AM I scattered and disorganized?

 I'm still trying to decide if i'm feeling scattered and disorganized because 

I AM scattered and disorganized or I have actually been busy.

I have quilted 9 customer quilts, 10 charity quilts, 

made 5 baby outfits for a friend
who's daughter had a baby, 

some outfits and a quilt for my grandson, a skirt for myself, 

I'm still working on the tumbling block CQ, 

a bunch of family stuff, 

going to scrap pack, going to Tuesday sew days, 

and doing my secretary of the guild thing.

Gardening, I built a bed by the studio out of retaining wall blocks

and dug in the Dhalia bulbs I got from my friend Margaret 

Finished the Parham owl Etui kit 

for the last 4 months.

I now need to gear up and sew some cloths and a quilt for my newest grand baby coming to us in September,  

It looks like the girls each need new cuddle quilts 

because these ones have just about had it

I still can't believe they take these poor decrepit things out in public!

Oiy, with a side of vey!

OK, now that I have written all that out even aggregated over 4 months

 it's been busy. 

All the better to be busy so we don't dwell on the desecration of our democracy*sigh*

Memories of Grama Ida

Quite literally this is one of her favorite stories to tell

I am 2.5 here, lower right

of me when I was a little;

One fine birthday when I turned 3 or 4, because only a 3 or 4 year old could get away with this. I received as a present a pair of shiny red rain boots, hat and clear plastic bubble umbrella.

I remember the umbrella as I had it for a good long while after that, but the boots and hat not so much.

Anyway, some adult told me in no uncertain terms, I was not to play with my gift, it was only for rain.

So with much pouting and childish outrage, and many questions of "why not!" and "what good is a present if you can’t play with it!", "it is mine after all!" They were put away in the sun room for a later time when the might be needed. For rain.

Needless to say when grama Ida was woken up at the crack of dawn, by one of the cousins Tom, who informed her that I had gone out to play in the rain. She didn’t even open her eyes.

“That’s nice” she said. But Tom wan’t finished “she’s taken her umbrella down the block” now this was LaCrosse Wisconsin in the 60’s, so safe as houses for these shenannagins.

“she’s wearing her hat”, said Tom “Mph” responded Grama, pulling the coverlet up a little more, no doubt hoping he was done tattling. “She’s wearing her boots too”,

“Yes Tom. it’s raining so I expect she is excited to show them off, now go play” Grama was getting a little tetchy by this time and wanted Tom to go away and let her sleep in a little longer.

All the cousins were visiting, for mother's day, staying in the house and as there were about 10 of us between the ages of 3 and 5, we made quite the raucous crowd when we were all together. I’m sure bedtime was just bonkers.

There was just one more little bit of information Tom had to impart, and he was hanging onto it.

For impact.

“Shes’ down the block, wearing her boots and hat and her umbrella” with a deep sigh, knowing there was no getting back to sleep, she rolled over and looked at my 5 year old cousin Tom “you said that” she said with growing frustration.

He looked up at Grama Ida with a big grin and said “and she's not wearing anything else”

Grama’s Eyes flew open in horror as she shot out of bed, not even stopping for her slippers, she grabbed a wrap on her way out the door, down the block and around the corner, where she found me happily jumping in large puddles in my shiny new red boots, hat and bubble umbrella and indeed nothing else.

Story Time

 The holidays are a time for family and cooking those special dishes everyone loves and waits all year to get. It's also the time, at least in my house, for the annual Christmas eave gourmet dinner. 
The Children when they were small and adventurous, would badger the chef until you'd break and tell them what was on the menu, my ex, or have fun with them by playing "Can you guess?" That would be me. I almost miss the constant kitchen traffic and queries of "What cha' making?"

When The children's father would cook it was lobster, crab or Prime rib. The first year we got live lobster and let the kids race them across the kitchen floor, with much laughter and joy. This is where we learned the lesson of "You don't name what you eat" It makes it hard to cook and eat them later.
The ex was all "More for me!" but I could see the the look of betrayal in the eye's of my child. 

They ate only the sides that year, of which there was plenty but that isn't the point is it?

Speaking of those sides, of garlic mashed potatoes, a large salad, Buttered broccoli and a cheesecake of which only the flavor changed from year to year. The ex had definite idea's on food.

I on the other hand liked to experiment, and for the most part my family would eat my experiments happily, no complaints, no leftovers. Every once in a while the food gods did not smile on my efforts, usually when I was not feeling well or was distracted beyond the usual big dinner, 3 kids and a husband variety. Those disasters didn't happen very often and when they did they were pretty epic.

Like the time we had to ditch the Beans because the child didn't realize the can of mushrooms should not exhibit an attitude when opened, it spit at him, and he threw them in the casserole anyway. Good thing he mentioned this behavior before we all ate!

The time I over cooked the shrimp and we could have played table tennis with them, they were so chewy. Or the year the oven door decided after 40 years it had had enough and fell off, dumping the entire roast duck A'la Orange on the floor. Breaking the pyrex, splattering lava hot orange sauce and duck parts  allover the kitchen floor my arm, one leg and leaving a divit in the linoleum, to remind us all to be very careful when using the oven. The same oven the ex swore up and down he had fixed and I must have "Done something to" the last time it flopped open after the loose spring finally broke. I had been holding it closed with a wooden spoon to bake for a month before the supposed fix. needless to say it didn't take.

Disasters aside, I'm a good cook and I like to try things I have only had or made in the restaurants were I worked before marriage. The year I decided to make Greek Youvetsi Arni a lamb shank stewed in tomato sauce served over Orzo. Roasting anything well takes hours and people get hungry, and by people I mean my family, so i decided to make a few side dishes and appetizers as well as the annual Christmas cookies, so the kitchen was a right mess. We had my ex's sister and friends over so there was even more confusion and noise,  extra children and glasses of wine. Every time I would take cookies or crab cakes out of the oven, they would disappear, so I was getting a little crabby. In order to not starve before dinner, I was hiding a couple of whatever in a cabinet, it kept them out of the blast zone and safe from the ravening hoards. 

I used to cater weddings and business meetings so I know how to feed a crowd but nothing keeps up with pre-teen stomachs. I had prepped most of the cookies stuff the day before and the dinner was pretty straight forward, hunk of meat in tomato sauce and herbs in large roaster in back of oven 3hours and your done. the rest was scoop on trays bake and serve. everything was labeled, except the salmon roe.

Between the making and the baking and the whipping of things the roe got pushed to the back of the counter, where one of the kids wanted to know what the pink stuff in the bowl was. Being busy I assumed it was one of mine and told them to try it and find out. Them not being one of my children, they did.
Ruining the joys of Terramosalata for them forever after. Though possibly teaching them an important lesson, Grown ups are not to be trusted.

The star Tarot

 Here we go again with another Tarot card

This is the Star, She'snot finished yet but I thought I would post her so far anyway.

She is a more personal card to me My Aunt Rainey gave me this card when I was 7 or 8.

She is the one who taught me to love the cards and gave me my first set.

She sAys she was taught by gypsies, which knowing her just might be true. 

She lived in the same big "C" shaped apartment building, 

3 doors down from Wrigley field, that we did when I was little.

We on the 3rd floor and she on the 2nd. 

I could get to her house by running down the porch stairs and banging on the door.   

when she was home she would let me in and we could talk,

She taught me to make cookies, and it was OK to speak your mind and to be different from everyone else.

She would say "If everyone was the same life would be boring."

The card depicts the north star, sailors and travelers guide in the night sky, in the middle of the 7 sisters constellation. 

A woman on a field of grass and flowers, Pouring water from 2 jugs onto the earth and into a body of water,

She stands on the water and kneels on the land.

She is a calm guide to that balance within oneself, that nourishes the soul. 

She sees both sides and nourishes them both without judgement.

All sewn in DMC 3 strands over satin fabric in satin stitch and rice stitch.

The stars are with 3 strand DMC burnished silver thread.

Any time you use a metallic thread you must be gentile and patient with it or it will turn into the most unmanageable nest of vipers you've ever seen!

I use short lengths, no longer than a foot and a very wide eye needle, this helps to keep knots in the thread and damage to your fabric to a minimum because Metallic threads will shred a fragile fabric.

Make sure you go to the back of your work and bury and wrap the ends otherwise they will wriggle loose.

The Christmas Ellie CQJP2024

 

right side

So! this was supposed to be done for christmas

It' about small pillow size..

Buuuut.......

Left side

Anyway, I have decided to make it my CQJP for 

this year or I'm never going to get it done!    

I just started on the base layer of Stitching   

Nothing too colorful this time

I think I'm going to stay in the grey scale for seams 

so the motifs when I get to them stand out

There has been a request for roses

I'm also thinking her name made fancy and flowery

A mouse somewhere, I will copy a few of the motifs I used

on my ellie since she wanted one after she saw it

and I will probably wing it from there

so far so good

                                                                                                 

Konar's Quilt

 I finished this little quilt for my step-sisters son Konar. I meant for it to be done for his birthday 4 years ago but,

Well you know how that goes

My little squirrel brain forgot it under a pile of something on my work table.

so it gets to be an early birthday present this year.

It's all sent and loved by all! (glow) so now I get to show it off.

His favorite colors are blue and grey and he loves to sing, sail and cook so all his hobbies are represented in the sails and bodies of the boats. 

This is an easy pattern made of 12" sail boats cut with half square triangles and you all know how I feel about stripping!) I added 3" strip of water at the bottom, a 2" dark navy border and another 4" blue batik water border, the kid is 6' tall, it needed some extra to cover his toes! 

The back is the same fabric as the water border and the binding is that navy blue again and I quilted it with wave swirlies, echo, echo, echo!

CQJP 2023 Parrot side lampbox and an unexpected bit of bullshit

Work is progressing on the parrot slowly

but it is progressing

Life decided to get in the way this week 

and I had to make an unexpected trip to Chicago

nothing bad, just the ex deciding to sell the house 

and tell the rest of the family march 5th

3 weeks before closing 

I.E. the children who grew up there and left, because he's an enormous tool (my emphasis)

so that if we wanted anything from it we had to get there before the 20th of march

Well Fuck

Here's what I've done so far

The next installment will come around some time or another after I get back from this bit of bullshit.

Reminding me, yet again, why I divorced him in the first place, that it was an excellent idea and should have been done sooner.

 

I asked a simple question

At least I thought it was a simple question

 You can see what I'm trying to do here can't you? 

Magic 4 squares.

I know there are charts, but I was lazy

And I can never find the one I keep by my sewing table

And I didn't have my tablet to look it up online 

(that it was less than 20 feet away on the couch, is beside the point. Shuush! I'm telling a story!)

So I asked my dear darling Husband, who was 5' away at the table finishing his morning coffee, if there was an easy formula to figure out.

how big a square I need to start with if I want 4- 2.5" halfsquare triangles out of it.

2 hours later, a demonstration of what I  wanted and why, how I got there and a discussion encompassing, Pythagorean theorem and the square root of two later.................>

 

I'll go look up the chart *sigh*

 

The other solution, that I remembered later (Its always AFTER isn't it?), that a 3"x 6" rectangle marked on the diagonal and sewed on either side and no major maths needed.

Note; I said EASY. 

You know, something the non mathemegical can understand and maybe even, throw in a calculator for the answer.

Aaaand now he is writing code to do the math for me, because he realizes I am not mathly. I dont have the heart to tell him I have a work around. This simple question has kept him busy for two days now. 

Who would I be if I squashed his fun now?  

This is why I love this Man.

A continuation as seen by the man himself