Me, Myself and Memories

Updates from May, 2018 Toggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts

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  Noreen 4:16 pm on May 7, 2018 Permalink  

  A Dirty Day 

  

  As we have not had a cleansing rain as yet, the first mow of the year was downright dirty. I am past the days of going barefoot. You would never had know it when I took my shoes and socks off. My outside garden shoes have mesh and the silty dirt found its way right through my socks and settled in . . . in between my toes. Dennis caught a break . . . under our new umbrella while my idea was a fast track into the shower. The umbrella stand that we have recycled fits perfectly over the hole in the patio where once was an Oak tree. When we saw that one of the patio slabs was tipping due to roots of the tree, the tree had to go. The patio porch benefits from the shade the umbrella brings as the bright hot sun begins to set towards the west. Right on track we are here on Stauffer Avenue. Once I was cleaned up, it was time to see if the sewing studio still recognized me. I have been commissioned for a special project. I need to do a prototype or two before tackling the real deal.

   
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  Noreen 2:14 pm on April 26, 2018 Permalink  

  No UFOs 

  

  In the sewing world, “UFOs” are unfinished objects. Just in time before I get busy with raking and picking up winter branches, these two wreaths are ready to hang for the summer festivities. One is for Carrie’s family and the other is for Kevin’s family. The button tree was shook and did not disappoint. As luck would have it, I had several small curtain rods to include in the carriers that will be just the answer to slip in the pockets on the back for hanging. A 3-D project cannot very well be given without a storage container. Amazon had the perfect two to order. A spool of ribbon from the ole Dueber’s store made a very appropriate label for the carriers. The sewing machine is silent and may be for awhile. I have had a great stitching season. It will be enjoyable to start something new . . . a bit later when it’s too hot to be outside.

  

   
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  Noreen 4:09 pm on April 25, 2018 Permalink  

  Yesterday I spoke of helping someone via the phone with a stitching problem. This afternoon Lynda came over . . . complete with the sewing machine. It is an interesting story.

  Lynda’s son sells seed corn. He was sure he could nail things down so he could embroidery t-shirts with his logo as well as the company’s. He bought a 26 lb. embroidery machine from Canada and felt confident he was computer savoy enough to digitize the design for stitching. “Here Mom, you get the machine set up and then in time I will do the stitching.” It’s a good thing Lynda’s hair was gray already.

  The amount of stitching in his completed project, much like what is found on many tee shirts above the pocket, was equal to one of my designs that I had posted yesterday that was very compact to fill the 6″ x 6″ block. Lynda never could get past the first 2,000 stitches let alone the 32,000 of his design.

  I tried to open the flash drive on my sewing machine that held the design with no luck. My lap top could not open the content of the flash drive. His sewing machine did not acknowledge a flash drive that I had to see how things would shake out.

  It does prove that research is needed before purchasing, let alone something from Canada when JoAnn Fabrics has machines that will do a limited amount of embroidery.

  My suggestion at the end of the afternoon was to sit down with her son, have the fabric loaded in the hoop attached to his sewing machine and allow him to enjoy the stitching of his project. I also did tell her to stay in touch.

  Life is interesting and every day can be a teaching tool. Also it was a day to be grateful that what I had researched for my love of stitching has served me well.

   
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  Noreen 1:48 pm on April 24, 2018 Permalink  

  What a Whirlwind 

  Today was a day that had a lot on its tick list.  I had promised myself that I would finish an embroidery project before the snow was gone for the winter.  I made it just in time this morning.  I had this packet of designs for several years.  When I finished a flannel plaid quilt top for Dennis, there were choice scraps left.  Though the packet suggested flannel fabrics, on hindsight a lighter weight fabric would have served me better.  Each design stitched out fantastically.  The digitization was spot on.  Putting together the 40 designs meant flannel on flannel seams.  Yup . . . a bit bulky.  Live and learn. Pressing seams open helped.  Grading some seams helped.  Grading seams is when one layer of the seam is cut back just a bit so it is allows for a better press.  Flannel is also a very stretchy fabric.  All in all . . . I like it.  I like it a lot.  It makes me happy when I look at it.  Well of course!  Anything Christmas makes me happy.  The Christmas spirit dwells in me twelve months out of the year . . . but stretching the Christmas stitching went a bit far as it is the 24th of April.   I will steam the project after it has hung for a bit.  Also hanging it on the living room wall next Christmas season will allow me to smooth out the sides with a bit of double stick tape.  Never give in.  Never give up.  There is always an alternative in an “oops” project.  

  I was looking forward to the lunch break when a friend called and needed some help with her sewing project.  It can be talked through if you use as few words as possible addressing each step as it is explained.  After 45 minutes I believe Lynda was heading for a quilt shop to purchase the correct stabilizer and the correct sized needles.  

  After lunch it was time to lay out Dennis’ granddaughter’s curtains that need shortening.  One set is lavender and the second set is gray.  It will be a good change of pace.  I was really going to get into this until my phone began the sound that meant there were text messages coming in like gang busters.

  We have one credit card that we use for basically all of the times that we do need a credit card.  All of the text messages were from that credit card company.  They were inquiring in regard to charges being made on that card today.  It didn’t take me long to respond to them on the phone and speaking to a real person.  Yup!  One charge was for $5,145 for a cruise and limo service.  Another charge was for a retail sale of $315.00.  There were several other smaller amounts.  End result is a new card will be issued and we have no responsibility for these charges or any others that may be coming in after the date that I gave her as to when we had used the card.  Whew!  To be honest . . . I didn’t know that I had this service with our credit card.  I was and am very thankful.  My stomach is just about settled after time spent on this.  It does cause an older gal’s heart to flutter while all aspects of this needed to be cleared up.

   
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  Noreen 3:51 pm on April 21, 2018 Permalink  

  It is supper time . . . thank goodness. I have truly worn myself out today. I have been working with doing machine quilting using transparent 100% nylon thread with regular thread in the bobbin. When you sew in the ditch, it means you sew where two quilt blocks come together, aka: the ditch. Steady Eddie is required so as to not weave out of that ditch and make the stitching very apparent when it pops up on the surface here and there and everywhere. I remember seeing the tip of the nylon thread and decided to give it a try. Yes, very little to spy when I veered. As the spool emptied, it had a tendency to coil and twist prior to feeding into the sewing machine. For some time I had not noticed that and I was about to have a hissy fit trying to understand why the thread was breaking so often.

  “Slow Down, You Move too Fast. Gotta Make the Morning Last.” I needed to slow way down to make this project last before it hits the waste basket. All that was needed was to slow down the stitching while keeping one hand at the point of the thread entering the machine allowing the thread to flow through my finger tips with no coils or kinks. I took turns getting the less than great reaching arms and saw the project through. Heck no! There was no way I was going to give up or give in.

  That aspect of the project is done and my arms are weary. Amazing what old people put themselves through. I know I am my harshest critic and that is not going to change. So . . . rest up, tomorrow is another day.

   
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  Noreen 5:02 pm on April 15, 2018 Permalink  

  When state highways are closed due to the snow and wind, you cannot believe how quiet our street is. Our street is the main thoroughfare from HWY 60 to the Swift plant north of our home just across the railroad tracks. Semi trucks are possible 24/7. It had been a long, long time that the morning hours were this quiet.

  This morning I opened an eye, saw it was daylight . . . no snow coming down. It was seven and I was ready to get up and at it as Dennis’ great granddaughter Charlee Bea was going to be baptized today. About that time the phone was ringing . . . roads were closed and church was cancelled. Dennis had not heard the phone so the first cup of coffee for the day was all mine. I sat in Dennis’ computer chair in the west porch of the house and enjoyed all the white that surrounded us. We have a little USA flag on an electric fence post right outside of the porch windows. The flag hung limp. First a very fine snow, then a bit more. It didn’t take long and I could barely see the homes at the end of the block and the flag was standing straight out east as the north winds picked up.

  Here we are at 5:45 p.m. and it is still snowing with winds that are bound to be causing problems out in the open and the roads. Earlier Dennis had shoveled a path to his garage door and that allowed for a surface that was a slippery melting mess. I didn’t fight the day. I went down into the sewing studio and didn’t have any problem whiling away the day. Randy came over before supper with his tractor and snow blower. The snow is wet and heavy and I could hear that as the blower honkered down. We have nothing that we need to leave the property for in the next days. I have no doubt that it is going to be a messy week as spring is here . . . somewhere and all this snow will try to disappear.

   
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  Noreen 4:22 pm on April 14, 2018 Permalink  

  I have heard of “guilt by association.” After today, I believe attitude by association is also possible. Since the time my babies were crawling on the floor of our farm home, the Sears Roebuck sewing machine took whatever thread I fed it. I think since it has sat next to the Bernina it has gotten uppity. I had two perfectly good polyester spools of thread. One to use in the bobbin and one for the top thread. The sewing machine bucked from the first stitch. I made sure both top and bottom were threaded correctly. I turned off the light on the Sears and decided that maybe I would just see what the weather was doing.

  I did shovel a path for Dennis to get from the back door to the garage so he could check on his livestock . . . a tank of Koi and his four cats. It was like shoveling wet cement. The scooper had to be knocked on a cleared area to get the snow to fall off of it. When Dennis went out he took the scooper with him to be able to get back into the house without getting his slippers and the bottoms of his PJs full of snow. Yes, I did say slippers and PJs. All the media have labeled our area as being in the bull’s eye of the most snowfall during today and over the evening. The wind is doing quite the number out there. We will see if the 16″ forecast is going to be correct.

  I came in from getting some fresh air and decided again to crank up the Sears sewing machine. The Bernina was in the middle of an embroidery task and the Sears was to be my backup today. Thinking about it, I got out a new spool of polyester thread and filled the bobbin first with it and then threaded the top part from the same spool. The early 1960s machine sewed like a top. I had gotten out a spool of top notch quality thread as I couldn’t afford any mishaps once the stitching started. It was a spool of Guterman, a German brand. Fancy schmancy . . . I think my Sears Roebuck has coped an attitude while sharing space with the Bernina. No more feeding it the leftover thread from decades ago. It was worth it to have smooth sailing.

   
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  Noreen 3:24 pm on April 11, 2018 Permalink  

  More of the same outside but not so much here in the sewing studio. I finished up a project by shopping off of the button tree to the tune of two dozen buttons. My hands are beyond sewing that many buttons on one by one. It was time for plan “B.”

  I had found some great glue that I keep on hand . . . “9001.” It works on metal, fabric, glass and wood. It currently is holding our huge multi level birdhouse onto the plywood base for the third season coming up. Our octagon window in the bathroom has a huge amount of it in the guts of the exterior side of the window holding all those fabricated pieces of wood that is just beyond the exterior frame.

  Today with tweezers in hand I popped a small pearl of the 9001 on the back of each button and carefully placed the button where it was needed. If perhaps I would be washing the fabric using the 9001, I wouldn’t trust it. For crafting . . . by the time the buttons fall off the project that it was on it will have lost its luster and it will be time to put something new up.

  The entire time the button project was going on the embroidery machine ran like a top in the background, stopping just long enough to have a different color of thread as per the design I have loaded. Today was the 10th of the largest designs to stitch out within this packet. Here after will be smaller designs to add to and mix in and stitched together. The end result . . . a rectangle of multiple designs all using a mixture of different colors of plaid flannel . . . a true Christmas Mash up project.

  Dennis and I had lunch together . . . afterward he took a nap and I retreated to the sewing studio. In time he came down and we shared a bottle of Sprite . . . and he playing some solitaire on my sewing computer and I worked with thread and fuzz. Just a hell of a good day.

   
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  Noreen 4:41 pm on April 9, 2018 Permalink  

  The End of a Day 

  I had a great day.  It was a mix of laundry, dust bunnies, a lunch date with Dennis and the sewing studio.  In the quiet of the sewing studio, I reflect on where Mom was at the age I am now.  More than likely her and Dad would be sitting at their kitchen table having a lunch date all the while keeping an eye on what was going by on the township road.  After lunch Dad would head to his workshop in the basement and work on his wood planer or his wood router.  Mom would head to her sewing room in the north bedroom of their home.  

  For Dennis, he headed out to the patio porch after lunch to take in a western on the television out there.  For myself, I continued working in the sewing studio on several designs that are in a packet called Christmas Mash Up.  Multiple depictions of Christmas ending up being 11″ by 8″ finished projects.  It’s a very satisfying place for me.  Do I have a timeline?  No.  Do I know where this project will find a home?  No.  Do I care?  No.  It’s my thing.  It’s my deal.  I am happy at the end of the day when I have something to show for the day that God has graciously given me.  I am taking the days waiting for the sun and breeze to dry my yard.  Then I will put away the stitching and I will have dirty finger nails and muddy shoes to show for what my day held.

   
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  Noreen 4:13 pm on April 8, 2018 Permalink
  Tags: Brett, Kersten ( 6 )   

  The fallen snow is quite beautiful on the evergreen boughs . . . again. The concrete is staying clear as the snow falls. It may be cold, it may be snowing, but the sun is up there in the hiding in the clouds and it will not be shunned. These “indoor” days are being taken advantage of in the sewing studio.

  Each spring I have second thoughts about how many of the flower gardens I will tend to. My gut tells me to put them into grass seed. The spirit that controls the gut usually has me out there with the Mantis tiller as soon as the ground is dry enough. There seems to be plenty of time for this debate to continue.

  I am cranking out some awesome stitching that can be comparable to Kersten’s Pokémon quilt. I continue using up plaid flannel scraps and making great use of the quilt batting scraps that nephew Brett passed along as each block already has the batting in place. I will get some photos going for the near future. As each design is anywhere between 55,000 and 68,000 stitches, when the last stitch is done and I can retire the last spool of thread back in the cabinet, I am ready to climb those steps and take part in the ground level portion of our home.