Tuesday, April 10, 2018

Tuesday morning things

* The griping pain in my neck and shoulders (which, on one side, was bad enough to make me go "I really hope this is NOT a pinched nerve starting") is gone. Part of it, I am sure, is being able to take a warm shower again - wow, I guess I really depend on those to deal with daily aches and pains.

Also, probably the stress of worrying about the install contributed to it; I know my neck and shoulders is where stress goes to hang out on me.

And I'm sure not having to lift 12 quart stockpots full of warm water to bathe in any more helps too.

* I did notice one thing about the new heater - while it is running, at least during the first parts of it, it makes a high-pitched whine audible in my bedroom (my bedroom shares a wall with that closet). So that tells me that I won't be able to run a load of laundry on hot late in the evening right before I go to bed. (I had started the sink in the bathroom running and run in to get underwear out of the dresser because the plumber warned me it would take longer for the bathroom sink-water to become hot with the new heater, the way it works. I can live with that though)

(Aside: "You've taught college for 18 years; you should be used to hearing high-pitched whines" Ba dum tssh)

* I put all the quilts back on the guest room bed last evening. Wow, I have a LOT of quilts that I have made down through the years. I mean, I knew that, but it really brought it home, ferrying them back into the room and carefully spreading them out. And I notice a couple of color trends in the quilts I have made:

A. Pink, green, and brown in various shades (from acidy yellow-green and hot pink to a subdued brown and an almost brownish-pink, to more naturalistic flower colors). I just like these colors together and I am sure I will make more quilts with them

B. Dark wine-grape purple and a dark bluish green, like grape leaves. Subdued, but again, a combination I like.

C. Teal with other colors

D. Even turquoise and red and YES those colors go together in a quilt if you pick the right shades and the right fabric designs

One thing I have found: very often colors you don't think will "go," will, if you pick the right shades. Like purple: there's a whole spectrum, from purples that are almost red to purples that are almost blue and you have to pick the right one for the application (and purple can be hard to match). And colors that have the same "modification" seem to work together better - so "greyed down pastels" (like so many 1930s prints) will work all together even using the full spectrum, but you put in ONE fabric that is just different enough and it throws everything off.

I've also found it helps to match the STYLE of the print, even if the colors aren't a perfect go - so, for example, big goofy geometrics will work together even if the color matches aren't perfect, but throw a little floral in there and suddenly you see things don't work.

I need to make more quilts. Even though I have a lot already. (It's the making, not the having, by and large - I could probably make more for Project Linus or maybe some for Quilts of Valor if I have enough "manly" or "patriotic" fabrics - those go to veterans and veterans are still mostly male, so....)

* I also think when I move my yarn stash back in there I'm going to try to fit it into the closet as much as I reasonably can, and NOT put stuff back on the bed. Because I really like the idea of being able to easily change the quilt on my bed (I mean, the one I sleep in) periodically, and it's also good to do it for the wear and tear on the quilts (and it does me no good to have a pile of pretty quilts I never get to see). I did grab my "Far, Far Away quilt (which I guess I never photographed finished? It was the last of the quilts that HNT quilted for me before they closed....) and put it on my bed to change it out for the Achitextures one I had been using.

The other thing is: it IS my "guest" room, and while I haven't had an overnight guest since the last time my parents visited (in 2004 or so) and honestly, if my brother and sister in law were passing through I'd be more likely to say, "Hey, let me put you up in a hotel here so you have more room" because my house is REALLY small and three more people (one a child) would be overwhelming....still, I DO have friends, and it's not inconceivable that there might be a time when, for example, Laura was traveling and it would be convenient for her to stay over at my place (which saves her the cost of a motel room) and it would be nice to have the bed easily accessible (even if I really need to wash the sheets I have on it at the moment).

Or, for that matter: if someone at church was suddenly out of their house because of some disaster, it would be a good thing for me to be able to put them up (and not make them sleep on the futon that serves as a sofa in my living room).

And I am just happier when more of my house is more organized. And I think, more creative: I am again thinking of project ideas.


* Lynn, if you really want a looper-loom potholder? Tell me the colors of your kitchen and I'll make one at some point in the near future and send it along. The seven-inch size IS small but I find it's big enough to grab a pot handle with or to set a hot bowl on on the table.

These are kind of a fun "I want to make something but I am too tired for 'serious' crafting and also I want instant gratification" project.

* I am....thinking about summer again. One thing my colleague Diane mentioned at the Wesley Center board meeting (we are both on the board and we were talking before the meeting) was "I try not to do any work in the summers...." Granted, she is late-career and I am still kind of mid-career and so I'm still pushing to do research, but....maybe I slack off a little on the go-go-go this summer? I do think I might try playing around with either learning R or learning to do stats analysis in Mathematica, and I do a little project (which will mostly be me doing nothing, once I establish it) looking at what detritivores are attracted to what types of litter - and anyway, that's probably a better "early fall" project, given the population cycles on those things.

But maybe, maybe....maybe I work on more quilts and I try to re-organize my various stashes (and sort, and do some giving away/swapping of stuff) and maybe even bite the bullet and haul EVERYTHING out of my sewing room (or move things like the bookcases to the center of the room) and clean the walls all up and repaint them? I will admit to having glanced at the paint chips on the way past them to get the washing machine hoses yesterday.....and again I am thinking: very pale turquoise? Or very pale lavender? Or a shell pink? One of the relatively-few consolations of living alone (in a home you own) is you can paint a room whatever color you want and no one is going to roll their eyes or go "Ew, that's a girly color."

1 comment:

Lynn said...

My kitchen walls are a soft buttery yellow, the countertops are blue (sort of faded denim-ish?) and I have a few red things like ceramic canisters and tea towels and such.