Tableau

We used to visit our college kid and take her out to dinner once a week, which is a ritual I'm not willing to abandon just because we're in lockdown. So now she either comes home once a week for dinner, or I pack up food and supplies and cook at her apartment. Here's the pile of totes I took last week to make salmon, rice pilaf and green beans for Kat:

I was looking at my haul and noticed the contrast of the totes. The crazy tote is mine, which is pretty typical of me when I get obsessed with a project (aka I overdo the stitching and embellishing.) The sashiko white and blue tote is Lisa Hobbs' work, which is always clean and elegant. The floral purse was made by Candi, an Etsy seller who closed her shop earlier this year, and whose messenger bags I love.

The three bags all serve a useful purpose, and yet reflect the style and craftsmanship of their creators, too. Candi is the most precise maker I know; her work could easily sell in stores. Lisa, who works in recycled materials, always finds a way to make old textiles look gorgeous. I'm the least talented maker in this group for sure, but when you see one of my totes you definitely know it's mine.

My thought for today is that everything you create is a dream of yours made real. So let yourself dream. :)

Emergency Oliver

In case you need some today:

Along with drinking from a sippy cup, Oliver is also pulling himself up to stand, like he did in my office the other day:

This one is blurry, but it shows where my boy is as far as his balance goes. I think we've got maybe a month left before he starts walking:

Forever Not So Much

Very surprised to hear that Bluprint (formerly Craftsy) has decided to call it quits, according to CEO John Levisay. Now that everyone is sewing at home I thought they'd survive the pandemic.

Since being sold to NBCUniversal the online craft supply and class source has consistently jacked up prices and reduced the quality and quantity of their video offerings, which may have factored in. I was never much tempted to subscribe to their online class service, as they only allowed you to keep a minimal amount "forever" -- which now obviously is in jeopardy for everyone who did. I did watch one class during one of their free-video weekend promotions, but it wasn't any better than the free quilting videos you can find on YouTube.

I did buy a couple of quilt kits on sale from the company back when it was still Craftsy, and made one of them into the quilt you see here, but the fabric was very thin, and some of the colors were quite different from what they advertised.

Anyway, just an FYI.

For the Birds

Today, a little chuckle:

Found it in the phone pics Katherine sent to me. :)

Thanks, Universe

As if any of us needed reminding:

When the pandemic began I think I was, like most people, reading everything I could about it. That turned into daily rituals of checking the numbers and the news articles every morning, noon and night. I began distancing myself and my guy as best I could from the rest of the world, and created new hygiene routines when I couldn't. I tried to be upbeat and positive when I felt like crawling under the bed, which was every day because I felt helpless. I couldn't even quilt. I stopped sleeping. I wrestled with my job and my household chores, and otherwise walked around in a perpetual state of jumpy exhaustion, if there is such a state.

I knew I couldn't keep that up, so I made an effort to change my response to this mess. I tried small things first. I got creative with cooking, and rediscovered some old favorite recipes I haven't made in forever. When we went shopping I kept an eye out for scarce supplies that I knew my kids needed, and bought them when I found them. In these times nothing says I love you like a six-roll pack of toilet paper, or a box of diapers, or a bottle of hand sanitizer. Feeling useful felt very good, and I focused on that. Since I couldn't quilt I started sewing cloth masks and offering them to family and friends. I did some little sewing projects. I also stopped reading all the news and stayed off the internet except for writing blog posts and e-mails.

I'm not back to normal for me, but I finally feel like I'm heading in that direction now. What have I done this week? I started gathering the things I'll need to make a birthday quilt for my grandson. I baked cookies for my daughter, my guy, and a family friend. I gave Kat that refill bottle of hand soap that she loves, which really made her happy. I even ordered myself some new shorts from Target as summer is here. Plus I donated all my old shorts to Goodwill last winter (nothing I had fit my greatly reduced backside anymore.)

I'm not oblivious to the pandemic. I do still check the numbers once a day, but only in the morning, and only for my county. This morning Lake County had 277 cases. I don't intend to be #278, so I'll continue to be careful by practicing social distancing, wearing masks and keeping up the anti-virus hygiene. But while I'm here, and healthy, and able to do something, I will be making myself useful, and enjoying my family and friends.

So thanks for the reminder, Universe, but I think I'm good now.

New Occupation: Barber

My guy hasn't been able to get a haircut in a few months, so last night I got out the clippers to give him one:

Disclaimer: I do trim his hair on occasion, but only the straggly hair that grows out on his neck in between barber shop visits. This time I did his whole mop, and here are the results (note: this was my very first attempt at a full man's haircut, too):

It's a bit choppy here and there, but he thought I did a good job for a rookie:

Since I'll be his barber for the duration of the pandemic I imagine I'll get lots of practice.

Published in Fabric

Made the soft book for Oliver in about two hours, and it really came out cute:

Full of Wonder

I started working on the antique diamond patchwork in hopes that it would jumpstart my quilting mojo again. Bit of sewing trivia: during the Victorian period brown was a predominant color in fabric prints, so much so that quilters and costumers often refer to that time as the brown era.

First I ironed, batted and pinned it. For the backing I used a scrap piece of cream-colored vintage muslin:

I decided to add a touch of my time period using a light gold Holographic Sulky to quilt it (just very simply with an outline stitch; I want the fabrics to be the show-stoppers):

How do I describe what it's like to work on a piece this old . . . magical, really. The fabric patches still have a bit of crispness to them, and yet are as soft as silk as my needle and thread sing through them. The prints are so charming and delicate, and fascinate me endlessly. I feel a connection to whoever pieced this each time I look at the colors and composition, or touch the fabrics:

As I work on it I run my fingers over the precise seams, and wonder where these bits of fabric came from 140 years ago. I think these might have been trimmings from the maker's scrap bag, leftover from the clothes she made for herself and her family.

Once I finish quilting and binding it I think I'll hang it in the office, to remind me that what we love (and what we do with that love) survives us to inspire future generations. :)

Crazy Tote Fail

I didn't want to show you guys this, but our failures are just as valid as our successes. So here is quite possibly the ugliest quilted tote I've ever made:

Yes, it was a mess. I didn't want to quilt it so I had to force myself to work on it. I slapped on scraps to frame the crazy quilt patchwork, which were not a good choice. I then measured the lining wrong, and then stabbed myself as I was pinning it, and bled all over the damn thing. I buckled one top corner to hide the bloodstains, which was when I realized it was pretty much a total fail.

Once I took pics of the mess, I got my seam ripper out, removed the framing scraps and the lining and disassembled the tote. I do like the old crazy quilt squares, so I left them intact.

I'm going to set it aside for now, and give it another try when I'm feeling more creative. Promise!

Another Little Project

I know I promised not to buy any more new fabric, but I really needed this for my grandson:

Because Oliver loves the one soft book he owns, I bought this fabric panel to make another one for him. I think it's adorable, plus I seem to be faring a bit better with sewing small projects.

Kat's Hair

My daughter definitely loves to try different hairstyles and colors. I was looking through all the phone pics she sent me and cobbled together a timeline of her mop as she went through college:

Haul!

My guy and I braved the market today to do our bi-monthly shopping, and guess what I found on the shelves?

In case you can't read the labels, from the left: hand sanitizer, a 12-pack of toilet paper, spray disinfectant, and a hand soap refill atop the TP.

I've only been able to purchase TP twice since the pandemic hit the US. This was the first time I've seen ANY hand sanitizer since March. The spray cleaner is kid and dog friendly (my usual Lysol cleaner is still out of stock), and the hand soap refill is the brand Katherine likes.

I feel ridiculously pleased with myself, as if I discovered actual treasure at the market. What will we find next? Diapers? Baby wipes? Dare I hope now? Ha.

Recycling Produce Bags

Thanks to our trips out to Scott's Farm for produce I've got a couple of corn bags to recycle:

Last March I made a market tote out of the same type corn bag that I still use every day to hold scraps, so that's what I'll do with these. Right now I'm practicing stitching on a panel of muslin which should work nicely as a back panel:

Stay tuned to see how these turn out.

Washing Ye Olde Cottons

Before I do anything with the very old piece of 19th-century patchwork, I needed to give it a bath:

Upfront disclaimer: I don't recommend washing very old cottons, especially if it's a historically important piece. The fabric processes of 140 years ago were very different from ours, and the fabric can easily disintegrate and/or dyes can bleed even during gentle hand washing. If you need to clean an old piece, consult with a quilt restoration expert or antique textile cleaning service first.

My patchwork piece felt strong enough to withstand immersion, and although it had some red in it (notorious for dye-bleeding in any era) I thought I'd risk giving it a brief soak in cold water with a mild detergent.

And the results:

I think the bath brightened it up nicely.

Short Story Time

I had an idea, and this is how I got it out of my head. Click here to read the story.

I Heart the Apocalypse

Interrupting my recent run of bad luck with books is After Sundown by Linda Howard and Linda Jones. Given my track record with Linda Howard novels over the last couple of years, I probably wouldn't have bought this one if not for Linda Jones being the co-author.

A story you don't know about me and Linda Jones: I met the lady at RWA National twenty years ago, and she was genuinely nice to me. After meeting me she also took me to McDonald's for breakfast and let me ask her all kinds of questions. I've never forgotten that kindness, which is why I've bought every book she's published for the last twenty years. Moral of the story: be nice to rookie authors and they will collect you (Ms. Jones is a fine writer, too, and I've enjoyed every story she's written.)

This novel is a romantic suspense blended with SF. It's set in a small town in the Smoky Mountains after an apocalyptic event that basically wipes out technology and most of civilization's benefits. Which I know doesn't sound like fun reading. If you're stressed out over our apocalypse, and don't want more of the same in your fiction, this is not the book for you.

It's not the stuff of The Stand. The town goes through probably the nicest possible Apocalypse ever, and the related conflicts are remarkably limited, but this is romance, not hard SF or horror. Parts of it are implausible -- such as, out of a town of six thousand, they only have six or seven bad apples (a small group of drug addicts and a Carpetbagger who wants to be in charge.) Everyone else is nice and helpful, gets along, and pitches in and helps the community during what is basically the end of civilization. Wish we had these people in our world.

Using an apocalypse as a fantasy backdrop for a romance was definitely inventive. The hero (ex-Marine loner/prepper) and heroine (shy divorced gal fiercely loyal to family) spend most of the first half of the book angsting over or avoiding each other while dealing with the initial days of the Apocalypse. When they finally do get busy the sex gets quite steamy. I didn't quite buy that they would fall in love as quickly or as deeply as they did, especially given their behavior in the first half. Still, by the time they got together my ability to believe this story took place on Earth was permanently suspended anyway, so what the heck. I cheered them on.

Bottom line: I liked it so much I read it in one sitting. Maybe it's not the most tasteful romance to publish right now, or maybe it's the perfect romance for right now. Maybe it's a little of both. It definitely distracted me from all the hatred spewing online over the very real ugliness we're all dealing with in regards to the pandemic. It made me feel a bit wistful, too. Real life is never like a romance, which is why we need them, yes?

Since this novel broke my bad luck streak I need to do a giveaway (it will also continue to support the lovely, kind Ms. Jones.) So I will send a copy of After Sundown to any of my visitors who want one. Let me know if you do in comments, and the format you'd prefer.

Mask Making Standing Offer

My guy and I risked a run to Target very late last night to get some big plastic mailing envelopes, which is what I'm using for sending books and stuff out so that it can be easily disinfected by my recipients. Also, if we go about 30 minutes before closing there's hardly anyone in the store.

Anyway, while we were there we saw some 10-packs of single-layer black cloth masks which were labeled "single use" being sold for $15.00:

As I know how little time and material go into making these masks, I consider that price absolutely outrageous. Please do not buy these masks.

That price tag shock also made me resolve to do what I can to stop this kind of ripoff. I can't make masks for everyone in the world, but I am going to make them for my family and friends. So for the duration of the pandemic, if you need cloth masks, please let me know. I already have all the materials on hand (I currently have white elastic, and my order of black elastic will arrive next week) and I would be happy to make them and ship them to you, free of charge. My masks are durable and washable, too.

I know you guys don't want to take advantage, but let this be the one way I help you get through this mess.

So This Happened

We try not to mess with nature or any of the wild critters that hang out in the neighborhood, but we do watch out for any that might get in trouble. Like this gopher tortoise:

The fence belongs to our back neighbor who just uses the property for grazing cows, so there was no one to free the little guy but us. We tried first to push him through, but he was wedged so tightly there was no doing that. Also, these tortoises have big claws, and he started thrashing the minute we touched him. So we got out the wire cutters:

As soon as he was free he shot off, and we didn't see any blood, so we're pretty sure he wasn't stuck for long and will be okay.

Here he is heading for his burrow:

Now that we know he's living in that corner we'll keep a closer eye on the fence.

Done

I managed to plow my way through 132 pages, but life is too short too waste on mediocre books. So I am not going to finish reading The Winter Cottage by Mary Ellen Taylor.

For the record, it's a story about two or three generations of women who apparently hate their mothers, love the wrong guys, and then get pregnant with out of wedlock babies. Same setting for all of it.

Problems: many.

I couldn't connect with any of the characters. I felt a smigeon of sympathy for the protagonist in the beginning, but she didn't hold my interest.

The conflicts are extremely bland and done too many times by far superior authors already.

The pacing, oy. It would put snails into comas.

The titular setting is even duller than dishwater.

I don't care how it ends so I didn't skip head to look; that should tell you something.

On the plus side: well, it has a pretty cover. The writing is competent. That's it.

Off to the Friends of the Library it goes.

Randomly

I've been offline tending to family matters instead of writing up content for the blog, and realized I've run out of pre-written posts. Nothing earth-shaking happening here, and I'm still working on reading the same book, so today we'll do a random show and tell.

First up, the set of baby stuff for Oliver when he eats at our house. I ordered this because it's super easy to clean, and now his mom won't have to haul her set over when they visit:

Next up, Katherine's Mother's Day gift to me -- a bouquet that will never die. She hand cut all these tiny paper flowers and did the adorable lettering:

So talented, my kid. Finally, the sewing table after my mask making weekend, which proves that like most sewers I am a total slob when I'm working:

I'm going to tidy up in there tomorrow. Today was sweeping/mopping all the tile floors day. Now I have to start thinking about what to make for dinner. Probably something light.

What's up with you? Let us know in comments.