Hey there, Blondie
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I’m good. I didn’t get Covid. I became a slug during it. Didn’t exercise one bit. Rediscovered my crafty side to re-start sewing & quilting. I figured since my eyesight is going south, I do want to stitch & learn as much as I can, while I still can. There’ve been pet deaths, more elders passed. While dealing with others’ estates, I started downsizing myself. I actively sell, donate & ditch stuff. The kiddo is still at home, working remotely for a crisis centre, finishing his grad program. He wants the house as his own, so of late, we’re considering just packing up our suitcases, leaving the house as is, and moving to a condo. I sold my piano a while back and no desire to play. I’ve wandered far away from classical and opera. Maybe it’s another life phase, but my tastes have shifted back to my youth .. hard rock and metal. I’m pretty well content to let myself drift and bob like a boat in the sea. I do follow lots of what you folks have been doing. I do enjoy hearing what you cook, as I often look for ideas of what to cook here. I’ve zip creativity for cooking.
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I'm having a small quilt made up. The pieces were cut for the top and that was it. A friend is charging me less than usual and it's still going to be $400.
Thar could be gold in them thar quilting hills.
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@Jolly I bought a small (Japanese) quilt on Etsy for that price. I’ve also donated materials to a group of ladies who make quilts to sell on Etsy (those sales in turn fund material costs for their donation quilts). $400 is a reasonable price for materials & labor.
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My grandmother was a quilter. All by hand. I remember her old quilt rack on the front porch.
They weren't super fancy, just country quilting...Star patterns, double wedding rings, that kind of stuff.
Don't ever recall her selling one.
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@Jolly The interest with these simple country designs, with hand quilting has grown immensely. Hand piecing too. I’m amazed young adults want to quilt. Their stitches aren’t as small or neat as grandma’s (they call it “big stitch quilting”), but handmade & diy seem to mesh with this Mid-Century-Modern style they’re drawn to.
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Blondie, you're getting important stuff done! I consider handwork an important thing for many reasons: self expression, relaxation, mental health, and mental agility. Learning new skills is great for the brain!
You're way ahead of me on decluttering. I've done some, but I see far more yet to do. At least I see it and want to get it done. That's the first step, right?
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@brenda I totally agree. Creating is physical & mental. Retaining fine motor movement-memory with my hands seems important to me. And through it there’s peace & calm. Lots of pride completing projects, learning new things. Decluttering to me has become almost slash & burn. I especially want to lose the big & heavy stuff & boxes of things not used while I still have strength & stamina. Also, some things have resale value now, and this declines. I’ve too many memories of elders sitting in their homes surrounded by, complaining of, all their stuff. I’ve a kiddo in my basement who collects just too much “stuff”. I don’t want to spend my 60s with this stress for myself. My time is my greatest asset. I need to move toward peace & calm.
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@blondie
So smart to do it now. I need to follow your example more on this.Right now, I am making changes to our landscape to make it easier to handle. Mowing edges reduce the trimming. I put in a small retaining wall and brick edging to make boulevard stairs easier to clean. Our yard is several feet higher than the street, and there are steps to go from the city sidewalk down the depth of the boulevard to the street. I used brownish brick for the mowing edges (with a metal interior edging and stakes to hold the brick in place) and the inside of the stairs. I also used reclaimed granite pavers for the taller front of the retaining wall. The brick and granite look good together. Small project, but the darn thing took almost a week!
Much other landscaping done so far this summer. I am really enjoying it, and it's great exercise.
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@brenda You’ve got skills for sure. I’ve never done rock work, or used any heavy equipment like you. I love your fountain too. We moved from a big house to a smaller one years back. Sometimes I drive by to see the trees I planted there. They’re so big now .. if I was still there, they would’ve given great shade while weeding. Yup, yard work gives a great workout.
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@blondie Awwww, thanks for the comment about the new fountain. I am so in love with it. That one feature made such a difference in the front of the house.
Now that I have the boulevard project done, hubby is hinting rather boldly that it would be nice to have the brick edging extend from the public sidewalk all the way along both sides of our main entrance sidewalk. It's 35 feet, so that makes another 70 feet of edging. It takes 6 bricks per linear foot, so that's another 420 bricks, plus the polymer sand and plants, probably boxwood. Those doggone boxwood shrubs have gotten very expensive
. I should try propagating them myself, but I will need over 40 of them. Yikes!Copper, tell me about your attempt at propagating boxwood. I should learn from you.
Blond, tell me more about the things you are making. You are artistic, and I like to see your projects.
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