One Thing Leads to Another

Well, the plot thickens! Looking around my tiny apartment for a place to set up my sewing project. I do have Mama's little folding table, BUT I have my jurassic pc on it. Oops! Um,let's see. How about my little drop-leaf kitchen table? That's possible, I guess, once I get rid of the plant, parafin bath, meds tote and last several days mail.

I hope you can hear me. I'm snickering now, remembering how I referred to Mama as a 'pack rat'. Ah, the apple never falls far from the tree, does it? Now, if I move the parafin bath to the bathroom, which really is probably a safer place for it anyway, I will have to rearrange the shelf where the towels are. Wouldn't want to put it anywhere but the low shelf. Don't fancy spilling hot wax down my front while reaching up high to dip my poor hands!

So, if I move the towels up one shelf, where can I put the stuff that's already up there? Lotions, perfume, hair stuff, bath powder. I guess I can condense it on one side of the shelf. If I keep moving things up, I'll have to stand on a box to get them down! Ouch! If I crowd that stuff too much, I seem to be prone to knocking one thing off on my head while reaching for another. No! Don't fall in there!! Yuck.

OK, so I put the prone to falling on my head (and elsewhere) items in a little basket. That way I can slide it out, get what I want out of it, and slide it back. Now, where do I put the washcloths and hand towels that were in it? If only my bathroom were bigger! I know! I'll move the toilet tissue from the shelf to under the sink. Wait, remember what happened last summer when the grands were running in and out filling water balloons? Had to throw away a whole package of tissue that somehow got wet under there. That's why I moved it up to the shelf.

There's only one rational plan. I'll hit the Goodwill and Salvation Army stores tomorrow and find a computer stand. Then I can use Mama's little sewing table for sewing! What a grand idea! Why didn't I think of that sooner? Now, about that mail...

I Have a Plan (Sort of)

I am making a sort of plan on how to reach the goal of making a 'Mama memory' quilt. I will be without regular RA meds for about 2 more weeks, BUT I am on good ol' prednisone. So I am not feeling too bad. I have been checking out some quilt designs and instructions, and checking out the materials from Mama's wardrobe that I want to use. And I'm getting some ideas.

But I need to check out the machine and see if it still works! Mama had macular degeneration the last several years of her life, and had not been able to see well enough to sew. It has not been used for a good while. And I need to do some practicing with it, to be sure I can actually use it. I haven't done any 'real' sewing since Mama was still using her Singer cabinet model, and that has been a very long time. So I think I will join in with the gals making the denim picnic quilt. My grands love picnics better than almost anything, and it will get a lot of use. If I get it done. If the machine works.

I have been thinking about the materials I am planning on using, and they are of varying textures and weights. Could this be a problem? Some are very sturdy and some are delicate. Some are older and some are newer. I think it is going to take special care to make it all come together. Any comments or suggestions would be greatly appreciated! It occurred to me that if my hands are up to it, I might use some of the more delicate fabrics to make flower petals and applique them onto squares of sturdier fabric. Sewing the squares together should be easy, right?

If anybody has any thoughts, I'm listening!

I Have a Dream! Can I Make it Come True?

A few years ago when I was diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis (a form of RA) I had already given up so many things I couldn't do any more because of my painful, swollen hands. The one I missed most was embroidery. I used to sit in the evenings, stitching away through the news, I carried projects with me to waiting rooms, and even to work for break times and lunch. The last project I did was Christmas ornaments. For a while I kept on trying, then switched to plastic canvas. Finally I just quit trying.

The only thing I can still do is type. And I get a great joy from expressing my feelings and thoughts in this way. Right now, I have been taken off all my major meds for a time, and am beginning to see a difference already in my typing ability! Much slower, more clumsy, more mistakes. BUT it's just for a while! And I have decided not to give in. I am coming back with a vengeance. As soon as I am back on my meds, I am going to start a project. Not embroider, I just can't push and pull the needle BUT I am going to learn how to quilt! I can machine stitch the pieces, can't I? And can't I knot it instead of quilting? I remember having lots of them with yarn knots when we were kids - Mama called them 'comforters'.

So, anybody with quilting experience (hint: yes, you) who is willing to give me beginners advice, I will be more than happy to hear and learn. I lost my sweet Mama about a year ago, and I would like to make a Mama quilt with some of her favorite clothes that all her kids and grands and greatgrands will remember seeing her wear. I must confess I don't (didn't) even own a sewing machine, but I now have Mama's little portable one. So bring on the advice for truly novice, beginning, baby-step quilters. I won't get my meds back for a few weeks, so I have time to pick the garments I want to use, and I can get my grands to help me cut pieces.

It will have to be somethng simple, but I kind of wanted somethng a little more than just squares of fabric. Are my goals too high? I'm starting to waver, here. Maybe I should just gather up my material and take it to an accomplished quilter? What do you think? Input! Input!

A Pretty Good Weekend

Well, nothing this weekend went the way I anticipated, which in some ways was good. Had all three grandchildren, and had planned several crafty ideas, with a little help from my friends! But the weather was beautiful, and we spend most of our time outside. They rode bikes and we loaded up and went to the neighborhood park Friday afternoon and Saturday morning. Saturday afternoon my daughter took all three on what was supposed to be a skating expedition, but they decided they didn't want to skate, so they went to McDonald's and then she took them to a bigger park with more play equipment, and trails to walk.

I had to be up early every morning and take the little lamb that stayed all night with me to my daughter's house so she could go to work. This got her good and awake, and she didn't want to lie back down and go to sleep and soon had everybody else up too early, which annoyed me until I figured out that the earlier they were up the earlier they would run down and be ready to go to bed.

Today before Sunday School we had doughnuts at the church coffee bar. After church we went out for dinner and had chinese. I like to take them there because everyone can find something they like and at least one vegetable they will eat. I thought I was going to have to empty my pockets to convince 'the beggar' that I didn't have any extra money to get her a light-up necklace they had for sale by the cash register.

All the way from church to the restaurant, 'the beggar' and 'the lawyer' pelted me with questions about where we were going to eat. I said, 'You'll see when we get there.' And I told them, 'I'm tired of you all arguing and disagreeing about what you want to do and where you want to go. From now on, I will take you where I think is best, and today we are going to eat somewhere that I like.' The 'lawyer' asked, 'Is it going to be this way from now on?' and I said YES. Strangely enough, they settled right down and didn't give me any more guff! How about that? And when we pulled into the parking lot, they all tumbled out of the car very cheerful and not one complaint. Do you think I am on to something?

After dinner we went home and then they decided they wanted to go back to the park, so we took a neighbor child along and back to the park we went. They played happily beside the creek, picking up tiny little shells of impossibly tiny snails and other little creatures, when they weren't swinging or climbing or chasing each other. I finally drug them home, dirty but happy, and took 'the beggar' back down to her mother's house. All in all, it was a pretty good weekend.

Power to the grammies!

I did it! I am empowered! Technology will not conquer me...I am Grammy-hear me roar!

You'll have to forgive me. I have spent nearly eight hours figuring out how to do something on my computer, and I did it. By myself. I didn't call anybody or email anybody, and I only cried two or three times. And I did it! Bring it on, cyber world. I am ready for you. Granddaughter is coming down this evening to set up her own blog, and I am so ready for her. Because there is nothing we can't figure out together. Yeehaw!

See, there a lot of really neat blogs I have stumbled on and want to follow, and couldn't figure out why some of them appeared right on my blog, and some of them showed up in my Google Reader. And I really wanted all of them on my blog. And I finally got it the way I want it. And I am so proud of myself!

Sorry for all the backslapping. Those of you who were born and bred on technology may not relate, but I bet there are a few who can. I grew up with wood stoves and a pump house and even, early on, an outhouse. (I remember my dad telling somebody we had four rooms and a path. Get it?) And I have had a deep-rooted suspicion of technology. My oldest son has tried to give me this computer for two years, ever since he got himself a new laptop. And now I am having a ball, finding things and learning things and doing things myself that I didn't think I could. And I think this is a good thing.

So now I feel a lot more able to help granddaughter set up a place where she can express herself. And it makes me feel good.

A New Approach?

Wow. I really hit the jackpot on the craft idea thing. Thanks to Crafty Crow, Fun in the Making, Mama King and others I have more ideas than I can mentally process. Fantastic!

I've changed my approach, though. Instead of making kits for the girls, I'm going to stock up on materials and be ready whenever they are at my house to bring out something for them to do. That way I won't miss out on the fun!

I've been trying to avoid the 'news'. We all know I tend to get a little rabid and foam at the mouth. But Quilting Ranny has an idea that really resonates with me. Basically, that we should be pulling together and helping each other out of this mess. Don't wait for the government or the banks or a lucky lottery ticket. Dig each other out, together. Check it out on her blog.

My idea was to give every adult citizen of this country $20,000 (a friend of mine said that was too low) and tell them to buy an American made car. That would take care of the auto industry. Then each family about to go into foreclosure would have their overdue payments made, and their mortgages paid three months in advance. This would make time for the MANDATORY re-financing of their houses at payments they could afford. A good idea, I thought, but it has one glaring flaw which Quilting Ranny helped me realize - it STILL DEPENDED ON THE GOVERNMENT TO BAIL US OUT. She's right. Forget them. They have demonstrated repeatedly that once you arrive in Washington, your brain slowly melts away, leaving a gap between the ears which is promptly filled with greed.

Wouldn't it be great to see each community banding together to help each other (and themselves) out of this mess?

Of course, I also think that each community should still have a community school, like we did when I was growing up. These consolidated institutions our grandchildren go to are just not teaching the kids like the 'old days' and I think it is too bad. Look at the statististics. The bigger the schools have grown, the lower the academic standards have fallen. I rest my case.

I Need to Take a Class!

Oh, I do so wish I knew what I am doing! I really need to take a class, you know, computers-for-dummies; cyberspace made easy; how to find things online. I have spent my free time the last few days trying to find craft ideas for my pre-teen granddaughters. I have seen some really neat stuff for my 5 year old grandson, which I am sure he will love. But my ten-going-on-eleven girlies are harder to suit. They are very artistic and love beads and various crafty ideas. The thing is, I used to have fantastic kits sent to them from Annie's Attic, in Texas. And I had to stop, for financial reasons. And they miss them.
So I thought it would be great if I could get some ideas online, round up the materials myself, and make kits for them. This is proving much harder than I expected. Probably because I don't know where to look. Which brings me back to my almost boundless ignorance of my old second-hand computer and how it works, and how to navigate the vast expanse of cyberspace.
I have found really neat stuff at and through the Crafty Crow for younger ones, like Bub. And I have stumbled on the Oriental Trading Post where you can order stuff, for a dozen kids. But I only have two girls to buy for! Well, enough whining for now. Back to the drawing board! Suck it up, Grammy - and take a class!