Saturday, March 9, 2013

BARD library books

Right now, before leaving for Florida, I am learning how to get books from the BARD program of the federal government.  I have a device like a tape recorder that plays books they can send me for free through the mail in the blue plastic boxes. Each box opens and has what looks like a cassette tape in it, but is really a  memory chip, I think. I push it in the front of the machine, and it reads to me.  
Or I can download books from the internet through a flash drive which I then plug in on the side. The flash drive will hold up to 20 books in 2 gig they say..

I signed up for this service last summer but didn't really need to use it at that point.  Now I'm doing the internet version of book transfer so that I will have lots of "reading" available while we are away from home for three weeks.

I have a biography of Benjamin Franklin, the history [not novel] about Mrs. Lincoln and her dressmaker, several romances, and the latest edition of Sports Illustrated.  This was a fun discovery because I have had to stop reading magazines; their print is too small!

I also bought a magnifying glass with a light that is enabling me to look up a number in the phone book or enough of the mail so I know if it is addressed to me or Charlie..

And as you see, I have enlarged the font size on the blog post.

So..... I'm finding ways to adjust.

Now I am going to see if I can start knitting a pair of TUBE socks, which would avoid the tricky heel section, during which I would always have to carefully watch my tiny printed directions.  Maybe with larger needles and yarn I can keep knitting!  I'll see.

Sara

Gratitudes:

Association for the Blind and Visually impaired
Charlie's calm help
Cortisone injection in right knee for trip 

Thursday, March 7, 2013

Quilting progress, maybe the last


Dianne was here in the afternoon to finish sewing down the binding on this quilt for Jose' on my machine, where the trouble had started.  She got all my mistakes corrected and completed the other two and a half sides.  What a friend!

It was washed and dried just before they arrived for supper.  I was so involved and concentrated on expressing my thoughts in handing it over to him that I forgot all about taking photos.  I hope to get one of Jose' with the quilt another day.

By the time we were playing a game of "Ninety-Nine"
after eating, he loosened up, making little jokes, and we can see that he will be fun to have around.  And he understands a lot more English than he can express.

Now the Stash Report:

I turned three neonatal quilts over to fellow quilting bee members for them to bind and then turn in next month.

First, the Thousand Pyramids.
Second, the Many Trips. Around the World (with a map of the U,S, on the back).

Third, the Ragged Bulls' Eyes.

So I'm counting the fronts and backs of those three quilts as yardage I used out of my stash.

And I am also counting the fabric in the front, back, and binding of the "Carnival" jellyroll race quilt I finished and am keeping for myself.

Those all added up to over 16 yards out of stash since the last report.  So this week the total used for the year is  42.5 yards, and the total purchased stays at  14.25 yards, so
TOTAL LOSS TO THE STASH = 28.25 YARDS.

Hoo-ray, hoo-rah!
With my actual sewing and quilting being curtailed, the next move is going to be removing fabric by donation.  That will not start until we return from Florida at the beginning of April, but will be good news for Margaret's Hope Chest.

Sara

Gratitudes:

All the fabric I have fondled and enjoyed
Still one treatment for WMD that we haven't tried
So many friends willing to help me out 




Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Jose' has landed!


Peter and Lynne's foster son has arrived in Grand Rapids -- just this afternoon.  Here they are at his arrival.  We were there to say "Hola!"and then they were off to caseworker's office and then home. Jose' is a refugee teen from Honduras.

They will come over to have hamburgers tomorrow for supper with Abuela Sara and Abuelo Charlie.  I want to give him his quilt then, so the push is on to get that binding finished.  I'm having trouble with it but Dianne is on her way to the rescue.

Sara

Gratitudes:

Sequestration [air traffic controllers] didn't stop his flight
Snow storm in Chicago didn't stop his flight 
He's  OUT of the Houston Detention Center after six months

Monday, March 4, 2013

Jelly Roll Race


I finished my "Jelly Roll Race" quilt, which we worked on at a retreat a year ago.  Since I am going to keep this for my TV-watching quilt, I thought I could do the binding myself,  No quilt police here to look for "bad binding", especially since I'm the very one who can't see where the errors are!

I choose the orange striped fabric for the binding partly because it was a strong contrast to the next fabrics [easier to SEE while applying].

I learned a new method.  Make WIDE binding, apply it to the front, then fold to the back and sew close to the edge.  This will give you an extra line of "quilting" on the front.  Well, I thought the instruction to cut the binding 4.5" before folding must be wrong, and I didn't have that much fabric anyway, so I tried 2.75"  Maybe you can see that didn't put my line of stitching very far from the front binding edge.
However, it did mean I caught the edge all the way around.  And that was good for me!

--------------

I went to the eye doctor after only two weeks because I felt my eyes were deteriorating so quickly.  He didi all the tests again and reported that the INTERIOR of my eyes is "way" better even though I can't tell that.  Wait another two weeks, he says.

Meanwhile we prepare for our trip to Florida for some of Spring Training [baseball fiend in DH].  I am checking on Books on Tape for my entertainment.

Jose' is now scheduled to arrive tomorrow!  Need to get the binding on HIS quilt.

Sara

Gratitudes:
My helpers in the Grand Rapids Women's Chorus
Great music in Cinncinnati with Muse
Exercise class + massage!