Summer Nights

Summer Nights

 


The spare bedroom has a window as large as the dining room's.  You can lie on the bed and watch all the trees and sky outside which if you are in the mood is very dreamy.  It's the window my trainer is located next to so I can watch the birds, squirrels and clouds as I do my workouts. It's the perfect spot for a daytime lie down if you are tired or want a comfy place to read.
   Lately all the fireflies are out and I've been going to that room to watch them.  With the lights turned off, the large window becomes a stage for all these tiny twinkling bodies blinking on and off.  I just love seeing them and never tire of watching.
Years ago, as I've told you, I went on a student exchange trip and part of the events was a visit to Camp Fortune here in Ottawa to attend a Gordon Lightfoot concert.  It was a pretty big deal at the time and the other kids were quite excited.  What excited nerdy me were all the fireflies that appeared as darkness fell.  I'd never seen them before and was captivated. I never forgot how I felt...the unaccustomed warmth of a summer night, the music and these fireflies dancing in the air.  I was a very impressionable sixteen at the time and maybe that memorable night is why I'm still so fond of fireflies.  Such a uniquely summer sight.

Sleeping at night with the windows wide is a pleasure. Here in Canada, it is such a summer time thing to do. And our house can benefit from any fresh air it can get, believe me.  Of course, there is a down side.  The dogs can hear every little sound and bark at what are probably skunks or raccoons having their fun in the yards.

Cat Sighting

We've both been catching sight of a large marmalade cat around the property.  I noticed her lurking by the garages in sight of the bird feeders so I moved the furthest one closer to the house.  Rex caught sight of her one day and chased her into the woods.  I haven't seen her since, so maybe it scared her enough to stay away.  I blamed her for the occasional feathers I found under the feeders and also a sad little chipmunk tail I found on the lawn one day.  There are a lot of barn cats around and there isn't much you can do about it.  This one may be hungry though she doesn't look shabby or underweight.
Update: Hubby has spotted her again lurking down in the wood shed.   Oh well.

Nest News

All the nests are empty.  As far as I could tell it was a breeding success.  The robin did lose one chick which was found as a just hatched lifeless little thing on the ground.  I think she led the three others away very early one morning.  They were crowded in the nest one night and gone the next morning by 9 a.m.  I've seen the sparrows around with young still feeding them as they hop about the branches of their fir tree.  The phoebes have disappeared.  I found a wren's nest down in the wood shed also empty now.
So our population here has dwindled once again to the old man and old woman and two big frisky dogs. 

Finding a Fix For Bad Fingers Cause Not Stitching is Not an Option

"I finds my fingers."  This is what the old folks at home would say when they had achy fingers- they were finding them bad or sore is what they meant. 

A little bit of panic here this morning...

Every now and again I get the tinglings and aches in my right hand signalling I'm overusing it.  I mentioned this before when I was knitting daily in the winter.  I don't know if this is carpel tunnel syndrome or what.
  For years, I would experience the same feeling at report card time (back in the old days, they had to be hand written) and with a day or two of rest, all would be normal.

Two weeks ago I started with a slightly swollen index finger knuckle, something brand new to me, and achiness along the palm and up the fingers of my right hand.. I stopped all sewing and typing. I kept reminding myself to relax the death hold that I usually put on the steering wheel when driving.  I didn't use the pick ax once in the garden.  I switched Murphy's leash to my left hand when I was walking her. Surprising all the things you do that involve a tight grip of the hand.
And even at night, I made sure to rest my bad hand in a neutral position on a pillow which I'd read would be helpful.

 I've now been a week pampering this hand,and it is improving though mostly in the knuckle which is almost back to normal. But I am still feeling twinges up and down my hand like those you get when you hit your funny bone. Definitely not bounced back to a completely symptom free state.  So I'm thinking when younger, a day or two of rest would make it all better, now I will need a week or two.  So we start week 2 of kindness to right hand.

Because there is no question about me not stitching.  When I say it is my therapy, I'm not kidding. My mind went to a bad place just contemplating what would I do if I couldn't sit and stitch. 

So now, I have to take further action.

 Glucosomine perhaps; research shows it helps some with taming arthritic symptoms.

A wrist splint
maybe; I just read a study that said this greatly helped patients with carpal tunnel syndrome.

With that in mind, I looked up a couple of splints; the one on the right is to wear at night.  I guess it's important to keep the wrist and hand aligned and in that important neutral position. 
This one on the left is designed for women and gets good reviews. I've seen pictures of stitchers wearing these types of supports.

 
 I think I will check out the night time wearing one.  Though I wonder what Hubby will think.  I once tried lotioning my hands and wearing white gloves at night as a solution for dry skin.  I had to stop because Hubby found the white gloves looked a bit freaky in the dark. Ha ha

I promise myself to take more breaks when I'm stitching.  I just read that for each hour of sewing/knitting/etc., fifteen minutes of it should be taking a break.

I looked through various videos on Youtube that offered exercises to help with sore wrists and fingers.  This one made by Chris Madden, The Top 3 Exercises for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome 
seemed like a good one.  I'm already doing them. 

So I  think I have a plan

1. Take glucosomine; it's worth a try from what I've read

2. Wear a wrist splint at night

3. Make the effort to take more breaks when stitching 

4. Practice the exercises specifically for improving wrist and finger movement

Cause not stitching is not an option.
No need to panic.

This will be interesting to see if it works for me. 

Quilts and Prize Winners All

You know you are a quilter when you like to pet fabric.

 I just came across that line on the web and thought, how true.  I must be a knitter too because I also like to pet wool, in fact, I really like to pet wool.

But back to the quilter in me.  Recently Daughter and I attended a quilt show and I thought after, what a great way to spend a morning.  Besides the array of awe inspiring quilts, the church ladies served a lovely tea so what could be better...beautiful quilts and tea and bikkies. Not much I'm thinking.

I thought of Hubby who would poo poo the idea of joining us but would have loved the tea and there were a couple of hubbies 'parked' at the tea room so he would have had manly company, as it turned out.
At this show of quilts, I was happy to recognize a number of BOM's from various designers. Also many of the patterns were familiar to me.  That was interesting and also fun to see such designs brought to life as it were.
  I took special note of all the quilting and my what beautiful work. So many of the backgrounds were elaborate scrolls, feathers, circles, leaves...you name it, all glorious. Just immaculate stitching too.  How much it adds to a quilt to properly quilt it! Immeasurable.

Anyway here is a brief sampling of the variety of quilts gathered for this show.

I had to take a photo of this one because at the time our property was dotted with similar orange poppies. These are appliqued in batik cloth and not a stitch to be spied.  All hand done and a prize winner as it should be.

This notable quilt used regular piecing for the stars and trapunto for the quilted effect surrounding those stars.  This extra padding made the feathers stand out and is really what made this an extraordinary quilt.  All hand pieced and hand quilted and winner of many, many awards.

I think I recognize this one as a Blooms and Birds BOM; such pretty blues and reds.

This classic beauty was hand pieced and quilted, again with immaculate stitching.  A prize winner.

Pretty appliqued baskets...brings autumn to mind for some reason.  I loved examining the quilting on this one...straight lines and very effective. 

I liked how this snowman had minimal quilting, a lovely round scroll inside the edges...just enough.  I think I could manage that.  Got to chat with this quilter and she mentioned how much fun it was to make but also she wonders if she should have put a hat on his head.  Interesting how we scrutinize our own work.  We really do want to get it right, I guess.

I couldn't resist showing you a crazy quilt.  This was my first love in quilting and I tried my hand at it while in university many moons ago.  In those days you could buy bags of fabric scraps in Woolworth's and I would sit in my residence room while hand piecing the scraps onto a square of muslin. It was a satisfying activity and gives you a good idea of just what a nerdy student I was!
 Wild times. LOL

Not My Sewing Space

I have told you before that my sewing room is in the basement.  It has an oversized window and with a one hundred watt bulb in the ceiling the light is better than you might think.  This room is lined with shelves on three sides; it was the storage room for all the kitchen, household and gardening items and there are many such things still there.  All these things belonged to my hubby and his deceased wife.  There is a collection of ash trays from their travels around the world from back in the day when so many people smoked.  Seems a shame now that these are ash trays because some of them look valuable.

 There are all kinds of old tins that used to hold everything from tea bags to tobacco. Likewise a shelf of glass bottles.  There are old tea pots, corning ware sets (cornflower pattern), lots of serving bowls, trays and dishes, salt and pepper shakers, a Denby dish set from the sixties...dark brown with orange accents, every kind of small appliance, many apple baskets, ornaments with a little crack in them, sets of corn on the cob holders and rusting cookie sheets.  Some of the orphaned Tupperware lids and old mason jars have been thrown out. 

 All these things represent the decades of life in this house; though old and seemingly junk or of questionable use now, I am respectful of them as I know each thing would have been meaningful to someone at some time.

I measure and do my cutting on a large workbench rescued from a laboratory many decades ago and my sewing machine sits on one of three dining room tables that used to grace the upstairs.  This room is quite cold in winter so I have a little heater to try to warm it up; but this aspect of temperature works to advantage in summer because no matter how hot and humid the day outside, it is always pleasantly cool in the basement.

I look with envy at the beautiful sewing rooms pictured on Pinterest; you know the ones with all the fabrics folded neatly according to colour on specially built shelves or resting in lovely wooden armoires. The walls are always prettily painted and lovely handworked items decorate those walls. All the tools and gadgets get neatly arranged on a super sized cutting mat which always seems to be
there.

 Look at how bright and cheery this one is below.  Look at that chair.  I think that is a design wall in the background.  Feeling covetous!

                 Not My Sewing Space

.

  Do I sound a little envious?  Yeah, but truthfully I really don't think I would produce more or better quilting even if I had such a space. And I know I'm lucky to have somewhere to poke about and not have to clear away the mess every time (like when I briefly set up in the dining room).  So...

Meanwhile back to reality, here is a corner of mine...

A Book I Couldn't Read

Obviously I am becoming totally shallow and shallower as my age lengthens. My brain will be a Sahara Desert before long.

 Here I had a reasonably good, even excellent book by all accounts and you think I could read past the first 100 pages, no way. Try as I might, I just couldn't get all the way through.   And I wanted to, I really did.  In fact, I now have tried to read this book twice, the last time after it won the Man Booker Prize.

The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton is probably one of the most interestingly crafted novels you will find.  There are many wonderful reviews, though some of that wonderfulness is aimed at this books architecture.  The story has a unique way of folding back on itself, each chapter turns out to be half the length of the chapter before and an astrological guide is used (some people have jokingly said perhaps they are not the right sign to enjoy this book).
 The New York Times reviewer called this book a mass confabulation, not a book in the normal sense.  So reading that after my failed attempts helps me feel a little better about my not getting into it.  However, the characters  didn't really interest me either so the structural stuff was maybe immaterial.  I won't be picking it up again.  But kudos to Ms Catton and her Man Booker Prize.

Managed to get all the way through this one....LOL

Singularity by Charlotte Grimshaw is a collection of short stories. I enjoyed each and every one and I've put Charlotte on my list to keep an eye out for new writings.  Each story is a unique piece but all are interlinked by five main characters.  These are interesting, true to life, flawed and wonderful.  I couldn't help but think these were real people and the events all happened to someone somewhere; there is a lot of realism here.  Also tension, Charlotte's writing is superb and she is able to convey just the right amount of tension to make you sit up and pay attention.  Her descriptions of place are wonderful but it is her exploration of people, their motives, actions etc that struck me the most.

And I made it all the way through this one...

 Elizabeth Gilbert's The Signature of All Things.  There are a lot of characters in this book but mostly we follow the life of Alma Whittaker, a brilliant botanist living at the turn of the 19th century.  I loved all the plant talk and learned lots...for instance did you know the study of mosses is called bryology?  That is what Alma decides the main focus of her research will be.  But besides the science, Alma's story includes the broader themes of  romance, family, loss, aging, loneliness, etc. Yes, this is a +500 page novel, so there is a lot of room to go exploring.  I did have an issue with the direction the story took in the final couple of hundred pages or so, but otherwise I thought this was a good book.

Hope you have some great summer reading on the go.

Touch Quilts

Have you heard about Touch Quilts?  They are special quilts made with different textured fabrics and designed to offer both comfort and sensory stimulation to patients with dementia and Alzheimers.  Folks who have seen them put to use say they really do help to soothe and relax and lessen the need for intervention and medications.




This is Grace McNab (doesn't she look happy), a member of the Ottawa Valley Quilter's Guild, who makes these lap quilts and also gives workshops on how to make them. She has received so much positive feedback about the quilts the guild has been distributing (for free) that they now provide them to nursing homes and hospital ER departments as well.  Check out  the Quirky Quilts web site to see how they are made and all the guidelines.  Grace offers a slide show of various quilts she has sewed.  I really like the Crazy Touch Quilt.
So many people are facing such a diagnosis that it seems we all know someone who has Alzheimers or dementia.  Anything that can be done to ease their confusion is welcome, I'm sure.

Meanwhile back at the farm I am working away on that first block of Hazel's Summer Wildflowers quilt.

 So far I've incorporated these stitches...satin, back, split, cross, chain, and French knots.  What a lot of fun.  I want you to know about a set of  great tutorials for 79 embroidery stitches  provided by the Wonderful Mary Corbet on Youtube.  These are easy to follow, look professional and provide enough repeats for you to work along with till you get the hang of it.

And here is a last look at my orange Icelandic poppies.  They provide such a bright note in the garden and seem to pop up all over the place.  I think they have spread since the original planting several decades ago.  Too bad they do not last long when fully opened.
 But their moment in the sun is a blazing one.

5 Really Really Neat Gifts

I love the new princess name.  It was one I had considered for my own little women and I had thought of it maybe for the same reason as the royals (imagine that!).  Charlotte is the feminine version of Charles and that was the name of the grandfather I lost in the Second World War and also my father-in-law.  I love the idea of having names that make connections between the generations of a family.


This mug is available to buy at The Fairy Tale Girl if she has not already sold out.

How about oreos infused with green tea?  Oreo Matcha Soft Cookies from Japan are making these and the reviews are good.  Also if you think you'd like a concrete iphone case this is the place to get it.  Awesome Stuff To Buy features the sensible to the scary in products for you.



 

This is really neat.  It is called the Diamond Candle.  The candles cost $24.95 and each contains a ring that is worth between $10 and $5000.  I guess there would be a lot of excitement burning this down to find out what kind of ring you have.  You can buy it at The Business Insider.

I know people who love popping bubble wrap; my mother is one of them and loves telling the story about the time her granddaughter's husband showed up at her door with  a huge roll of bubble wrap just for her to indulge her popping.
 This gift is a calendar where you pop a bubble for each day.  I wonder if you could stop at just one though.
You can check it out at Cool Things Addict.

This photo below was posted on 18 of the Greatest Gifts Ever Given by Jeff Wysaski, the link is  HERE if you'd like a chuckle; some of the gifts are funny.



And I"ve shown you my Sari Bag Daughter gave me a few years ago which I had loved bald just like the rabbit in The Velveteen Rabbit.  Here it is and I got more compliments on this bag than all my other bags put together.  

Well I just found a site where I can get a replacement.  Uncommon Goods offers a variety of items made from recycled saris like the bag below.  They have an interesting collection of items overall and I just browsed their online catalogue and decided to sign up for emails from them.  Neat and unusual.


If you are like me, you like to buy just the right gift for someone; having the internet has made that goal more of a reality. In my next life I'd love to be one of those secret shoppers, someone charged with sussing out just the right gifts for people.  What a job!