and hoping to achieve. 

  Generally, before twelve Noon and before five in the afternoon, I can hear it.  It’s like volume that is on high.  It’s Dennis!  The clanking of dishes being put on the table.  The silverware drawer being opened and closed several times.  There may be multiple times in and out of the refrigerator.  I hear it all.  It’s time!  It’s a meal time!  Without fail I will be ask how long it will be before I come upstairs.  Bless his heart.  No way can I put him off, nor put off meal time.  No way will I discourage him from helping as it may be that before long he won’t offer to help with anything.  Do I need to remind you he loves to wash dishes that we dirty from these meals?  Yup, most likely it is healthy for me to take a break from the sewing studio.  It’s a good thing. 

   
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  Noreen 5:08 pm on January 10, 2019 Permalink  

  Early Day 

  It is not often that I need to set an alarm.  Dennis had agreed that today he would help nephew Brett get his vehicles to Fairmont for servicing.  Dennis drove one pickup that needed an air bag replaced. Brett drove the honking huge pickup that he and Dennis will be taking on their road trip the first week in February for a once over.  The boys were on the road by eight.  Me?  I was still in my robe staggering to the coffee pot.

  I had the news on. In between the political crap there was a fill-in on the local front. They brought up the fact that most young children get $9.00 a week as an allowance.  Hmm.  It made me wonder what happened to that tin Bandaid box that I had kept my weekly allowance in.  When I was five, I got a nickel a week.  I have no idea why this is so clear in my mind almost 70 years hence.  I would sit in the porch on the farm five miles out of Winthrop and spread out my nickels to see how much I had.  Hmm.

  I have, in farts and spurts, gone crazy with my real day, real time nickels and splurged on various interests over the years.  I got it out of my system maybe one time, two times . . . alright . . . more times than I can count.  It may have been household gadgets, the latest in fashions, custom jewelry, buying out a greenhouse nursery each spring, etc.   Do I have anything of those spurts in my day-to-day life right now?  I look around. 

  My closet has slim to none in it for day-to-day.  I enjoy wearing the same earrings over and over.  What I wear in necklaces, chains and earrings, I have an emotional attachment to.  Megan has gotten a kick out of scavenging through my custom jewelry and taken at will.  My selection of shoes is sparse.  Our kitchen has two, maybe three pots, pans and kettles.  Our silverware does not match.  With arthritis, I have several old pieces that seem to feel good in my hands.  We purchase for our home only when something collapses or it won’t work when plugged in.  My car is a 1999 model and will work for me for quite some time in the future.

  As I sit here in my sewing studio typing this, I know where my true passion is for creativity and longevity.  Over the decades when I have splurged on threads, fabrics, rulers, sewing aids, paper crafting products . . . many of those choices are all here within arms reach.  If I can stretch myself and challenge myself in working within these confines . . . I am all in.  I never say never.

  It was huge when I purchased a new sewing machine a little over three years ago.  Oh my God!  It was a huge leap into challenging myself to make use of all it could be and do.  I am still learning and loving it.  Do I need to have it . . . no.  At the time, could I justify purchasing it, even if it was interest free for five years . . . no.  Do I deserve to have it . . . no.  Can I stay busy enough to enjoy thinking and being excited  about each day . . . yes.   Do I enjoy sharing what I can create . . . oh yes.  Is it healthy for me to keep my mind and body challenged . . . yes.  Can I share my passion, love and talent for creating with others . . . yes.  Megan and Brett are my star pupils.  A few have wanted to have that within themselves at my elbow and they gave up on themselves.  This world of mine is a win, win for me, for my ole cowboy, for my family and for my friends.  

  I never planned for retirement.  I never gave it a thought.  I showed up and did what the job required . . . and then some, until one day I decided, I had done enough.  Did I ever think I needed more than two nickels to rub together . . . no.  I still know and feel that money is needed to stay on board with a quality of life so as to not worry my children.  My needs are fairly meager.  I can only surmise that from what I hear and see when I am out and about with my peers.  When Dennis and I are on one of our road trips it is for groceries and to enjoy Perkins.  The mall shopping is not warranted nor needed.  

  I am well on my way to working through having a boat-load of projects written down for completion in 2019.  The list includes putting a huge dent in what I have on hand.  As I was cutting up a huge Damask tablecloth to make an Easter table runner for Carrie, Dennis sat back rocking in the rocking chair down here in the sewing studio and marveled as to what was being stitched out.  He asked what I was going to do with the remainder of it and I had to admit I was still thinking on that.  Yup . . . we have it made.  We have a sweet life.  Each morning as my feet hit the floor, it is easy to thank God for the night of rest.  After I am awake enough for the eyes to focus, I am thankful that I have been given the day to get some local effort done.  First comes the household duties before I give myself the liberty of hitting the sewing studio.  Work first . . . treats after.  We don’t have many early days, but we do have full busy days.

   
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  Noreen 5:00 pm on January 9, 2019 Permalink  

  A blistering cold wind that whipped all night… 

  A blistering cold wind that whipped all night.  This morning, I actually looked out the west house porch window to see if the wind chimes had been taken down onto the ground as I heard nothing of them.  A quiet morning on Stauffer Avenue.  

  Neither Dennis nor I had any want of going anywhere in the cold.  That was punctuated when Dennis went out into the patio porch and not one of the four cats was wanting to go out.  Oh yes, when Dennis cracked the east slider door to see if they wanted out, there were several that would have enjoyed taking in the cold air with their butts on the patio porch carpet.  Not going to happen when the furnace was a huffing and a puffing its heart out. 

  It never fails.  When I got to the point of organizing the sewing studio, I may have pitched something that today I looked high and low for.  I know I can make tassels for a table runner I am working on with embroidery floss.  Goodness knows I have plenty of it from the Fairfax kids.  I knew in a certain pink box there had been some rayon floss that never worked worth a darn for hand embroidery.  Maybe, just maybe, I had given it a nod and kept it to live another day in the sewing studio.  I sure got my exercise.  Finally, I spy with my little eye, the pink box.  I flipped it open . . . and it was empty.  I had indeed sifted and sorted it right out of my stashes.  So much for that. 

  The table runner will indeed sport tassels on each of the pointed ends with embroidery floss.  Nephew Brett had asked at one time where I got tassels to match my table runner projects.  It had never occurred to him that floss that doesn’t often get used anymore in my world of embroidery, still has a viable use.   

  By the way, I got a text from Brett this afternoon, his tee-shirt quilt top, all 68″ by 88″ is done and he is ready to get it on his longarm unit.  Good for him.  As much as he would not take it anywhere to have it finished, I, on the other hand, am thankful for the Old Alley Quilt Shop that will finish my quilt on their longarm and charge me $.01 per square inch.  My arms and wrists no longer feel good nor have the  ability to wrangle that much fabric under the needle.

   
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  Noreen 5:21 pm on January 8, 2019 Permalink  

  The day is closing with the most beautiful… 

  The day is closing with the most beautiful sunset I could imagine.  As I am winding down I can’t help but notice how hard the windchimes are at it in the evergreen 0ff the northwest corner of the house.  Projected wind gusts of 50 to 60 mph makes me so thankful that Kevin was here on Saturday and used the huge I beam and cable to help secure our vintage garage.

  Nephew Brett was over today with a bag full of quilt.  What to do about finishing a tee-shirt quilt that he had run out of fabric to finish it.  It didn’t take long for the two of us to work it through.  Brett had not been over to the sewing studio since late summer.  Brett settled into the rocking chair as we visited and I went back to an embroidery that I was doing.  

  After a time Brett was asking about the automatic needle threader on the sewing machine.  I invited him over to take a shot at it.  The machine he had purchased off of Craigslist last year supposedly had such an aid on it but Brett had never figured it out.  It didn’t take long the mystic of getting that needle threaded was conquered.  After each color of the design was finished, I turned the machine over to Brett to thread the needle.  It soon became apparent that the needle needed to be changed.  The thunk, thunk sound gave it away.  I laid the needle down and Brett had it changed in a heartbeat.  

  Sometime over the 20,000 stitches of this particular design, I was sitting off to the far left and Brett was right there in the front of all the action.  All I needed to do was hand him the next color and it was handled.  The machine was threaded each time with successful needle threading and Brett’s nose was just a nose length away from the needle watching the stitching. 

  Brett bought a longarm unit last year and has been doing tee-shirt quilts during the winter breaks of his concrete work for family and friends.  I believe after today he knows that there is enjoyment to be had after the tee-shirts.

  It was a good afternoon of visiting with a fellow quilter.

   
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  Noreen 5:52 pm on January 7, 2019 Permalink  

  A Stable Egg on Fabic . . . Priceless! 

  Several days of spring temperatures have Dennis out in the yard drilling holes into several stumps.  His hope is that remaining winter moisture, that is bound to come, will find its way into the holes and freeze making pressure deep within.  It surely can’t hurt.

  For me, the day was a teaching day in the sewing studio.  I find myself being so stingy with sewing aids that I might as well go back and do from the past . . . sewing carpet rags together.  To allow my Damask placemats to lie perfectly flat, I need to have a stronger stabilizer behind the embroidery . . . or use two layers.  Yes . . . different weights of stabilizer demand a different price at the till.  Silly ole Grammie.  Live and learn to stitch another day.  Two layers of stabilizer and using a frame of stitches to hold the fabric in the area that will be embroidered made a much better out-come.  The plus side is that these several placemats were prep before I tackled the real deal.  The real deal will be embroidering multiple designs on a four foot table runner.  I believe it will take about eight egg designs.  What would be oh so sad is that when I would work on the eighth design it would go wonky.  After these last two days I have a better feel of the stabilizers as well as the threads that I will use. 

  It is a crap shoot as to what tomorrow will bring to Stauffer Avenue.  The wonderful thing is we don’t have to have any hard and fast schedules.

   
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  Noreen 5:18 pm on January 6, 2019 Permalink  

  Gloomy Skies 

  The sun had been so welcomed the last several days.  I cracked open one eye this morning and saw fog.  The eye went shut and I stayed where I was.  Dennis and I both slept until nine this morning.  We agreed last night that today was going to be a slow quiet day and I dare say we were off to that great start.

  Yesterday when Kevin was here I asked him to see if he could get one of my computer keys to pop off as it was AWOL.  Today I took his advice.  I called the GEEK squad in Mankato.  I have a year-by-year service contract with them.  Five minutes in, I had the solution.  The next time we travel to Mankato I need to turn in my HP Notepad to the squad.  They will need to send it in and a new keyboard will be installed in the unit and then it will be sent back to me.  When Dennis and I do make a trip to Mankato with the HP in hand, I will be sure to back it up on my independent Click Free backup unit.  No fees required.  Of course I had one more question: as long as the keyboard needed to be replaced could they put in a silver colored unit rather than black, which is easier to see.  The answer was, no.  But . . . on the upside, the keys that no longer bare the appropriate letters as they have worn off will be an automatic fix.  Wonderful! 

  With a solution in the future I headed down into the sewing studio.  More years than I care to admit, I purchased several Damask table clothes on a Pamida clearance table.  I am no longer doing full sized table clothes for gatherings.  Placemats are easier for me.  I cut one of the table clothes up and made place mats out of it.  I did some cross-hatching to make them double thick and a bit more durable.  I went on YouTube and realized that many gals put on a serger edge.  This gave me a chance to up and use the serger that I had been given.  Today, I decided to see how the placemats would cotton to an embroidery design.  I am not disappointed by the results.  If I do continue using the Damask tablecloths for smaller projects,  I need to use a more dense stabilizer as it would allow the dense stitching to lay a bit smoother.  Would I hesitate using a placemat of this quality as it’s finished?  No.

  A good day of seeking and searching for answers near and far and leaving the gloom outside to its own.

   
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  Noreen 6:03 pm on January 3, 2019 Permalink  

  Grammie is pooped! A bit later in this month Dennis will be going with his nephew on a road trip. Lots of prep work is required. I am the detail person for all aspects. Dennis says he then will know it’s been done correctly. Yup. He knows how to butter the Grammie up.

  The first situation is his prescriptions. The computer at the pharmacy does not allow for refills prior to the previous amount being just about empty. We worked with the doctor and Dennis is set for being out on the road for month. A road trip to Mankato was next in the schedule of today.

  What was needed next was a pedicure. On the road to Mankato we went in full sunshine. For Dennis’ benefit into February as well as mine this was warranted. Oh my gosh, my feet feel so wonderful. Dennis also agreed with his feeling of wellbeing. In times past I must have dropped a hitch to some piece of farm equipment on my left foot. The toenails on the right foot are usual and customary. Not so much on the left foot. The toenails on the left foot have a habit of growing wonky. Leave the toes to a professional that can get the angle of the fidangle done correctly.

  As long as we were in “The Big Town” and Dennis was at the wheel to drop me off wherever I needed to be, we pursued checking on fabrics that I will need for the “Santa Project.” Between stopping at JoAnn’s Fabric and then Hobby Lobby and then back to JoAnn’s, I am set. I am not saying this will be a wham, bam, thank you project. This will need lots of time for it all to lie on my sewing tables while I look at it and sip coffee. No deadlines . . . well . . . Thanksgiving of 2019 would hit the mark quite closely.

  We are home and it feels good. Talk about contentment. The fact that it hit 40 degrees for a time today, was the temp that took the last of the ice off of the edges of our driveway.

  The real icing, so to speak, on the Dennis’ day was that Hobby Lobby carries his favorite Zachary Old Fashioned Vanilla Crème Drops. How could the chauffeur not get a treat over and above the few times he got to check his eyelids for cracks. The best naps can happen when the sun shines though a vehicle window.