Monthly Archives: August 2012

Up the Mountain and Down

Up the Mountain and Down
Up the Mountain and Down
Today, my husband and I attended a family reunion  at Old Fields Baptist Church in the Idlewild Community of Ashe County, NC.

As you turn from Hwy 221 onto the Idlewild Road, the field on your right is filled with ironweed, Queen Anne’s lace and goldenrod.

M and M Farms on the left has these Black-eyed Susies growing on their split rail fence.

On the way home, we dropped by to visit the lot we own in Deep Gap, NC.

 The trees have grown up quite a bit since we bought it, so this is a portion of our view:

 I found the lot 5 years before I retired and worked and paid and looked forward to the day we could build on it. I hoped that would be about 5 years after I retired. I’m 6 years out now and family obligations have put the house on the mountainside on hold.

 In the meantime, we had a shared driveway put in with our neighbor who owned the lot just above us. He sold his lot to the nicest couple you could ever meet who also wanted to build their dream home for retirement. And They Did! The house is huge and glorious. We paved our shared drive and they put in stone columns, lamps and gorgeous landscaping. Now, maybe it’s just the green-eyed devil at work, but I really am happy for them. I think my problem is that anything we could afford to build will look like servant quarters next to that house. Actually, it would sit to the right and slightly underneath that house, which is even worse. Now, instead of coming home from the lot all full of joy and hope, I come home depressed.

I give myself a ‘Be grateful for what you have” lecture, but I still have a knot in my stomach.

Adventures in Free-Motion Quilting

Adventures in Free-Motion Quilting
Adventures in Free-Motion Quilting
Yesterday was my birthday. All I asked for was time to play in my craft stuff. I decided to try my hand at free-motion quilting.

 I had tried once before and was extremely disappointed. Since then, I’ve read about it and watched videos and bought gadgets.

I bought a darning foot, a “Supreme Slider” and “The Fabulous Fabric Glide.” I used the first two. That’s not to say I won’t use the glider. I just didn’t yesterday. It was almost too much to keep up with. I also have a pair of rubber tipped gloves somewhere, but I just used my hands.

All the instructions say make yourself some fabric/batting sandwiches to practice on. I found these, instead:

See the price: 50 cents!!!!! There are 4 of these pre-stitched quilt squares in each pack!!!! I found them when my friend, Laura, and I visited a fabric and crafts outlet in Fancy Gap, VA. We both bought several packs, but I wished we’d bought all they had.

I tried to write. That was funny. It was also obvious that I had the bobbin tension off because little loops of the bobbin thread came up. When I took the bobbin case out to adjust it, I thought I went “lefty-loosey,” but I must of had it upside down. I got this on the back: 

I kinda like it. It reminds me of blanket stitch embroidery, but that’s not what I was going for. I adjusted the bobbin tension, again, and did a little better:
I understand why some quilters listen to music. You’ve got to get just the right rhythm between the speed of your machine and the movement of your hands and the fabric. It reminds me of calligraphy in a way, so I’ll try to write again…
and practice a whole lot more!