Kitchen weekend

With a trip to the farmer's market on Thursday and a grocery shopping trip on Friday I knew the weekend would be filled with chores in the kitchen.  I moved my disk player to near my work area in order to listen to some books.

Furkid Dylan said oh, oh, Mommie's is in the kitchen, let me get close enough to catch the falling bits of food.  He drags his blanket to near my feet and gets comfortable.

I get busy cleaning and freezing greens.

I move on to doing corn on the cob.

Then make some home made ground beef for the freezer too.  Love the grinder attachment for my Kitchen aid!

Moving on I cleaned and flash froze a whole bunch of grapes.  No time for making juice or jelly.  I do like frozen grapes as a snack treat now and then.

Then I got busy making some butter.  Love the mixer even more!

What's the good of having fresh made butter if there's no fresh bread to eat?  I made bread too.

The sewing machine guy picked up the singer machine to work on it.  I could probably have worked on it myself but I'd rather leave it to the professional.  He said he could have it back to me by Christmas if not sooner.  I hope to have the cabinet all cleaned up and ready by the time the singer comes home. 

I decided to let him take the serger too.  It's better for machines to get a yearly tune up to keep them in good working order.  I figure if I'm going to be using this machine alot then it should get it's first tune up now.  He's going to see if he can get me an instruction book too.

It was a very busy and productive weekend.  I'm glad I took the time to preserve my harvest even if it came from the grocery instead of a back yard garden.  Today I'm back at work at the quilting machine.  I'll finish what I can before Ladybug arrives.  Hmm... there's a ton of dirty pots and pans that need to be washed too.  Oh, and more greens to be done.  A lady's work is never done!

You know, the more I think about it, the more I like my semi-retired schedule.  It feels more normal, natural, and happy.  I'm more relaxed than I've been in years.  My mind is no longer in a constant panic state worrying about getting "just one more" quilt done.  Yup, I like it.

Semi-retired?

My weekend was filled with non-quilting things that really needed getting done.  I had an abundance of eggs to deal with thanks to a generous neighbor.  I froze some and dehydrated some.

I had some boxes of cereal that I decided to grind up with my new grinder attachment.  Now I have cereal crumbs that can be used as extenders in recipes.  I can also use these as coating mixes just like using bread crumbs.  One is sweet and the other is savory. 

Next there was the abundance of cheese getting close to the use by date.  I froze some and started dehydrating some. 

Hmm.... more food that needed to be preserved.  I dehydrated some and froze some onions that were starting to show signs of softening.

Decided that I would need bread this week.  Made a couple of loaves.   Made a bread pudding too.  Then made 6 pie crusts to put into the freezer.  Hmm... did I tell ya I love the new mixer?  How on earth did I get along without it for so many years?  Geeze, now I'm spoiled.

Then I worked on the window quilts some more.  I got all the edges finished.  I decided there was no need for a regular quilt binding.  Functional is better than fancy.  These are not contest quilts.... they are quilts to keep my windows warm.  My house doesn't care if the quilt edges are zig-zagged closed.  The weather is getting closer to winter.  I need these finished and installed in the next week or two. 

I do have the next quilt on the machine.  Today I will get it stabilized and decide on a quilting design.  Giggle.... yes, sometimes it does seem like I'm still quilting full time instead of semi-retired.  This time of year the machine quilter lists grow more silent because the professional quilters are in full swing with the Christmas rush.  Many of those won't have time for doing what I've done over the weekend.  A couple of years ago I would have given away or thrown away the eggs, cheese, and onions because there simply wouldn't be enough time to deal with them this time of year.  I would never have had the time to bake my own bread unless it was with the bread machine.  The customer quilts would take first priority over life happenings.  Only another professional machine quilter can understand the need for finishing just one more quilt, to make just one more customer happy before Christmas.  AND..... how it feels to be working Christmas Eve so the last of the quilts can be picked up for giving as gifts the next day while your own family is having fun without you.  For me.... never again.  Yes, I am semi-retired.  I have time for life again.  I sincerely hope you have time for life too.

It was a holiday.... not supposed to work on holidays..... daughter took me to go to her house for the day so I wouldn't be tempted to work.  Lots of food.  Lots of  people.  Great fun.  They had a nice little kickball game going until the ball landed in the tree.  Someone climbed the tree to get it and the game resumed.  Glad I went instead of continuing to work.

I had to repeatedly tell myself that working on a holiday weekend is not right.  I semi-retired so I wouldn't be working myself to death anymore.  Although I was very tempted to stay on the quilting machine, I took some time to do other things like making new pot holders and place mats.  Quilt type fabric of course.  Started organizing my household manager binder and cooked some things for the freezer.

Yesterday I went back to work like everyone else.  Eee gads!  For some reason I kept getting long stretches of skipped stitches.  Like 4 or 5 inches of skipped stitches.  Most of the day was spent cleaning, oiling, and adjusting my gammill before Ladybug arrived.  I believe I have the problem worked out so today I'll work on getting the next quilt stabilized.  There was a lot of hidden lint built up around the bobbin shaft, where the bobbin race moves.  Once I cleaned this out the machine was fine. 

The next quilt

Whew!  It's stabilized.  I finished that part this morning.  It took lots of time fiddling with the top in order to keep it as square as possible.  There are 5 borders and on point settings in the center area.  No matter how perfect the top is sewn and pressed;  all those things can cause problems IF a machine quilter doesn't take extra care while getting it ready to quilt.  A slight over tug on the center at any place and all the borders become very friendly.  (wave alot)  It can also start to grow a tiny waist too.  (hourglass slipping)   

About every couple of hours I would need to take a break from the slow, careful SID work.  I decided to test out my new toys.  Both bought from the discount table.  This is actually my Xmas present from my daughter who decided she best give it to me before I bought one for myself.  She knew I was planning to get one on my next shopping trip.  Did I teach her right or what?  Love that she buys things from discount tables. 

I made and cooked these little meatballs to put into the freezer.  Now that Ladybug is going to be staying with me while Mommie goes to school, I wanted some quick fix things I can rely on if I don't want to cook.  A little sauce of some kind, a vegetable & biscuits (also in the freezer), and the meal is done in just a few minutes.

Well I couldn't stop with just those.  I also made these.  I call them KFC biscuits because the flavor is the same.  This batch is just not as fluffy as KFC biscuits.   I can improve the fluff when I get buttermilk.  I only had fat free in the fridge.  No powdered or canned milk either. 

Now that I have the quilt stabilized.... what will I quilt on it?  I haven't a clue right at this minute.  It's gonna require a little stand and stare time.  If I can get this one done, I've still got 3 more days (chances) to get back out to the fair.  I still want to look at the quilts more closely with no hurry to get back home.  Yes, yes, I know I can take a day off for fun if I want because I am semi-retired..... but I like to keep my word.  A promise is a promise.  

I dropped my fair entries off Saturday.  Lots and lots of people dropping their entries off too. 

I like going to the fair to see all the quilts.  For me, it's like attending a big quilt show plus a craft show plus a garden show plus lots of other shows all rolled into one.  Imagine a show like the Paducah quilt show plopped down inside a convention center with other shows going on around it.  That's what the fair is to me.  I do wish there were more people entering rugs.  I believe last year there were only about 8 or 9 rugs entered.  I'm planning to talk with the new textile department manager to see if next year it can be improved a bit.  I can make suggestions but it's really up to whims of the fair board to make the changes.  If something doesn't interest them, they aren't likely to work on improving it.

After dropping off my entries, my daughter asked if I would ride with her to Sam's Club.  I haven't been there since the day it opened many years ago.  I was not impressed with it back then and only slightly impressed this time.

It can be a useful place to shop IF you plan to buy large quantities of anything all at once.  After walking through the store I decided it's not too bad for finding bargains on certain items.   I bought a 25 pound bag of bread flour.  As usual, I found the discount table.  Not much there.  Nice to know where it's located though.

Today I get back to quilting but I have work to do in the kitchen too.  I have a bunch of apples I bought Friday that need preserving.  That means peeling and slicing which takes time. 

Getting closer to done

I'm still working on my last fair entry quilt.  Of course, it's getting quilted within an inch of it's life.  When it's finished it should be able to stand up and walk it's self to the fairgrounds.  (giggle)

I have the background quilting to finish then I can do the binding and hanging sleeve. 

I need to finish sewing the binding and sleeves on two others too.  I'll post more detailed photos as soon as I get them all finished.  I'm starting to feel a little guilty about the customer quilts waiting.  Then again, this is why I'm semi-retired.  So I can do work for myself without guilt.  The guilt is only for brief moments until I start concentrating on the quilt in front of me and the guilt.... and everything else..... goes away.  My life and happiness are important too. 

Semi-retired

The next quilt is finished.  I worked on it all day yesterday.

 I did a feather and curl type design on the outside border and a leaf design on the inside border.

It's hard to see the design so here it is on wax paper so you can see it better.  The stitching on the quilt looks better than my drawing does.  It's a feather that starts with a curl, gradually gets smaller until it starts with another curl on alternating sides.

The center area got meandering and the rest got line dancing.

I had to giggle when I read the comments about me being just as busy now as I was when I was quilting full time.  Yes, I am very busy these days but it's a different kind of busy.  I guess because of my age too I find it very hard to work a full time job and work a full time household schedule.  There was a time when I made choices to either work at the quilting machine or work around the house.  The quilting machine always won because I knew customers depended on me keeping the machine moving.  Preserving foods, sewing, organizing, and things like that take time.  I couldn't do both at the same time as multi-tasking home and work just didn't happen regularly enough for me. 

My decision to retire from full time quilting was a difficult one.  I really enjoy machine quilting for others and the money sure did come in handy.  I get great satisfaction knowing I could take someones top and make it into a really nice quilt for someone else to love.  The problem was the "for someone else" part of the job.  I wasn't doing much of anything for myself to enjoy in those days.  I occasionally got to piece and quilt one for charity or for a grandchild but nothing was happening for ME.  In semi-retirement I get to do things for myself, like preserving foods, creating art, and still get some customer quilts done too.   I earn just enough money to help with my budget. 

There are still many days when I read other machine quilter blogs and wonder to myself..... how does she/he manage to get soooo much accomplished.  Then I remember what it takes to keep a heavy schedule, especially as a single person.  I don't have anyone to help with chores, I do them all myself.  I'm slowly getting back into habits I long ago got away from in favor of keeping the quilts moving. 

Last night was very noisy with motorcycles racing up and down the street.  Lots of people were roaming around on our block between the two clubs.  Then there was the police helicopter flying around above my house too.  I don't know what was going on but it sure was lively and loud until 5 this morning.  I didn't get much sleep and I'm sort of dragging today. 

I have of my fair entry quilts on the machine today.  I need to get it finished because they have to be dropped off this coming weekend.  I still have binding to finish on all three. 

Look at this

I have the next quilt stabilized but I've not had a chance to work on it yet.  I've been busy turning these

into this.  It's hard to believe that 16+ pounds of tomatoes went into this little pint jar.  I guessed as how much to use when cooking with them. 

I also did 8 pounds of apples.

Then 5 pounds of potatoes.  Curled up dried potatoes take more space to store.

On to 4 gallon of cherries from my backyard tree which I had in the freezer. 

Up until I retired I didn't have time for things like this.  I was far too busy quilting to take the time to peel, slice, and preserve anything.  Life is so much better now that I'm not working 12 to 16 hours a day.  Can you see me smiling?

Today there is a lady coming over to learn how to make a t-shirt quilt.  We will probably be busy all day.  Tomorrow I have an appointment which is likely to take most of that day.  Looks like Friday will be the first chance I get to do more quilting.  Hmm..... I guess I best work a little faster on finishing my fair entries.  It's not that far away.  Then again, it doesn't matter if I finish or not.  I enter the fair because I like to.... not because I have to.  The fair is fun whether I have anything in it or not. 

Back at work

The medications I've been on have had me sleeping around the clock for the past 3 days.  I've gotten out of bed only long enough to drink something so I would stay hydrated.  The doctor did give me warning the medications would make me sleep and she was very right. 

I ventured out yesterday evening for a short walk around my yard.  I need to get my strength back before I do too much.  I did get a second harvest from my little square foot garden.  These were for dinner last night. 

I also discovered I had a few visitors in my kitchen.  I thought my stove was clean but apparently there is something on it attracting these.  They are so tiny it's really hard to see them. 

I put out something I hope they find more attractive than my stove. 

This is what the sky looked like just after my walk around the yard.  It looks worse than it was in my area.  We got lots more rain during the night and this morning than we got from this.  It passed through quickly leaving only a sprinkle.

I'm getting back onto the quilting machine for a little while today.  

Feeling better

I did go to the doctor.  I guess I bragged too soon about not getting sick once since I announced my retirement. I can't say that anymore.  What I thought was the weather causing me to feel bad turned out to be another bought with bronchitis.  I can't figure out how I got it this time.  I don't remember being around anyone sick lately.  Not even Ladybug.  I got a prescription for antibiotics to help clear it up and I should be my old self again in a couple of days. 

I feel yucky

It's not that I'm really sick-sick,  No fever or anything.  It's either the polution or the pollen, I'm not sure which, that is bothering me.  Sneezing, itchy eyes, scratchy throat, coughing, and generally just feeling really tired.  I tried to work on the quilt on the machine but mostly I wanted to go back to bed and sleep.  I did get the outside borders quilted.  I't going to take another day to rest.  We have rain today so it should clear up the air.  If I don't feel better tomorrow I'm going to the doctor.

The heat

Nothing very interesting to post about.  No finished quilts to show.  No art finished to show either.  The heat must be keeping everyone indoors like me.  No interesting photos to take.  No neighborhood happenings other than something happening to my computer that's very strange.  Yesterday and the day before, for no apparent reason, it would blip off right in the middle of whatever I was doing.  Just like when the lights suddenly go out.  Only everything else was still on so that wasn't the problem.  Then it would reboot all on it's own.

I ran all the different security software and several things were removed.  There is one remaining item that is an ugly pop up virus.  It's a CORN pop up.  Change the C to a P.  That's what the security software message said anyway. 

From what I read, if it's true, the only way to get that virus removed is by subscribing to a security software annual fee to keep current on these viruses.  McAfee.  Nope, nada, not going to pay anymore annual fees to keep writing blogs.  I already pay two fees for keeping photos and a monthly fee to have internet access.  I suspect it may be similar to the virus that went around the internet a few months back.  You know the one that said we had security problems?  Maybe it's time for my computer to go back to the 'puter doctor for a checkup.  I'll see how my budget is and plan for it next month.

Maybe I'll have something more interesting to post about tomorrow.

The holiday is over

I hope everyone had a great holiday!  It was neighborhood picnic day here.  You can just barely see it but the next block was closed off for kid things like a jumping station and a water slide.  Just past that block is the park where there was music, food, and other stuff.

It was too hot for me so I didn't walk down there.  My neighbors described everything for me.  Later there was fireworks..... lots and lots of fireworks!  They started about 9 and went on until about 12.  

I like the shape of the one in the background of this picture.  Looks sort of like a mariner's compus quilt with the triangular shapes.  You can see the shape better if you enlarge it.

It was after midnight before things started to quiet down.  No roofs were set on fire this year thank goodness.  I sure hope the kids have used all the cherry bombs!  I'm tired of hearing the loud booms like there is an explosion.  Ok, it was fun for the kids.  I'm really glad they had their fun.  If I were a kid again I would like the bombs too.  Just not so many right outside my window.  I'm hopefull there won't be any more bombs until next year.  My ears may stop ringing by that time.

 

Kentucky tumbleweed

For a few minutes yesterday I sat on the porch resting and watching the Kentucky tumbleweed blowing around.  You do know what Kentucky tumbleweed is right?  No?  Well here is a picture of one that was originally in my yard but the wind blew it toward the empty house next door.

 

I enjoyed the free time resting and thinking.  The weather wasn't too hot at that time of morning.  There were no deadlines to meet.  There was no stress over a quilting schedule.  My mother can't get past the answering machine to bother me.  My brother wasn't knocking on the door with a PTSD panic attack.  My daughter was at work and Ladybug was with not the mommie.

The resting time lasted for nearly half an hour.  For me, this was a very long time.  I'm the type person that must keep busy all the time.  It's hard for me to sit still.  What I was doing was trying to remember some of the things I did to save money..... about 30 or 40 years ago. 

That was in the days before earning a living with machine quilting.  That was a time when I counted and rolled pennies to buy groceries or bartered to get work done on my car.  Now that I have a financial goal, I want to do the things I did back then.  This time....  bartering or rolling pennies will be by choice not a requirement to survive.  My goal is to get repairs done to my house without taking out a loan. 

Can I do it?  I won't know unless I try. 

(You can follow along with my progress toward the goal by reading my hints blog.)

A relaxed day

After I finished the dishes yesterday I worked in my square foot garden.  I removed these pipes.

Then put in regular fencing posts.  The kind that holds wire fencing.  I used the hooks on the posts to run strings that will support the plants.  Before next year I will get some fencing.  Hmm... I just realized I've been telling people my garden is 12 square feet.  It's actually 24 square feet of space.  DUH!  I thought I could count better than that.  Apparently not.  Don't ya just love those duh moments?

After working on that I decided to do more house cleaning.  I didn't get back onto the quilting machine until late afternoon.  I almost finished stabilizing the current quilt. 

My cardboard breakfast bar is progressing along nicely and I'm getting the instructions posted.  I'm running short on double fluted cardboard so I have to plan carefully each step.  Kind of like running short on one fabric half way through a quilt and with careful planning the fabric goes farther.  Now that I'm creating with cardboard again, it's sometimes difficult to keep from starting lots of different pieces.  Must discipline myself to say NO to the creative inner mind when work must get done.  (grin)

After this current quilt is finished I have a day or two that I can use to finish up one of my own projects.  I'm not sure if I want to work on the door quilt that's already started or work on finishing the roses quilts.  I'll think about it. 

I see sunlight

The tree is loaded with cherries.  I picked about 10 gallons and the neighbors picked as many as they wanted.  The birds will get the rest.  I pitted and put 6 gallons in the freezer and 4 gallon in the dehydrator.  Hmm.... if grapes are called raisins and cranberries are caled craisins... what are dried cherries?  Cheraisins?

In order to pick cherries that were higher in the tree we used a ladder.  Before we could get the ladder near the tree I cleaned bushes from the fence.

I kind of got carried away cleaning out the fence.  There's still a lot of stuff to cut on the outside of the fence but it looks much better already.  The fence on the other side of the yard is still a mess. 

After the fence cleaning and the cherry picking I worked on the quilting machine.  I have the borders finished on this quilt.  Today I'll work on the blocks.

I have another quilt I need to start when this one is finished.  I told the customer I would do my best to finish it by the 10th.  It's ok if I don't.... but I'll try.

Good weekend

I hope everyone had a good weekend.  I certainly did.  It was quiet and restful.  I talked with my son in southern KY for awhile until a storm came up.  There was lots of intense lightening for about an hour but not a drop of rain.  I stay off the phone during storms just in case I need to run for cover. 

I really enjoyed the freedom of talking to my son without stressing over the quilting work that wasn't getting finished.  I've got a lot of years to make up for with my kids and grands.  I'm hoping it's only going to get better.  I was unable to reach anyone else.  They didn't answer the phone so I guess they were busy with the holiday in their own way.   I've started thinking about getting a car again.  It's become more important to have a car than it used to be when I gave mine away.

My mother is staying quiet for the moment.  (knock on wood)  The neighborhood was pretty quiet too.  I worked on an idea for an art quilt.  I really hope I can create it the way I see it in my mind.  There's a stray line or two on it.  Like her chin area.  Those will disappear once I start making it.

I haven't forgotten my other art quilts (roses & horses) waiting to be quilted.  It's just that when I get an idea for an art piece my mind won't let me think about other things until I've got it started.  If I can create this the way I see it in my mind.... it will look great.  I've got a lot of hopes and dreams tied up in doing art work. 

I did a little blog visiting late yesterday.  I hadn't intended to get onto the internet at all.  I lost a crown off a tooth about midday yesterday.  You know how getting on the internet seems to magically keep you occupied for hours and hours?  Well that's what it did for me.... kept me from thinking about the tooth.  Today I'll see if I can get an appointment to have it pulled.

Well its time for me to go work on a customer quilt.  The holiday weekend is over and, like the rest of the world, I've got to go back to work.