Pumpkin Pie Ties

 

Tied to my bag from the quilt shop yesterday were these "pumpkin pie" selvages.  I wish I had a piece of that fabric.  But, I had three other pieces of fabric in the bag.  Two are for a quilt with houses that I'll be starting one of these days.  The other was an impulse buy - fabric with little birds.

I found a Halloween wall hanging that I made last year - without the binding.  I kind of vaguely remember deciding to go ahead and put it up, minus the binding, so it would have a chance to hang during the season.  Maybe this weekend I can take care of that.

This week has held the most glorious weather.  Today my local daughter came for a back-porch lunch.  A veggie sandwich for me.  There are a lot of mediocre veggie sandwiches out and about, but the one from Newport Pizza Company is outstanding.  Lots of artichoke hearts, usually, depending on what they have.

Be happy for my 13-year-old grandson.  Yesterday he caught a pass for his first touchdown.

Be Well

I stopped at the library to pick up my book on hold.  Just like the grocery store - pull in, put on my mask, call the number, tell them which parking spot.  When I got home I found this bottle of hand sanitizer in a little satin bag, inside the bag with my book.  And so, I'll pass the wishes on to you:  "Be Well."

Oh, yuck!  Last week I kept smelling something really bad but couldn't find it.  I looked in and around the refrigerator and the whole kitchen again and again, no luck.  This morning, I found a puddle of what was probably once a dead mouse in the basement.  I sprayed it with some Kaboom that was in the basement for some reason, who knows, and mopped it up with a paper towel.  Several times, end of story.

After the debate last night, six words are going through my head today.  "Mr. Vice President, I am speaking."

Sending good wishes to Wisconsin as they set up a field hospital.  We here in Kentucky already have a field hospital at the state fair grounds, unused and hopefully never used.  When the governor is criticized for spending the money on something we haven't used he says he would rather spend the money and not need it than need it and not have it. 

And thinking of governors - sending good wishes to Michigan's governor.  I hope she really is a badass and gets past it.  I would be hiding . . . somewhere . . . terrified. 

 

Ohio Star blocks, # 9 and 10.

Thanks to whoever got my grocery order ready at Kroger.  I ordered two decorative pumpkins for $1.99 each, thinking they would be pie pumpkin size.  They are big, I had trouble carrying them across the street and up my steps.

On my way home, I did a drive-by at Fresh Thyme to look at mums for my neighbor.  She's buying flowers for a wedding venue.  The mums looked nice so I stopped, grabbed two, went through the check out (no line,) and hurried out the door.  Probably was in the store for two minutes, tops, paid with my credit card and didn't touch a thing, barely came in contact with anyone.  

So now I have pumpkins and mums, which makes me all kinds of happy.  I love, love fall flowers.  I'd like to find some bittersweet, haven't seen any in years.

Yesterday's repair adventure:  my customer had a nice sturdy tote bag from Keeneland, but the plastic liner was ripped.  I replaced that liner with a nice cloth one.  No matter how many times I make a box bottom for a tote bag, I always, always have to look up the instructions.  It's ok.

Sunday Reflection

 

Pinwheel blocks # 7 and 8.  Pinwheel star.  In case you're wondering, there will be 12 blocks total.

For Sunday reflection, words from interpretive translation of Talmudic texts:

Do not be daunted by the enormity of the world's grief.

Do justly, now.  Love mercy, now.  Walk humbly, now.

You are not obligated  to complete the work,

But Neither are you free to abandon it.

and from the Bible, Micah 6:8

What does the Lord require of you?  To act justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.

I am glad today that my peace and social justice church prayed for the president during our Zoom service.  The neighboring  Ohio governor has proclaimed today as a Day of Prayer for the president and First Lady, as well as those suffering from or impacted by coronavirus.  A very inclusive proclamation.  Another glimmer.  We really can all work through this together if we only will.  

Evening View

Evening view out the window behind my sewing machine.

Just finished hemming a mother of the bride dress.  Tiny, skinny hem on a chiffon overskirt.  And I was reminded that a little while ago I was lamenting about having so many supplies in my studio.  And yet.  Today I am grateful that one day I bought a package of those tiny little silk pins (not really made of silk) that made all the difference.  And that package of 60/8 sharp machine needles, rarely used but so needed for something like this.  And the thin rayon thread, usually used for embroidery.  I'm pretty relieved to have this project finished.  I prefer sewing on cotton or linen, when I can press a crisp fold.

Thinking of those needles - 60/8 refers to the size of the needle.  The smaller the number, the smaller the needle.  The "60" is a metric measurement, the"8" the English measurement.  Sharp needles do in fact have a sharp point, nice for thin synthetics or tightly woven batiks.  Usually I keep a 90/14 universal needle in my machine, it's a good size for most things and the needle point is slightly rounded, splitting the difference between a sharp needle and one used for knits.

Just don't try to use your machine's needle threader with a size 8 needle.  The needle's eye is just too small to accommodate the needle threader.

The mother-of-the bride dress will go out the door and a throw pillow project came in.  These are not like the porch cushion pillows that I promised to not do again.  I actually enjoy making throw pillows, very easy.  

A hoodie zipper repair didn't go well.  The zipper had been damaged, so just replacing the slide didn't work.  It's really too bad, the zipper in the hoodie was too flimsy to begin with and didn't hold up.  It would have been easy enough for the manufacturer to put in a sturdier zipper but that would have cost a dime or two more.

    

To Keep Your Balance

 

To keep your balance, you must keep moving. -Albert Einstein.  In case the lettering is too small to read.  It was on the edge of a piece of fabric that I was cutting.

Agree 100%.  It's been true for me for a long time.  Many years ago I had a much-anticipated new baby and a case of after-baby blues.  I had read the articles about sleeping when the baby slept and that sounded fine, but the baby was a cluster feeder and there was little sleeping.  I remember standing at the kitchen counter and reading through the health insurance information to see if we had coverage for a therapist.

What helped me then and what helps me now is keeping a daily list of goals, these days divided into sections:  Moving Forward (the largest section,) For Myself, and Small Things.  It doesn't mean that I do every goal every day but I keep moving.

On a different topic, you know how I value civility, which seems to be in short supply.  And yet tonight, after a day of concern about the president's health, came the announcement that the Biden campaign would withdraw their negative ads during the president's recovery.  This may have been a purely political decision, I realize that, but there is civility in there.  And I am grateful.

  

Ballot Is Here

 

Blocks five and six.  Patchwork sawtooth star.

My ballot is here, still unopened.  I'll open it, take my time, research the candidates and state constitutional amendments.  And then, drop off the ballot at a drop box.  I don't like myself for this.  I don't like that I allowed a candidate to plant a seed of doubt about how or if ballots arrive.  My rational mind knows that there is no reason for this doubt, but I will still drop off my ballot.  The clerk's office is a mile down the road, if that, it's not like it's a hardship.

Really, I would worry more about people, just outside the 100 foot no-contact space, trying to influence my vote and crowding me, than I would be about my ballot arriving in the mail.  I know how we got here, but I'm still amazed and appalled.

We have increasing coronavirus cases in my state, although not in my county just now.  Cases seem to be hopping more into the rural areas.  Mask compliance (our governor calls them facial coverings) seems to be good here, at least in those few places I might see people.  This morning I adjusted the elastic in several of Aaron's masks.

We had a power outage on Tuesday night and it seems as if my internet is just now readjusting.  Is that even a thing?