Finish Something

I was at Susan’s by 8 am yesterday morning and she and I cleaned off most of her Duchess of Oldenburg tree. A few things have shifted on the calendar, so making pie filling is on the schedule for the beginning of the week. I brought home enough apples for about 30 quarts of filling, as well as two boxes of deadfall apples for the pigs. I love seeing Susan’s garden and her orchard. We walked around and talked about all the different apple varieties. She knows so much.

The wind started blowing just after lunch, right on schedule. We are okay, but there is a new fire start in Paradise, Montana, that closed the road I take to Spokane. A fire northwest of here prompted evacuations. Spokane is getting hammered. A fire started in Medical Lake, west of the city, that forced the evacuation of the entire town and destroyed a number of structures. Another fire is burning near Elk, north of Spokane. Friends of mine used to live in that area and their home is in the evacuation zone.

Luckily for us, at least, the remnants of Hilary are supposed to being some much-needed rain on Monday and Tuesday.

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I’ve got the sewing equivalent of writer’s block. When that happens, I look around and see what needs to be done and choose something to finish. I might not be able to spark any creativity, but at least I move something over to the done pile.

I finished a New Look 6555 top yesterday afternoon:

This has been sitting, in pieces, since I taught the class in May. I had cut the front in class in order to demonstrate making the keyhole opening. I brought everything home and let it languish, which is dumb because I could have been wearing it all summer. I’m going to take it to Spokane with me and wear it on one of my class days. Wearing something I’ve made when I teach is one of my personal rules.

I didn’t like the handkerchief hem on the first iteration of this top (view B). Something about the proportions didn’t work for me. One of my students, Nancy, is about my size and shape, and we decided in class that the straight hem (view C) looked better on her than the handkerchief hem. I did the straight hem on this version, as well, and will do so if I make it again. I’m not madly in love with this pattern, but it’s a quick and easy way to use up pretty rayon wovens.

The quilt store south of town is having a pajama party tomorrow. People are welcome to bring their machines—sewing or serger—to the store to spend the day making PJs. It sounds like great fun, but Sundays are a day of work for me so I’ll have to pass.

I’m talking with a store in Missoula about teaching for them this fall. They recently moved to a larger space and have room for classes now. I’d like to arrange my teaching schedule so that I’m making a circuit around Kalispell, Missoula, and Spokane periodically, but I’ll have to see how that works out. I’ve got a good roster of classes already prepped and I’m always looking for a reason to take a road trip.

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I need to start cleaning up the garden soon. The pea vines can come out and I am finished with cukes and zucchini for this year. I am waiting for the beans—not the pole beans, but the other kind—to start dying back so I can bring the pods into the greenhouse to dry completely. I should have a nice harvest of navy beans and other varieties to use this winter. Starting those bean plants in the greenhouse after the plant sale worked so well that I will stick to that practice from now on. The tomatoes should keep producing as long as we keep them protected from frost.