Aren't they beautiful?

i
Woke up around 8, did the breakfast and e-mail thing, showered and went to the thrift shop. Hardly anyone was there. I shelved books. Deb picked up two pizzas. They started eating around 11:40? Geri brought me sushi. Nyun left me a gift bag with two tiny plates on magnets. Ms. Chung, Geri, and Deb presented me with two Celadon vases signed by the artist. They are very beautiful and I was quite surprised. One is male and one is female. This is the female one. I did not unwrap the other one 'cause it was packed so well for shipping. It was a very small party. When I finished at 2, I went to the gas station gate. I walked into Itaewon and picked up the luggage tags that I ordered yesterday. When I got back, I sat on a tree stump to read in the sun. But the stump had sap on it and it stuck to my good gray pants. I went home to wash it off. Soap and water did not work, so I stuck my pants in the freezer. When they were frozen, I tried scraping it off. Then I let them thaw. I read e-mail for a bit, then went into my sewing room to find something for class tonight. I found my project pieces for the strip quilting project. So I packed several bags of strips for class. I also bagged up the old cones of thread, and a bag of 9x10 pieces leftover from another class years ago. Chris told me the landlord was coming over to see the apartment. What we didn't know is that she was showing to a potential renter. I would have cleaned up a little. Finally it was time to go. I grabbed all the bags and went to post. I was pretty early to the SPC. I set up tables, machines, an iron, rulers, etc. Then I sat in a chair to wait. Cathy came in to give me a little gift bag. It had a beautiful piece of fabric from Indonesia, and a CD of pictures from quilt shows, etc. She also had one copy of 9-patch Pizazz which had come in the mail. She let me read her quilt magazine as she went through the rest of her mail. Later Ruth Ann came in. She was surprised that none of the students were there. We chatted for a bit, then decided at 7:30 that no one was coming and to pack up. As we were packing, one lady came with her three quilt tops from last week. Cathy left, so Ruth Ann and I showed her how to put the quilt sandwich together. We love her color choices. Then we packed up and went out. Ruth Ann and I chatted outside for awhile, and then I went home, using the new automatic gate. Michele and Chris were both highly engaged in playing games on their laptops. I listened to an audio about the risk-benefit ratio of the flu vaccine, and then posted to my blog. Michele came in to ask for help with a 'puzzle' in her game. I tried to help. When she got tired of my help, she used my computer to google the answer. I chased her out of my chair and reclaimed the computer so I could finish.

Lunch with the ladies

Not having slept well the night before, I stayed in bed until almost 8. I read e-mail for most of the morning and then showered and dressed for lunch. I went over to the SPC to meet Cathy, Mary, and Judy. I left the QOV top there, got Cathy's signature on the minutes for last month, and changed the lock on the metal cabinet, giving keys to Cathy and Mary. We took Mary's van to the gas station gate and walked into Itaewon. We stopped at Santorini's for lunch. I had the octopus salad, and they all got gyros. It was very good. They paid for my lunch. Then we walked up and down Itaewon, enjoying the shops. I ordered embroidered luggage tags at one place. He does the letters freehand, It was the most amazing thing. We also stopped in a shop that defies categorization. See the merchandize behind Mary and Cathy. Then we went back to the SPC. The ladies gave me going-away gifts of fabric and seaweed. Both are things you can't have too much of, and something I had been looking for. And how practical - something to eat and something to wear! I was touched. Then I went to MP hill to sit in the grass and read - something I haven't done in a while. There was a very nice rock, very comfortable. But the temperature dropped and the wind got chilly, so I returned to my car. Strangely, my back bothered me after sitting there. I went home and laid down for awhile. I read some e-mail. Chris called to tell me the movers were coming to see what Michele wanted moved to her apartment. She wanted the hide-a-bed, so I opened it up and swept it out, washed the sheets. The fabric was ripped so I hand-sewed a denim patch on it. Then I put on a movie. During the movie, a lady came to see how much was to be moved. Then we ate supper and finished the movie. Chris went to bed, and I listened to an interview with Norm Shealy. I forgot to ask Chris if he wanted a sandwich, so I will make one anyway. I will have to pack something for myself too, since the thrift shop is throwing me a pizza party tomorrow.

My last luncheon

I woke up at 8:15. I glanced at the alarm clock and realized that I was supposed to be at the DHL setting up the quilter's table right about now. So I showered, dressed, skipped breakfast, grabbed my quilts which I got out last night, and headed for post. I arrived around 9. Cathy was there, already set up. I dropped off my bra art, and I took her place so she could shop for fabric. Lynae arrived at 9:30 to take my place and I went to shop. When it was time to check out, I only had won, but he took it. And he gave me a pile of free packets, and let me pick out two more. He even gave me a 3 yard piece of minki. It was 10:30 so I went to the check-in table to see if there were any lunch spots left. She said yes but they only take dollars. I stopped by the quilters table and sold Cathy the minki, but still did not have enough for lunch. As I put my fabric down in the Naja ballroom, Ruth Ann gave me lunch money. So I paid for lunch, and went to the bank for cash to pay Ruth Ann back. Then I ran out to my car to deposit my bags of fabric. The luncheon theme was breast cancer awareness. There was pink in the centerpieces and pink wrapped around the chairs and of course, bra art. They had a speaker who was a breast cancer survivor. She told us her story. It seems more amazing that she survived chemotherapy and radiation. Mary and I cleaned up the quilter's table display. I wrote down the names of the people who signed up. I went home, wanting to stop and sit in the grass somewhere, but I was not dressed for it. I read through my e-mail, deleting much of it. I typed in the new names. I fixed the QOV. (Can you spot the mistake in the picture? ) I washed up a load of fabric, and partially dried it. Chris came home as I was laying it in the bedroom. I proceeded to press it dry one piece at a time while watching TV. By the time I was finished, Michele was home, and the two of them were watching The Last Starfighter. I sat with them 'till it was over. Chris went to bed and I fixed him a sandwich for tomorrow.

Columbus Day - productive

My husband stayed home today and Michele went to college. I spent the morning sewing sashing to the big blocks. Did I mention that when I stacked and cut the 18 inch blocks, there was an extra fabric in there. I realized this morning that it was supposed to be the sashing fabric. And now, instead of having 1/2 a yard, all I have is a fat quarter. Well, I made it work: 1 inch sashing and on the inside only. Chris copied files from my desktop computer to my laptop. Then he went to the bank to deposit money in Michele's account. But he forgot his passport, so I dressed and brought it to the gate. He had picked up my shoes from Mr. Bob. They were too tight, so I walked into Itaewon with him, stopping at the key maker's place. The man could not copy my key, but he sold me a lock with three keys to it. I went to see Mr. Bob and he stretched the shoes so that they were comfortable. Then I caught up with the fruit seller, and got some persimmons. Chris finished at the bank, and caught up with me. We walked back to post, and went through the automatic gate. At least, I did. It would not let Chris through. He had to see the guard. Then we went home. I put my new shoes on and they were back to being too tight. I wore them as I went back to sewing, and they got tighter and tighter, until I had to take them off. Weird. I spent the afternoon creating bra art with scraps of fabric. Chris put pork in the oven. It was not ready by supper time, so he and Michele ate leftovers and went to see "Cowboys and Aliens." I stayed home to watch "Wonderful World" with Matthew Broderick. It was just ok. I finished the QOV that I started last week. Chris plans to go to work tomorrow so I will make a sandwich before I go to bed.

Same service, new location

Now that church starts at 11 instead of 10,
I decided to use the extra time to sew. I finished the blocks that I was working on last night and had breakfast. When Chris was ready, we left for church. The Episcopal service now meets in the hospital chapel. I handed Gene's wife the last batch of communion bread. She mentioned how she had cleared a large space in her freezer for it, and I wondered if I should have made more. The attendance was less than last week, probably owing to it being a holiday weekend. After the service we had refreshments and Gene's birthday cake in another room. I put the word out that Michele needs a roommate and am hopeful a good one can easily be found. Then we went to the PX. Chris bought two shirts, a belt, a laptop for me, and a flat screen TV. He chose a 32 inch. It seemed so small there in the store that I chose a 42 inch. So he bought the 42 inch. It came in a really big box. It would not fit in the trunk, so he and this other guy put it in the back seat. We went to the commissary for groceries and called Michele to meet us in front of the apt building to help unload. I carried up the groceries while she and Chris handled the TV. It had gotten bigger. She and I put away the groceries. Then Chris set up the TV. Looked smaller in the store. After the TV, he set up my laptop. After much usage of language frowned upon in Sunday school, he got it on the internet. Microsoft is still on his spit list. Romaric arrive to play games. I had wanted to go early to the AnC center to finish my quilt, but for some reason was very sleepy. By the time I found the energy to walk through the new gate, and drive to the AnC center, it was 5:15. I 'might' have finished if I hadn't had to outsmart the machine. It was almost 7 and I had one block left. The OS decided that the quilting software had performed an illegal operation and shut it down. I took it as a sign to quit. I unzipped the leaders and put the other quilt back on for Ms. Kim. I went home. The game was still in session. I had a bite of supper and went to trim my blocks from this morning. They became perfect 16 inch squares. That is when I found out that the previous ones were not so perfectly trimmed. It makes sense, 'cause I just got the 20inch square ruler recently. I wonder how I trimmed them years ago. So what I do do about them? I don't want to cut the perfect ones any smaller.
Last night we could hear the fireworks festival in Youido. We have windows facing north and south. But Youido is west. So I tried climbing to the top of the building and craning my head as far out the window as it would go. "Don't look down" was my motto. It was a very uncomfortable position, and not just physically. Many of my nightmares involve standing on the top floor of a tall unsteady building. My weight is enough to tip it over and I wake up as I am falling along with the building. So it was too much like that. I should have visited Ruth Ann. She said she had a great view from her apartment last year.

Can't believe it's finally open

The blocks that I sashed yesterday got trimmed today and sewn together. I auditioned backings and bnidings. When I finally had the complete set (top, backing, batting), I asked Chris to drive me to post. It was after lunch. He and Michele played with the voices all morning. As he got ready to go, I pulled out another set of blocks waiting to be a quilt. There were only six, and they were in a bag with matching fabric so I cut another set. It starts with 18 inch blocks, maybe 18.5. Anyway, I ironed, cut and stacked the blocks. Then he was ready so we went. He dropped me off at my car. I drove to the AnC center. Hardly anyone was there. I heard the staff went to the Fall Festival. So no one bothered me as I made use of the Statler. Since all my blocks are different, I spent quite a bit of time picking out block designs. Especially hard was the folded flower block (upper left corner). Finally decided to just sew an X across it. The first line I sewed by guiding the hopping foot along my finger. But it wasn't straight enough. Then I realized that I could do regulated stitching at a 45 degree angle. That worked fine. Sadly the placed closes at 7. But the man left early, telling me to turn off the lights when I left. I was very tempted to stay later. But I shut down the computer with plans to come back tomorrow and finish. My next puzzler is how to quilt the sunbonnet Sue and Sam blocks. Chris was going to come get me, but the traffic was too congested. He suggested that I walk home, and I suggested that he bring me a jacket. Well, guess what? The new automatic gate was open. So walking home couldn't have been easier. Of course they get it working just before we move. It makes getting to post on nights and weekends as easy as getting there during normal working hours. Chris baked fish for supper. After we ate, I glanced at my e-mail and then returned to my 18 inch blocks. I made five cuts in roughly a star shape. I rearranged the resulting piles, and started sewing the mixed-up pieces back together. I am almost finished but it is time for bed now.

Happy Quilt warehouse

This is a special post just for Happy Quilts. Over the years they have been very generous to me personally and to our group. Yesterday the clerk let me fill a bag with two-yard packets for free when he found out I was moving back to the U.S. When Happy Quilt came to our group meeting in February (or June, can't remember which) , the young man had orders from Mr. Kang, the owner, to let our group select 15 packets for free. We got both baby fabrics and QOV fabrics. It added a great selection to our stash which we have enjoyed ever since. I highly recommend that anyone with an interest in fabric go there.

The warehouse address is 837-1, Jije-dong, Pyeongtaek. Ph: 010-9292-8954. Sales manager is Lee, Yong Seok (happyquilt.lee@g-mail.com)

They also have a shop in Dongdaemun:
B-5215, 5F Dongdaemun Shopping Complex, Seoul
02-2267-8582