tehachap

I ran across a saying I had posted some time ago — “If you don’t have time to do it right the first time, when will you have time to take it apart and do it right the second time?” I’ve spent the last 2+ days ripping seams in the latest quilt. I even took the black borders off of the sides and will replace them with a wider strip of black before laying it all out and taping down the backing fabric so that it is straight. Then, I’ll layer the batting and quilt top as they should be layered, and pin it down from the center out — taking care not to scooch on the top, which is how I think the top got skewed in the first place.

I’ve got the top pressed and ready to layer, but have to cut the new borders for the backing. My dining room table is a sewing area once more–the kids won’t be coming up again until the 10th — soon after Robert is expected to be released from the hospital.

It’s funny. When we faced the surgery deadline before, we were both very anxious and worried. Once it was canceled, it was like the air being let out of a balloon that we were holding closed. We relaxed and somehow, the thought of the surgery didn’t frighten us at all anymore. Now all we want is for it to be over and done with — truly. So strange..

I had packed an overnight bag for myself and also a bag of sewing to do — hand stitching hexagon pieces together. I watched a woman sewing them while we waited in the Ophthalmologist’s office a couple of months ago and thought to myself what a neat project to take with you when you’re waiting. It’s a nice, mindful task to do that would alternate nicely with reading a good book. I do have a problem with not being able to just sit and do nothing. It has always seemed like a waste of what could be productive time–improving my mind (reading) or by creating something for others (sewing). Even watching t.v. in the evening, I crochet or embroider. (or as in the past two days, picking stitches out of a quilt!)

It feels good to be able to start all over again with the quilt. I think I’ll do a bit of different stitching on this one — haven’t quite laid it out as yet, but will soon enough.

Be safe, be well, and please be happy. If you’re creative and you’re unhappy with something you’ve created, you have a couple of choices — three, actually: 1) give it away so you don’t have to see it again, 2) take it apart and fix it, or if it’s a painting, paint over it and start again, and 3) learn from it — determine exactly what you did wrong and accept that it wasn’t your best and try to correct your next work. Perfection takes time and a lot of bad results until you achieve a mastery of craft that satisfies your inner critic.

Another comfort quilt for a friend, it’s made from a stack of 10″ squares called a “Layer Cake.”

I fell in love with the colors and designs when I saw it on the Missouri Quilt Company’s Daily Deal well over a year ago. I’ve held on to it, thinking I would save it for a special occasion, but meanwhile would indulge myself in my love of the colors every time I came across it in my stash. My personal coloring is called Winter, so the bright teals, purples and golds of the fabric really appeal to me. The pattern is called “Double Slice” and it can be found on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/jxC-0T5lXw4

Cold and wet out again today, and the snow has all but melted except for the tops of the mountains across the way.

We have a new visitor to the back yard today — a white dove! Makes me think someone had a wedding recently and released a few white doves. Nice to see among all of the pidgeons, doves, and “Hoodies” (Black Crown sparrows).

My apologies for the long distance photo from my office window — it’s far too cold and wet to go out onto the deck for a closer shot. Plus, if the birds see me, they fly away, so best to get whatever shot I can from inside the house!

Have a good day. Be safe, be well, and be happy. Be sure to tell those you love that you love them. Life can be incredibly short, so live it as well as you can for as long as you can.

The date is set for Robert’s surgery. He’ll go in on the 30th of this month and will have the surgery that day. They’ll keep him there in the hospital for 3-4 days and then send him home to heal, which according to the surgeon, will take 6-8 weeks. I hope he’s right, as we have a trip to Denver planned for the end of May.

My cousin, Chris Ewington, and her husband Terry, are coming over for a visit from their home in the U.K. during the last week of May. They’ll fly into Denver, CO, the closest airport to Aurora, CO, where our other cousin, Mae Jane, lives. Mae Jane’s companion and long-time friend, David Pennebank will be there to meet Robert and me. We’ll have a great time because we spent several weeks together back in 2004 when Mae Jane, David, Robert and I flew to the U.K. and stayed with Chris and Terry.

I’m still outline quilting the railroad quilt for the Depot gift shop. I want to get it done because I have another emergency quilt to work up for a friend who’s undergoing treatment for bladder cancer. That quilt will be pieced, so it will go quicker, but require more work because it’ll be larger than the one I’m currently working on.

Our weather remains cold and wet. It’s rained off and on since yesterday evening. Bitter cold — in the 40’s during the day and down to the 20’s to 30’s at night.

Be safe, be well, and please be happy. Enjoy your life — even the bad or worrisome parts, for you can’t enjoy the good without having some bad to compare it to.  Be sure to tell those you love that you love them.

This is one of the two larger quilts I’m making up for the Tehachapi Railroad Depot Museum’s gift shop. What a mouthful of words–I usually just call it “The Depot”, feeling that people who know me know what/where I mean when I say it. Anyway, I was out running errands yesterday afternoon and dropped off the latest pillow I’d made for the gift shop. Now that I’ve delivered it, I realize that I didn’t photograph it. Well, drat. I’ll have to take my chances that it won’t have been sold before I can get a photo of it.

My day started kind of early today with a visit by Mike, a”Hey! Culligan Man!” repairman. I called yesterday to request a repairman for our water softener. When the water softener was installed 10 years ago, the water lines were installed crooked. It worked fine up until a couple of months ago. Over time, the house has settled, things have shifted and now the unit leaks. The Culligan repairman suggested I get a plumber to straighten out the lines and use flexible hoses to connect the water softener so the stress is relieved. I think that just might work. He said our unit was actually so old that parts couldn’t be ordered for it, so it’s either try to make this unit work for a while longer, or bite the bullet and buy a new one. He gave me a price for a Culligan water softener and although I’m impressed with the quality of their service and products, the price was out of my comfort range for a water softener.

By coincidence, our plumber has been declared Tehachapi Small Business of the Year for 2016, so I know he’s going to be busier than ever, but I’ll give him a call and see if he has time to change out/fix our pipes. As Mike stated, getting the water line configuration corrected would be cheaper than a new water softener and it might do the trick.

It’s Tuesday and Robert is at the Depot, doing whatever needs doing. One of the latest projects the guys have been working on is a closed circuit camera installed on the back side  of the Depot with the lens aimed at the tracks. They’ll eventually install a monitor inside the Depot for visitors to view, but I have no idea where or when it will be installed. It would be nice if they could put this on the Depot web site as a live feed. I don’t know if this is part of their plans or not. We shall see…

Nothing but sewing on the agenda for today, so I’d better get to it. Be safe, be well, and please be happy.

This is just a project to clear out some of my fabrics. I have black fabric for the backing on the left pillow front, but not enough of the same black to do the second pillow. I’ll add cording around each pillow, which will set them off nicely.

No idea what I’ll do with them when they’re finished as I don’t need more pillows for the house. I might offer them to the Depot for sale in the gift shop, though they’re not train-oriented fabrics, they are very attractive.

I have a book to pick up at the library and a bit of shopping to do at the grocery and office supply stores. That’s all on the agenda for today, other than doing a bit of sewing for the Depot’s gift shop. They’re out of crayon rolls and I did want to do the larger ones for colored pencils.

The weather has cleared and we just had our first train of the day. It’s looking good on all fronts!

Be safe, be well, and please be happy. Take care of yourself and be sure to tell those you love that you love them.

When the fog rolls in, it comes in thick…

The photo of the temperature gauge looks like I’ve left a big space between the photos, but it’s just the fog you’re seeing beyond the railing. These two photos were taken about 9:00 a.m. The last photo was taken just a bit ago, at 2:15 p.m. The two trains that were in the top photo are still there, but you can’t see them. They’re doing track work down by the Loop — the curve gang has been working on all of the curved sections. They worked on the track below the house a couple of days ago. They move the crews in on buses and the equipment is stored in a siding just at the edge of the hill (where the track curves around to the left to go around the hillside across the valley from us). I can hear a train coming down, but don’t know where he’s going to go (unless they’ve managed to move one of the two trains that had been sitting idle down below).

We’ve had quite a bit of rain this past week and from what I’ve seen on the weather reports, we’re due for some snow. The temperature has dropped down to the low 30’s, according to the thermometer on the deck. The afternoon fog continues to block out any signs of traffic on the tracks or the highway. I’m glad I don’t have to get out in it.

I have eight quilts to be put together for the Depot gift shop, along with some crayon rolls. I’d also like to make a few holders for colored pencils. The Depot is selling a coloring book these days, and the colored pencils will sell really well with the coloring book.

We watched a bit of Netflicks tonight. By 11:00 p.m., I was super tired and Robert went on to bed while I stayed up to put an entry here. Now I’m just about toast so will close this very short entry with blessings and the hope that you take care. Be safe, be well and please be happy. Be sure to tell those you love that you love them.