Short commentary, then pics, a short video, ending with Thank You.
The pinboards were made for displaying my work in craft shows back in the day. Now they receive scraps as I go. I share them because they change day to day and reveal something about themes and moods.
The Turtle Quilt is past decision-time. I’m getting tired of all the ways I might vary the bottom fifth section and since none of them satisfy, I may just eliminate.
Ancient polar bear scrap made of cashmere sweater. Skirt edge topped by patchwork that was formerly bottom edge of Turtle Quilt.
Lastly, I am so glad you all are here. California, Georgia, New Jersey, Holland, New York, Washington, Maine, TExAS!, New Mexico, Massachusetts, Alabama, and more! thank you. You really matter to me.
Stopped the oxy five days ago. Got my bowels back. Graduated from walker to single crutch. Took a shower by myself today. Cooked a couple meals (with Ken’s help). All good news.
Still, I get tired (and sometimes a little discouraged) and sleeping is difficult due to how painful it is to change positions in bed.
A spring-like breeze is sweeping the neighborhood this afternoon. Whistling.
Things I wished they’d told me:
You don’t need a toiler extender if you’re five feet or under (picture me hopping UP to the seat, then legs dangling!)
The post-surgical bruising will be extensive, ghastly-looking, and normal. I did not know this. The blood’s working its way down my leg: inner thigh to knee and calf, and this morning, a purplish foot!
Viewing from the couch:
Perfect recovery TV show: Bad Monkey on Apple. Based on a Carl Hiaasen novel, so you get some of his classic trademarks: South Florida and the Keys landscape, high jinx, and humor. There’s a bromance, a romance, a sociopath, a suspended detective, a Voodoo Queen, and lots of twists and turns.
Favorite movie seen recently: The Secret Life of Bees. How did I miss this one? A traumatized Southern white girl ends up at the household of three Black sisters, one an accomplished cellist, another a locally-famous beekeeper (played by Queen Latifah). The girl, played by Dakota Fanning, runs from her abusive father and searches for information about her long-dead mother. The image of a Black Madonna is the clue that leads her to the beekeeper’s house.
Although I had a little problem with all these Black women focussed on saving the poor, scrawny white girl, a lot of tropes were avoided and a good story told.
Thanks Tina, for recommending Winner — a bio pic about Reality Winner. I learned more about her story than I’d known from reading the news.
Last night, we watched a movie based on much older national events (the end of the Cold War and the war in Afghanistan): Charlie Wilson’s War. Learned a lot. Tom Hanks plays Charlie Wilson, Julia Robert’s a Texan socialite, and (my favorite character) Philip Seymour Hoffman plays a schlubby, super-smart CIA agent.
We finished re-watching the HBO series John Adams and it is timely to say the least and not in a good way. It made me grieve even more the epic destruction of our country. When you see what people sacrificed to gain our independence and to craft our foundational documents, you have to wonder, what are we being asked to do now and will we succeed? They didn’t know how things would turn out and neither do we.
I’m ending with a studio tour slideshow/video that I posted on Instagram because I want it for later. Meant to celebrate son #2. All photos are posted around the basement/studio space. 57 seconds
I’m not talking about the rise of tyranny around the globe, the shameless demagoguery of racist GOP Senators, or the horror show of Ukraine. I’m talking about unfinished quilts, books I have purchased but not yet read, and inherited and collected stuff that needs sorted.
Also yesterday I made the mistake of reading a few sections of a journal from 1995. Whew! Fortunately this is not a forum to discuss such matters but let me just say I see the value of re-instituting a practice of self-forgiveness.
These are mostly first world problems and they exist in a terrain of gratitude, but they also are harsh enough to create a choking sensation.
So today I picked one particularly bothersome unfinished quilt and resumed work on it. Because I can. Because it’s do-able. It’s a loosely-patterned log cabin in blues and greens, sized for a couch. It’s intended for D. Part of why it’s been languishing is that in several places I pleated the back by accident. Ugh. Initially, I started unpicking but got discouraged and gave it up.
I’ve decided to keep going and sew right over the pleats and then create a new back instead. It’s not a great fix, but the result will be functional and pretty enough.
This involved clearing off the work surface, threading the machine and bobbin with new thread, and finding my grippy-gloves.
