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Covid19- Six weeks and counting

3/26/2020

Wow! It's a brave new world out there. Who would have thunk it? I flew to California at the end of January for lunch with high school classmates then a visit with my sons and friends. I returned home for a second knee replacement in mid February. If there was any discussion of "plague", it only involved China.

By the time I came home, it had spread throughout China, but still no concern on our part. Looking back, then was the time to halt flights from the infected areas to anywhere USA. Hindsight.

It has been almost six weeks since I have been "sheltered in place". Partly healing and then precautionary. Alaska had no one sick until people started to fly home from infected areas and brought it with them. Again flights should have been stopped with the first two, but no.

We do not have lots of people here, about 750 000 rounded, in a state with about 570 000 square miles. That's about 1.3 people per square mile. So we are socially distant! That still would not stop the virus from negligent people who didn't think the rules applied to them.

It would be almost criminal for someone from outside or who had been outside to go to any of the small villages where there is basically no medical provider and they must be flown to Anchorage for service. The disease could wipe out the entire village.

Businesses are now closed almost everywhere. Grocery stores, gas stations, pharmacies are open. Police won't get near you unless you do something really stupid. As an Alaskan, I was prepared. Because we live on a peninsula with one road out, you must always be prepared. All it takes is an earthquake, volcano, avalanche or fire to be cut off from all supplies for weeks or months. The run on basic supplies showed how many people did not heed basic survival for Alaskan residents. It is constantly stressed and reviewed. This little hiccup gave people time to repeatedly run to the stores and bulk up. It also was grossly apparent that these would be the first to die, go begging or worse in a real catastrophe. It is a sad commentary.

I hope everyone is safe and secure. May this not last till summer. I can tell you I would not make a good prisoner. Stay healthy.

What a Summer!

7/28/2019

Wow, we have set numerous heat records this summer. Hitting into the 90s due to a bubble that sat over the state for almost two weeks. Vegetables set quickly. Peonies bloomed out a month early. Fireweed will also be finished a month early.

Customers have come from almost every state in the union this year. I have met the greatest gals. BUT, surprisingly I have had many men shopping this year. Some purchased fabric for their quilting wives; others ordered quilts for wives and mothers, and so,e order fabric for themselves as they were the quilters in the family. Great fun to have such a variety of customers.

Classes are being planned for this fall. The first one up will be the One Block Wonder. That will be in September at Brenda Clyde's studio. I already have my fabric chosen. Should be fun. The following month will be the fall mystery. Be sure and sign up quickly. Brenda has space for overnight stays as do I. Both of us are happy to have you for these activities.

Final dates have not been decided as yet.

Don't forget to put your name in the dish for the drawing in September for the Baby Lock Essante that comes with three embroidery frames, a thread rack and myriad other parts.

Spring is Here!!

4/4/2019

         Wow, spring came earlier this year than last and it was early last year. There are buds on the maples and the cottonwoods have buds the size of squirrels' ears already. The seeds are in grow bins or under lights in preparation for the upcoming planting season.

         My home is being remodeled to "fix" all the previous "homeowner's versions of DIY." Miles of abandoned electrical wire were removed as well as abandoned boxes. Plumbing lines were re-arranged for the new kitchen layout and new appliances. Obviously I've been watching way too much Property Brothers. I'm sure glad Mike Holmes did not see what we're having to do.

         My husband never cared for the soft, spongy floor nor the fact that a ball wold roll across it. It seems the back part of the house is 1 1/2" higher than the front. All sub-flooring was removed, and we could see why areas were spongy. You will notice their idea of sub-flooring. Pieces of flooring thrown about with sawdust to fill in the empty spaces. Well, all that is gone. The entire main floor was stripped to the framing. The floor joists were shored up and leveled as was the ceiling so the cabinets would be level. The previous cabinets were staggered so you didn't notice how out of level everything was.

           My cabinets will arrive in 8-10 weeks. Then it's another six weeks for the granite tops.   Meanwhile, my wonderful husband (with the aide of the plumber and the electrician) set me up a temporary kitchen on the deck. The entire thing was enclosed in visquine and portable heaters set about. As it is a warm spring, high 40's, it is very comfortable. The water freezes occasionally at nights but is thawed within an hour of use.

       New fabric is arriving daily. I can cut some now after having my right hand reconstructed (remodeled :) as well. I am finishing up a gorgeous black and white quilt with splashes of green. I think I will add an inner border of lemon yellow to go with the centers on the snowdrops (flowers).
        We are all preparing for Brenda Clyde's Spring Mystery. Clues will start arriving April 7th. She will be posting videos for each one. This way we will have all our sets ready to go together the first Saturday in May. Love these classes. get to see all my quilting friends, eat lots of good food and become inspired by the varieties of colors and fabrics. Hope to see you there. If not, stop by the shop on your way to Homer.

Ouch!

1/30/2019

Well, no quilting going on here. Finally started replacing my arthritic joints. After surgery they had me bound tightly; so, I wouldn't move anything. I had joint replacement in two fingers plus a thumb reconstruct so I could hopefully get a grip. LOL You will notice there is no squaring at the base of my thumb because basically, it has rotted out of the socket. It doesn't look much different, but the idea is I can use it, hopefully without pain.

Right after suture removal, I was placed in a hard cast to immobilize the thumb, and allow the tendon that was harvested to settle into the spot where old bone was removed, and so the remaining part of the borrowed tendon could heal. My wrist felt as if someone had dug into it with a spoon, but it was not touched! Most of it is radiating pain from the tendon. Fingers rarely bothered.

It has been three weeks and I can type and play the piano, but cannot lift anything heavier than a piece of paper. This means snow machining is out of the question. I am unable to grip, and a six hundred pound machine is totally verboten. All this, of course, without the use of my thumb. Thank goodness we have slowed down so that I might be able to accomplish this.

I did manage to complete the TQC mystery before surgery. I am just now able to do a little sewing, but pinning was a little more difficult. I was able to do ironing using my left hand; so go that out of the way. Cutting with scissors or a roller blade isn't happening, but my penmanship has really improved with my left hand. I could always write on the chalk board with either hand, but it was larger script. Fine motor work like signing your name or filling out forms is a whole other proposition.

It's down hill from here. Three more weeks in a cast and then serious PT on the thumb. I need to develop strength so I can open lids or pick up a can without dropping it. I will be ready for spring thaw and the countless visitors that will be arriving. Hooray!

It's an Earthquake!!!

12/4/2018

Well, awoke Saturday morning to a little shaking that I attributed to my husband turning over, but then it continued and I realized it was a shaker. We sat there deciding if it would be a quickie or something more. As it intensified and continued, we jumped up and into shoes and a robe for the run outside should we need. We finally stopped in the fabric shop since it had a cement floor and no basement in which to fall.

Finally it stopped. We began the tour through the house to see what damage had occurred. Most everything that is tall, expensive or breakable is adhered to its location with museum putty, the greatest stuff. Nothing moves. I'm not saying it would survive a long 8.0 or greater, but anything in the sevens and only a minute's duration is OK.

A few canned double stacked canned goods fell and some items in the garage also, but nothing breakable. The biggest worry in the house is the large wine collection that goes from floor to ceiling. They are not
caged but in open storage units. Many do well, but champagne does not. The bottles are too round to withstand much.

We had a meeting about them afterwards though. Adjustments are going to be made to each unit that will elevate the bottles back a bit. They will just have to be able to leap over a one inch rise in order to fall to their demise. The last quake was about 6.8 and many of them came loose and were scattered about on the floor, although none broke. That one lasted eons!! Very nerve wracking. Every drawer in the house came out.

Although the house survived and my husbands shop and mine, the wood working shop wasn't happy. it slipped a little off it's feet causing the doors to wedge tightly closed. It was too bad as I hadn't finished my Christmas decorating. I guess the good Lord made up my mind that I was finished. There is always something exciting happening here. We are truly most fortunate. Merry Christmas %& Happy Hannukah.

September 26th, 2018

9/26/2018

Fall is finally here. We have color, color, color. And they say go east for fall color! This time of year is the best to take a drive from the peninsula to Anchorage just to see the colors. I have planted numerous oaks and maples to add to all of this. I have an oak (green) and two types of maple (the red and orange)in the front yard as well as many others in the back of the property. All young trees are caged to prevent them being eaten by the moose. Those wonderful animals can destroy and kill a tree.

Along with quilt making to build up my stock for next tourist season, I found time to put up assorted vegetables, pickles, jams and jellies. This is usually the end product of the summer growing season. Smoking and canning of fish was done earlier this summer. I now have a goodly stock to carry us through almost any situation.

Temperatures are still in the high 50's during the day but cool off considerably at night. Two quilt classes are approaching. September 29th is Contra Dance. This shows a different method for making a quilt "on point." October 6th is Table Art, a table runner using applique and embroidery techniques for the "quilting."

Can't wait for winter.

Summertime

7/22/2018

Many Alaskans can't wait for summer, but I don't. Summer brings forth 22 hour days that are accompanied by 22 hours of additional work. There's the yard. An acre of lawn with surrounding flower beds and a large vegetable garden; including all the plants that must be grown in a greenhouse. I like to add to the forest. If I remove any trees, I replant 2-3 in it's place. All trees that aren't spruce must be caged. That means fencing material is placed around the crown to keep moose from destroying them. Then there's a smaller cage at the base to keep out rabbits from girdling then killing the tree.

There is also the inevitable smoking and/or canning of fish, canning of vegetables, picking berries and the making of jams, jellies and syrups. This is in addition to running a business and keeping up household chores.

Because of the extended days, plants can grow to exhorbitant sizes. Tomatoes can grow to ten feet in height and carry pounds and pounds of tomatoes. The same for cucumbers. They can take over a greenhouse. These begonias and pansies are just a small example.

I finished 24 pints of "Red Hot" pickles which are a sweet, spicy, red pickle. Many people think they are beets because of the color, but believe me, they aren't. Well, I need to get started on my next batch of pickles. This time dill.

It's Spring and We're finally getting snow!

3/7/2018

We finally have enough snow to take out our snow machines. I don't know what it is besides the fact I've lost a lot of strength, but muscling that 600 pound machine through deep snow is a challenge. By the end of the day, my biceps are screaming.

New fabric is arriving daily. Assorted colors in batiks are here in time for Brenda Clyde's mystery class. Stop by the shop and see which ones will work for her upcoming class.

Tired of Being Led Down the Garden Path?

1/16/2018

I find the most beautiful quilts online that are free. I guess they are free for a reason. I am on my second quilt, this one from a blogger. She constantly stressed the 3 1/2" squares then said there would be half square triangles and quarter square triangles "using your favorite method."!!! This should have been a clue with a big red flag, but I have come to the conclusion that I'm one of the reasons for blonde jokes because I fell for this. Another flag was quantity instructions that went along the lines of pull out whatever you want from your stash. The waste of trial and error to make her instructions work has been frustrating at best. I have decided I will put together what I have and let it go. I have wasted several months forcing things to work with her instructions. It has not been fun. It was a gorgeous quilt, but...I have so much wasted fabric I could have made two good sized quilts.

On another occasion, I saw an absolutely gorgeous pattern. Gals who are pushing a specific line of fabric for a company must not want the pattern to ever be used again. If you don't use that specific fabric, then don't use their pattern, I guess. I happened to have fabric that was so similar as to almost be the same, but the instructions went like this: 1 1/2 yards of 23CV6Q; 2 yds of RD123Y. Had they said focal fabric 23CV6Q and supporting fabric 1 "RD123Y," you may have been able to use this pattern again.

This particular pattern had me cutting lots of triangles, then she switched to squares that would make half square triangles. I had made many quilts doing this; so, I cut out squares etc. for each block. At the end I had these 70-80 triangles that didn't go anywhere. That was because I chose the simpler method she had switched to later on in the instructions. Duh!

I believe in simplicity. I want to know exactly how much fabric I need. I want the instructions so basic that a child could follow them. In other words something along the line of cut 10 strips @ 2 1/2"; SC into (200) 2 1/2" squares. Place 50 in Bag A and 150 in Bag B.

Instructions such as cut out( 450) 3" squares leaves you guessing as to how much material and or strips you will need to cut. This is the perfect opportunity to cut too much and have lots of waste; and if the pattern is beautiful, think ahead. Someone might want to make it again down the line. Why make them suffer? Next time, I will put in a chart for making HST (half square triangles) and QST (quarter square triangles) and another for how many squares you can cut from each WOF fabric.

Fishing and Summer Racing to the End

7/28/2017

This has been a relatively cool summer what with all the rain this year. It hasn't seemed to slow the hordes of fishermen from catching their quota. Yet, on days when the sun is out and a light breeze is just barely moving the leaves, you can sit out on the deck and take in the wonder of all that's around you, It is breath taking.

The lucky women who have a few minutes to spare are able to stop at the shop and take advantage of the sales that change weekly. Progress Days offered a 20% discount on the total purchase. Every Thursday a different color is offered at a 20% discount. Alaskan themed quilts have been moving off the shelves as tourists claim something to take with them as a remembrance of their time here.

The shop will close at the end of August in order for me to help my husband move the remaining items up here from California. He has finally decided to slow down by opening a small machine shop here. We shall be closed till at least mid October. Keep an eye out for an ad announcing fall classes.