The Never-ending Socks: Done!

These socks for Fern are finally done!

Tubular cuff bind-off.

What I Did Over Christmas Break

If you scroll down, you can see the picture of this when I was laying it out on the conference room table. I spent a lot of time over break sewing the blocks together. I don't have any space large enough in my house to get a good look at it, my bed is the closest. The next step is to put on the borders. I'm hoping to borrow a friend's long arm machine to quilt this monster. With borders on, it'll be 116" x 90"!

Quilt Math

I got my sewing machine back from the shop yesterday. I had it in for semi-routine maintenance. The 'dashboard' has service symbols when it's time for an oiling or professional service. I oil my machine far more often than the light indicates. Maybe that's why the service symbol doesn't come on, I just bring it in when it's been a while.

Last time I had it in for service was in April of 2008. The tech provided me with some statistics from my machine's computer.

General sewing time: 25:39
Stitches: 6,802,510
Time using the embroidery module: 1:23
Embroidery stitches: 502,400
Time quilting with the stitch regulator module (BSR): 1:36
BSR stitches: 5,490,480
Total time: 28:38
Total stitches: 12,795,390

Since I bought my machine used, all the embroidery work was done by the previous owner since I don't have that part.

I asked for the same statistics this time, almost three years later.

General sewing time: 99:37
stitches: 2,572,174
Time using the embroidery module: 1:23
embroidery stitches: 50,240
Time using BSR: 1:43
BSR stitches: 773,830
Total time: 102:43
Total stitches: 3,396,244
Total time turned on: 6233:51


OK, so do you see the problem here? The first set of numbers is off. By a lot, a factor of 10. I'm guessing there's an extra zero at the end of the older counts. After I adjust for that what puzzles me the most is how I could have sewn 224,782 stitches with the BSR in seven minutes.

I guess it's a new form of quilt math I'm not aware of.

Quilt in Progress

Charm Pack Baby Quilt

This is a baby quilt I'm making for one of the guys in the office. I just need to put on the binding, it's already quilted and washed.

I made this from a charm pack, a pack of 40 or so 5" squares.

Keeping the order of the squares in tact, I sliced off 1.5" off each side, then the top and bottom; then shuffled the bottom center square to the top of the stack and reassemble the blocks. I then arranged the blocks on point in a zigzag pattern in the same order as the squares from the original pack. I added setting triangles and two two-inch borders. The checkerboard border was made from two fabrics that match some in the original pack which I got separately. After quilting, it finished to about 30" square.

I got to use a friend's long-arm for the first time to quilt this. It was way fun, even for a beginner. I wish I had the space and money for my own long arm. In the mean time I'll keep renting/bartering time on other machines.

Layout Challenges: Help!

view full image

I Hate Autumn

I love autumn, really, the low-angle light and dramatic skys, the changing colors, the cool crisp air, beautiful. It's probably my favorite season.

But I hate autumn.

We northern hemisphere homosapiens are genetically programmed to add insulation in the fall for the upcoming winter. The number on the scale gets larger every time you get on it. What doesn't help are the holidays: Kevin's birthday (cake), Halloween (candy), Thanksgiving (pie), Christmas (luncheons, cookies, more pie), New Year's eve (chips and dip), Super Bowl Sunday (more chips, more dip), and Valentine's Day (chocolate). You don't get a break until March, and by then the damage has been done. The hips are larger than ever and you're on the brink of having to buy yet another wardrobe.

So I've decided I'm cutting out carbs now. Well, actually, I started Saturday. No pasta, no candy, no bread and butter, no cereal. I plan on getting a jumpstart on counteracting this weight thing.

As I type this, I can hear the guys in the next cube talking about the bagels that were brought in today. Sheesh.

I can do this. Who's with me?

Jack....Jack....

How to turn an iPhone photo into a magazine quality image

My lunch of pesto cavatappi from Noodles & Company.

Original image

Cropped

Added saturation and contrast

Added point of focus

Playing With an App Called Snapseed

Playing With Photo Editing Again

The dark side

So I did it, I crossed over. I opened a twitter account.

I'd been resisting for a long time, I really didn't need yet another thing to obsess about, but a couple things perpetuated my decision to cross over to the dark twitter side.

First, my husband seemed to be having too much fun reading his feed, laughing at the funny ones, and occasionally quoting to me the best.
I want to have fun too!

Second, the author of The art of iPhoneography, the book I just bought, talked about posting photos to extend your creativity. She suggests twitter.

I created my twitter account, and picked some folks to follow. Then came the old tree-in-the-forest question: If you tweet with no followers, is it a tweet at all? Then a strange thing happened, I got followers, people I didn't know, and not the folks I followed. It is kinda creepy.

Last night I set up another account on Instagram. It's a social network for photographers mentioned in the iPhoneography book, a place where I can post pictures and have them exported as tweets. Already, I have a couple followers and I'm ok with that. I'm not sure what the difference is, why one is creepy and one isn't, I'm still trying to identify what it is.

Anyway, here I am, exploring the dark side.

Myrtle Beach -circa 2011

While I was at Urban Outfitters yesterday, I bought a book called The Art of iPhoneography by Stephanie C. Roberts. I'm finding it to be a great resource for the camera and apps and taking images with my iPhone. And a great source of inspiration.

I've just read through the first couple sections and now am inspired to take and post more photos from my phone or iPad. Like all my new projects, I'm gonna do this everyday! So, that is the first one, taken from the balcony of our beach condo just a little while ago.

This was taken with the ShakeItPhoto app on the iPad.

July

Ok, July is gone, but the heat lingers.

I still haven't watched Howard's End yet, the netflix disc taunts me continually. I did see the rest of the Harry Potter movies before the premier of HP-VIIb. I took Kevin to see the show at midnight. It was fun, getting caught up in the whole first-night frenzy, but I really want to see it again in a normal way, no craziness, no kids in school uniforms. Dan hasn't seen it yet, either, so I'm thinking "date night!" Every time I think I have an open evening, our darling daughter gets a call asking her to work, and no daughter means no supervision for Kevin.

Speaking of Kevin, Dan and I are discussing getting him a cell phone. There are many times when he's out on his bike, for example, and I want to get a message to him, like, "come home!" Last month when Dan was in California I'd hand my phone to Kevin so he could type out a message to his dad. Sometime he'd rebel, sometime he'd answer Dan's questions, and sometimes he'd just type back what was asked of him. Written echolalia. I'm afraid, on the other hand, he'll lose it, or it'll get taken from him; he won't be responsible for it, or he'll manage to run up a $600 phone bill. Fern managed to rack up an extra $120 last month, so anything is possible with The Boy.

I have a stack of Girl Scout vests I've been ignoring and many quilting projects that should require my attention. I've set a goal of finishing one by the time state and county fair entries are due so I'll have to get it done. I need to get another quilt done by October so it can be included in a book being published by the woman who designed the patterns. Add the monthly sewing obligation of the swap we're doing in my bee. Sheesh.

OK, that's enough for now, just listing it all out makes my head hurt.

Movie Time

June was British Movie month here at Anne's House.

I didn't plan it that way, it just happened. In no particular order (because I can't remember the order), this is what I watched:

Moulin Rouge!, ok, it's not a British film, but it's got the guy who plays the young Obi-Wan Kenobi in it and everybody knows Obi-Wan's British. I was surprised how much I liked this, even if it's a story-within-a-story-within-a-story story.

The Secret Garden featuring Maggie Smith as Mrs. Medlock. The book was a free download on my kindle so I got it, then wanted to watch the movie. It's a decent adaptation, but the book is better.

Maybe I should have called it "Maggie Smith Movie Month" because she was also in A Room with a View with Dame Judi Dench, which I'd seen before, but was confusing it with Howards End in my mind, which I have all ready to watch from Netflix. Both have Helena Bonham Carter so you can see my confusion. And as a bonus, Room has three fully naked men in it.

Our beloved Maggie was also in Harry Potter I, Harry Potter II and Harry Potter III. Since Harry Potter VIIb is opening next week I've been trying to catch up on all the movies.

Helena Bonham Carter was also in HP-V, HP-VI, and HP-VIIa but I can't list those this month.

This list of movies reads like a complicated family tree. Dame Judi, was also in The Importance of Being Earnest with the wonderful Colin Firth.

The last movie on my June list is Calendar Girls, delightful film with Helen Mirren and Julie Walters. And if that name isn't familiar, she was in all the Harry Potter movies as Molly Weasley.

I'll put together a July list sometime in August. What have you been watching?

Kevin

July 3, 2011
I'm sitting on the beach at Rehoboth, DE watching Kevin play at the edge of the surf. He truly is an amazing child. And not because I'm his mom and am paid to think that. If you don't know Kevin, he's my eighteen year old autistic son. 

Kevin is always happy, or nearly so. He finds joy in all that he does. He is perfectly happy sitting in the surf on a crowded beach on a holiday weekend where most of us would get antsy with the crowdedness. He scoops sand from a wet hole in front of him and pats it on to a mound beside him. Scoop, pat, pat, pat. Scoop, pat, pat, pat. He is never distraught when a wave laps up to fill in his hole and erodes the mound. He continues his mission when the water recedes. And for an hour or more he continues like that, building his shapeless mound, which gets larger as the afternoon wears on and the tide gets lower. Perfectly happy. 

At home he can be happy riding his bike through the neighborhood, or playing with legos for hours on end, or commandeering my iPad and slinging birds at silly green pigs. He is happy where he is and never complains of boredom; he takes care of himself. 

But more than that, he's amazing because he wants for nothing. He is very hard to shop for because of this, however. He just doesn't want anything. He's not the type of kid who peruses the Sears Christmas catalog and circles six things on every page. I'm reminded of a scene in Harry Potter I where Dumbledore tells Harry about the Mirror of Desire, it shows the true desire of anyone who looks into it (Harry sees a family, Dumbledore sees warm socks) and anyone who is truly happy will see only himself. I think Kevin would see only himself. 

It amazes me that in this materialistic world we live in, I have a child who is so happy and joyful with what he has.

Progress. Well, Sort Of.

I started a post last week after Memorial Day, but never got to finish it. Now I'll add in more current news and click "publish post" already.

The weekend was hot and also productive. Dan and I got most of the garage cleaned out and offered up many items up on Freecycle. If you're gonna have to find a mouse in the garage, it's better to find a dead one. Dan scooped it up for me. He's such a great husband. We bought Fern a new bike so she can ride to her summer jobs when she needs too.

I got Being There watched. I hadn't seen it for over 30 years and I'd forgotten a lot. It was still funny, but different than I remembered. The phrase "I like to watch" still makes me smile.

I got the badge sewing done on the vest I'd had for a while. I'm glad it's out of my hair. However, two more arrived in my in-box so I'm not done yet. I'd really like to quit, but I enjoy having the extra cash, it buys fun things like my iPad.

I can't remember what else I got done on Sunday. I'm sure it'll come to me later. Monday was hot was glad to be able to hang out at AM's house for her pool party.

This past weekend I flew solo. Dan went to the Eastern Shore for golf school. He's been so frustrated lately because he can't get any better even though he plays a lot. I took Fern to take the SAT on Saturday morning. I got everything ready the night before, pencils, calculator, admission ticket and snacks and told her she needed to take her ID. So, on the way to the test I ask her if she had her ID, and, no, she didn't. I waited in the parking lot for her text telling me if they let her in or not. Yes, she got in, but I needed to bring her ID back before the end of the test. After that it seemed I spent the whole day driving around for this and that.

I've downloaded SimCity™ for my iPad. Of course I got hooked right away. Sims are fickle, stupid people. In my current city I've gotten my population up over 1.2 million people, then for no reason, they move out and my population goes down to 450,000. They they realize the schools are not over crowded and move back in. They complain 2% residential tax rate is too high, but they were fine with the 4% I had set yesterday. They are harder to figure out than teenagers. I tried to upload a screen shot of my city with no luck. I'll try a different method later.

This weekend I'm off to Towson University for the Maryland State Special Olympic Games. Kevin will be swimming again. We got "kicked" out of the dorms this year. The coaches want me to help chaperon, but don't like the fact Kevin tended to wander a little too far for their liking an the block party last year. Thing is, Kevin can wander whether or not we're staying in the dorms. I'm not looking forward to all the down time between races (and the delightful cafeteria food), but Kevin loves it so that's all that matters, right? Maybe I'll try to take some sewing projects with me so I don't get too far behind. Again.

Posting Again - More Randomness

I'm behind.

Again.

Story of my life really.

I've got sewing homework due tonight I haven't finished. I am supposed to make 18 blue exchange blocks. I've got 14 blocks cut out and partially sewn. Then the bobbin ran out and I quit. I should have been working on the blocks this weekend but started a strip quilt instead. Oh well, never could get my priorities right.

I've got a girl scout vest that needs attention.
Not to mention it's that time of the year when I'll be getting a lot more vests to work on, too.

Back in March I planted a half pound pack of pea seeds. They came up nicely, growing wonderfully, I was looking forward to yummy peas right off the vine until the rabbits had a salad.

Fern is interviewing at a private high school today, she is tired of the general population at Bowie HS. for example, she's taking the HSAs this week, those minimum standard tests needed for graduation in biology, government and English, and some of her fellow students who don't take the tests seriously cause disruptions. She's just tired of it all. I don't blame her.

Ever since she took the PSAT in October she has been inundated with recruiting propaganda from colleges all over the country, most I'd never heard of. Her SAT equivalent theoretically was 1800, is that good these days? She wanted to take the SAT this spring instead of waiting until fall of her junior year so I signed her up for the session in June.

Kevin has a swim meet this weekend. Its the PG Special Olympics county meet, which is usually a big one, most counties attend, but for some reason only 47 athletes from four counties have registered so it should be over quickly. That means in the noon-2 window instead of the 4-5 window. They will be running the long races, though so that does take a lot of time. But still, fingers are crossed. I'll be there all day to time races. If anyone needs volunteer hours, I can hook you up.

Then we're off to the State Games in June and swim season will be over. yay.

I've broken part of my molar and I probably ought to have it checked out. It doesn't hurt, but it's kind of achy. Sheesh.

 

Being There

I started my college life at Urbana College in Ohio. Second quarter my freshman year a new transfer student moved into my life, for the next two years we were joined at the hip. I introduced Josie to Piper who already lived across the hall from me in the dorm. Piper was a sophomore, but the three of us hung out together when our schedules allowed.

At the end of my sophomore year I decided on yet another major, pre-pharmacy, and transferred to VCU to better my chances to get in to pharmacy school at MCV. I never got into MCV and settled on Geography instead. Josie, in the mean time, studied graphic design and Piper majored in elementary education.

Time goes by, as it usually does, and I didn't keep in touch with the other two as I ought've. A letter here and a phone call there lead me to learn Josie woke up one day and decided to go to dental school, got accepted at OSU, and eventually bought herself a practice. I've always admired her for that, completely changing her course in life without looking back. Several years ago I learned she had been diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer and it had spread.

Last June when I was in Columbus for the Perl conference I got to have lunch with Piper and we got to catch up, but Josie was out of town and we didn't get to see each other. Piper filled me in on a lot of Josie and her condition, how she had sold her practice the year before, how her leg was broken but they were unable to insert a rod to fix it until the chemo round was done, how she couldn't ride her beloved horses. I kept telling myself I really needed to go back out and see her.

Saturday night I got a call on my cell; Piper was on the caller ID. My heart stopped. I knew it wasn't good news. I answered the call, Josie was still alive, but barely. Hospice had been brought in and her husband didn't think she'd last more than a couple days. Do I go now? Do I wait for the funeral? Do I want to keep her memory healthy and vibrant, or ruin that picture with a conscience-clearing visit to see her, near death, not guaranteed to even know I was there?

That little voice in my head was telling me that she would die soon, today or tomorrow, and her service would be next Monday. Don't worry about seeing Josie now, it' won't matter. Go to the service next week and be there for Piper.

---

When I was struggling to come up with a title for this post I tried out several possibilities, then typed 'Being There' to describe the relationship between friends. Then I just stared at it with a lump in my throat. How could I forget? Being There, the 1979 Peter Sellers film, was our favorite movie that first quarter together at school. The little theater in town didn't get a lot of new releases so Jos and I saw this movie several times. We quoted it all the time and laughed, just laughed, at all those silly things that struck us funny, our little inside jokes that lasted for years. Not until it was written and staring at me did I realize the weight of what I'd typed. How had I'd completely forgotten all about the movie until just now? Life continues to surprise. And Soothe.

 

What Kind of Designs?

I just noticed today blogspot/google has a stats tab on my blog dashboard. I like stats, I do work for a statistical agency after all.

I clicked on the tab to find out what blogger offered. I already employ two other free stat services on my blog, how does blogger's stats compare?

Blogger's stats are simpler in content and to use. The summary page shows a graph of page views, traffic, audience and posts; the detail pages show more info about each category. I clicked on the traffic page and viewed a list of referring URLs, those pages that point to my blog, this very one you're reading. How did you get here, anyway? I see on the list a variety of sources, Google is to be expected as is other friends' blogs. What I didn't expect was what was listed second on the all-time list: tattoodesignsvault.com with 69 instances.

I'm still scratching my head over that.