Summer in the times of COVID

August 3 2020,

So the last time I wrote was in April and I was working on masks. That's all done now.

I then started working on scrub hats for a friend's daughter who is a nurse. So I made her 24ish to share with her nursing friends.

Below is Bear Bear (she's approximately 23 years old) showing off the scrub hat.

On April 29th we had squirrels in the fireplace, again. We had a case of squirrels in late October where we caught 5 squirrels.

This time it was the same thing. We caught each of them one by one, these were baby squirrels, I am not sure if it was the same squirrel or they were 5 separate squirrels. Again they came in through the chimney.

Hubby thought there was no way they could get into it through the chimney caps, but when he was outside, he noticed that mama squirrel lifted the chimney cap up and jumped into the flue. So what might be happening was that when we caught the baby squirrel, mama squirrel might have taken the same squirrel back into the chimney flue.

Hubby ended up fixing the chimney cap properly. We bought chicken wire and repaired the caps. Hopefully there will be no more squirrels in the near future.

The last squirrel was interesting. So the squirrel fell into the fireplace and would not go into the trap. So we tried to coax it into the trap. We opened the gate to wide, and it ran out into the living room. OMG. It ran and I got a broom and hubby guided it out while I stood at the door holding the door open.

Below is the fireplace with the trap. We put a medium size box in there so that when the squirrel fell into the pit, it didn't have much space to move around. That humane trap is worth every penny. I am so glad we have it.

Below are the books that we checked out that we were able to get before lock down. I am so thankful that we had all these books to keep us company. The first set are my husband's books that he finished, and the second set are my books.

We bought Remington clippers on Amazon. We really wanted to buy Wahl clippers, but everything was so expensive. Hubby used the clippers on my hair, and then he did his. Success. The clippers cost us $33.00, and it paid for itself it just 2 clippings. Viola. I don't think we ever need to go anywhere to get our hair cut. Three weeks later I was at BJs, and Wahl clippers was available for sale at a reasonable price. Oh well.

What else?

I hung quilts outside.

Below are a collection of hand quilted small quilts. Some are pictured already and documented, but not all. I have to take the time to do that... it was fun to hang the quilts out.

I have also gotten hooked on puzzles, thanks to my quilting friend RoseMary. I got jealous when she started sharing all the puzzles she was doing. In a week and a half, I acquired 36 puzzles for approximately $100.00. They are largely older puzzles. I am getting ready for another lock down. I have also taken pictures of where I have stashed them. Just in case I forget that I have a few in the dishwasher that we don't use.

So what have I been doing lately?

Hockey is back on this week, so I am focusing my energy on hockey and also puzzles and audiobooks.

Below is the first puzzle that I bought, from Better Co. called "Spaceman Floating Astronaut Puzzle" 1000 pieces. Note that I have not done a puzzle in a long time, and of course I'm doing one that is just about as difficult as one can get. If you want a challenge, this one is surely one that will be a challenge.

Cheers,

Quilt & Bitch

Explorations :: In Masks :: An Update

April 14 2020,

Buenos Dias todos. Today is a good day, I can feel it. I'm sitting here listening to Andrea Bocelli Mixes on youtube. Did you know that Andrea Bocelli has a son, Matteo Bocelli that can sing? If only I was a few decades younger.

I have stopped trying to finish my quilt when Vermont Quilt Festival said that they were cancelling their show that was to happen in June. Since the cancellation, I have focused my energy on making masks.

Below is the first reiteration of the mask. This mask has three pleats. At the time, I did not have elastic so I made ties. For me, the pleats were difficult, even though most people were doing this pattern.

This is the second reiteration. This came from a youtube video that I stumbled upon on my first day of investigation. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2B7Twkh2SI It is a pattern from Sewing with Sara. This one I made it with a filter pocket and ties.

This is the third reiteration. This was also from the same pattern from Sewing with Sara, but without a filter pocket and with elastic bands. I was able to get 10 yards of elastic from a local quilt shop. It didn't go as well. Hubby said it hurt too much. 

Here is Paula the Koala, that's really her name, showing off the final result of the first finish of the masks. What that means is, after I made a bunch of these and gave them away, I perfected them further.

The first picture of Paula the Koala, is a fabric called, Mi Familia by Jesus Cruz by Andover Fabric created in 2013. I don't have a lot of that, it was an impulse by from way long ago. If anyone wants to buy me a present, there is some on ebay. Just Kidding.

Paula the Koala, below is wearing a fabric by Cranston Cotton Salamander Chamelion Gecko Lizard Iguana. I didn't fuzzy cut it properly, so you can't see the freakin' animals. This I bought in 2008.

Here is the pattern. The top one is the outside, and the bottom is the lining.

The first finished batch, I made the ties by hand, without a bias tape maker. I mentioned it to one of my girlfriend, and she went on a hunt looking for a bias tape maker locally. She was able to find one, and purchased and delivered it to the house. We had a hard time figuring out what size to use. Single fold, double fold... ugh, it hurt my head too much. She couldn't figure it out. The explanation on the websites didn't make sense, and finally I found one with an actual picture. So the final result was I needed the Bias Tape Maker 25mm, which makes a 1" single fold or a 1/2" double fold strip. Note that I am not cutting it on the bias, I am cutting it on the width of the fabric. So it's 2" x 40" or 42" (depending on the width of the fabric).

I also figured out that if I notch the inside of the strip, when I fold it in at the ends, I have less bulk and it makes it easier to sew through.

Below is the strip that is attached to face mask.

A week ago, I read a blog post by Kathleen Loomis, Art With A Needle, and adapted a few of her ideas onto "my version".

She writes that she puts interfacing into the mask. After researching more about interfacing, I learned that it is a good extra layer, and still making it breathable. The key was to make sure that it was non-woven. As I was researching, I stumbled upon a youtube channel called "The Fabric Patch". It talks about interfacing and the different type of masks to make. It was very informative.

From Kathleen Loomis' rendition, she says to turn the top ties 45 degrees, and the bottom ties 90 degrees. I asked hubby to try it, and he said it was much better.

I zig zagged this portion. I gave a finished one to my friend who was also making masks and told her to make this version and she did. She said she was not going to turn the ties. A few days later, her husband said the ones that were angled were better. Now she is doing it this way. She was also doing the pleat version and since then, have changed to making this version.

I think I have the final version of a mask that I am very happy with and that I will be mass producing, I meant making. I can only make 10 a day, so it's mass producing. There's only one me, and many stuffed animals who want to model.

Below Paula the Koala is modeling off more masks. 

This one is all black, at a request of a friend, who's husband needed it for his uniform. I think Paula the Koala liked it, because she felt like she was a Ninja. 

Here's Paula the Koala peeking.

Besides sewing masks, I have been cooking. I go out once a week, usually when it is raining, either on Sunday or Monday to the grocery. My thinking is, if it is raining, less people will be inclined to go out. I did go yesterday morning, just before the monsoon. I have been cooking a lot. I cook three big meals over the week, and then eat leftovers when I really don't feel like cooking.

Below is Beef and Broccoli from The Woks of Life. I think I use skirt steak for the recipe below, but I have used flank steak before. Their recipes are to die for. I have tried a bunch of their recipes, and it has never failed. Some are recipes that I grew up with, so it hits home and is a home run.

This, my friends, is another to die for. So my friend and I went to Bon Chon in Salem, MA for lunch a few months ago, before the whole lock down. On the menu was fried chicken. Bon Chon is well known for their fried chicken. For years I have heard about it, but never had the opportunity to try it.

OMG, to die for. I dream about it.

On television the other day, they were saying that there was a surplus of chicken wings because there is no basketball, I'm assuming it is March Madness .

Back to chicken wings. So I put chicken wings on my list of things to purchase. Got to BJs, and bought BJs size chicken wings. It was messy, with the frying, but worth everything. I also bought BJs size canola oil, to make sure I don't run out of oil. Below is the result, it won't disappoint. The recipe is from Foodiepinoy.com, and I didn't change a thing, except I didn't strain the garlic and ginger from the sauce. For the next 3 days for lunch, we will be having chicken wings. Hubby doesn't like messy food, but he ate this one!

Our dishwasher is also running on overdrive. Usually we run it once a week, but now it's once every five days. Again, plenty of dish washing tablets.

Okie, so below is a preview of the quilt that I am trying to finish. The new deadline is end of July, plenty of time, plenty of time. It is going to be a king size, and I can make it as big as I want, because there is no restrictions now since Vermont Quilt Festival is kapot temporarily.

My pajamas and sweat pants are overused, and the jeans and "go-out-clothes" are currently going on time-out, I meant hiatus. When I do curb side pickup, I'm in my hello kitty or seven up Old Navy pajama pants.

I still have a days where I absolutely do nothing. Tears still flow. Fear has taken over. One day last week I said to myself, "Will we see the other side? Will we ever come out of this? What if we don't?" I can't even talk to people without crying. It is so hard. Keeping busy is hard, there is only so much busy one can do. So doing nothing is a good thing.

So thank you for reading, be safe, be well.

Quilt & Bitch

'Nuf Said :: I have been...

March 26 2020,

Dear Friends,

This is a scary time for all of us. I'm just going to lay it out there. I have had numerous anxiety attacks. From shortage of food, chaos, to the end of the world. What keeps on replaying in my mind is the television series called "Falling Skies" with Noah Wyle. I am starting to have dreams and nightmares of chaos.

I am thankful for hubby always being there. I'm able to talk to him where he would calm me down from my vivid imagination.

What I'm most scared about is the chaos that I replay, where there is no law and order. People starting to break into people's houses. I am not scared of death or dying, but I am scared of the journey.

I have been quilting. I have a wedding quilt that needs to be done by June that is a king size. My goal this week is to finish the top, which will be approximately 110 x 98. Then it will take me a month to quilt it.

I have been listening to audiobooks from our library digital collection.I am so thankful with for technology. Our library also has a subscription to CreativeBug.com. I can continue learning new art technique. Check out what your library's digital collection is, and get familiar with it. My library still has librarian that you can email. So you can reach them by email and they may be able to help you navigate the world of digital / electronic collection.

I have been getting in touch with friends. Some friends, I check-in once a week, and that's all we need. Some friends I check in once a day, some friends, I check in multiple times a day. Even if there is nothing to talk about, when there is silence, it it still ok. You know when you need to check on a friend who may need you more than once a week. I am grateful to be able to have hubby. Some of my friends don't, and they are alone. So this is the time to reach out to them. Sometimes you need them, sometimes they need you.

I have been working. Since hubby and I are in tech, we are relatively busy. We are able to help people who need technical help remotely. This has kept us relatively busy as people migrate to the cloud or setting up webcam etc.

I have been crying. This goes back to the anxiety. I just let the tears come. I have tried meditation, but it is too hard for me. My quilting and sewing is my form of meditation.

Now is the time to find friends that you can trust and reach out to them. You will be able to gauge how much they need you and how much you need them. If they are starting to become a burden, don't be afraid to tell them. If they are your friends, they won't take it personally.

I have been shopping. I have been taking stock (at reasonable amounts) of what we need. There are only two of us. We have been running the dishwasher twice a week, instead of the normal once a week. I started to panic about running out of dish washing tabs. So when I went out yesterday, I bought dish washing tabs, floor cleaners, bathroom cleaners, and toilet bowl cleaners. After I bought them, I felt much better and it calmed me down. I am planning my meals more carefully so that one of us only has to go once a week to purchase food and any other necessity. So I make sure I have enough things to make that we can eat for a week. We have frozen food and meats, but we are trying not to touch that unless we need to. Hubby has been dipping into the Trader Joe's Mac' n Cheese, so I replenish it when we go out.

I have been taking every day one day at a time. I have been fluid. I am usually very stringent and need to stick to a plan. At this time, one has to try to be fluid. Things are changing by the hour. The day the library was closing, I was lucky to have gotten a call from the librarian saying that I have books that I need to pick up. He told me ahead of the crowd that all the town library were closing. I was then able to pick up my book and get more books for hubby. That day I came home with 7 books for hubby. The next week, the library announced that they were doing curb side pick up. I ordered 5 more books (the limit) for curb side pickup. I am thankful to be able to not procrastinate and have books for hubby. This will last him a while. He reads every night before bedtime. I choose the books, and he reads it. Then he gives me four ratings. 1. More 2. Yes 3. Ok 4. No. I have a spreadsheet that I maintain that lists the books with his ratings. In 2012 I wrote a blog post about My Love Affair With Books, if you are interested.

I have been breathing. Breathing is good. Taking deep breaths. One foot in front of the other.

I have been on social media-ing. I distract myself by reading the post on groups that I have joined and folks I follow. I have been looking at Instagram to get inspiration. Oh, I am on Instagram under the handle @quiltandbitch.

I have been playing Farmville. I secretly play Farmville. I have a group of online friends whom are on it. They are from all over the country and all over the world. One woman actually works at the Atlanta CDC. When I have a huge panic attack, I'm Facebook Messenger her and she will give me the scientific answer in laymen term. Farmville takes my mind away.

I am thankful that I have all these venues I can go "visit" during the day.

What my friends are doing. After touching base with my friends, they have been cleaning, organizing, cooking, quilting, and mainly going through their UFO's (unfinished objects) and getting things done.

I hope you all are well, healthy and sane. Please use good judgment when going out.

Quilt & Bitch

September Update Continued (Knee) :: Part 3

October 3 2019,

** Note: This is the third of a three part blog **
Read August Update (Part 1)
Read August Update (Part 2)
Read August Update (Part 3)

So went to the orthopedic doctor about two weeks ago. It's still healing. Go to PT (Physical Therapy).

Okie dokie. I'm such a bad patient. I don't wear my knee immobilizer, nor use crutches or a cane. I haven't scheduled my PT. Because I'm mobile and I'm walking around and doing things, that I don't need PT. I'll re-evaluate in a week or so. Most of my friends say to do PT, it helps. Ugh, we'll see.

In other news, I'm almost done with a small hand quilting project.

Quilt & Bitch

Happily Ever After...???

September 29 2019,

So, I'm running about three months behind on my blog posts. Sorry about that, but I have been keeping busy here and there.

During the guild Quilt Show in May, people came up to asks me what I would do after my Presidency with so much free time? I reminded them that the term did not end till August 31st. At that time, I estimated that I had approximately 20 hours of more work over the summer.

So what have I been doing with all my free time before I fractured my knee?

I have been gardening. Nope, not gardening for myself, but for other people. I answered an "ad" that was posted in a neighborhood site that I was part off, and the person was looking for someone to prune. I had left my phone number on the site and three other ladies contacted me. So the original person who posted, I ended up not doing any work because what he wanted I knew he would not be happy with what I would end up doing.

So since June, I would garden 4-5 times a week, mostly 2 hours a day between 6:00 AM and 8:00 AM, and sometimes I would do double shift. It consisted of digging holes, planting plants and small trees, moving dirt, mulching, trimming shrubs, pulling weeds, picking up plants from the store, fertilizing.

At one point, one of the ladies, her down spout was not far enough from the house. So hubby and I extended her downspout and pushed it away from her house.

This part of the house, the lady of the house wanted to clean it up a bit. So this large area, irises were pulled out, low maintenance plants, such as Astilebe and Hostas were planted.

At one point, while she was waiting for another crew to come by and clear out a bigger area than I could handle, she had me clean her kayaks. Basically I will do whatever she needed me to do. No need to go to the gym, the planting, digging, hauling of things is my workout.

The most wonderful thing was to be greeted by beautiful flowers in the morning. From Hibiscus, Lilies, Irises, Lotus, Hydrangeas.

So that's what I did all summer. I help ladies with their garden work. I love it, they love me.

Quilt & Bitch