Saturday!

Random stuff:
My mother and my nephew tasted the kulfi that I made. He said, "It tastes better than the one we got at the show, doesn't it?"

Have you seen this research study on fusible webbing, batting, and sprays?

I promised pictures...

I promised pictures of my bedroom, and of the Alzheimer's contribution. Well, one promise kept is better than none, right? Here's the bedroom picture. I even staged the shot with the quilts. None of them are big enough for my bed, but one day, there might be one that is.

Did you buy some stock in a tissue company when I announced I was cleaning? Four big boxes emptied and counting. I knew the job was a big one, but I decided the less I thought about it, the better. I had to clean the available area, move things, clean the newly available floor and wall space, paint the wall, clean the paint off the floor, paint the trim, clean the paint off the floor again, move the furniture back, and clean the normally available area again. Then move on to the next wall and repeat. All four walls are done now. I still need to organize the stuff that is in the cabinets, and bring some stuff back that was sitting on top of the cabinets. I am hoping to leave the top of the cabinets free.

I'm not reneging on the other promise to make quilts for the Alzheimer's initiative. Just making it at my pace.

My sister and I helped sell kulfi which is a type of ice cream at the Indian festival this weekend. They sold them for $3.50 each, and the line was never ending, at least until they ran completely out. Understandably, because it is delicious. As you can tell, I've looked up the recipe. I'm not sure it is a good idea for me to make it though, because the dryer still likes to shrink jeans.

World Alzheimer's Day

My calendar says that today is International Banana Festival. But when I got onto Facebook, Ami Simms says that today is World Alzheimer's Day.

She said, "TELL SOMEONE! Don't know what to say? Try this: An estimated 35 million people worldwide will have Alzheimer's by next year. What to do? Make and donate a Priority: Alzheimer's Quilt. Info: http://alzquilts.org Research is the answer."

Although this is now a pictureless post, I am hoping that by the end of today, there will be a photo of a quilt I am donating. I am going to make it today.

Painting

With my allergies being severe this year, I decided to give my bedroom a serious cleaning. I wanted to move all my furniture and clean underneath and behind everything, to evict all my dust bunnies, and to better organize my fabric.

While I had everything away from the wall, I got the bright idea that maybe I could paint.

Before I could change my mind, I rushed to the hardware store, and grabbed the first color, and a coordinating one, that looked good to me. No big project, no big decisions.

Now my bedroom is going to be pear like Melody Johnson's room, and the trim will be eggplant. The goal was to be bright and cheerful, although now I'm hoping it doesn't make me crave pears and eggplant. At least it's healthy food.

And no, it doesn't match anything I own, so I'll have to make some quilts and curtains to freshen up the room. After I finish up the million projects I already have started.

Weekend

It is very beautiful outside. Makes me want to spend it outdoors enjoying it.









It's also cool enough, that it energizes me to do something creative indoors. It's the kind of weather and mood that makes me feel like doing all of the things on my to-do list. All at once. Hard to decide.












This one is my favorite.

Do You Want to Scan Another Image?

I want to know who it is that keeps sneaking into my house every night and moving my marker closer to the front of the photo box? You're in big trouble! Every day, for the last several days, I kept thinking "I'm almost done with this box." Then, when I look at the box in the morning, there seems to be more pictures left to do than "almost done."

I don't have any more camera stories. I bought a 35mm camera, a couple of them actually. One was a fixed focus, and one required more work from me. I don't know which photos are which. I can make blurry photos with either one. I think they lasted me for a long time, although I may have had to replace the fixed focus one.

In keeping with the historical nature, I present to you my very first apartment. I did an awesome job of taking only the pretty pictures, so I don't have any pictorial evidence of how incredibly awful that first apartment was. This was my entertainment center. The television was black and white. I found it when I went to the used furniture store to furnish my entire apartment. I hadn't really thought about buying a television, but it was only $20. Everything else on the stand appears to be bought new, although most things in the apartment were bought used. I never did get a phone for that apartment, even though I lived there a whole year. No, there wasn't a computer either. I had a typewriter, what did I need a computer for? The whole office at work shared one computer. I think there was a spreadsheet on it.

On the right of the television are my state-of-the-art cassette tapes. I bought them from Columbia Records and Tapes. I had calculated that each tape cost me $7.49 when you factored in all the free ones and the postage. That wasn't that cheap, but I was a college student when I bought them, and I had more disposable income then. Those holders can hang on the wall, and they have, from time to time. Underneath the television are records. Underneath that is the stereo. It has a radio, a record player. Notice the two cassette tape players. You can play one, and record on the other. It takes as long to record as it takes to play it. The other nice feature of two cassette tapes is that you can push play on both, and when the first tape is finished, it would automatically start on the second one. I was very sad and lonely that year, so I worked a lot of overtime when I lived there, and I didn't spend a lot of time at the apartment. I generally always had some music playing when I was at home. There were a couple of records that I played over and over again, because they gave me comfort, so this stereo got a lot of use.

I still have almost everything but the television now. The plant died a few years ago. The charity didn't want my couch when I was ready to give it away. I gave my records to my brother-in-law last year.

We Interrupt This Message...

I don't know what happened. It's not like I ever need to use it.



Can I be trusted to go to the store to replace it?

I knew I couldn't be trusted when it didn't occur to me to look for another one in the house.

I knew I couldn't be trusted when I decided not to call a nearby-living relative to ask for hers. Even though she hadn't used it in more than 15 years, she might need it again. Today.

I knew I couldn't be trusted when I decided not to call the other relative living nearby to ask for hers. Even though she probably had more than 20. She likes to own things in multiples.

I knew I couldn't be trusted when I started browsing the ads, to see how many 40% off coupons I could gather.

But I was very good. I didn't buy any fabric. It wasn't on sale, and I don't pay full price for things.

This stuff was on sale though. They had a lot of stuff that looked like the ribbons they sold at the quilt show. The one I bought stuff from. I might have to take up crazy quilting or something.

1985

I know that those of you who are following along on my camera history are waiting with baited breath to get the next edition. You can breathe now. The year is 1985, and I took one of those vacations, you know, a big one, where I went to three different banks to borrow enough money to do. I also borrowed my brother's 35mm camera, because I already knew the inferiority of my 110.

I came home with a new lens cover, which attaches to the camera, and rolls and rolls of film that had gone through several airport security checks. I was worried about the quality of the photos after they had gone through those. But these were Special Pictures, so nothing but the best for them. I got the large prints, the 4" x 6", because I knew nobody would really want the doubles, and because they were Special. I figured I could get enlargements and doubles of the really good ones. I apparently wasn't thinking of poor future me, who would only have room for 3 pictures at a time on the scanner.

Well, several of the rolls had no pictures on them. I guess I should have gotten a lesson on loading the film in the camera before I went. I was trying to save money and film, so I put the film in, but apparently not enough for it to catch, so I wound up taking a lot of pictures without film advancing. And since I didn't know what was wrong, I went ahead and wound it up and developed it. These pictures needed manual focusing, so the first day, when I had jet lag, all the pictures are shaky. All of them. All day. Luckily, I had my 110 camera, which is lighter and therefore easier to carry, and I did eventually learn how to load the 35mm. This photo is from the 110. It isn't labeled, so I'm not sure where it was taken.

I am finally finished with 1985 in my box. Only two more years to go. In this box. I will not think about the two photo albums that have the rest of my vacation shots. The ones that aren't blurry. Or the rest of the boxes.

Quiltfest Progress

Let me announce that Quiltfest is/was very successful. I managed to finish three and a half blocks for Wildflower Garden. One of them gave me a lot of trouble. I originally thought there were 10-12 blocks, but there are 14, so there are a few more to go, but progress is being made.

I also pressed my rail fence blocks I make as leaders and enders. Don't worry, I won't show them to you individually, but I did give you a group shot. I was just trying to see how many I had. I made some more after I pressed them that aren't in the picture. Maybe it needs some more multi-colored / novelty ones.

I think I got as much accomplished housework wise as I normally would, only the guilt didn't hit me until I was getting ready for bed. I really should have made a project of cleaning something - the basement, the garage or the office (tiny spare bedroom). All three of them get neglected for the more visible parts of the house.

Because Quiltfest was successful, I think I will continue it. I will dedicate some time for one of those rooms anyway, so that progress can be made in that direction as well.

Quiltfest

A Quiltfest is going on here on the High Road. It means that I am giving myself permission to quilt this weekend, not in little bits of time I can sneak in around other things I normally do. No, it means that I quilt. And sneak in the other things. This doesn't mean I will have a finished quilt at the end of the weekend to show you, because I am sneaking in the other chores, reading blogs, playing computer games, etc.

I even cooked yesterday!

But there might be a quilt block or two. Like this one from the Wildflower Sampler.

A Quilt!

After the strip tease in my 110 post, I am happy to announce that I am finally finished with my quilt. It is a fraternal twin to one I made earlier. What shall I call it?

It started as a kit that I received on a Superbowl Sunday sale at the LQS. The fabric was already cut in strips. They showed me the quilt - it was made out of rectangles, but I immediately decided that rectangles were boring, and that triangles would make the quilt look more interesting. This was the time before I realized that simple quilts were beautiful too. This was also before jelly rolls, and I didn't have a large scrap collection, so I didn't have a good place to store strips of fabric. I decided to make a quilt right away. I made the half square triangles. I arranged and rearranged. I decided I would rather make two small quilts instead of one. It might have been because it is hard to decide which arrangement to choose, but it also might have had to do with the difficulties of quilting a big quilt in a machine. This looks more like baby quilt material to me. The other quilt has been finished for a long time, but this one has been languishing.

I bought fabric for the border, because I used all the excess fabric in the other quilt. After my failed attempt at making the Blushing Bride quilt simple, I decided I could do simple with this quilt. There is simple quilting of diagonal lines both sides of the seam, to accentuate the subtle zigzag pattern.




I decided to do a scrappy binding. I used two of the pieces that were in a scrap basket at the same LQS at another Superbowl Sunday sale. The scrap fabric was purchased by my mother and then given to me. I started doubting using those pieces because they have more orange in them than the rest of the quilt, but I am happy I stuck with it. The rest of it came from the fabric previously chosen for the border.

And to follow suit with the other bloggers who make their quilts look so pretty, I present lots of angles and lots of views. I didn't wash the quilt before photographing, which the other bloggers do. I think the washing makes it look better, but washing, this makes it look used instead of new, and if I am thinking about giving a quilt to someone, I don't want them to think I am giving them used stuff. I know I am going to have to change my mindset about it. Only a couple of my quilts have ever been washed.

Edited to add: It is approximately 39" x 45". I think it would work well as a baby quilt.

Happy September

My 110 picture didn't show gratuitous fabric stripping! It was there to show that this is still a quilting blog, and to give you a little hint of things to come. I figured it would be ready by the end of the month, but it isn't. I was busily working on it, and then I received several emails from long lost cousins I haven't talked to in years, requesting a sharing of genealogical information. It pulls you in, I tell you, even when you try to focus elsewhere.

The August birthdays have been celebrated and my daughter is back at school. My sister-in-law inherited this quilt. She kept some of the antiques, but threw away all the paper documenting every thing the aunt owned. I think it was a matter of volume, but it does worry me about what will happen to all my paper. My daughter could easily throw away all my paper. I want to eventually scan all the paper for my genealogy, but I am only halfway through box 2 of my photo scanning project. I'm trying to work on it at least a few minutes everyday, instead of being tied to the computer all day.

Oh, and I figured out that the rectangular pictures in the 110 post are from a disc camera that my roommate owned. The disc camera was more expensive than the 110, newer, and made rectangular pictures which were closer to the size of the 35mm. And it came with a neat film cartridge like the Viewmaster had. Yes, I was a little bit humbled. The 110 has negatives that are like to the 35mm. I know I borrowed her camera a couple of times, and she might have given me some of her prints as well.