Journal: Quilting, Quilting, Quilting

Last Tuesday, Larry sold a skid loader.  Because of this COVID-19 ‘pandemic’ (debatable, if they should’ve called it that), he wound up with $1,000-$1,500 less than he otherwise would’ve likely gotten; but at least he quadrupled his expenditure on it and was able to pay off the RZR.  And there’s one less piece of machinery around here; that’s always good.  (At least I think it’s good; Larry might not agree, heh.)

We had tilapia for supper, along with California blend (broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots), cottage cheese, mozzarella cheese, bananas, and chocolate chunk/peanut butter chip cookies.  Larry and several of the kids like tilapia; but I think it tastes (and smells) ... uh... fishy.  😆

I loaded the Starry Shadows quilt on the frame that evening.  The batting consists of a whole lot of pieces sewn together, including one that is somewhat puckered.  Don’t tell anybody, but I think they weren’t all exactly the same kind of batting.  Shhhh...  No one will ever notice.  I’ll snip those puckered spots when I get to them, and stretch them juuuust enough to smooth them in.  It’ll be fine.  It’ll be fine.

Dorcas send me a Mother’s Day gift – cute little slippers she had crocheted and then glued to the rubber soles of flip-flops.  They fit perfectly, and the soles are sooo soft; they’ll be very nice to wear while standing at my quilting machine.  Do you like my socks?  I had to put those Pippy Longstocking socks on just to make the picture more flashy.  😄

She also sent a picture of Trevor in a frame that Trevor himself had decorated with crayons. 

American goldfinches look so funny when their topknots are still half yellow winter feathers and half black summer feathers.  Most of them are all pretty much in summer feather now.

I learned last Wednesday that a cousin of mine who is in her 70s, has Alzheimer’s, and is in a nursing home in North Dakota has tested positive for COVID-19.  Her family hasn’t been able to visit her since March 9.

That afternoon, Dorcas sent a picture of Trevor ‘making a snow angel’ in the grass.

That reminded me of when Lydia was two, standing on the couch watching the big kids making snow angels outside.  She’d come in because it was too cold for her to be outside for long. 

She watched in silent wonderment for a few minutes, then looked at me.  “What they doin’?” she asked.

“They’re making snow angels!” I told her.  “See the angel pictures they leave in the snow?”

She watched a minute longer, then slid off the couch and proceeded to pitch herself over backwards right onto the living room floor (carpeted, thankfully).  After waving arms and legs vigorously, she scrambled back to her feet and announced, “Now I’m an angel!”

I’m not totally sure she understood either the why or the wherefore.  😆 

After church that evening, I did a bit of quilting, then looked up the Supreme Slider for my Avanté, as there’s sometimes a ‘bump’ when using rulers, when the ruler catches against the needleplate, or the needleplate catches against a bulky seam.  Supreme Sliders are Teflon sheets that are sticky on one side, and can be pressed onto the ruler base to provide a smooth surface under the quilt as the machine is pushed back and forth over it.

I discovered that Supreme Sliders are kind of pricey, and saw that people also recommend Teflon oven mats.  It occurred to me that somewhere in the hall cupboard there might be a Teflon oven bag, and I went to see if I might possibly press it into use on my longarm.

I didn’t find the oven bag (which may or may not prove that it’s no longer in that cupboard), but I did find something I have no recollection of ever buying or getting as a gift:  a French coffee press, brand new and still in the box.  Larry thinks he remembers Teddy giving it to us for Christmas.

A number of online coffee snobs say the French coffee press makes the best coffee ever.  I would give it a try the very next morning.

I finally found the least expensive queen-sized Supreme Slider at SewForLess.com and ordered it.  I got the top borders of the Starry Shadows quilt quilted and a little bit of the first row of stars done.

The next morning, a friend wrote to tell me, “Unfiltered coffee can be dangerous for your cholesterol.  Some of the oils that the press lets through are what give it its great flavor, they say.  And I think the bad effects are if you drink five or more cups a day; but if you are on cholesterol meds you are supposed to not use it for sure.”

I did some research, learned she was right, wrote to thank her, and added, “I figure I’ll limit coffee from the French press to maybe once a week or so.  I gave it a try this morning, and didn’t like it; I made the coffee too weak (and I do usually like coffee weaker than most people do).  I’ll try again another day.  Meanwhile, I made more in the Krups coffeemaker, and it’s perfect.  😉  Plus, it makes more, and keeps it hotter longer.”

By late Thursday night (or early Friday morning, depending on your point of view, I had a quarter of the quilting done on the Starry Shadows quilt.  More photos here.  Now that I had the design pretty well down pat, I could speed up!  (Hopefully.)

Sometimes people note the hour at which I post photos online, and think I like to get up really, really early.

But I’m only an early bird when I must be.  Otherwise, I’m a night owl.  I like to tell my brother, who has always been an early bird, “Everyone knows owls are smarter than chickens.” 

He retorts, “Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy and wealthy and wise.” 

I inform him that I am not a man.  And the argument continues... 

I need to gather a few more pieces of summer attire from upstairs dressers and haul them down to my bedroom.  I have a soft, lightweight, short-sleeved sweater that would be perfect for summer – except it has a mock turtleneck that’s too high and much too tight for comfort on most summer days.  I’ve ‘fixed’ some sweater and turtleneck necklines.  On one of my favorites, another of those with a mock turtleneck, I tried to be sooo careful – but wound up with the little V I’d made in the front a good inch to one side.  And I worked so hard at it! – I folded the edges in, handstitched it, an’ ever’thang.  If I keep my head turned at a 10° angle while skewing my eyeballs to look straight ahead, and jut my left shoulder forward at 5°, nobody ever notices the cockeyed V.  😏

Friday, I made it to the halfway mark with the Starry Shadows quilting.  More pictures here.

That curvy red thing is an EZ Flex Ruler.  I use it to mark the feather spines in the sashing, so that I get the same curves around each block.

That day, Norma went with one of her granddaughters to her dentist in Omaha.  Her mouth is healing, so that was encouraging.  She’s going to stay at Larry’s brother Kenny’s house, so his daughters who live at home can more easily help her with her feeding tube.  Perhaps in a month she’ll be able to get her dentures.

Saturday, I finished another row and got about half done with the second-to-last row on the quilt.  Picture here.

Sunday after our morning church service, we took Loren some food – chicken, California blend vegetables, potatoes and country gravy, biscuits, and yogurt.  He’s missing Norma, but glad she’s improving, and that her granddaughters are willing and able to help.

It was my sister Lura Kay’s 80^th birthday that day.  After the evening service, we took her some Mrs. Meyer’s lavender hand soap (smells scrumptious), Pioneer Woman Apple Brown Sugar BBQ sauce, and Pioneer Woman Ranch dressing.

I decided after a moment of debate when we got home half an hour later that it was late enough I could safely don nightgown and robe; there would probably be no visitors that night.

Wrong.

I walked out of the bedroom to find Emma, Lyle, and Elsie at the front door, having brought a Mother’s Day gift and a couple of big pieces of scrumptious strawberry pie for us.  They gave me a nifty pincushion, a big buttonhole hanger, and a coffee mug with spools of thread painted on it and the words, ‘Taking it one stitch at a time.’ 

The kitchen is clean, the bills are paid, and now I shall trot outside to take pictures of the purple irises. 

+++++++++++++++

Mmmm, they smell so good.

I saw a fledgling house finch with its father at the feeder; that’s the first baby bird I’ve seen this year.

In April, we had seven birthdays in our family and one anniversary.  This month, we have only two birthdays; but in June we will have six birthdays and one anniversary.  I need to keep a list of what I give people!  I looked at my sparse collection of birthday gifts, then wrote to Hester, “Did I recently give you an umbrella, or was that your sister Gertrude?  Dagmar?  Hortense?”

She responded, “Lolololol.  It wasn’t me!”

So now I know what I can give her for her birthday.  (Don’t read this, Hester.)

But I’m going to have to send that same email to all the others.  🙄

It’s high time I kept a list! 

A few minutes ago, I startled a brown thrasher at the suet feeder.  I love to hear the thrashers sing.  Just listen to their beautiful songs and all the funny sounds they make: 

Brown Thrasher Sounds

While I was outside taking pictures, I saw a monarch butterfly – first sighting this season.  The rains have made everything grow really well, though the abnormally cool weather has delayed the flowers.

Andrew, Hester, and Keira stopped by for a little visit this evening.  Keira is such a little sweetheart.  They were going down the porch steps, on their way to their vehicle, when she suddenly said, “Hug!” and headed back in a hurry – she’d forgotten to give Grandma a hug before she left!  I love that little girl so much.

Yesterday after church, Carolyn and Violet gave me big hugs, too.  Solomon wrote in Proverbs 17, “Children’s children are the crown of old men” — and I shall add, “and old women.”  (Not that I’m old, you understand. 😉”

Hannah came for a little while tonight.  It’s always a pleasure to visit with one’s children and best friends – especially when one’s children are one’s best friends.

Do you have keepsakes that used to be your parents’?  I have my mother’s Bible.  When I was a wee little girl, I used to love opening up the front cover and reading what my father wrote when he gave it to her:  “To my darling wife Hester”. 

Back to quilting the Starry Shadows quilt!

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