No Ho-Hum
It may be yet another gray day, but there is no ho-humming going on in the sewing studio. While the embroidery module is busy, I am busy at the other end of the tables working to see what I have in my stashes to quilt a 57″ x 65″ blanket. I have the top done and it needs to no longer take a back seat. Too much in the back seat means UFOs . . . unfinished objects. I will be able to piece the backing and praise be I have the perfect sized batting for it. When the block that is being embroidered is done, I will set up the machine for straight stitching and get that backing done. It takes me awhile to get the sandwiching of the backing, batting and top aligned so it is ready for machine quilting. Steady Eddie. That’s the secret.
Some days having it totally quiet in the studio seems to work the best. While I am working with the quilt top, it is easy to listen to the stitching of the embroidery module. Every once in awhile there could be a thread breaking. The sewing machine does stop itself, but it may need to be set to go back a few stitches that were missed when the thread broke. Not all threads are equal even if it is the same brand and the same weight. I do put in a new needle every time I have finished one of these blocks that I am working on. Needles are cheap and it makes a world of difference in the outcome. Each block is about 48,000 stitches. I purchase my needles on Amazon. Number 11 works the best for embroidery and anywhere from a number 12 or 14 for quilting.
Today, Dennis has been busy in the patio porch either cleaning one of the older guns or organizing the shell box. His internal alarm lets him know when it is noon and when it is three in the afternoon for a break. If the task becomes too much, there is always a quick nap in the rocking chair. I wish I could take a nap in the middle of the day. I have tried to settle in my favorite chair for a nap but the brain just doesn’t want to slow down or perhaps loose that train of thought that I had going.
For eons my dad would have his noon meal and lay down on the flat floor and take a nap. It wasn’t until his later years that he grabbed a pillow for his head. Almost to the minute, his fifteen minute nap was over and he was good to go for the remainder of the day. It was a very good habit and a very healthy habit to shut that hard working body down for a break.
I do know that the days are beginning to be longer, but with all the dreary weather it sure doesn’t seem like it. The forecast is for full sun tomorrow. Speaking of tomorrow, each day I need to remind myself what day I am having when I wake in the mornings. My tomorrows have a way of needing to be announced to myself. Now that tells you how hectic our schedules are . . . not.
Find peace. Find happiness. The gift of what is had is . . . priceless.