This and That

I forgot to mention yesterday that I'm putting the short story project on hold for now, sorry. For my quilt break days this week I made a new nine-patch mug rug out of some low volume scraps for my desk.

I also tried an experiment in layering silk, taffeta and crepe and using some ancient silk thread and a few vintage buttons for a little art piece.

I like the way this turned out, plus I was able to try some stitching ideas.

My next three blind dates with a book arrived yesterday, too -- I asked the seller to surprise me with the titles and genres, and I haven't read any of these authors -- so I have these to look forward to in May.

H2O SF

I've been avoiding SF shows and movies for a while, but after being dazzled by Happiness last year I decided to take a chance and watch The Silent Sea, a Korean near-future dystopian lunar adventure series on NetFlix. It turned out to be a pretty good choice.

This series begins on an Earth with rapidly-dwindling water resources, which isn't all that far a reach from the reality facing the real world in a few decades. Water becomes far more valuable than petroleum or gold, and people are subjected to strict rationing, are compelled to euthanize their pets, and as you'd expect live generally miserable lives -- it's pretty much like Dune without the sand worms and still suits. Meanwhile, a team of scientists and soldiers are sent on a mission to a base on the moon abandoned five years earlier to retrieve some samples left behind there.

From the moment this crew blasts off you know things aren't what they seem. The lead astrobiologist's sister died at the abandoned base along with everyone who worked there, and it's obvious from the start that she's going to find out why. The captain of the crew is remarkably tight-lipped about every detail of the mission. After crash-landing and losing their first crew member to his injuries, they finally fight their way to the base. Then things just get stranger as they discover what they were sent for, how everyone died five years ago, and the fact that someone (or something) is still alive at the base, and wants to kill them.

I thought the production and casting of The Silent Sea was quite impressive, and while not as special-effects heavy as most SF shows did a fine job of convincing me everyone was actually on the moon. The cast all did very well with their roles, particularly Gong Yoo as the crew captain Han, Bae Doona as astrobiologst Song and Kim Sun-Young as the mission's physician. The story is rife with irony and rock/hard place choices, but also offers a plausible and (to me) very realistic look at just what the human race will do to survive.

It's possible Netflix will greenlight a second season for The Silent Sea, but I'd personally leave it where it ended, as it made me think a lot -- and I'm not sure I want to know what happens next. :) I do recommend this one as an interesting SF series.

Off to Write

I'm unplugging to finish my latest work novel today. See you tomorrow.

While We Can

Yesterday I was walking Beau in the backyard when I saw something fluttering on the ground. It was a gorgeous red-spotted purple butterfly (why they called it purple when it's mostly blue I have no idea), a species I've only seen a few times here.

It didn't fly away from us, so I put Beau on the porch and went back with my camera to see if I could get some pics of it before it took off. That was when I realized why it was fluttering on the ground. One of its wings was mostly gone, probably from a bird attack.

These butterflies live only a week or two so they can mate and lay their eggs. I know there are a million butterflies around now, too, so others will live on and continue the lifecycle of their species. Still, it made me feel terribly sad to see that while it kept trying to launch itself off the ground, this one would never fly again. Then I thought: Maybe you're one of those messages the universe keeps tossing at me.

Let's fly while we still can, my pals.

Progress

Tomorrow it will be a week since I started stitching the linen quilt, and this is the progress I've made. It could be better, but I was a little depressed when I started the work so I'm going to forgive myself for the obvious mistakes. Going in circles is a familiar theme when I'm feeling blue.

To avoid frustration and project burn out I'm going to change how I've always worked just on one project until it's finished. This time I plan to set aside the quilt every Wednesday and do something different for a day or two. I expect the little weekly projects will be stitch tests or just practice, but I expect they'll make me happier. I'm also going to try out a new idea with my cutter quilt pieces. Stay tuned to see what it is.

Garden Update

It's been a while since I did a garden post. Lots of things are happening; our brussel sprouts are full-size so I'm picking a few every couple of days to have with dinner, along with the radishes that are ready. Both are amazing and delicious.

By next week I should be able to add pole beans to the menu; ours are growing like weeds.

We have a bumper crop of tomatoes, too. I'd like to make these into pasta sauce when they ripen.

The bell peppers are also doing nicely. These will save me $$$ in the weeks ahead; I cook with them all the time but they've gotten insanely expensive at the market.

The cucumbers are ready to start climbing their lattice.

In the herb garden the chives have flowered a lot this year. Did you know you can eat chive flowers? They taste a little like onion.

We haven't seen any flowers yet on Dad's orange tree (not pictured; it took a hard hit from the cold last year and is still recovering) but Mom's grapefruit tree already has fruit on it.

The Long Road

Sorry I missed posting yesterday; I'm trying to catch up on my housework and forgot I had nothing scheduled to publish.

I started embroidering the linen quilt last week, and made some decisions on embellishments, although I reserve the right to change my mind down the road. I won't be using anything but #3 perle cotton thread for the needlework, and I put away my beads and lace so they wouldn't tempt me. I just want this quilt to be linen and thread.

For guidelines (and to sketch out embroidery shapes on the linen) I'm using a disappearing fabric marker -- but sparingly. I discovered it's not disappearing, for one thing, and I trust my eye more than my hand these days.

I'm also working very slowly. The first patch took three nights to complete, and I'm on night three with the circling feather stitch in the next one. I imagine this quilt will take at least six to eight months to finish, so I have a long road ahead, but that's fine. I'm going to take a break from it every week and do another small project for fun so I don't get bored.

This pic shows how I work on the quilt, no hoop (I find it's easier to work without one), plus I pinned the quilt together with a million or so safety pins, so it's not moving.

(Not Technically) Story Friday

I did not have time again to write a new short story this week, but I did dust off an old novel idea that I thought was interesting (I'm still on the fence as to if I want to write the whole thing or not.) To have a look at the first chunk of the Eternal idea, click here.

Image credit: ariadne-a-mazed from Pixabay

A Year

Mom died a year ago today. So many people have died over the last two years I feel almost selfish thinking about my own loss, and I prefer to celebrate birthdays of those I've lost rather than the day they passed away. Still, it's always in the back of my mind when the calendar rolls around to that particular date. Because I knew it was coming at me I pressed ahead with getting the linen quilt ready for stitching so I'd have something to work on while coping with the reminder.

I feel a little depressed, mostly, but also calm and accepting. Emotionally I had a much harder time dealing with losing my dad. My mother's death released from any more financial obligation to that side of the family, and cut the last tie we had, so in many ways it was a huge relief to be done with them. Since Mom passed I've also had to send Kat off to start her adult life, so in a way it reminds me to be a better mother to my daughter while I can. I've done okay, I think, but I can do better.

I think Mom would understand all this. As for mourning, I'd rather remember the good things about her, and in November do something to celebrate her birthday the way I do with my dad and grandmother. That seems the way to go on.

Ready to Quilt

Last night I kept that promise I made to myself and backed, batted and pinned the linen quilt. I had to iron everything (linen tends to wrinkle if you breathe on it), even the batting. Lately every roll of batting I take out of the bag is puckered and bulgy and drives me nuts. I also forgot to square the bottom, and my knees hate me now. But it's done and ready to quilt and embroider.

The backing is a beautiful vintage navy linen, a bit darker and heavier than what I used for my first linen quilt, but very comfortable. I can't wait to get started on the stitching.

Onward

I've pieced the top for my next large quilt project out of scrap linen. Now that Kat has gotten back home safely and the renovation is finished I plan to batt, back and pin the quilt tonight so I can get on with the quilting.

While I was off managing everything and everyone I had this bag of scraps leftover from piecing the top, so I made most of them into two panels on which to practice my embroidery stitching.

Linen is excellent fabric to embroider, as it has a looser weave and more flexibility than quilting cotton. It's not necessarily easier, hence the practice pieces.

I feel I'm fully prepared to tackle a larger version now, which was the point. Stay tuned to see what happens.

Back & Renovated

After a whirlwind week with Kat here and our contractor finishing up our shower renovation I'm finally back to blogging. You remember the old shower, yes? Here's what it looks like now:

My guy has a bit of paint touch-up work to do on the walls and baseboards, and he'll be installing new towel hangars. We'll also be having custom glass doors added so we don't have to use shower curtains anymore, but otherwise it's ready. I took the very first shower in it last night, and having the room to move around and the light to see what I'm doing was amazing.

The tile is so much prettier than the prefabbed shell of the old shower (I feel safer with tile versus slippery fiberglass under my feet, too.)

It's definitely not cheap to do a renovation like this, but worth it in the long run. We also discovered and fixed a water leak we didn't know we had, so that was a big bonus.

Designing the new shower, picking out the tile and making sure it worked for both of us took time, but it was also worth it. We're both happy with the end result, which is all that matters.

Taking Time

I'm going to stay unplugged for a few more days to spend time with Kat before she leaves.

Finish Line Dash

I'm unplugging today to (hopefully) finish this book I'm writing. See you tomorrow.

Reading Pledge

Somehow I've completely stopped reading books for pleasure, and I'm not sure why. It might be because of my fairly intense work schedule, or my lack of interest in the majority of the dreck flooding the market lately. It could be related to some lingering depression, too. I still haven't finished the last book I bought like two months ago.

Anyway, I'm making a pledge to read at least one book per week for the next month. I'll put reminders on my calendar, write up each book I finish here on the blog, and check back on May 10th and see if I kept my word. :)

Image Credit: congerdesign from Pixabay

Easter or Not

As empty nesters we're finding it a little weird to celebrate holidays with no one but each other in the house. I always try to make a nice dessert or dinner for my guy, and give him a card, but we're really done with gift exchanges and going out for holiday-related events. With Easter only about a week away I'm hoping to find a small turkey I can make for dinner (I only make it twice a year on Thanksgiving and Easter.) I'm also going to Zelle some money to Kat so she can get herself a nice meal. But honestly, that's all I have planned.

After a lifetime of making Easter baskets and having egg hunts for the kids and making gifts for them and my parents I feel guilty about my complete disinterest in Easter. I think I need to forgive myself for that. Holidays like Christmas and Easter have always been just more work for me, and I associate a lot of bad childhood memories with them. While I enjoyed making them happy days for my guy and the kids I've never liked them personally. For me they're really no different than getting my taxes done; I have to prepare a lot in advance, do all the work myself, go over all the details, and then worry during the whole day of filing if I've done everything right.

This year I think I will make my turkey dinner, go out for a walk with the pups and my guy, and be at peace. I've paid my Easter dues.

Image Credit: jhenning from Pixabay

No Story Again

I have no story to post again this week, as I spent all my free time trying to get my blogs reinstated after being flagged and locked down for having inappropriate content. That would be all of my blogs, which is about a dozen over the twenty years. I still have no idea why. I feel like if I get anymore G-rated Disney will start courting my content.

Here's the really strange part: the one blog they didn't lock down was PBW, on which I did use the eff word at least once and posted all those John & Marcia satires, which did have some spicy parody.

The post that seemed to trigger the lockdown (or was flagged by someone as inappropriate was the one I wrote about finishing the spool project. So there you go.

On the even more depressing front, one of Kat's friends passed away this week; she was only 23 years old and a T1 diabetic. I don't have any details other than that, but it breaks my heart. My kid will be flying home on Sunday for the funeral, so we're getting ready to see her through all this.

Here We Go

After ironing all of my linen fabric, which took a full night, I cut all the pieces into three widths I like and began improv piecing them.

I have no plan for this, I just piece together what I have to work with in combinations and sets that I like for embroidery purposes.

I'm also keeping all my trimmings in a bag and will try to add them in with the piecing as I go along to reduce my leftover scraps.

Starting Line

I'm ready to start work on my next large quilt project, which will be an embroidered linen quilt. I have to iron this pile of scrap linen this weekend, and finally decide on what patchwork design I want to use for the quilt top before I begin cutting and piecing. I did some sketches, and looked through a ton of block patchwork patterns, but nothing planned feels right to me. I might instead improvise the patchwork as I did with the first linen quilt I made.

I've been looking through my photo archives from 2018 to see how I did the improvised patchwork. I seems like I just cobbled different size rectangles and strips of different colors together.

This is what the quilt top looked like back then. I like the look, but I want to refine my process. Since I have a lot of linen I might go bigger, too. So thinking some more.

Done

Last night I completed my slow stitched spool project and sewed on the wrapping ribbon.

Here's the whole strip unwound.

I felt a bit timid when I began the project, as I've never made one of these. I also didn't feel sure I could be very creative in a 2-inch-wide work space.

One thing slow stitching does for me is help me let go of my doubts and worries, and find the joy in the work.

I don't want to be perfect when I slow stitch; instead I embrace my limitations and all the imperfections that come from them.

I didn't consciously decide to make it beach-themed, but as that's my safe place I'm not surprised it evolved into that. For the last space I stitched a sand castle like those I always built at the beach.

The final touch was naming the project Beach Memories. Very glad I tried this, as I'm now in a good place in my head to begin the next large quilt project.