Journal: Lumpy Pillows and Frumpy Feet

Last Monday, the only things I did that had anything to do with quilting were 1) scrubbing an appliquéd block that had a couple of spots on it, and 2) playing with my new EQ8 (Electric Quilt software).  I pulled up the design I’d put together in EQ7 for the vintage Sunbonnet Sue blocks that were made by our grandmothers, great-grandmothers, aunts, great-aunts, and some of their neighbors, friends, and teachers.  Having discovered that EQ8 has some chain blocks that might work better with the Sunbonnet Sue blocks than the ones that were in EQ7, I switched blocks around, and saved the new version along with the old.

Other than that... I washed the dishes.  That’s good, right?  I even got the laundry all done and the bills paid.

Tuesday, I got a notice that a new My Pillow had shipped (you’ll recall the old one got lost), and should be here the next day.  I requested email notifications all along the route, so that if it got misdelivered again, I’d have a better idea just where it had been mistakenly left.

I really did need that pillow.   But... I’ve never bought a pillow online or from a magazine before, without feeling it first.  My neck is picky!  I hoped it would be worth it; silly.

Some mornings while I am curling my hair, Tiger foils my penchant for exercising whilst I do so, by snuggling up around my ankles, purring, and eventually lying down as immediately underfoot as possible.  I can’t exercise with a cat all cuddled around my hoofs!

“Maybe your feet smell like catnip,” a friend suggested.

Haha  Guess that’s better than toe-jam, eh? 

That day, I sewed sashing to blocks, and then began sewing blocks to blocks in diagonal strips for the Baskets of Lilies quilt.

Late Wednesday morning, I got a notice saying that the ‘My Pillow’ package had been delivered – in the mailbox.

Huh?!  How in the world could a box with a large pillow in it fit in our mailbox?! 

I went over to Old Highway 81 and peered in the mailbox.

It was definitely full.

But it was a soft package, not a box.

I took it back to the house, opened it, and pulled out a smushed collection of lumps in a casing.

A note fluttered to the table.  I picked it up and read, To activate My Pillow, put it in a hot dryer for 15 minutes.

I looked at the bunch of lumps.  Well, nothing to lose.

I trotted the limp thing into the laundry room, threw it in the dryer, and turned it on.

15 minutes later, I retrieved a big, ol’, soft, fluffy pillow.  Slightly lumpy.  I probably didn’t have the dryer set hot enough. 

A couple of nights later, I put it back in the dryer and set the temperature as high as it would go. 

The pillow came out fluffier than ever.  And still slightly lumpy.

I’m not as enthralled with it as some people are, but it’s a sight better than my old pillow.

Wednesday afternoon, I reached the halfway point in putting the Baskets of Lilies quilt together.  I took some time out to put birthday gifts in bags for little Elsie, who is now one year old, and for her older brother Leroy, who would be 6 the next day.   To Elsie, we gave the double fleece blanket, tied around the edges, with the little mini blanket and a Beanie Baby lion that matches the lion printed on the fleece.

For Leroy, I had a little airplane piloted by teddy bears – and it’s a penny bank.  I put a big handful of coins in it.  Also, I found a matchbox-sized four-wheeler, and a Noah’s Ark puzzle.  That didn’t seem like quite enough, so after church we stopped at Wal-Mart and got a fancy little vintage car to add to the collection. We dropped off the gifts on our way home.

My toes are getting better, though cramming them into a shoe for church makes them complain – and wouldn’t you know, the plantar wart I acquired on the bottom of that same foot about four years ago has come to life with a vengeance.  But my mother would think it was very bad form to discuss plantar warts in public, so I won’t.  😉  (But I did just order some medicine from Dr. Scholl.)

Thursday morning, I made a pot of huckleberry coffee – and found a box on the porch:  another customer quilt to do. 

I had told all my customers, “No more quilts until after January 1^st.”  But whataya do when they look like sad cocker spaniels and say, “Pleeeeeeeze?” and “Don’t interrupt your own things, but could you just squeeeeeeze mine in, when you’re not busy?”

Ha!  ‘When I’m not busy.’  If I didn’t do customer stuff until I was done with my own stuff, well, ... I just wouldn’t do any customer stuff, that’s all.  😏

Question:  Why does orange-furred Tiger like best to rub all around my legs when I have this long navy pencil-line skirt on, and more especially if I’m planning to go somewhere???

Question #2:  Are long navy pencil-line skirts still cute and stylish, when the bottom 10” are made of orange fur?

Question #3:  What did I do with the lint roller??

I opened the box, measured the quilt, pulled up a Hobby Lobby 40%-off coupon on my tablet, used packaging tape on my skirt (I would later find the lint roller downstairs on my quilting frame – I’d used it on a quilt), and carefully stuck my feet into the bright fuchsia shoes Larry got for me (when one’s toes hurt, one is less inclined to be vain about one’s shoes).  (I do really like those shoes; they’re the most comfortable hiking shoes I’ve ever had.  But I rarely go shopping in them.)  (Ah, well.  They didn’t clash, at least.)  Then I grabbed my purse, remembered the piece of paper on which I’d written the quilt measurements (if I remember the paper, I will not forget the measurements; if I forget the paper, I will also forget the measurements), and even managed to remember my tablet.

At Hobby Lobby, I discovered Hobbs Premium Heirloom cotton batting listed for the very same price as Fairfield poly.  I decided to get it, after weighing a package in each hand, and thinking the cotton really wasn’t all that much heavier.  I thought my customer might like to compare it with what we’ve used before, and see which she likes best.  It’s nice batting, and it was a good price.

I’ve read a few bad reviews on Fairfield – people saying that it isn’t uniform, or that there are lumps and bumps... but I haven’t gotten any that was bad.  My favorite will always be wool (or silk!)... but it’s a whole lot more expensive, and some of the recipients of my quilts would never, ever know the difference.  Next time I make a bed quilt for us, though, ...  I will get wool. 

Home again, I went on working on the Baskets of Lilies quilt.  I wanted to get the blocks and rows all together before I put it aside to quilt my customer’s quilt. 

By suppertime, it was together, except for the borders.  Twenty more appliquéd flowers will extend into those borders.  I plan to put fabric yo-yos in the center of each appliquéd flower after quilting is complete.

I keep debating with myself... shall I use a pantograph, or do custom quilting?  I have some really pretty pantos... but I usually prefer custom... but pantos are faster... but I can control any possible ripples and rumples better doing custom... but Todd and Dorcas might never even notice the difference... but I might want to enter it in the fair before I give it to them... but ------ you see how it goes.

Sometimes I don’t decide until the quilt is loaded.  And then it’s time to quilt!  So... I quilt.

I’m leaning toward custom quilting, a really bang-up job.  Then I’d save it to enter in our County Fair and State Fair, and give it to Todd and Dorcas for their anniversary next October.

That seems like a looong time ----- but, on the other hand, I just gave Elsie the double-fleece blanket and mini blanket I made for her, many months ago.  I looked back to see when I made it.  I kept looking back... farther... farther... farther... – and discovered I made that thing last January 21! 

Wow.  Time flies.

Todd and Dorcas know I’m making the quilt for them.  I’ll just tell them what I’m planning to do...  and if I act all apologetic and stuff, they’ll have to be gracious, right??  😉

That evening, I realized that nary a one of the online groups to which I belong (quilting, sergers, Berninas, doll clothes, Electric Quilt, SewItsForSale, etc.) had sent or received any posts since the previous night.  I hunted around to see if I could find out what the trouble might be, but couldn’t find anything.  Yahoo is bad about posting their troubles – that is, they never like to admit they’re having a problem.  Furthermore, they make it nearly impossible to find anyone to contact about problems, whether it concerns groups, mail, photos, or websites.

Everyone should’ve been getting lots done, since there were no group emails to read and respond to!  But instead, they’d probably been frantically clicking ‘Refresh page’ all day long.  With whom were they going to share their accomplishments, huh huh huh huh huh?!!

That night, Larry and I watched a video Kurt posted on Instagram.  Victoria was playing with Baby Carolyn, and the baby was laughing right out loud, because her Mama was imitating the little noises she was making.  One of the things that always strikes us funny is how delighted the parents are over their baby.  Larry said exactly what I was thinking:  “It’s every bit as much fun to watch the parents enjoying their baby, as it is to watch the baby!”

Lydia posted pictures from Jonathan’s first day to preschool.  Lydia said, “He was telling me about his first day at preschool and I wanted to take his picture ‘so we could remember’ – and this is what we’ll remember:” -- and she captured Jonathan in full, animated description, arms flung high over his head, amazed face... then a laughing face... then smiling and a little sheepish, having realized he was on Candid Camera.  Funny little guy.

Friday afternoon as I loaded my customer’s quilt on my frame, I could hear goldfinches twittering all around the bird feeders, and over in the cottonwood and maple trees, the Eurasian ring-necked doves are cooing away.  Every now and then the blue jays screamed, or toodle-oooed, or made their high-pitched screeeee! noise that’s a perfect imitation of the red-tailed hawks that populate the countryside.  With that call alone, they frighten away all the little songbirds at the feeder without any undue exertion at all.

When Larry’s family lived in Trinidad, Colorado, their neighbors had a pet magpie that talked.  They also had a cat named Cindy.

The magpie could perfectly imitate the lady of the house.  He’d sit atop a fencepost and call, “Cindy!  Cindy!” and pretty soon the cat would come running, thinking it was time for his food.

But... there was no lady at the door.  The cat would look around, spot the magpie atop the pole, look peeved, and stalk off in High Dudgeon, switching its tail. 

The Schwan man came that day, so for supper I popped a frozen chicken casserole into the oven.  Pretty easy, for such a scrumptious meal.  It really does taste like it was put together from scratch.

After completing two wide passes on the quilt, I quit for the night. 

Do you know what happens when you sit in front of a little space heater – and there are brass rivets in your skirt?  Well, I just found out.

Actually, I already knew.

But I found out again.

A woman wrote and asked me if I could make her a king-sized quilt.  Make it, from start to finish, she meant.  “I suppose it would cost a couple hundred?” she asked.

A ‘couple hundred’!  😲  It’s several hundred for the fabric alone!

What she wants is a nice comforter from Wal-Mart.

Saturday, I quilted.  And quilted.  And quilted.  I didn’t quit until I was done. 

I did slather on some Soothanol drops... some Capzasin... and some Pain-A-Trate, in order to get the job finished.

Yesterday afternoon, I took a much-needed-but-too-short nap.  My alarm went off in less than an hour.  I got up... got ready for church... made some coffee... and set about convincing Larry that he really was done with his nap.

I considered behaving like that woman at the campground in Buena Vista, where we stayed with the children way back when Victoria was little.  The sun was just beginning to think about peeking over the mountains on the east side of the valley when the woman in the next camper bellowed, “GET UUUUUUUUUUUUUPPPPPP!!!!!!!!!” at a pitch of approximately 200 decibels.

Her family got up, screaming and yelling and cussing and barking (there were three dogs, in addition to one husband and three kids). 

After I scraped my husband and kids off the ceiling of the camper, we got up, too.

Or down, as it were, off the ceiling.

But Mama taught me not to act like that, so instead I sing-songed, “ ♫ ♪ It’s time to get up! ♫ ♪ ” over and over like a buzzy, pesky fly, until he got up.

Our men’s choir, which has several new voices in it, including Kurt’s, sang a beautiful song called I Look Beyond.  I hunted for the lyrics, but couldn’t find them.  I did find a touching old hymn called Beyond the Shadows, though.  I’ll insert it at the end of this letter.

This afternoon, I packed up the quilt, took the box to the post office, and shipped it back to my customer, who lives in Washington State.

Next on the agenda:  putting the borders and the rest of the appliqué flowers on the Baskets of Lilies quilt.

A friend wrote to ask me, “As you look at your quilts, how do you decide what pattern(s) you will use to quilt the sandwich together?  Do you have a favorite quilting design?”

When it’s a customer quilt, I send them a bunch of pictures of pantographs they might like, and let them choose.

If it’s for one of my own quilts, well, about the time I get the thing loaded, I decide whether or not I’m going to do custom quilting, or if I’ll use a pantograph.  I have a few favorite pantographs; I especially like big, busy, fancy-schmancy feathers... or intricate roses with echoing...

I’ve learned (or at least I should’ve learned) not to choose pantos that have lots of straight, diagonal lines.  My machine only does straight, diagonal lines well when I’m doing custom quilting from the front, using rulers.  Not too long ago, I found a ‘perfect’ panto for a lady’s baby quilt:  cute little train cars going this way and that, tipped cattycorner all along the row. 

Aaaauuuugggghhhh.  I decided, after I was done, that that pantograph needed a new name:  Higgledy-Piggledy, Hobbly-Wobbly Train Cars.  That way, everyone would look at my quilting and think, She did that on purpose. 

The neighbors’ stupid idiot of a blue heeler (actually, he’s not so stupid, really; he’s behaving exactly like they’ve programmed him to act) is yappity-yapping his head off at their leaf blower while the lady tries to clean the already-clean driveway.  She finally gets aggravated, swings the blower at the dog – and the dog leaps backward, neatly avoiding the blower; then, when, uh, let’s call her ‘Hildegard’, is at the far reach of her swing, the dog dives forward and nips Hildy on the ankle.  Hildegard yells, swings; dog leaps, dives, nips; Hildegard yells, swings; dog leaps, dives, nips; Hildegard yells, swings ------- you get the picture.

What’d they expect, getting a ‘heeler’?

They probably thought it meant, “Dog follows nicely at one’s heels.”  Ha!

I’m telling you, I don’t need afternoon soap operas around here.

,,,>^..^<,,,        Sarah Lynn        ,,,>^..^<,,,