Sewing & Quilting Mode is Waking Up!

I've been busy the past few days planning sewing projects. We've been in the 5th wheel now about 7 weeks but I haven't done any sewing yet. I have to be 'in the mood' to accomplish anything. Things are improving though because I'm in the planning stages for a few quilt projects.

I took our 6 year old granddaughter, Talia, out to lunch yesterday and then to the fabric store to pick out some fleece. All the girls are wanting twin-size fleece blankets and matching carrying bags to put them in. I was thrilled to get to JoAnn's and discover a whole aisle of nice fleece on sale for 50% off. I strongly encouraged Talia to stay in THAT aisle. (BTW, we had a LOT of fun. Ended the day with ice cream. Yum!)

Talia's favorite color is pink, one of her favorite critters is ladybugs, and her favorite thing in the whole world is strawberries. She found a luscious pink & white fleece with very light red ladybugs all over it. They're almost pastel and resemble strawberries. Talia was thrilled!

The original plan was to take each girl out separately to the fabric store to pick out their own fleece, but right next to Talia's fleece was the perfect fleece for 3 year old Lydia. She loves lavender and ducks! The fleece is pink but has lavender-ish hearts with the cutest ducks all over it. Again, it was half price! Wasn't going to take a chance it would be gone - or not on sale - when I was ready to take Lydia shopping so snapped that up as well. Lydia and I will have to do something else on our outing.

Think I also saw something very appropriate for 4 yo Lauren, but it wasn't on sale so will have to mull. Maybe it will go on sale in June. One can only hope.

I've decided to still take Alli, who is 9 years old, out next week to pick out her fleece. She's 9 and at an age where Gramma might just get it wrong so not going to take the chance. She, too, will be limited to the sale aisle but I think she'll find plenty to choose from.

Hope to have these all made by the first weekend of June - a week from now.

Have also measured all our windows so that I can order fabric for new window coverings. I have found a really inexpensive online source for semi-sheer 118" wide fabric. Still not sure yet if I'm going with Roman shades or Austrian shades but want to get them made soon. Hate, hate, hate these venetian blinds - and many of them are damaged. I think my big hang-up in making a definite decision on type of shade is finding just the right thing to use for the slats in a Roman shade. Normally, you use a thin wooden slat, but since I'll be using a semi-sheer fabric, I'd like to find a clear plastic to use. Guess I'll have to go visit the local Home Depot and see what I can come up with.

I have the fabric for the binding on Lydia's heritage quilt. Just need to get it on.

It looks like I'm going to be making a signature quilt for dear friends of ours in Joplin who lost everything. All our friends here in Rhode Island know them so we thought this would be something special they could wrap up in. Have decided on this pattern for the quilt top: Four Hour Quilt It looks relatively easy and will leave lots of room for people to write messages. I'll be doing the "One More Time Around" at the bottom of the page. Something different from the multiple squares quilts I've done in the past for signatures. Others here will help finish it off.

A great tip when doing signature quilts: Iron freezer paper onto the back of the quilt wherever people are going to write on it. Stabilizes the fabric and makes it easier to write on. Peels right off when signing is done.

Have been to The Remnant Shop here in Hope Valley, RI. He's got some lovely, good quality, quilting fabric for $4/yd. Plus there's the shop down in Westerly that's going out of business. Guess I need to pay a visit to each place.

Busy, busy.

Til next time,
Gloria - The Internet GADabout

Prioritizing

I haven't posted in a couple of weeks. I can't believe I've been that busy but Mike and I looked at each other recently and said, “Aren't we retired? Why are we so busy all the time?” It was a good couple of weeks but I'll post on that later. This post is more serious. A lot of emotions are floating around in our hearts right now and I need to get this down.

Getting rid of 'stuff' can be hard.  As you know, we made the decision in December to retire and become full timers by April 1st.  We were renting so selling our home wasn't an issue.  In actual fact we had to have a lifetime of stuff gone before the end of February as we'd already made arrangements to be in Florida for the month of March.  Talk about a rush of emotions for the 2 months we were getting rid of stuff! 

We sold most of it via Craigslist & a Cafe list.  The first big thing to leave was hard (a grandfather clock purchased with some inheritance money after my mother died) - as was the last (my digital piano).  But once we had our 5th wheel and were on the road in April, I felt like this HUGE weight had been lifted off my shoulders.  Simple and frugal is oh, so much better. (Check out my blog post from January 18.)

We've spent most of our married life in New England but we lived in the Joplin, MO area the last 2-1/2 years - until we became full time RVers this Spring. (It's still our home base). Friends there were saddened that we were getting rid of 'stuff' but we kept telling them that 'stuff' isn't what matters.  God and people are what matters.

How that lesson was brought home Sunday evening with the tornado!

All of our friends in Joplin are safe but one young couple who hasn't even been married a year are especially in shock.  She is from Texas, he from Montana.  His work was in the Joplin area and they belonged to our ecclesia.  Initially, they rented a duplex in a lovely, upscale neighborhood.  They were robbed twice.  So in February they moved to a 3rd floor apartment, thinking it would be safer.

The apartment was right behind the Home Depot and Walmart in Joplin that no longer exist.  Their apartment is gone.  They have lost everything but were not hurt.  We are so thankful for that!

As I wrote to her last night..That which doesn't kill us, serves to make us stronger.  They must be getting really strong. (Actually, looking on the map at the damaged areas, I imagine the duplex they were in originally was probably destroyed as well.)

Events like that force us all to stop, reflect, and put things in perspective.  Yes, it was hard getting rid of our stuff.  Looking back, I wonder if it wouldn't have been better to just have had a big, one-day sale.  Kind of like just ripping off the band-aid and getting it over with. 

Then again by doing it the way we did, we know the big, sentimental stuff went to people who really wanted it and will take care of it.  That's kind of comforting, too.

I also know that having lived in our traveling condo now for @ 7 weeks, I'm loving the simpler life style. We had company for a BBQ Sunday evening. I did a major cleaning of our abode plus did the dishes all in 40 minutes. THAT was wonderful!

By the world's standards we are poor; right now all we've got is our Social Security coming in. Hoping that will change over the next few months as we find ways to supplement our income and still travel. But this is so much better than stressing over a house or rent payment and all the accompanying bills. Plus you think twice about what you're going to buy because you have to consider storage space and overall weight.

As sad and concerned as we are for that young couple, we know they will survive, pick up the pieces and move on with their lives. I just hope they've learned valuable lessons that we didn't learn until years later.

Yes, we need essentials but we're better off without all the extra 'stuff' that this present society seems to think we 'need'.

Til next time,

Gloria - The Internet GADabout