Weekend Miscellany
The Accuquilt Zoom presentation I attended yesterday morning was quite good. Truly, these are aimed at helping retailers sell product, but the presenter provided a lot of good design-related information, which is the content I love. And the quilt store here that hosted the presentation offered a 20% discount on items to all attendees. I took advantage of the opportunity to pick up another die and some cutting mats. I do not want our quilt stores to go out of business.
[The husband said this must be like when the Snap-On tool trailer comes to local hardware stores, although there is no accompanying scantily-clad “Mr. Accuquilt” needed to help sell items.]
I do prefer the in-person presentations in the stores. I wonder, though, if those are going to become less and less common.
I stitched down the binding on the Moda Love wallhanging while I watched the presentation. I swapped it out for another wallhanging I made that Margaret quilted for me that hangs over our kitchen table. I need to wash that other wallhanging, so the Moda Love wallhanging is in its place temporarily:
I adore quick and easy projects and this one certainly fits the bill.
Speaking of laundry, the husband is still trying to fix the dryer. This is the Amana dryer we bought when we built the house 24 years ago. Just after Christmas, the timer stopped working and the dryer wasn’t putting out any heat (it’s a gas dryer). He replaced the timer and got it to produce heat, but only on the delicate cycle. The heat stopped working altogether last week. I have a clothesline mounted on the ceiling in the laundry room, but I would prefer not to have to line-dry everything. He took the dryer apart again and ordered more parts for it. (I think they came in the mail yesterday.) Perhaps by the time he is done, the dryer will be completely rebuilt. I don’t care as long as it works.
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DD#1 and I had a video chat yesterday so she could see the chicks. She and her fiancé are still at his parents’ house while they figure out what the next couple of months hold. Her fiancé was in the middle of his final clinical dental rotation when the state of Washington closed down. He can’t take the second part of his board exams because the testing facilities are closed. Graduation was supposed to be the first weekend in June, and although it sounds like the class will still graduate on time, it won’t be an in-person ceremony, which we were all looking forward to attending. He has worked so hard for the last four years and it is frustrating to be so close and not be able to celebrate that accomplishment. DD#1 is still working as an OT, thankfully. I know this uncertainty is wearing on them, though.
The chicks are moving out to the brooder box in the chicken coop today. I decided that at least one of them must be a rooster because it was awake and peeping loudly at 4:30 a.m. this morning.
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A new store called “Got Me in Stitches” has opened in the shopping area north of Kalispell. I drove through the parking lot to take a look but have not yet gone inside. The sign says “Yarn and Embroidery,” which is promising. What a hard time for a new retailer to be opening, though, especially as the local news has been filled with stories of other small retailers going out of business.
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The sunshade project has gone through some modifications. We hung it from nails in the porch rafter but ran into two problems. First, we would prefer being able to move it out of the way when we don’t need it so we can watch the woods for bears. Second, the wind blew it down. I didn’t think the breeze was that strong, but the shade was rather like the Tacoma Narrows Bridge; when it got moving back and forth at just the right frequency, it popped off the nails.
The husband’s first thought was to hang it from a narrow rod threaded through the grommets, much like a curtain. That would allow us to move it out of the way. The metal grommets are only 5/8”, though, which were the largest ones I could find. I suggested that we hang it from a rod using shower curtain hooks. The designer, in her infinite wisdom, put in 12 grommets, which is exactly how many shower curtain hooks come in a package. I got the hooks and he stopped at the hardware store and bought a metal rod. Hopefully, we can get that installed this weekend. I may have to make a tie-back for the post. I have some leftover Cordura that would work nicely.
Two brains are better than one.
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I have an eyebrow wax scheduled for Monday and a haircut on Tuesday. I can’t wait any longer. I know both salons have instituted safeguards and I feel comfortable going ahead. My hair hasn’t been cut since the beginning of February. It’s at a length now where I have to start putting it up or it drives me nuts.