Wednesday, September 2, 2020

September Breeze

Today (August 31) I woke up to a wonderfully cool (in the 60s) sunny day. There is a slight breeze and it reminded me of beginning Fall. 

Some of you guys will not know of this, but many women can relate to that one particular moment in childbirth  where you yell (or think), "I'm not ready for this! I'm done!" That moment comes after nine months of happy anticipation, after hours of labor, after a lot of pain. Of course, that is when the doctor or husband who is far enough away to not get slugged, says, "What are you gonna do -- leave?" 

And that was my second thought: I'm not ready for September! So I have decided to enjoy it, come what may. 

Normally, out little town fills to overflowing with college students in September. This year, not so much. There are quite a few students who have come back and some are renting houses off campus. They are here, we have seen them partying on porches (no masks) and in the supermarkets. (Masks are required in all public places, such as supermarkets and stores.) I have seen a bevy of Amherst College students outside, with masks on. I can only think The College has very strict guidelines. The University of Massachusetts has strict guidelines for those who chose to live on campus. For the off-campus students -- the University doesn't care. It has been this way for years: the University never took any responsibility for huge, out of control, parties and binge drinking. (The University pays no taxes, btw.)

Anyway, it's a lovely day!

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I have become driven making a quilt. It's one of two for a commission. I love making quilts for people who give me an idea of the personality of the recipient and then they let me run with my own design. I have never understood artists who disparage clients who want a certain color scheme to make the painting go with their living room or another room. Is the artist making the work for only their own amusement? 

You might know that I'm fascinated with process. I love, love, love watching glass blowers -- and painters and quilters, and, and, and ... Here's my process so far.

Buy fabric. Since I'm addicted to fabric, I have tried to close the buying floodgates. This is the first time in over two years that I have bought fabric. I'm working on it. It's way too easy to order online. Sigh. 

All of the fabric must be washed, dried and ironed. Why? For one thing, to get the "shop dirt" out, but really to shrink it and make it as color fast as possible. (I use special fabric sheets that collect excess dye in the wash.)

Then I cut 4.5 inch squares. A lot of them.



Next I put two squares together, one light and one dark, and draw a diagonal line. Then I stitch a 1/4 inch seam to the right and left of that line. The next step is to cut that diagonal line, producing two squares consisting of two half squares (triangles). All seams must be pressed. And if you add two more, and stitch them all together, you get a diamond in a square. Or not, depending on how you orient the colors.


Did I mention that all the corners (above) have to be snipped off? Then all seams need to be pressed.



Below it the "or not" alternative to a diamond in a square. I think quilters call this a spool of thread, but I think of it as a butterfly. As nice as the batik (below) is, the colors were fighting with the polka dots above. So the squares in the below color range will go on the back. (The two different color tones were jarring to me. I know that's weird, but I'm kind of a color savant -- according to Cathy, lol. She's a much better technical quilter than I, but she has known to ask my advice on color.)

That's probably more than you wanted to know, but I needed a break. I have used up one complete spool of thread and two bobbins. (I just wound 3 more bobbins. I hate running out!) Now I have to go check my mailbox for more fabric. Toodles.

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Last Wednesday was the dental appointment to get my brand new crown. (This tooth has not been right since last March.) I had to go 4 weeks with the temporary tooth because I had a cold right before my appointment and they didn't want me near them. 

Nope, the new crown didn't fit. The temp. tooth went back on. They made an appointment for me to come back in two weeks. On Friday, the temp. fell off. I go in tomorrow to get the temp. put back on. Sigh.

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Thanks to an extremely generous friend who gave me her "old" phone. She also has been guiding me in how to use it! Today I figured out how to upload photos to Google Photo which makes it super easy to put photos into these blogs. I am so happy to have a cell phone that works the way it should!


Outside of the Munson Memorial Library. I took this photo when I brought the Hot Spot (aka Puck) back. They loan hot spots so you can bring your own wifi with you! Neat, huh?

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Well, it's here: September 1st. I began my day speaking with an Xfinity Customer Service person. Last night, my living room TV went kaput in that it's getting zero cable signal. Todd has determined that my new box (for cable) is no longer working. I've got  technician coming between 12 and 2:00 p.m I also have a dentist appointment at 2 p.m. to replace my temp. tooth.  It's the little things that will get ya.

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Interesting new breakfast recipe from Maria Emmerich:

Breakfast Rosti

2 slices of bacon, diced
2 Tbs. coconut oil
1 cup thinly sliced mushrooms
1/4 cup green onions (I used a red onion)
1 cup shredded cabbage
1 large egg, beaten
diced garlic to taste
salt, pepper 

Cook the bacon in 1 Tbs. coconut oil until crispy. (Use a large cast iron skillet if you have it.) Add garlic, onions, coconut oil and
mushrooms and saute until golden. In a bowl, add egg, salt, pepper to cabbage and coat the cabbage. Add cabbage to frypan and cook until crispy on the bottom. Turn over with spatula and finish cooking. Serves 2.

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No, there was no fabric in the mail yesterday. Phooey. I'm waiting on some cartoon characters. Oddly enough, you can't just leave a hole and insert it later. (No fabric in the mail today either.)

The cable guy came today. Boy, is my face red. I had piled fabric on a chair and it interrupted the cable box signal. Luckily, he cancelled the call because they would have had to charge me ...

Got my temporary tooth put back in. The dentists' office was so busy, we were waiting out in the parking lot. Two college aged boys were running back and forth checking in patients, checking to see if the lobby was empty yet, and taking temperatures. It was busy!

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The Mom of the little girl who will get the pink quilt said she liked the batik. So we have more batik. (The original batik plus the other fabric just didn't work because the second fabric was the wrong tone.)


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Woo hoo! I found the voice mail on my new phone! Now I have to turn back on all of the annoying sounds. The dentist's office left a voice mail and I never knew it. Those sounds were driving me crazy. Sigh.


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Did I mention I'm making two quilts? One for a girl, one for a boy. So while I'm waiting for more fabric for the girl ...




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I'm going back to sewing now. It's rainy and I am SO grateful that I have an Ott Light. It somehow gives a 'clean' light without the yellow that you get with energy saving and florescent bulbs. You can see true colors.

I hope you have a great week! Be kind to yourself and be well.

2 comments:

  1. Thanks for another interesting blog. I use to watch the quilters at the craft centre making their quilts. Never really interested me to take it up. That recipe looks ok except I don't eat mushrooms. well enjoy your quilting and have a great day.

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  2. Nice post, Tina.
    And I enjoyed the detailed description of your quilting process. I don't see at all so it all seems like magic to me.
    Regarding the recipe: I am surprised at the amount of vegetables! Hope you are having good outcomes with her guidance.

    On my journey I seem to be heading into carnivore territory and loving it. The rare tomato or berry that makes it to my plate is about two tablespoons. Otherwise lots of eggs, pork (we bought a pasture raised half hog in May - the benefits of an Aggie University in town.)

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