Journal: Wedding Book Is on the Way (Isn't It?)

When I was young, my father had a Subaru.  About the same time, my brother and his wife had some gerbils. 

One day, Daddy was peering into the gerbil cage, and, in asking what they liked to eat, accidentally called them ‘subarus’.

From then on, we called his Subaru a ‘gerbil’.  Daddy, who usually had a grand sense of humor, did not think this was nearly so funny as Loren and I did.  Daddy wanted respect for his Subaru, you know!  ((giggle))

The other day, some quilting friends were discussing whether or not they wash their fabric when it is new, before they use it.  This is a topic with an unending amount of debate, and quilters can get into quite the tiffs over it.

A lot of people wash their fabrics... and then, having successfully removed the sizing that makes it crisp and nice, they spray it with starch before beginning their projects.  Fabric with no sizing and no starch is more difficult to cut and sew, as it is more likely to stretch and distort.

And if you’re not careful to cover everything before you start spraying, you will then need to wash residue from walls, tables, floor, etc.  Some bugs love cornstarch; so, depending on where you live, and the bugs and the temperatures in that area, you might want to wash the quilt again after completion, and store unused, starched fabric in sealed bins.

There are certainly fabrics and colors that are more likely to bleed and run than others.  Reds are usually the worst.  However, even if you don’t wash reds before use, Color Catchers in the wash almost always keep dyes from bleeding and staining other fabrics in the quilt.

For those fabrics that show signs of bleeding (i.e., dye comes off on your hands when you handle the fabric, or colors the water when a small piece is put into a bowl of water), there are commercial dye-setters available, most notably Retayne, which is a color fixative, and Synthrapol, a surfactant that removes excess dye from hand-dyed fabrics.  Information on both products can be found at www.prochemicalanddye.com.

Another reason to prewash is that some fabrics shrink – and not all shrink at the same rate, especially if you are combining older fabrics with newer.

High-quality cotton quilting fabrics of today are more stable than they used to be, both colorwise and shrink-wise.

One more thing:  I like two things about quilts:  1) I like the crisp, new feeling of a finished quilt made from fabric that has not been prewashed, and 2) I like the heirloom crinkled look of a quilt after its first washing.  Sooo... I rarely prewash fabric.  Saves time and money, and I get my quilt both ways – first, crisp and new; and next, softly crinkled.

I did prewash all the wools, corduroys, velvets, brushed doubleknits, and velours of the winter Jewel Box Log Cabin quilt I made some years ago.  I used hot water and a hot dryer ---- but guess what?  Every time it gets wet, the red wool runs and bleeds all over again!  I use Color Catchers every time I wash that thing – and some of the white patches still have a faint tinge of blush to them.  This wouldn’t bother me, except for the fact that not all the white patches absorbed the pinkish-red dye, as they were not from the same piece of wool.  Furthermore, some of the fabric went on shrinking in subsequent washings, so now there are parts of that quilt that are puckered, and parts that are not.  Puckered is different from crinkled, mind you.

So the one time I figured prewashing was an absolute requisite, it did not at all solve the problem (though you could argue that I successfully foiled the solution by throwing together fabrics that were never meant to be thrown together).

Here is a good reason some people prewash:  they are allergic to the dye and the sizing in the fabric.

I said all that to tell you the following story from one of the quilters:  “When I first started quilting, I washed my fabric after I got it home.  Then I washed each block (in lingerie bags) after it was finished to remove dirt and oil, and also to ensure no bleeding onto the other pieces.  Finally, I washed after the quilt was finished to remove dirt and oil before giving it away.  I did this because an experienced quilter sent me a very long email telling me why I should do each washing step to prevent the ruin of my quilt.  I don’t do that anymore.  I only wash after I’m finished now.”

Good grief!  Do you think that ‘experienced quilter’ had purchased stock with the laundry detergent manufacturers?  🙄

I think the author of Pickles has bugged our house.  Almost every day lately, he writes about something that we are dealing with and/or discussing.

Everyone be careful out there!  Quilting can be dangerous business.

I’ve been planning to separate, divide, and conquer!  Hostas, lilies, sedum, and peonies, that is.  Even pull weeds!  But I don’t get it done.  Customer quilts just keep arriving, and I haven’t finished the eagle quilt.  Have to do those first. 

At least I got Loren and Norma’s wedding album done!  I’m really, really, really, really, REALLY pleased with it, and can’t wait to get it.  It should be here in four more days.

Isn’t it funny how, what some of us love, others hate, and vice versa?  I’ve always disliked 1930s reproduction fabrics.  I don’t mention it very often, because there aren’t many others ----- actually, I can’t think of any other person who dislikes those 30s fabrics.  However!! – one of my customers has sent me numerous quilts made with those fabrics.  She uses traditional blocks, with a lot of white background ---- and guess what?  (Did you guess?)  I like her lovely quilts! 

One lady’s response to that last paragraph was, “One quilter’s gag is another’s swoon.”

Here was last week’s ‘Winding Thread’ topic on my Quilt Talk group:  Do you have a sewing/quilting kit?  What’s in it?  What should be in it?  What do you do with it, and where do you take it?  What type of container/bag/box is it, and of what is it constructed?  Did you make it yourself?

My ‘sewing kit’ is a laptop case with a gazillion pockets and compartments.  It’s a terrific case for a laptop... but it’s too small for my laptop.  I got it 80% off (and it was still sorta pricey) in Nebraska Furniture Mart’s Electronic Department several years ago, knowing it was too small, but loving the case ------ and I knew exactly what I was going to use it for:  it was precisely the right size for the blocks for the Graceful Garden quilt I was making.

I carried that case with a whole lot of those blocks in it all the way to Yellowstone National Park back in 2012, and to a whole lot of other places besides.  I thought I’d have time to complete the hand embroidery work on the blocks while in our pretty little cabin in Gardiner, Montana.

Ha.  Me, do embroidery work, when there’s scenery outside???!  I have a camera, for pity’s sake!  I unzipped that case once – but it was not to embroider.  It was to retrieve my needlebook in order to sew a button back on something.

In this case now resides my Bucilla cross-stitch butterfly quilt (and the Bucilla cross-stitch bird quilt, too, though that one hasn’t been opened).  I have all the floss I need... needles... leather thimbles... cute little snips... I take it with me on any lengthy trip, thinking surely I’ll have some time to embroider.

I haven’t even completed one butterfly.  (Or did I?  Maybe I’m on butterfly #2.)  I take pictures, that’s what I do.  And when I’m in a motel room or our camper, I edit pictures.  If I finish editing, I upload pictures.  If I should get that done, then and only then do I pull out the embroidery.

I do believe that the only way I’m going to get those cross-stitch quilts done is to decide, This is my next project, as opposed to thinking, This is my ‘I’ll do this when I don’t have anything else to do’ project.

Here’s another screen shot from Loren and Norma’s wedding album:

I can hardly wait for it to get here, so I can give it to them! 

(To my Friends and Relations [à la Rabbit, from Winnie-the-Pooh]:  Don’t show them these pictures, please.)

The photos aren’t the best..... partly because I’m sorta shy (really!!!  I am!), and don’t like ordering people around:  “You stand there!  Point your right toe out!  Heel in, heel in!  Tip your head!  Hey, you on the left!  Look sharp!” – etc.

So I don’t get shots I should get – such as Larry and I, and Kenny and Annette, with Loren and Norma.  Or Loren and Norma with Robert beside them (though I did get him shaking Norma’s hand).

I totally forgot to get a good shot of Kenny and Annette, so I used one I’d just taken at Easter, and smudged out all the people sitting nearby.

But... when the pictures are all together in a book... honeymoon included... with the verses and remarks and ceremony Robert read... and some other verses I chose, along with information about the places where they stayed with their camper, I know very well that they are going to be pleased.  But Norma never had Loren take a picture of her on their trip!!!  You’d think we were related.  😄

Or maybe not.  She totally forgot to get her camera out, until they were 3 or 4 days into the honeymoon.  Missed the view of the mountains entirely.

Nope, guess we’re not related.  ((giggle))

Anyway, the photos aren’t professional, but the book is!  I hope I’m as tickled pink with it when it arrives as I am right now this very moment. 

Last week, Lydia sent a video clip of Baby Malinda (who’s going to be one year old tomorrow, by the way), asking for a bite ------ and when a bite didn’t come fast enough, she whistled!  Having discovered that she could, she kept it up the rest of the evening.

It started because she was trying to imitate her Mama blowing the bites she was giving her.  The first whistle happened quite by accident.  After that, she kept right on a-whistlin’, on purpose, the rest of the evening. 

One time when a friend’s little girl was about that age, sitting on her Daddy’s lap in Sunday School, she whistled suddenly.  “Wheeyoooooot ♫ ♪ Whewwww! ♪ ”  LOUDLY.

The man had a hard time behaving himself the rest of the Sunday School hour.  😆

Did I tell you how pleased I am with that wedding album?

Here’s another page:

I never like ‘religious’ jokes that are disrespectful... but I decided that the clean-windshield funny wasn’t irreverent at all. 

My best endeavors with any type of writing leans toward the Dr. Seuss persuasion.  But I wanted this album to be touching and tasteful and reverent and elegant and classy and meaningful.  So I had to actively suppress a stray piece of funnybone now and again.  😄

Tuesday evening, we had a chicken fajita meal for supper, given to us by a friend who’d had it misdelivered from the Schwan man.  Since she’d already opened the bag, Schwan’s would’ve merely discarded of it for her when they brought the right package; so instead, she gave what was left of it to us, and it was plenty for a meal.  It was scrumptious, just the kind of food we like.  Too hot and spicy for Rita; just right for us.

Last Wednesday, Dorcas sent a video of Trevor with his ‘new’ bed – his crib has been lowered, and a section of side railing has been removed so he can get in and out on his own.

“Trevor had figured out how to climb out of his crib, so it was time to make it into the toddler bed,” wrote Dorcas.  “I kept him out of the room so he’d be surprised when Todd got it done.” 

Trevor was totally delighted with his bed.  He hopped in... ker-plunked onto it... laid there for a few minutes... popped up... shinnied out... hopped up and down and exclaimed, “Bed!  Yayyyy!” a few times... then scrambled back in and repeated the procedure all over again.

Their little doggy came wagging along, watching all the excitement, and clearly wondering, “What are we doing?  What game are we playing?  Can I play, too?” 

After church that evening, we had a late supper – and I discovered that I don’t like Campbell’s Chunky Baked Potato with Steak & Cheese soup.  😝

I ate crackers with peanut butter and honey, and then a Fuji apple, instead.  Seemed like a mighty fine supper to me.  Especially after a couple of bites of that soup.  😜

Last night, I discovered I don’t like Campbell’s Chunky Spicy Chicken Quesadilla soup, either.  The Homestyle Mexican-Style Chicken Tortilla soup, yes.  But the soups with that turn-your-stomach stinkin’ cheese, no.

I quilted for a few more hours that night, and made it down to the head of the Americana Eagle, which meant I was about ⅔ done with it.  

More pictures here.

See what I found peeping out from under the batting when I rolled the quilt forward? 

Tiger is the sweetest ol’ thing.  How on earth could anyone have been mean to him? 

He’s certainly not scared of feet and shoes anymore, though.  At least, not ours.  He loves it when Larry and I stand somewhere and talk; it obviously sounds like friendly noise to him.  He’ll come from far corners of the house when he hears us, and then, purring away, he’ll do figure eights around our ankles, going from one to the other, back and forth.  If one of us walks off, he run-waddles after us and does his best to cut straight in front of us.  He looks up at our faces, instead of at our feet, to decide where he thinks we’re going next and beat us to the draw, and maybe to make sure we see him and know he’s there.

So funny.  Makes us laugh.  We reinforce the behavior by stopping and petting him.  😂

When I’m in a hurry, I sidestep, take a looong step, and hurry off without looking at him.  This is his signal that he shouldn’t run in front of me.  He’s also learning that I don’t want him rubbing on me if I have on my good clothes, nylons, and heels.  I say, “Don’t rub on me!” and put up a hand like a stop sign – and if he tries, I put my hands behind him, and boost him away from me.  (Gently.  He’s clumsy, and he slips and falls easily.  Don’t want to hurt him!)

By the way, the wedding album I put together for Loren and Norma is really, really, really neat.  I didn’t tell you that yet, did I?

Larry got a new phone Thursday morning; his gave up the ghost.  Bit the dust.  Croaked.  He got a moto z² force edition in Super Black.  (Why is the name of the device written in small letters, but the color of the thing is in caps?  That’s goofy.)  Anyway, I don’t know what all that means, but I do know it was expensive – over $750.  Aiiiyiiyiiieeee. 

Victoria sent a bunch of pictures that day.  With help, Baby Carolyn is standing up!  Lydia took the photos, some on Shady Lake Road, and some in Lydia’s back yard.  Victoria had a shot of herself with Carrie printed as an 11” x 14” for Kurt for Father’s Day. 

I walked out on the deck to put birdseed in the feeders, and discovered that the branches of the mulberry tree that overhang the deck were heavily laden with mulberries.  That stalled me out for several minutes, while I devoured every mulberry within reach.  Mmmm, I love mulberries.

When Lydia was about eight or nine years old, unbeknownst to me, she went out and picked mulberries – wearing a brand-spankin’-new, snowy-white top with pretty pastel embroidery at the buttonholes, hem, and collar.  We’d just found it at the Goodwill with the original tags still on it.  She came in nearly in tears, having suddenly noticed that she’d acquired purple splotches here and there on that once-pristine blouse.  (Who would’ve ever guessed that would have happened??!)  I washed it in very hot water with Borax and some color-fast bleach, and it came out like new, thank goodness.

Kurt and Victoria and little Carolyn came visiting that evening, bringing Larry a steak dinner and a lemon meringue pie for Father’s Day.  😋

Late that night, I finished quilting the eagle itself:  Eagle quilted

Does all that look like ten hours of quilting to you? 

Saturday, I quilted most of the day, and completed the entire central panel, plus quite a bit of the remaining borders.  

More pictures.  The Americana Eagle quilt would not get done in time for Father’s Day, but I did tell Larry it was his.

Oh, well.  He didn’t get the addition done for Mother’s Day, either!  😉

Or even all the shingles replaced on the roof.  The ladder’s been up for weeks.  🙄

Nothing gets done around here, when there’s haying to be done at Teddy’s place!

Little Elsie gets so used to seeing Larry over there, that if he doesn’t show up in the evenings, she goes around, palms up, saying, “Boppa?  Boppa?  Know!” – shaking her head in an ‘I don’t know!’ attitude. 

I talked with Andrew after church yesterday morning, and he said Baby Keira is right around 6 pounds.  They are again giving her Lasix to reduce fluid; she sometimes gains too much, too fast, and it causes fluid to build up in such places as her lungs, which makes it harder for her to breathe.  But for the most part she’s doing well.

We went to Wal-Mart after the service last night and got Nathanael and Malinda birthday gifts.  Nathanael will be 12 tomorrow; Malinda will be one.

We got Nathanael a neon orange Frisbee, a large blue gel-filled porcupine ball, and a ‘snake’ – offshoot of a Rubik’s cube.  It can be refolded into all sorts of funny shapes.

Since Bobby, Hannah, and the family are leaving on a vacation tomorrow, and Nathanael might like to take the things we got him along, we dropped them off at their house. 

Poor Nathanael has ear infections.  Late yesterday afternoon Hannah took him to Urgent Care, where the doctor cleaned out his ears (never a very pleasant procedure) and then gave him a prescription for antibiotics.  I hope he’s feeling better by the time they leave!  They’re heading to the Grand Canyon.

For Malinda, I got two little dresses to match the hat Hannah crocheted for her, and a couple of small dollies.

Oh!  Did I tell you that I got Loren and Norma’s wedding album done, and I’m really, really, really, really happy with it???

Two days after I ordered it, I got a shipment notice, which got me all agog and agape – but it turns out it was merely ‘Pre-Shipment Info’:

Pre-Shipment Info Sent to USPS, USPS Awaiting Item
The U.S. Postal Service was electronically notified by the shipper on June 16, 2018 to expect your package for mailing. This does not indicate receipt by the USPS or the actual mailing date. Delivery status information will be provided if/when available. 

Aarrgghh, that’s cruel and unusual treatment, making me think it had already been shipped, when it hadn’t at all, and still hasn’t.

On the other hand, this gives me a wee smidgeon of hope that the small, nearly unnoticeable fluff in that book might not be in the printed edition.  I found it the very next day after I placed the order, and fixed it posthaste.  But of course it’s possible that they’d already gathered the book off my account page, and printing had already begun.  It’s nothing serious; just a feathery plume where a feathery plume ought not to be.  If it gets printed that way, well... I’ll just pretend, ‘I put that there on purpose.’

And you won’t tell!  Will you?!

We had T-bone steaks for supper tonight; Larry smoked them on the Traeger grill while I cooked corn on the cob.  It all came from Teddy and Amy for Father’s Day.  Amy also sent potatoes, carrots, mushrooms, onions, all colors of peppers, summer squash, and zucchini.  I’ll fix some of it tomorrow... and the rest the next day.

I’m finishing this letter while sitting at a desk in one of Walkers’ offices, while Larry works on the air conditioner fan on the Jeep over in the wash bay.  This, because he set off a deodorizing bomb in one of the cubbyholes upstairs, and turned on the furnace fan to circulate the smell throughout the house.

It circulated, all right.  And I circulated right outa there.  I grabbed purse, lidded coffee mug, computer, and tablet (from which I get my Wi-Fi signal), and we headed straight out to the Jeep.  Ugh, that was too, too much good smellin’ stuff for me.  Hope the cats will be all right.  Sometimes they don’t know enough to come in out of the rain; and sometimes they don’t know enough to go out, out of the smell!

Larry just came into this little office to show me the fan cage he pulled from the Jeep:  it’s full of pine needles, insulation, and fluff.  Mice evidently were trying to make a house in there!  No wonder the air conditioner was roaring like it was.  The first time it did that, I peered under the dash to see what in the world had gotten stuck up under there and was hitting the fan.  Of course I couldn’t see a thing.  But I was right about what was causing the noise, at least!

Larry is cleaning it out and putting it back together now.  Let’s hope it will work okay, and the delay in checking it out and cleaning it didn’t damage the motor.

Here’s a picture from our trip to Iowa last week.  This is the Monona County Courthouse in Onawa, Iowa, built in the Romanesque Revival style in 1892, and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. 

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

P.S.:  We’re home again, and the air conditioner in the Jeep is working like a charm, nice and quiet just like it’s supposed to be.  Larry washed the Jeep, too, and its metallic paint is sparkling. 

The cats seem none the worse for wear, and the fragrance is down to a manageable bouquet.  As Ma Ingalls used to say, “All’s well that ends well!”

OH!!!  The wedding album has shipped (according to Snapfish), and is in fact residing right now this very moment at a USPS facility in Kansas City, Missouri!  Oooh, status just updated.  It has now left one facility, and is ‘en route to USPS for induction’.

Well, that sounds uptown and high ka-flutin’.  But it looks like, according to the package history, it came all the way from Maryland (I thought they were located in California!) to Missouri via UPS. 

How ’bout that.  I could hop in the Jeep, head southeast, and have that thing in hand (if they would indeed give it to me) in four hours and fifteen minutes!!

And the expected delivery date is still 06/22.  That’s Friday. 

The package is only 4 hours and 15 minutes away.  I’m telling you, they’re practicing Cruel and Unusual Punishment here!  🤓🤪😠

~