A Loose Screw

Today's post is a short one. A loose screw on a sewing machine is a bad thing. Especially if it's the screw holding the presser foot is in place because when you're using a free-motion foot. If it slides, your needle may snap due to making contact with machine parts it shouldn't make contact with. If your needle snaps, fragments can fly and hit you right where you broke your nose 33 years ago by tripping on a garden hose and slamming your face onto the edge of the concrete patio step. The moral of the story? Check that the presser foot screw is tight, and don't leave the garden hose out.

Must. Resist. Urge. To. Set. Fire. To. Quilt.

After weeks of no quilt progress, I worked on Beast today. I then of course had to rip out all but maybe 5" of embroidery. F^%ker.

I had to go on a wild goose chase 'cause this doohickey called a Sew Slip that I use that helps slide the fabric around while I do free motion embroidery had gone missing. I'd been searching for it for ages and finally decided it was a lost cause therefore I must replace. Free motion embroidery is quite laborious for me, even more so with my arthritis and that sheet makes the fabric much easier to move.

I had forgotten I bought it originally at a place diagonally across town from me so I went to three other locations before giving up and acting like an intelligent person to call around and see who had it. Beth was kind enough to drive me out to the diagonally opposite end of the Portland metro area to get a replacement. She figured if she drove me, I might not be too wiped out by the energy expenditure to work on it. She would have been right if the next morning I hadn't woken up with cracks on the bottom of my feet. Ahh, I just love my body with all its little joys. Whenever it looks like things are moving along and I get to be at least 50% as active as I would like to be, something acts up, whether it's ichthyosis, arthritis, depression, whatever. Thus I've been sitting on my butt all week long soaking my foot and putting goo on it every few hours in the hopes I could use my toes again soon. Thankfully, it healed quickly mostly 'cause I was good and did what it takes to make it heal, and you all know how much I love sitting on my butt.

It wasn't until today that I had enough spoons to work on Beast again. Of course, after all this buildup, something had to go wrong, right?

Somehow I managed to catch the edge of the slider doohickey with the bottom of the fabric I'm embroidering and this is the result. I drew a red box around it so you can find it more easily.

I had to pick that, along with several more inches out, with my trusty seam ripper. Once again, F^%ker. I ended up with a tension headache that promised to be a whopper so I took some Vicodin and went for a walk to let the temptation of setting fire to Beast pass. I figured my feet would re-open but I guess Fate decided I needed some sort of break today.

I normally have a potty mouth, but I swear, this quilt brings out the worst of it in me. It's draped across the sewing table and I'm trying not to glare daggers at it, not that it would care. My head still hurts but not as bad. My dogs are being adorable, so I think I'll throw in the towel for now and sit and read with doggies in my lap. For all my bitching, life isn't so bad.

Finally! I picked a border design

A few nights ago I woke up after sleeping for two or three hours. As usual, my thoughts turned to the projects I'm working on. That's usually what I think about when I can't sleep though it's not commonly a restful train of thought. I suddenly thought of acute angled triangles for the borders of Beast. I am so thrilled. I have been racking my brains for months to figure out what the borders should be like.

Lynn would like the quilt to have some burgundy in it so I'd gotten some wide burgundy fabric by Moda. I have plenty for the back, for binding, and a 36" x 60" piece to use to make the borders.

This is a sample block made with EQ6. The burgundy fabric is the same but the blue I put in isn't the blue I'm using. The color for the center triangle are going to be alternated with the fabrics I used to make the fish and house blocks to pull them all together.

I know the block isn't that impressive as it is simple, but honestly, I have been wrestling for months, years really, of whether or not I should put in Mariner's Compass blocks or New York Beauty blocks. I realized that those would be to busy and would compete with the rest of the quilt, so I didn't use them.

I am also working on a purse and a shawl for myself. I have about given up on finding the perfect purse. I've yet to find a purse I really like, or at least one that I like at a price I'm willing to pay. The pieces are mostly cut out and the lining and pockets have been sewn together. As usual, I am modifying the pattern. I'm starting to think it's impossible for me to follow patterns, as the only patterns I ever have followed exactly were from the classes I took to sew a blouse and pajama pants. Since then, nope, don't do it.

Miss Lola

Lola joined us at the end of December. She's an absolute doll and has quite the personality. This picture was taken shortly after she and Diego went to the groomer's for the first time.

Taking care of her fur is a lot of work but that's almost entirely due to my ointment getting on her fur. She has to be brushed out a lot and bathed weekly. If it weren't for my ointment I suspect she'd only need a bath once a month and being brushed twice a week would be fine.

She did NOT like being brushed at first but I stuff her with treats and now she seems to enjoy it. I think it's because it's one on one attention for her and she doesn't have to share with Diego. She and Diego play together and sometimes sleep snuggled up with one another but there is a lot of rivalry between them. Every once in a while they bicker but it's just that, bickering and that's really not too uncommon in households with more than one dog.

This is a common pose in our household. They frequently nap in the recliner together regardless of whether or not there's a lap to be had there. Life is good.

Stichin' Not Fishin'

One might think the thread embroidery on the house must be done since you're now seeing a picture of the thread embroidery having been started on the fish. Not so! I'm at the point wuth the house block where I'm using colors that are going to be on the fish. Thus, rather than switch thread colors a zillion times back and forth, I'm switching blocks back and forth as I switch colors. I'm a happy camper, though .The end really is in sight. I've been threatening to have it finished by Christmas even if staples and a hot glue gun are required. I don't think it's going to come to that though. Then again, I believe I've said. "by Christmas," before. We shall see.

A smaller household



Napoleon was my constant companion for almost 14 years. I'd brought him home when he was six weeks old.

Dogs, like humans, can get senile. Because his vision was pretty bad and his hearing was going, he had started to bite. He didn't mean to hurt anyone and he was mortified after the fact once he'd realized he'd bitten someONE and not someTHING. Regardless of intent, it meant he was no longer safe to have around just in case he got outside and around the neighbor's children.

This was the first time I'd had to put one of my pets down when it felt like it wasn't time yet for the animal. His quality of life was quite good as most days he was very happy. I've been involved with putting down dogs in rescue that weren't safe, but never a pet. Ending a partnership is such a horrible thing but it is the duty of a responsible pet owner.

Thus, "Obi-Wan" is gone and Diego has been promoted from "paduwan" to a "Jedi." I bet you'd never guess how he got the nickname Obi-Wan when you look at the above picture. I wish however, like Obi-Wan in the books and films, Napoleon could still visit with me. He will be missed.

We don't know if we're going to get a second dog. At times we think Diego would enjoy having a playmate, but at other times he seems so happy to be the only dog. I vacillate back and forth constantly but have decided that I am not going to make a decision until after Beast is done and delivered. I've been very grateful for this quilt as it's been something for me to throw myself into as I deal with my grief.

When I wrote my last post, I knew I would be putting Napoleon down soon but I couldn't write about it yet. I think I was still hoping that by some miracle, things would be ok and I wouldn't have to go through and do the deed. I'd always told him he'd have to make it to 20 years of age. I guess I should have been more specific and said, "Twenty years with no health issues, buddy! I mean it!" This is what Diego is now hearing.

Knitting


I finished a moebius for my little sister and like a dork, I didn't take a picture of it before giving it to her for her birthday. I've finished another moebius and have yet a third on the needles as we speak. Can you tell I like knitting them? The one that I am currently working on is for me, unlike the previous two.

If you like the looks of my moebius or you're interested in learning more about what the heck they are, go see Cat Bordhi's site. She's the author of many knitting books and two of them are all about the fun things you can make using a moebius, which is a loop that has only one side.



I also am working on my third pair of socks. The pattern is no different than the others I've made however the technique is different. I started these from the toe going up and I am also knitting two at a time. I also tried using the "magic loop" method but found I was constantly fiddling with the needle cable placement so I brought in a second circular needle and have enjoyed the process.

'Til we meet (or rather I write) again!

I Do Windows

The greenery has been done for a while and now it's been house beams and today it was windows! Yes, I do windows. Fabric ones, that is. My windows in my home sadly, have not been done. The patio door is covered in doggie noseprint. I figure it the noseprints add character to my home and let people know that cuddles, play and love with the dogs is more important than housecleaning. Well, that and I don't like bending down that far. I digress.

Here are the windows. I have yet to trim the stray threads from moving from pane to pane. And of course, I ran out of bobbin thread when there was less than 3" remaining to be stitched. Murphy and his laws are not welcome but apparently they're not polite and come around anyway.










In other news, JR has been at NELA (his assigned location through AmeriCorps) since early September and he is kicking ass and taking names. NELA is Northwest Education Loan Association and they help anyone of any age and any educational or financial status find money for college. He is specifically involved in finding students that could use their services, finding volunteers to work with the students, though he does a lot of other things. It's the first paying job he's had where he gets an extreme sense of satisfaction. I am so thrilled with it. He also enjoys the company of his coworkers a lot.

What I personally have found interesting is that it's families with middle and lower level incomes that are least likely to apply for financial aid whereas the higher income families almost always do. He runs into a lot of people whose incomes would probably fall in what's considered middle class and they think they won't get any scholarships or financial aid when that is not the case. The families with even less financial resources often aren't aware of financial aid for school. He does just as much education as he does recruiting.

Changing thread color. Hah!

Hahahahahaha! I have gone over all the greenery now. At least I think I have. Let's just say I've thread painted the greenery as much as I'm going to. There. That should be an accurate statement.

Now I'm going over the house - the wooden parts. Then the windows and beams. I'm so happy I could dance!

Fall is on its way

Fall is almost here. Most of the kids are back in school tomorrow morning so I expect it'll be more quiet around the apartment complex.

JR started his AmeriCorps job last week. He works for NELA coordinating volunteer efforts and recruiting students as well as a host of other things. NELA helps students of all ages and their familes find money for college, whether it's a vocational program, four year school or even graduate school.

The quilting bug was on hiatus and it has bitten again, thank goodness. I was struggling with some thread painting and when I took the top out from under the machine I realized there was no interfacing under the section I was working on. D'oh! Interfacing helps keep the fabric from being pulled down into the throat plate of the machine when you are doing a lot of stitching. It's very useful when using a satin/buttonhole stitch or any type of embroidery.

I've been sick for over a week now with an awful cold. It started as the Cold from Hell, then downgraded to Cold from Purgatory and now it's Merely Annoying.

Two of my friends are pregnant. Methinks baby season is arriving again. It feels especially good to me as there have been two deaths in my family in less than a year. New lives starting always helps folks move past grief and I am no exception to that.

I hope all is well with you and yours.