Mockingbird Hill Cottage — Page 1431 — Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Ready to Begin

January 8, 2013 at 9:39 am by Claudia

I had one of those strange early morning dreams in which I was trying to get somewhere and was terribly late (I have this one a lot) and every decision I made further delayed my arrival. I was sleeping so deeply that I felt like I had to push my way to wakefulness. An hour and a half later, I still haven’t woken up and the whole thing left me feeling off and slightly edgy. Do not like.

quiltsupplies

The quilt is sitting on my little desk in the corner of the den. I’m ready to begin the hand quilting process. I had to finish a special Obsession Scarf order first, which I did last night. I know it will take a little time to get back into the rhythm of hand quilting. It always does.

quiltingsuppliesclose

Luckily, I had a lot of my supplies in a drawer here in the den from the time I started hand quilting a little throw I made (at the same time I made this quilt top) but never finished. Note to Claudia: Finish it. I had to gather up my hoops and decide what color quilting thread I wanted to use. I’ve had this thread a long time. I can tell from the price tag that I bought it at Rosie’s Calico Cupboard in San Diego, my favorite quilting shop in the world. I miss that shop every day. I used to spend hours there. It’s huge and they have everything. I was so lucky to have that shop within spitting distance of my home when I lived in San Diego. The nearest quilt shop to me now (that I like) is over an hour away. Years ago, when I mentioned to Don that I would like to learn to quilt, Don went to Rosie’s and in his charming way, asked the staff to recommend all the tools a beginning quilter might need. Those tools, along with a beginner’s class, were my Christmas present that year.

quiltbackpattern

This is the fabric I decided to use for the quilt back. I’ve only done 2 queen size quilts and both times I ordered special quilt backing fabric that was either 108 or 110 inches wide. I know a lot of quilters like to hand piece the backing and I so admire them for that, but by the time I get to the backing I’m in no mood to piece anything. I decided on this rich paisley pattern which I ordered from Keepsake Quilting.

Maybe I’ll do a little hand quilting this evening.

We, and by that I mean Scout and I, are getting ready for our little adventure tomorrow. She doesn’t know about it, but tomorrow is the day we travel to Hartford. Keep your fingers crossed for us. It will be strange and challenging for her since this girl is nothing if not a creature of routine. I have arranged to have two apprentices sit with her in the evenings while I’m at the theater. That doesn’t cover the afternoons, when I might have to be at rehearsal for a while. My aim is to walk her in the park for a long time so that she’s simply so tired that she zonks out. I wonder if it will work? I feel like a mom who has to pack up all the things a baby needs. In this case: a bed, her favorite pillow, her food, her treats, her bowls, her leash, some chopped-up carrots for her evening snack…..and that doesn’t include my stuff!

Happy Tuesday.

signature2

Things I Miss: Record Albums

January 7, 2013 at 9:17 am by Claudia

vinyl

This post is a natural follow-up to my earlier post, Things I Miss: Record Stores, in which I bemoaned the decline and near-extinction of record shops. Yesterday, I looked at a pile of record albums that Don had in the office and I pulled out a few favorites. I bought Don a turntable a few years back. It’s not near the quality of the one I had and threw out when we moved to the cottage. (What was I thinking?) But it will do. I started with the album on the left, The Kenny Rankin Album, which has always been one of my favorites. In fact, I have a copy out in the shed that lives with all my other albums – albums that are in bad shape because they’ve been housed in boxes in a place they shouldn’t be for far too long.

This particular record album is one of a group that we’ve picked up at yard sales and vintage/antique shops. I guess they are considered vintage now. I am most likely considered vintage as well. And this vintage girl misses record albums. Yes, I know there are still vinyl records being produced and the fact that some artists feel they should be recording on vinyl makes me happy. But they are being produced in very limited quantities and only by a few artists.

Back to Kenny Rankin. Obviously, this is a used album and with it comes the pops and extraneous sounds of a older vinyl record. I love it. I don’t know if this will make sense, but there is something more honest, more real about those sounds. If I had been lucky enough to hear Kenny Rankin sing live, I would have heard all sorts of extraneous sounds. It’s part of the experience. It keeps the recording from being too perfect. It keeps it from being botoxed into a false, flawless version of itself.

My listening ears also hear a warmth in the sound of vinyl that is missing from a CD or MP3.

I was able to hold the album cover in my hands, admire the artwork, read the liner notes. The artwork got the attention it richly deserved.

There’s something tangible about a record album. It honors the artist, the producer, the engineers in a big way. I have a lot of CDs and I like them, don’t get me wrong. But there’s something different about an album. It hasn’t whittled everything down to the tiny print and tiny artwork that will fit in a plastic CD case. It treats the music like what it is; a big idea, a dream come true, hours and hours of time spent writing, scoring, recording.

Sometimes, our quest for perfection leads us too far. LPs have been replaced by CDs. CDs are being replaced by MP3s. Is there anything tangible anymore? Anything you can hold in your hands and admire, just as much as you admire the music? Yesterday, as I listened to Kenny Rankin, I searched Amazon for his recordings. Some are available in very expensive used versions (on CD) and some are only available as MP3s. What?? I love my laptop and my iPhone, which have many of my favorites available for listening anytime, but it’s all virtual. I don’t always want to be tethered to my laptop or iPhone. I want something I can hold in my hands, that is of the size that befits the music.

(By the way, in the other post I mentioned that even CDs are hard to find in stores nowadays. And I mentioned that Barnes & Noble still carried them but that the amount of stock was dwindling. The other day I decided to check out that department and was shocked to see that over 3/4 of the stock was DVDs and BlueRay movies. There were very few CDs.)

So, back to the albums. I have a friend who has saved every long playing album he has ever purchased. He has an unbelievably extensive collection that he treats with the care that one would give a fine antique. I should have taken more care with my large collection. So, I vow to hunt down my favorite albums in the years ahead; gather, accumulate and play them.

A better turntable is also on my wish list.

I saw a used record shop right near the Strand Bookstore in NYC the last time I was there. Guess where I might be heading on my next trip into the city?

Happy Monday.

signature2

Congratulations to Tana, who won the copy of Into the Darkest Corner. I’ve sent your mailing address to TLC Book Tours. Happy reading!

Ripple-y Satisfaction

January 6, 2013 at 9:14 am by Claudia

Afghan? Throw? Blanket? What the heck is the correct name? I don’t know, but it’s finished.

sunedgecoffeetable

sunonbackofsofa

This is the closest I will ever get to a chevron. As you know, I’m not a fan of the chevron craze. But for a ripple blanket/throw/afghan, I will make an exception. I’ve done one other ripple throw and it lives upstairs on our bed. That particular ripple design has a gentler curve:

sunbedafghan

sunchair

This one has a more angular ripple and it skips two stitches, creating the charming little opening in the design. I have to say I really like this sort of scrappy look. I had a basic color scheme in mind, inspired by the red and tan in our den, but I added purples and greens and grays and creams as well. Each time I came to the end of a row, I made a spontaneous choice as to the next color and went with it. I also used various yarn weights and textures which can result in a wonky edge, which is why I crocheted a border around the whole thing.

sunfloor

It’s about 4 feet by 6 feet. Perfect for Don and I when we sit together on the sofa. Perfect to nap under. And for me, solo – I used it the other night as I watched “The Rifleman.” I love Lucas and Mark McCain. Ripples are addictive; I may have to start another one. How many ripples can one have? And now I’m reminded of that dreadful Ripple wine we drank in college. I prefer this ripple.

By the way, I used inexpensive yarns from Michael’s and Joanne’s. A crochet project of this size is a huge yarn-eater. The more expensive yarns would be cost prohibitive for this gal.

Drum roll. The obligatory photo of Scout with the throw:

sunscoutafghan

The whole thing has left her in a state of exhaustion.

Yesterday was a big day for the kitchen floor. Not only did I spread the afghan/throw/blanket out on it so that I could get a photo, I moved the table and chairs out of the room so that I could pin baste my quilt:

sunquilt1

Lots of ironing, lots of cursing, lots of moving around on my knees (not so fun at my age). But, surprisingly, it didn’t take nearly as long as I thought it would.

sunquilt2

I have a quilt frame out in the shed that I’ve used for basting purposes in the past. I took a moment to venture out there and briefly considered using it again for this. But it’s really long, it’s in the back of the shed and it’s icy out there, so I went with the floor method. This is the perfect thing to do when Don is away. Keeping Ms. Scout out of the kitchen, however, was another story. There were a few sneaky attempts to walk on the quilt.

And I crocheted another obsession scarf for a customer. Where the heck did I get all this energy? You’ll notice I didn’t use it for cleaning closets, organizing drawers, sorting through paperwork and…shredding.

Can you blame me?

Happy Sunday.

signature2

Ready to Begin

Things I Miss: Record Albums

Ripple-y Satisfaction

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

Archives