Wash Day Woes

 

This little guy from last week was nowhere to be seen today as today’s spring temperature was only a blustery 33 degrees. 

On my kitchen table you will always find lists: items to accomplish on a particular day, sewing and other stitching projects on which to work, a grocery list, long range items, etc.. Why so many? That’s easy; it feels so good when you get to cross off completed items.

I had done my grocery shopping yesterday, so today’s list started with #1) change sheets and #2) laundry. Things started off well enough until I went down cellar to move the items from the washer to the dryer. I lifted the lid and discovered a tub still full of water. Oh, no!!!!!  I tried every trick I knew but no luck. It was dead. I hear friends complain that appliances made today usually last seven to ten years. Good grief! My washer was only a mere thirty to forty years old!!! The side had begun to rust, and I knew it had been on borrowed time. This afternoon I purchased a new machine which will be delivered on Monday. 

I just hope my refrigerator which is definitely the same vintage doesn’t get any funny ideas. :-() 

March Word Play FFO and Happy Spring

Happy Spring, Everyone! Here is my latest cross stitch finish; it’s “March Word Play” by Brenda Gervais. It took me two weeks of dedicated nightly stitching, but I’m thrilled with how it turned out. I added a soft green chenille trim, and I did not use the floss called for on the pattern, but instead selected my own colors. It looks similar to the piece as designed, but I chose to brighten the colors a bit. The green buttons were from the giveaway back table at our guild meeting. :-)

I cranked the drawbridge down on my castle and ventured out a few times this week. Last Saturday, I went to a family party to celebrate Confirmation Day for my cousin’s triplets. (For those of you who remember when they were born, know that they are now sixteen as is Miss Lucy.) Wow!

On Tuesday, I attended an in-person meeting of the Crosstown Quilters Guild, and it was great to see everyone. The speaker, Anthony Ferranti, gave a very informative, entertaining talk on sewing machine care and maintenance. The best part. . . he makes house calls! I do not want to post his contact info here, but get in touch with me if you would like it. (Mask note: I was one of only about seven ladies who wore a mask during the meeting. My doctor has said it is okay to get together with fully vaccinated friends, but that I should not let my guard down.)

Wednesday was a wonderful doubleheader. At noon, a group of retired teacher friends gathered for lunch in Hull. Prior to the pandemic, we would meet each month for lunch at local restaurants. It was a very relaxed gathering so much so that we were shocked when someone noticed it was 4:30! That meant I had to dash home to feed and take Emma out before picking up my friend Edith at 5:30 and heading to our friend Maribeth’s home for dinner at 6:00. Whew! Being super cautious, I have not been with some of my  friends since last summer. ( At this point, the covid numbers and hospitalizations are way, way down, so I am cautiously taking advantage of it, but keeping an eye on things especially with respect to the new Omicron BA.2 subvariant which is making an appearance in some parts of the country. It has caused spikes across Europe.  My castle’s drawbridge can be very easily cranked back up :-).

Just for fun, I did one more thing today. I headed down to North Attleboro to visit Stitch New England, a cross stitch store. I had received a refund for a cancelled guild quilt retreat, so I felt it would only be prudent not to let that money burn a hole in my pocket. This is what I purchased. :-() It’s only a dangerously close forty minute drive for me, but if you live further, they have an online store.

I love how this bear at the hair salon where I went yesterday is always decked out. He always wears a mask!

And finally, if you enjoy puns, you will love this! (I saw it on the blog, Live a Colorful Life.)

Have a great weekend. 

Tom Brady Is Unretiring!!! Temperature Walk with Me

 He’s coming b-a-c-k!!! Unretiring!!! What a lovely word!!! Well, that is, for Tom Brady’s legions of fans and Tampa Bay Buccaneer fans. Tom tweeted out tonight that he will return for a twenty-third season. After all, he’ll only be forty-five!!! Can you imagine the groans of despair echoing across the country. . . I, myself, am smiling; the NFL wouldn’t be the same without him. 

I hadn’t expected to post tonight, but since I am, here is a look at my Sunday stitch. It’s “Temperature Walk with Me” a chart from Stitchin’ Mommy on Etsy. For those unfamiliar with “temperature” pieces, there are many types  of 365 day projects. Quilters make them as do cross stitchers. There are all types of subjects such as bookcases, butterflies, etc. Last year, I started a very popular piece, a tree. The tree had twelve branches with leaves added for each day in the month. The color for each daily leaf corresponded to a high temperature color chart, BUT by about March, I quit as I wasn’t enjoying it. 

This little sign sits near my TV, and yes, I definitely take these words to heart.

This year, Stitchin’ Mommy released this chart, and since Emma and I both enjoy our daily walks around the neighborhood, I thought I would give it a try. Thankfully, I am enjoying stitching this new piece. There is a cat version as well. This dog one has bone icons, a fire hydrant, and please don’t tell Emma, there is a s-q-u-i-r-r-e-l. 

I jot down the high temperature each day and on Sunday stitch a week’s worth. 

Well, that’s it short and sweet.

 Seven days until spring. . . 

Star Wars Quilt and Pandemic Alert March 2020

 On Tuesday, I attended an in-person meeting of the Crosstown Quilters Guild . A vote was taken, and it was decided that masks would be optional. (I continued to wear mine :-). I had finished this Star Wars quilt on Monday evening. It was donated to Anne M.’s group which brings quilts to deployment ceremonies. The young children of National Guard members being deployed receive quilts and the older children receive pillowcases though I think this quilt might appeal to an older child. 

I had used a few tucked away strips left over from a quilt that I had made for a young cousin a few years back. There were four full strips of the Star Wars fabric, but I wanted it to be a bit longer. In my stash, I found a small blue and black piece of fabric which I added to either side of a short strip to make a fifth, middle strip. It’s amazing how well it blended in.

It was wonderful to see everyone, masked or unmasked! I counted forty-five in attendance; prior to the pandemic, we had on average sixty-five members at each meeting.

After the meeting, I was approached by another Anne M. who had a bag with my name on it. Inside were some vintage cross stitch booklets. While we were talking, the other Anne M. approached with another bag with my name on it. ;-(). I was the meat in an Anne M. Sandwich!!! Here are few of the items from that bag. 

Look at this fabric. 

She thought that I would find a use for the items. I have to admit that my wheels started spinning immediately, and yes, I do have an idea for how I will use them. Right now, however, I have a stack of other projects to work on, but I just might sneak this project idea into the pile. . . 

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It was two years ago today that we first heard formal mention of the pandemic. Interestingly, our Crosstown Guild had just been on a fun quilt retreat on Cape Cod. At our first meeting after the retreat, the subject of Covid came up. I was guild president at the time. It was decided that we would skip the next two meetings for safety sake. This was met with some displeasure by some members who said that they were not going to let Covid change what they wanted to do. Little did we realize how Covid would soon change all of our lives.

Things have improved though we are still losing 1,200 people in the US each day to Covid and the Omicron variant. Stay well.

Pray for the people of the Ukraine, for freedom, and for us all. 

It’s March!!!! How did that happen???

So much for trying to post a few times a week . . . In my defense, I, as I am sure you all are, am crushed  by what is happening in Ukraine. That Putin can threaten the very existence of  a democracy of forty-four million people seems beyond comprehension. This you know already, and I promise the rest of this post will provide a brief respite from what is happening.

A performance of Matilda by the Arlington Children’s Theater on Saturday afternoon offered such a moment for me. One of my young cousins, Miss T., loves acting and taking part in productions such as this. The young cast did a tremendous job. Kudos to the director/choreographer who had a stage full of  eager, enthusiastic young actors all singing and dancing. It was incredible. I can hardly wait for the summer production of The Music Man.

Our actress, my cousin Kristin, and her other daughter all had commitments after the performance, so my cousin Rob and I went out to dinner. It was great fun to spend some time with him. 

I know that I said I wouldn’t talk about the invasion again in this post, but just one more thing. At intermission, there was a wild scampering of happy, excited children with moms and dads in a mad dash to the lobby to get refreshments. I had to keep fighting back tears thinking of the children in the Ukraine and what the parents and children there are facing.

Okay, down with Valentine’s Day decor; up with St.Patrick’s day decor.

It’s March 8th, and I haven’t as yet recorded what I “accomplished” in February. (You may recall that “accomplish” is my spirit word for this year.)

February:

“Winter Wonderland” - cross stitch

“Windy Winter” - snowman mini quilted wallhanging

Stitched heart ornaments- three

Pillowcases to donate - six

Project bags - four

“Big Hearted Tiny Town” - cross stitch

Jubilee pincushion- cross stitch

“Santa Star” Ornament - cross stitch (stitched but not FFO’d)

“Moonlight” - cross stitch 

It occurs to me that I have not yet posted a photo of the “Moonlight” piece that I made into a pillow. I had started it last winter; in fact, I had pulled it out to stitch on whenever it snowed. It was about seventy-five percent done when I remembered it and pulled it out a week or so ago to finish it. This pattern was designed by Diane Williams of Little House Needleworks.

My quilting mojo is thankfully coming back, and I did finish a quilt just last night! Thank goodness! Photo in my next post. . . 

Let me leave you with little guy that is hanging out in the corner of my sunporch. He never fails to make me smile as I enter or exit. Heck, he may well stay out for a few more months!!!

Really last thing . . . for Emma fans . . . here she is sporting a shamrock bandana after a visit to the groomer yesterday. She definitely makes me smile all the time, too!!!

Stay well.  Be creative. Find moments of joy.

Slava Ukraini! Slava Getoiam!