Why Do I Feel the Need to...?

 

There are many things that I do in Life that are not strictly necessary but somehow I feel the need to do them anyway. I wanted to make a couple of instructional videos this week that may benefit say, 2 people (max). As per usual, I wasted a lot of time fiddling around with cameras and mics. This time I would not be filming the quilting frame and instead wanted overhead shots at the cutting table or sewing machine. This is not as simple as it would seem. You-tubers must have all sorts of “rigs” that you can’t see to hold their gear. I have, ahem, quite a lot of gear but the cameras would droop or be shooting from a weird angle. If only I knew a friendly carpenter to build some sort of framework or ceiling rack.

As well as getting the view right, sound is important too. It took me ages to notice that I could not get my mic to pick up sound because I had not plugged it in correctly - I blame it on the lack of clearly written instructional manuals - ie. no manuals at all!

Of course, I had to practise what the video would be about before I could start filming. In the case of the Goosey Guddle block this meant taking step by step photos for reference. I used my phone, which has a good camera but the proper camera would have been better if I could have angled it correctly, sigh…

The case of the quilt machine zips was different. In the USA you can buy finished open-ended zips at exactly the right size. Here in the UK, I bought continuous zipper and could not source plastic end stops to stop the zip head from falling off. I had to faff around with a sample piece, working out an alternative which turned out to be inserting some spare teeth at the bottom end of the zip and melting them with a soldering iron. To be able to write clear instructions, I will have to know exactly how much zip tape to cut to get both sides to fit together nicely.

In other techno news, the fancy clacketty computer keyboard that I use won’t light up any more. It is not that I need to light up - just that it should and I don’t see why I should put up with something that is only working 50%. To the list of gadgets that need fixing, I must work out why the washing machine is leaking, phone someone to mend the dishwasher and complain that my microphone’s fluffy “dead cat” windshield won’t stay on. 

All in all, it’s no wonder that I feel that I have gone around in circles all week!

Overdue Upgrades

 Although I am a great fan of new gadgets, sometimes I just seem to keep clinging onto older, less efficient ones. I have a fabulous lapis-blue fridge that I have had for almost 25 years but the seals aren’t great so I have to constantly wipe down condensation on the door. I will be heart-broken when I eventually have to give up on my fridge because I can no longer source any parts. 

Our central heating boiler broke down in March but we still have not done anything about it. An old, granite house really needs some heating all year round to combat damp. This week I ordered a new printer to replace the old one that still works, except that it prints with added streaks and lines. The new printer is much bigger so I needed to make space in a tight corner of my room. When I shifted the bookcase and small table that housed the old printer, I discovered that everything behind them was foosty with black mould so some deep cleaning was required.

It seems that I have finally found a buyer for my 15 year old Landrover - an enthusiastic who will lovingly restore it. Landy’s replacement is a luxurious, 10 year old Volvo estate. I was very specific in my search so it is gold, with cream leather seats and a sunroof. I love the Volvo’s auto gearbox and secretly will not miss the Landy’s leaks, rattles and grouchy gear changes.

I made a few blocks for Nella’s autumn quilt and used the Bernina 1008 for one of them. It does not have a ¼” foot and its standard foot either does what I would call a generous ¼” seam or a scant one. I opted for the scant one but after I did a few more blocks on the Bernina 710, I noticed that the block done with the scanty seams was almost half an inch bigger so the lesson there is to stick to using the same machine throughout a project;)

Although I had planned on making another “movie” on how to construct zippered leaders for the Q24, time got away with me while I was sorting out all of my overdue upgrades. At least I managed to quilt one customer’s hexagon quilt with all-over camelia flowers so I felt that I had spent some useful time out in my workshop. 

Technically Speaking

 I eased myself gently into the week by making Nella and Fergus each a key fob to attach to USB sticks. I had sort of forgotten how the ScannCut machine worked so there were a few abortive attempts before I got the fuzzy T-shirt vinyl to stick to the mat the right way up. In the end I remembered that I had to mirror the letters so they would be the right way round after they got stuck down by the heat press. It all takes so much time to remember how to use gadgets after not playing with them for a while. 

It took me the best part of 3 whole days to re-film an instructional video on how to set up a simple all-over pattern on a quilt using Q-matic. I was determined to stream 2 camera views and share my computer screen, recording the whole shebang into Zoom. For some reason I could not get my 2 cameras to behave in OBS (open broadcasting software) and by the time I worked out how to proceed the camera batteries were dead! I decided to order some fabric while I waited for them to recharge…

Eventually, I started to film my one-woman video - subsequently interrupted by the phone ringing, Nessie barking at the Postie and one or other camera randomly cutting out. If there were bloopers, viewers would witness a lot of swearing, muttering and huffing. Nella is managing to splice it all together in I-Movie which I should learn to do myself, I suppose. 

For ages I have been complaining that I don’t have a project so Nella suggested that I should make her an autumnal quilt since it is her favourite season. I decided that I could make another Goosey-Guddle quilt, based on a 30’s Feedsack quilt that I rescued from E-bay. I made the original GG quilt for Freya to go away to St. Andrews Uni 5 years ago. Of course, I could not find any written instructions on my computer but I did find some rough jottings in an old notebook so I decided to write them out properly and check that they actually worked. I ordered far too much fabric but in my defence, it is a quilt that needs to look you have rummaged through a scrap-bag. It’s not like I am spending any money on quilt trips these days so I don’t feel guilty. I am making myself 20 block kits and filing them into plastic pockets so I can easily take a couple into the house to sew if I find myself at a loose end;)

A Big Week in Small Ways

 

As a consolation that there was no college for Nella on Monday, we went to the cinema in the afternoon and saw “Our Ladies” - a Scottish film about girls behaving badly on a school trip to Edinburgh. It was a great film actually, in a typically British understated way but with lots of swearing and drinking. The upshot was that it made Nella realise that she is missing having a fun, teenage life having no friends due to anorexia. She sees that she must try to recover, even though it is incredibly difficult to get her brain to agree. 

Nella was very nervous about her first day in education for 2 years but she really enjoyed it. She found it hard to get to know the other people on the course as there were strict social distancing rules, face-masks and no introductions. She did make a friend for the day but was unnerved when the girl did not have any lunch, realising that was not a good influence. Nella was thrilled to come home with homework, deadlines and a sense of purpose. 

She is nowhere near ready to start eating freely but is willing to set herself more food challenges so we went out for brunch on Saturday, followed by a trip to Hobbycraft to buy sketchbooks. 

I managed to do a couple of simple customer quilts during the week and allowed myself to enjoy some late summer sun in the afternoon with a cup of tea. A fun job was to apply decals to the Bernina 710 to make it look like a special edition. I ordered them on Etsy and they were quite easy to fit - amazingly, there was only one small crinkle. 

We are still trying to perfect overnight sourdough bread in a dutch oven. This week the loaf looked fantastic but was the bread was quite wet so I will add less water and / or bake for longer. When (if) I get it right, I will jot down the definitive recipe;)