quilting

Some Needlework

April 1, 2022 at 8:48 am by Claudia

Big thunderstorms last night, heavy rain for hours, and I opened the front door this morning to see no leaks. None inside the door, none on the siding next to the door. It’s a simple thing, but oh my goodness, what a blessing to finally have it fixed! I only wish we’d done it sooner.

I know we’re supposed to have rain later this morning and the sky is still darkish, but the sun poked through and it’s beautiful. Plus, the peepers were back last night!

Since I have yet to be inspired re painting in oils (that will come) I pulled out a quilt that I pieced several years ago when I was working in Hartford. I’ve hand quilted it off and on – more off than on. I should have been finished with it by now. It has been sitting in the same basket where we stash throws and the heating pad (ever present lately.)

Imagine my surprise when Mei plopped down on it.

She knew that these colors and stripes worked very well with her outfit.

Luckily, all my supplies were here in the den, so I sat in my chair and watched Gardener’s World while doing some hand quilting. I have to be very careful that I don’t lean too far over the quilting hoop – my lower back is still fragile. It was a challenge and I feel good that I’m back at it again. A little bit every day. The quilt is about the size of a large throw and I’ve been thinking it would look good on the sofa in the living room. That’s just a thought – I may use it elsewhere.

We have several days of rain in the forecast. I’m so anxious to get out there and do some work, but this happens every year – it is Spring, after all – so I’ll be patient. As I finish this post, the sun has disappeared and it’s cloudy again.

Stay safe.

Happy Friday.

A Big Old Sigh

April 4, 2017 at 9:46 am by Claudia

As I said in one of my comment replies this morning, when we have a sunny day, we are sure see a rainy day follow. Today is that rainy day. Heavy rain fell during the night. Now, it’s just damp, soggy and gray.

I was at the book store the other day. I found the one remaining copy of the new quarterly; Quiltfolk.

The first issue was focused on quilter and quilt shops in Oregon. This one is about Iowa. I’ve peeked at it, but am saving it to read this afternoon, preferably with some hot chocolate. It’s really beautifully photographed and written. No ads. That makes it pricey, but it’s such a treat. If I can swing it, I think I’ll subscribe.

I ran errands yesterday and then went to a meeting last night. The residents in this area have recently found out about the sale of some land to a developer who wants to erect cabins (both summer cabins and year-round cabins) with a swimming pool, restaurant, tennis courts – you name it – all on the creek that runs through this area and is right across the street from our house. We are banding together to fight it. It’s essentially a trendy ‘glamping’ resort and will bring way too many people into our area, displace wildlife including a prime bird of prey habitat, put a strain on our water supply (we all have wells), cause a loss of privacy for many of us, impact the views that many people moved here for, add light pollution, and the noise will be an issue.

Since the old mill across the road became a distillery and restaurant, we are already dealing with noise issues during the summer that we are going to attempt to measure in decibels. You wouldn’t believe how loud it can get with an outdoor reception and a DJ. And this new development also wants to have weddings. Even if they say there will only be a few, we know that once they get permission, it will be out of our control.

We also already have a camping resort just down the road that has been there for years.

Do we need more? No.

All this is impacting the quality of life for residents of our town. Between this and the horrific changes happening in Washington, DC, I’m feeling threatened on all sides.

So, we’re organizing, the core group that alerted the rest of us to this has hired a lawyer and we’re going to do our best to fight this. And no, we can’t afford to move right now, so we’re going to fight.

We’ve lived here almost 12 years and it’s only been in the last few years that we’ve had issues.

Sigh. And many curse words.

More egg cups. The one on the left is my ‘Scoutie’ egg cup because it has always reminded me of her.

Happy Tuesday.

Bird Song, Quilting & Egg Cups

April 2, 2017 at 9:19 am by Claudia

Slow and steady wins the race, though I am far from the finish line. Each of these squares measures 12 x 12, so hand quilting one of them takes some time. Since I find that after about an hour and a half or two hours max, I start making mistakes, that’s about all I do a day. Yesterday, I hand quilted while watching figure skating in the evening. But I often do it in the late afternoon while listening to Randi Rhodes’ daily show on YouTube. I was a big fan in the Air America days, though that radio station is long gone. I recently rediscovered her and 4 – 6 pm in the afternoon is now my listening/hand quilting time. She’s whip smart and tough as nails.

It’s still very cold at night around here and I wake up in the morning to frost on the car windows and ice in the birdbath. Spring is taking its sweet time. But as I look at the trees, I see the beginning of buds. And I hear lovely bird song in the morning, along with the beautiful cries of the mourning doves. It’s coming.

This morning I walked outside in my flannel PJs and a winter coat to retrieve the New York Times from its place on the driveway. Cold, but lovely. I decided to substitute for Don, who cries out “Good Morning!” to our trees and animal life every morning. He’s not here, so I took over. I think I’ll do that every morning until he returns. He’ll be happy to hear that. And I just might visit our horse friends this afternoon with some carrots. We’ll see.

When the heck is Easter? I never know from year to year. Okay. I looked it up. It’s April 16th. I’m not into doing a whole egg cup series this year. There are plenty of post in the archives about my egg cup collection. But I’ll throw in a photo or two or three in upcoming posts.

Like this one:

Happy Sunday.

Some Needlework

A Big Old Sigh

Bird Song, Quilting & Egg Cups

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

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