The circle is complete

I was having a dream when I woke up. It seemed significant, but now I can't remember why, or anything else about it. I started reading e-mail even before preparing breakfast. There were a number of informational audios to listen to. I played one while fixing my bowl of nutty goodness. It alternated between sunny and partly cloudy. The clouds were on the move. I did a little cleaning after breakfast and took a shower. It was so sunny I went out earlier than usual to do some raking, and without the need for shoes. The raking went well, except for one gust of wind that blew the box over and scattered the leaves over the recently-raked area. But I did not mind so much. The leaves were all on top of the grass, not mired in it, so they were easily picked up again. Then I took a bowl and scissors to select some choice plants for lunch. One of the articles I read today said we only absorb 25 - 30 % of the nutrition in a plant when we chew it, but up to 90% when the plant is put through the blender. So I brought my pickings in for a quick spin. Although I used the 'liquify' setting, it wasn't quite liquid. I ate half of it with a spoon. It smelled like a freshly mown lawn - a good smell, but not one I associate with lunch. I put the other half in the frig for supper. I don't think the drink is going to catch on. Seeing how sunny it was, I just could not stay inside. I went out to the back lawn with my laptop and listened to another of those audios while doing stretches. When it was over, I came in. I finished sewing the wedges for the green and purple quilt top. I had to do a lot of fudging to get it symmetrical, but I have gotten good at it over the years. I went up to get my camera for a pic, and Chris was having supper in front of his laptop. So I finished my green smoothie, and went back to take the pic. I then turned my attention to the blue one. No one commented on the replacement fabric, so I assume it must be close enough to the original. I was working on those seams when Chris came down. We watched Babylon 5: The Gathering, then the remaining two episodes from season 2. And now it is time to say 'Goodnight'.

Can you tell where the replacement fabric is?

We stayed in bed later than usual. Because it was President's Day, Chris had the day off. Deb had asked me to do a tutorial on the tangram I made that goes from a rectangle into a 30 degree wedge. So I had been thinking about it as I went to sleep last night, and again as I woke up this morning. I even thought about it through breakfast. I was eager to get into my sewing room and work out the details. But before I could work on that, I had to clear the previous project - the kaleidoscope in blues. For some reason I could not just put it away. I sewed as much as I could without the last strip. Then I searched my collection for the closest match. I cut a strip of that, and continued on. I went through the trash to get the little bits of the missing fabric no bigger than trimmings. I pieced them together to complete the center star. But I have to decide whether the replacement fabric is close enough or if I should search some more. When I did put it aside, I then needed to put away the fabrics from the project before that - the green and purple kaleidoscope. Then I was ready to go outside. I raked leaves in the side yard for an hour in my barefeet. Then I laid on the low brick wall around the patio and read a book. But it wasn't a very comfortable position. I went inside and had a bite to eat, then went down to sew. Chris was already down there, finishing up a Batman movie. I worked out how to cut pattern pieces without seam allowances with a minimum of cuts. But the important thing is to be able to cut the fabric pieces with a minimum of cuts and that was harder because the pieces don't fit so nicely with seam allowances added. I tried it out on a small scale with a striped fabric. The first effort was unsatisfactory but the second one seemed much better. Chris came down to watch B5 with me. We finished another DVD, but not the season. Now he has gone to bed and I shall be along soon.

Ran out of fabric?!?!

I got up early enough to shower, eat dress and read e-mail. I dressed in blue to be visually recessive since the altos have to stand in front of the choir in church. Not only does blue recede because it is a cool color, but it is also the color of the carpeting in the sanctuary. I sat at the piano to practice the alto lines, then I cut up some brownies, put them on a plate, and covered them with plastic wrap. When we got to church, I practiced with the choir before the service. Then we sang after the prayer of the day. During communion, the pastor gave me a hunk of bread he ripped from a loaf he was carrying. It was too big to eat in one bite and I wondered what was the best thing to do. I ate it in two bites, but did not feel good on it. Should I have offered it to Chris? Palmed it 'till after church? Blessed the birds? After the service, everyone in church went to the fellowship hall to wish the director Happy Birthday. Big cake, and a table of snacks and punch. With all those people there, I thought I should have packed more brownies, but they did not all get eaten. Probably because there was so much cake. We sat near the back of the room and talked to two older men. I did not notice that almost everyone had left. Chris went to get our plate, and one of the women added some pieces of fudge to it, then gave it to him wrapped up. We took our treat, and stopped by Publix on the way home for groceries. Only $75 this week. At home, we ate lunch separately in front of our laptops. I watched the latest episode of Castle. Chris went downstairs to watch BG on the large TV. I came down later to work on the blue kaleidoscope. It was nice to have sound in the background as I worked. I discovered that there were not enough strips for all the wedges. I was one short. I was able to cut three of the needed fabrics from leftovers, but there was nothing left of the 4th one (the light blue in the second pic). No selvedge edges either. I have no idea what the name of the fabric is or who made it. It is frustrating to be one 2.5 inch strip short of a complete quilt top. I searched for any pieces of it that might have been stuck to other fabric from the same source, but with no luck. Finally I decided to make all the wedges I did have enough fabric for. I sewed and sewed, and then discovered that piece #3's got turned around. No wonder they didn't fit. Then I ripped and ripped. I pinned the pieces in correctly just as Chris asked if I wanted to watch B5 with him. It was a pretty good offer, so I quit to join him. After an evening of episodes, we came up. He checked his e-mail and went to bed. I started to check mine when I became aware of a small, strange noise. It was my fermented coconut milk building up pressure and forcing itself out into a growing pile of white goo. I released the pressure, and put it in the frig, hoping to slow down the fermentation. Now I am posting and going to bed.

Everything works out

I got up early to have breakfast, shower, dress, peruse e-mail, and pack for class. I even remembered to pack lunch (seaweed) - everything I needed to sew, but I forgot my purse. That meant no glasses and no tissues. I was only 5 minutes late when I arrived in the parking lot. Not too bad. Other ladies walked in after I did, so I wasn't the latest one. The class got off to a slow start, as informal classes usually do. It was interesting to see what colors and fabrics each person was using. It was also interesting to see how it was supposed to be done, as compared to how I did it because I couldn't wait for the class. I had cut a wedge 30 degrees wide and 18 inches on two sides. As it turns out, that was only part of the pattern. Their wedge was cut from the middlle of a square of paper so it had pieces around it that add corners so the quilt will come out square. Oh, well, I am sure I will come up with something to finish it out to a square. Jen had an extra pair of reading glasses which came in very handy. Deb was very impressed with the idea of pieces that fit into a rectangle (for cutting) and then rearrange into a 30 deg. wedge to make the kaleidoscope. I tried it with the colored rick-rack on black fabric. The consensus of opinion that that it was too bright, so I did not sew the pieces together after I cut them out. I spent the rest of the day working on the green and purple one. Chris called while I was in class to ask for a carton of eggs. So on my way home I stopped at Kroger for eggs and I hope to find the raw organic cheese. But no such cheese was there. When I got home, he used the eggs to make dark chocolate brownies for after church. I helped a little, and watched the latest episode of BBT on my computer. Then we went to Best Buy to replace our TV. The TV's were on sale so we were able to get a similar one plus the tax for a little less than the money we were paid to replace it with. We also were able to buy organic cheese at the Earthfare next door. Then on the way home, we stopped at a gas station and filled my tank, AND we stopped for natto at the Asian market near post. When we arrived at home, Chris brought the TV in, and set it up while I took the cheese and natto up to the frig. It was great. Chris was everything I needed. He was my chauffeur, personal shopping assistant, delivery man, gas station attendant, installation technician, and snuggler. We watched more epsiodes of B5 and went to bed.

Wedging in more time to sew

I woke up early this morning. Got up for breakfast, but read some e-mail first. After breakfast, and more e-mail, I resumed sewing. I made another strip set for piece #2, to replace the ones I made yesterday. Then I finished one wedge of the green and purple kaleidoscope quilt. I packed those pieces in a box to go to class on Saturday. I also put in scissors, pins, rulers, etc. For some reason I broke off a little early for lunch. I had defrosted a pound of organic beef. So I was able to put it in a pan with some chopped onion on low heat. Then I went outside to pick some greens. The good ones are getting harder to find. When I got back the beef was cooked. I cleaned and prepared the salad and put the beef on top. Then I took it outside and ate it, then read for a bit. It was such a nice day that I took off my shoes and socks and grabbed the rake. I raked a boxful from the front yard and was starting a second when Chris came home. They gave him 59 minutes at work. I dumped the leaves, put away the rake and went in. We talked for a bit, then I went down to sew. My phone rang and Chris brought it down to me. When I finished talking to Alison (she has chickens and sells the eggs), I came up for some fruit. Then I went down again. I searched my whole stash for some fabric that could substitute for a strip set. But not much spoke to me. I had figured out how to cut all the pieces for a kaleidoscope quilt without any leftovers, but I wanted to try it with 'cheater' fabric in case it did not work as I expected. The one piece that might work went into the box so I will have something to do tomorrow. Then I found some strips that were someone else's leftovers from a LONG time ago. At first I wasn't sure if she had just started the project or she had finished and all the strips were extras. (She died so I couldn't ask her). I decided they were leftovers and fair game. Since the fabrics were pretty together, I sewed two opposing strip sets and cut the pieces. I sewed the first wedge and liked it so much that I make another. Chris was upstairs playing with the voices. I was waiting for him to finish so we could watch more B5. He finished around 10 and we watched two episodes together. I am not completely packed for tomorrow, but hopefully will be able to finish in time tomorrow morning. After class we are going to replace our large TV. I am really looking forward to being able to read names as they appear on screen. I don't need glasses, just larger TV's as I get older.

Hurray - it's quilted!

As I was reading my e-mail after my breakfast and shower, I remembered my blog. After I posted, I went looking for the checks again since I needed to write one for Linda Thompson. I found them in a box that we had mailed ahead of us from Korea. That means I DID NOT move the checks and then forget where I moved them to. I wrote one for Linda, and met her at the church to pick up my quilt. She did a great job. The edge-to-edge was just right in size and design. She was very complimentary about my piecing.
Then I went to the bank, and drove through a few nearby shopping centers to see what was around. I stopped at Fresh Market. It is bigger than the one near my parents but poorer in selection. They did not have the raw organic cheese, or organic coconut milk. I bought a lemon and mustard. When I got home, I picked greens for salad, ate it for lunch. There was more e-mail to read. My new friend Cyndi sent me a lot more links to articles on Monsanto, chemtrails, and other conspiracies. I watched the video on HAARP. Scary stuff. But what can you expect when the people in charge are making their decisions based on fear rather than wisdom? I had to get some fresh air. I raked three boxes of leaves and collected a box of twigs and branches. It was warm enough to go barefoot. Back inside, I finished cutting out quilt pieces from the strip sets. I arranged and sewed one wedge, realized that one piece was turned the wrong way so it did not give the look I intended. So now I have to decide whether to use it anyway, or make another strip and re-cut all the #2 pieces. Hearing Chris upstairs, I quit for the night and went up for supper. I had celery with hummus. I cleared out a few more emails, and then we went down to watch "Forbidden Planet" and two episodes of B5. Now it is just blog and bed.

Hanging pictures in the bathroom

After breakfast, I put a nail in an old pair of shoes - raked leaves under magnolia tree. I did it to connect with the ground when it is too cold to go barefoot. I don't recommend it for walking on concrete. Then I hung a picture over the toilet, and a pair on either side of the mirror. It was such a nice day, that I went back outside to sweep tree droppings off of the porch. I intended to call Bob about the backed up sink, so I cleaned the sink area so he could work. I forgot to call Bob. I took a bowl outside to cut a salad from the yard. I cut oxalis, mint, deadnettle, chickweed, clover and dandelion. It was a good salad. I also added some things from the frig. I checked the front porch to see if the rest of my supplement order came. No. I had to put in another order because today was the last day to get free shipping. Then I went down to finish sewing the strip sets. I could have stopped there and been ready for class on Saturday where she is going to show us how to make the pattern pieces and cut the strips. But I just couldn't wait to see how it turns out. I made a good guess at how to do the pattern pieces yesterday and today I cut a new set, hopefully more accurate. Then I played with the arrangement until I found one that fit in a 7 inch repeat. I had forgotten that seam allowances were not included in the pieces so had to put them farther apart. I drew lines on each piece where it crossed a seam line. Then I started cutting. I heard Chris come home and fix himself supper. I had been thinking all day about whether or not to go to choir practice. I was putting off the decision. When the lines on the pieces stopped matching up (can't figure out why), I quit. I went up to greet Chris. I got an e-mail from the lady who had my purple quilt. She wants to meet me tomorrow and gave me the amount. I am almost out of checks, so I asked Chris where they were. He showed me the spot in the computer room, but they weren't there. So we searched. But time was short, and I decided to go to choir practice. The director invited me personally. I was worried I might miss the place in the dark, but the sign was well-lit and I couldn't have missed it. It was nice to be singing again, but the choir as a whole is not strong. Many people do not read music. And they made a big deal over me. It was a little embarrassing. Several people pointed out that they prayed for an alto, here I come, an answer to prayer. (Obviously God's answer was "No". ) I studied music in college. I can look at a note, tell you the name, what chord it is in, what part of the chord it is, whether the chord is inverted and what inversion it is, the key, the clef, where it falls in the scale, everything but the most important thing: what it sounds like. My dad can do that. Why didn't I inherit that ability?
When I got home, Chris and I watched several more episodes of B5. Then we went to bed...and and I fell asleep without posting to my blog. In the morning, I looked for the checks again, but with no luck. Chris thinks I moved them. I'd like to be able to say that I would remember if I had moved them, but sadly, there is no guarantee.