Got Some Grunge

I spent most of the day in town yesterday, starting with a morning visit to my naturopath. This was one of my twice-yearly thyroid check/general wellness visits. All of my numbers are good and he is happy with where I’m at. Yay. I also had him order a covid antibody test so we could see where I am at in terms of immunity. I think that’s just good information to have.

I left his office and headed for the quilt store. I went to the quilt store north of town, first, because I haven’t been there in a while. They tend to be heavier on Moda fabrics and I knew they had expanded their line of Grunge recently. Grunge is a fabric line that came out a few years ago and has been a huge hit, especially with quilters who prefer more modern designs. It’s what’s known as a “blender,” meaning that it pairs well with other fabrics and can be used in lots of different ways in a quilt. The design of the fabric is basic, with one base color and one or two other colors in random brushtrokes:

I picked up a couple of one-yard cuts to have in the stash, finished the bolt of the metallic gold Grunge (great for Christmas projects), and chose a few fat quarters of other colors to see if they would be suitable for future quilt designs. I love that this store has fat quarters—or will cut them for you—because it’s an inexpensive and useful way to test out fabrics.

The rest of the day was spent running errands until it was time to go to ruler class at the other quilt store at 3 pm. I pulled into the parking lot a bit surprised to see how empty it was. Sure enough, class had been cancelled because the teacher was sick. Unfortunately, the only way to know this is to show up and find out that class has been cancelled. The store doesn’t call students. Had I known, I could have concluded my errands earlier and gone home. Oh, well.

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Elysian and WS came over the other day and I had him try on the T-shirt I made for him. I made a size 8, and while he said it fit and was comfortable, I think the next one is going to be a size or two bigger so he has room to grow into it. This is the Oliver + S School Bus T-Shirt pattern and it’s one I am planning on using in a class in January.

I hemmed the shirt yesterday morning. I also quilted a few casserole hot pads. My system of having things cut and ready to go is working really well. Rather than fritter away time on social media before leaving for town, I grabbed the stack of assembled hot pads and ran them through the Janome. (I do plan to quilt some of them on the Q20, but the Janome was already set up.) Now I have a stack of hot pads quilted and trimmed and waiting to be bound. Yes, I am still firmly part of that cult of efficiency, but I am happy there.

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One of the ladies in the craft co-op called me on Monday to see if I would be willing to alter a dress for her. I’ve done some minor alterations, but this is a mother-of-the-bride dress and I do not feel competent to attempt something like that. I declined.

Last night, I got a call from someone looking for an accompanist for a Christmas program. I hesitate to agree to things like this, especially because this person didn’t have a lot of information about who I would be accompanying or what music I would be playing (other than Christmas carols). I said to the husband that it would be like someone trying to get him to commit to building a house without seeing the plans first.

I didn’t say no, but I said I needed more information as soon as I could get it. The husband’s only comment was, “The road to hell, Janet . . . “

I don’t mind helping out—and this Christmas program is to be a fundraiser for a local community organization—but the older I get, the more wary I am of being taken advantage of. The Lutheran church pays me the going market rate for church pianists and I appreciate that, but I am also keenly aware that the majority of people assume that playing the piano is easy. If it’s so easy, why are accompanists in such high demand? I don’t practice as much in the summer, but over the winter, I try to play for at least half an hour every day. I’ve been working on some new prelude music—I buy my own music, too—because I get tired of playing the same pieces over and over.

My friend and mentor, Catherine, used to tell me, “It’s hard work to make it look easy.”

That applies to a lot of areas of life, I think.