Bound for Alaska! — Janet Szabo

Our DSIL graduated from dental school in June. He was immediately offered a position at the Coast Guard station in Ketichikan, Alaska. He spent a significant portion of his childhood on Kodiak Island—and DD#1 is no slouch, either, having grown up in Montana—so the CG was thrilled to have someone familiar with life in Alaska. (Does anyone remember the show Northern Exposure?) The CG processed his paperwork last fall and was ready to have him start as soon as possible, but the position also required approval from the Public Health Service. Government bureaucracy, never efficient in the best of times, has ground to a near-halt because of the pandemic. The PHS lost his paperwork once and required him to submit everything again. He has jumped through a ridiculous number of hoops in search of the one signature that would release his orders and allow him and DD#1 to move to Ketchikan and start this adventure together. In the meantime, they’ve been living with his parents in Washington state.

He got his orders yesterday. DD#1 tells me they are hoping to move by the end of the month. The CG will pay for the move and pack all their stuff for them. They already have a place to live, thanks to a friend of the family with a house for rent there. DD#1 has applied for her Alaska state occupational therapy license and will look for a job once they arrive. And I plan to go visit them some time late this spring, after they are settled and the weather improves.

Whew. We are happy that things are coming together for them, finally.

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I ran errands in town yesterday but completely forgot to look for the Creative Grids circle ruler at the first quilt store, and the second quilt store didn’t have them in stock. I’ll check again later this week. I was also looking for navy blue Signature 40wt thread. One quilt store in town carries some, but not in that color, of course. I bought a spool of Mettler 40wt cotton thread and I’ll try that out, but I haven’t been thrilled with the Mettler thread I’ve used so far. Also, it comes on tiny spools, not the large cones like the Signature thread. A spool has 164 yards versus 3000 yards on the cones—I’m not even sure 164 yards will be enough to do a baby quilt.

One of the quilt stores in Spokane carries all the colors of Signature. I could order from them if I have to. I really do try to buy local, but it’s hard sometimes. (And as soon as the weather breaks, I’ll be taking a road trip, trust me.)

I dropped off the tax stuff for the construction company so the accountant can get started on those returns.

The Noon and Night pattern is with the tech editor. I am curious to see what comments she makes about it. I feel a bit like I did when I first started writing knitting patterns 25+ years ago. I went looking for a “manual of style” for knitting patterns and couldn’t find one. I don’t think there is one for quilting patterns, either. I did ask for specific feedback from her on format and presentation.

I’m going to start quilting Cobbles this morning. I have a goodly number of pieces cut for the DP blocks. Those will be ready to put together when I have some time. And the Urban Chicken is ready for lots of fun embellishments:

The days are getting longer now. My time to sit and do handwork in the evenings will disappear in a few months.