Stymied

It's been pretty busy here, even if we had no real commitments this weekend.  I have been working on the list of donors and items for the Friends of the Library's  Light Up the Library project.  Set ups begin tomorrow and continue all week.  The display committee (which includes me) meets donors or picks up items to be set up somewhere in the library.  

We generally let people with floor trees pick their spots, which makes them happy.  We did a walk through last week to figure out where floor and tabletop trees might go.  We have twice as many floor trees this year than last, partly due to donations of used trees by community members downsizing.   At left:  last year's "Inclusion Tree."

I have a huge pile of donations in the living room, but one good thing is that the tubs of donated fabric in the dining room have diminished greatly.  Yesterday, a lady picked up the fake fur, which took almost a whole tub.  That leaves partial tubs in the garage and the dining room, and I plan to consolidate them today.  Phew!  And maybe the person who gave me the four of fabric tubs will come and get the tubs soon, too.   She is cleaning her mother's house out and needs them for storage.

Today we did some grocery shopping, and I have a batch of sourdough bread in the machine now.  I finished the new Louise Penny book last night (it ends in a cliffhanger), so I plan to start something a little lighter today.  It's a take-it-easy kind of day, gloomy and good for napping.  I will try to get some packages ready to mail, too, which will be a load off my mind.   They are heading to Wisconsin, Colorado, Florida, and California.  The one for the Netherlands went out last week, and my Dutch sister said she mailed hers to us on the same day.  We always say we live parallel lives.

So... why am I stymied?  My credit card and ATM card were compromised on Thursday, and I'm waiting for new ones to come in the mail.  That means no online shopping!  I had been waiting to do Paul and Chris' shopping until the packages got mailed.  Now I will have to wade through the throngs in the stores or be nervously waiting for deliveries.   

Distracted by food

I have read quite a few blogs and talked to a few people about not getting a lot done over the last few weeks.  The election and its aftermath seem to have taken the wind out of some people's sails, including my own.  One blogger said she was "driven to distraction."  I haven't been reading or sewing as much as I normally do.   When I do sit down and read, however, I am really enjoying Louise Penny's latest, The Gray Wolf.

Although I haven't been quilting as much as usual, I am about halfway around the wide last border of the Dresdent quilt.  It's pretty easy quilting - straight lines down the pieced and plain sections as in piano keys.  It's a fairly big quilt (72" x 72") for using a walking foot, but it's happening.  If I knuckle down I can have the quilting done in another week... but will I?  There's no deadline, really, but I would like to make a few drawstring bags for gifts I should be mailing soon.  Yesterday I wrapped all the presents I'm sending to my sister in the Netherlands, and I hope to get that package out this week.  Last year's package arrived way past Christmas, so I want to get it in the mail sooner.

I also want to start on a Sasquatch quilt for Chris.  I have the Elizabeth Hartman pattern, Legendary, which I plan to modify quite a bit and add a border made with a panel of mythical creatures.  I think it will be fun and fairly quick to do.  If I don't get it quilted by Christmas, I will simply wrap the top up and promise to get it finished by his birthday in January.

Mostly, I've been cooking soup and working with sourdough starter.  I bought the little container of starter at King Arthur Baking a few weeks ago and fed it religiously for a week.  I hate having the "discard" so have been searching for recipes to use that and also have been reading up on various ways to maintain the starter without so much discard.  I have a loaf in the freezer and plan to make another later today using the "no waste" method.   This light rye bread was really good.

Last Friday I spent much of the day cooking a huge kabocha  squash Chris brought from work.   It tastes great but has a very tough skin, so I cooked it in the crockpot for 5 hours.  Then I peeled it, removed the seeds, cut it into smaller pieces, continued on the stove before mashing it.  I have another one in the garage that I'll deal with eventually (before it freezes).

 Chris arrived yesterday with a frozen whole chicken, so I got a loaf of bread out to give him.  The chicken is now defrosting in the refrigerator because there's no more room in the freezer.  I'll cook it Wednesday (if it's defrosted by then) and we'll probably eat it for the rest of the week.

Stick Season

Here in Vermont, we call the time between fall foliage and snow Stick Season, and there's even a popular song by Noah Kahan.   Some oak leaves still cling to their branches, but that's about it.  I don't mind it when it's not snowing.  When the sun shines, the birch and beech trees shine.  Of course, some days are gray and windy, but those are the times I stay inside and quilt.  Or read.  Right now, Louise Penny's latest book is really holding my attention.

Quilting the Dresden quilt is coming along slowly.  I need to make some progress on it this week because next week my brother Rob and his wife Linda are coming for a few days.  My quilting room is also the guest room.  I'm hoping to get rid of more of Sylvia's mother's fabric from the totes stacked up in the dining room.  I put as much as I could in bags and will take them to guild for the free table.  I took three bags to the ReStore yesterday and was surprised at how willing they were to take them.

Saturday's state quilt guild meeting went really well.  We had nearly double our usual attendance which was a shock, with 28 guests who may return in May and join.   People really seemed to enjoy the demos, including Tess' Temperature Quilts one (her example at left). Show and tell was fun, too, and there was a special category this time for Christmas and winter holiday-related items.  Soni does a great job organizing this, and people love gettng fat quarters as prizes! 

Making progress, albeit slowly

 Quilting the floral Dresden plate quilt is coming along nicely so far.  Yesterday, I ran parallel lines around the center plate, and today I'll work on the half plates.  Sorry the quilting isn't visible in this photo.  

After taking the class on walking foot quilting with Beth Ann Williams, I feel a whole lot more confident and comfortable with what I'm doing.  I ran out of basting pins mid-way through on Sunday, but managed to buy up all the rest that Joann Fabrics had.  Where do the pins go?  I should have gotten some more flower-headed pins while I was at it, too, since my supply is dwindling.  

Anyway, as I work my way out from the center, the quilting should get easier.  I will continue going diagonally down the center of each piece of the plates and echoing the center half circles today.  I'll switch to black thread on top for the half circles.  Echo quilting those butterflies will be my next challenge.  Once I move on to the succeeding rounds, quilting should be easier.

Definitely November

Yesterday was as gloomy as a November day can get - chilly, too.  Robin, Marie and I headed to tiny West Topsham, VT, to play Quilt Bingo at Mary's house.  She is closing her online shop and wanted to get rid of all of the fabric she didn't want to keep for her own projects.  I'm curious to know where she keeps her longarm (if she still owns one) as her house didn't seem that big.  

At any rate, the attic where we played was quite cold, and after two hours, we were glad to go home, heavily laden with fabric and other goodies.  I bought a good part of a bolt which will make a couple of backs for $12, and Mary gave everyone three matching yards plus some more in winnings.  I wish I could say I didn't plan to buy any more fabric, but that's impossible!

Here's part of four tubs of fabric a friend from my genealogy group gave me last Sunday.  She has been cleaning her mother's house because her mother now lives in a nursing home.  At one time, the lady made lots of doll and other clothes, so quite a bit of the fabric in these tubs is unusable to me.  

I will take a little at a time to various quilt meetings this winter, and also to the ReStore.  There are silky and large pieces of lacey fabric as well as knits and corduroys.  If I sewed clothes, I would definitely be happier.  The tubs take up a lot of room in our dining room, but I'll chip away at them.  The fourth tub is in the garage because it's even bigger than these.

Sitting next to the tubs are some of the things I'll be taking to the state quilt guild meeting this coming Saturday.  There are two coffee makers and part of a coffee pot for a silent auction, as well as supplies and a quilt rack.   I will put some of the tub fabric into tote bags for giveaway also.  I doubt if I'll take anything for show and tell - all this stuff is enough.

Earlier this week, Paul and I went downtown to visit Marsha at her antique shop's new location.  From there we bought Paul some new boots and then looked at a new monument at Hope Cemetery.  At first, we thought it was a mausoleum, but there is no way that we could find to open it for more bodies.  

It's quite cute, as you can see from this photo of Paul on the porch.  The clapboards and windows are on all four sides.  But there are no birth/death dates of any of the family members.  Future generations will not be happy with that omission.

As you can see, it was a lovely day that day, but it seems that as soon as November came, so did the clouds.  I started quilting a bed-sized scrappy quilt on Friday, and it's just the right activity for these gloomy days.

A lovely day and "Marilyn"

 My Thanksgiving cactus is beginning to bloom!  I call her "Marilyn" because she was owned by my late next door neighbor who went to Florida every winter.  I kept an eye on her house and went over periodically to water her plants, including the cactus.  Unfortunately, Marilyn the neighbor passed away suddenly in Florida about five years ago, and in cleaning out the house, her children offered me any of her plants.  Of course, I wanted "Marilyn," not so much as a reminder but as a very reliable bloomer.  

Sometimes the flowers are more pink than they are right now.  But there are lots of buds, with blooms continuing through the winter.  My orangey cactus tends to bloom closer to Easter, and the hot pink cutting from Chris' Christmas cactus is a bit too small to bloom much.

All that aside, Monday was a lovely day for a drive, even though we woke up to snow on the ground.  It all melted when the sun came out, and by then I was about an hour south, close to Hanover, NH, where my friend Polly lives.  On the way, I took a slight detour to the King Arthur Baking Co. (their new name) shop.  The last time I stopped there, it was so busy that I turned around and left.  This time, it was busy but one could still walk around and - importantly - find a parking spot.  I bought a loaf of yummy bread and some sourdough starter.  I'll work on the starter this afternoon.

Polly and I went downtown for lunch at a burgers/salads place.  We hadn't seen each other for three years, so we had a lot of catching up to do.  When we lived in Montpelier, we belonged to a women's group that met weekly for about ten years.  Through the years, members came and went, but of the core, she and I both moved (me just 7 miles away), Cindy moved to California, and Sandy passed away.  I got Polly interested in quilting long ago, and I miss going to quilt shows and shops with her.   A trip to our favorite shop near Burlington is something we need to do in the near future.  Anyway, we had a very nice time, and the drive home was simply lovely with bright blue skies and, as is usual for Vermont any time of year, beautiful views.

Pre-holiday projects

 In the last few days, I've finished four table runners, three 12" table mats, and 3 potholders, most of which were made with "Snowflake Bentley" fabric.     The two table runners that had other fabric in a disappearing nine patch pattern will be going down to the florist's shop for sale.   I just need to update my written list that I always take along with the items.  I'm wondering, too, if I should take the fall items home or leave them there for a few more weeks.

I'm planning to give the Snowflake Bentley items to various family and friends for the holidays.  My next door neighbors are a blend of religions, so the winter theme might be particularly good for them.  After I finished those gifts, I started making tissue cases, mostly out of holiday fabric.  Each little case takes just a 6" square and an 8" square, so they are great for using scraps.  Here are the first 12 I made - in just an afternoon!

These are going to be given to the library staff at the Friends of the Library's annual staff appreciation lunch.  I'm a little worried that there are three men on the staff, but then I figure they can hide them in their desks or give them away.   It's been several years since I made gifts for the staff, and I always enjoy doing it.  I have run through my repertoire, though, and am already wondering what I can make next year.

Because these were so easy and quick to make, I made 12 more, even though I am out of little packets of Kleenex.  Those are on order and should arrive next week.  While I was online ordering the tissues, I came across several books that family members might like to receive for Christmas.  Almost all of them like to read and also depend on my suggestions sometimes.   The titles are now in my Amazon "shopping list," and I'll review them in a week or two and then pace an order.  I like to get my package to relatives in the Netherlands out by Thanksgiving and, for those stateside, a little after that. 

This morning I did a little sewing with "strings" and this afternoon seems like a good time to curl up with a good book.    Several pre-ordered ones have arrived on my Kindle.  I'll probably be reading them tonight while the World Series gets underway.