Quilting – A Photo's Worth

Lens-Artists Challenge #238 Alone Time

Ann-Christine and Lens-Artists are looking forward to seeing my, “Alone Time” posts. What are my thoughts, and what do I use my alone time for?

Alone time does bring about challenges for me. So today this blog will be more than a photo blog. I will take this time to do some reflection on my life.

By nature, I believe I am more of an introvert and like my time alone. I have many things to keep me happily occupied. My photography is sometimes used to get me out of my shell, and ready to explore. But I can easily enjoy quietly looking back at my library, reviewing, cataloging, and creating my photo blog.

Sometimes, I enjoy being an observer of people all around me. I am thinking about their solitude.

I like to take walks. My neighborhood has 4 courts, and a private road so there is little traffic and some up-and-down elevations. At first, Moxie, my Golden Retriever, had no trouble being my companion. Once a noisy garbage truck stopped next to us and wanted to meet her. This frightened her, and it has been a bit of a struggle to walk past our court ever since. I have tried to get her used to truck sounds. So, like my last dog, if I want to walk I need to first drive to a park trail. Not as spontaneous. Maybe as Moxie turns 2 she will grow out of these fears. She is also trying to contain her excitement when we walk. She pulls ahead then realizes that I have stopped and comes to a heal position. So our walks are more training than solitude until we take our nap together.

In this recliner Moxie and I take our nap in the afternoon!

As a retired librarian I love to read.

I often find the subject matter ties into my family history. I am a child of two Holocaust survivors, and I am always reading historical fiction, memoirs, and non-fiction. I just started the last book of a trilogy entitled, The Tree of Life by Holocaust survivor Chava Rosenfarb. I am well-read on the subject, but these 3 remarkable books describe life in the Lodz Ghetto, and more than that they make me think about the meaning of life itself. I highly recommend these books to everyone. It is a tough subject, but there is a sweetness and clarity to each written paragraph.

This coincides with another passion – genealogy. Again this is both an alone project, which sometimes surprisingly connects me to my extended family. Next week I will be visiting New York City. Through Ancestry.com, I will be meeting a first cousin once removed who is coming all the way from New Hampshire to meet me for dinner. Last year, I met another first cousin once removed from Israel. Children of my first cousins. It is special to have a family connection. While in NYC I will also visit the Yivo reading room where I will see items from my Great Uncle Lazar Kahan and Great Aunt Rose Shoshana Kahan. I never had any grandparents, and my parents didn’t discuss their past often. I have my parents’ testimonies from the United States Shoah Foundation. My grandparents’ generation had large families (16 children), so it is easy to see how much the Holocaust impacted my family. On only my father’s paternal side, from 15 siblings and families 30-35 were murdered. On my mother’s maternal side, my grandmother had 8 siblings with families of their own, and only one survived. I haven’t counted all the losses. It is hard to take in. Watching the news today weighs heavy on me. I believe that there are no winners in war. Sorry, I got carried away with these heavy thoughts. But that is what happens when I have some alone time.

To lighter thoughts, I have not taken on any knitting or crocheting projects lately. I needed to give my hands a rest. I started to do some quilting, but training my puppy has replaced this for the time being. Looking forward to starting some new projects.

So there are plenty of ways I like to spend my time. As you can tell, all but walking and napping with Moxie, need the use of my eyes. And they are starting to fail me. I have macular degeneration and the ophthalmologist is trying to help save the sight in one eye. So far the injection has not changed anything, and my vision is quite distorted. So far the left eye is better, and the dry macular has no treatment but progresses slower. Luckily I use my left eye for my camera eye-piece, and my camera is set for autofocus. I can type ok, but reading back this post is tiring. The book I mentioned may be the last one I read in a paper version. From now on I will use my iPad.

So what do you do with your alone time? Deep contemplation, restful time floating in a pool, or getting lost in a book?

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #174 Shapes and Designs

For this weeks photo challenge PA (Patti Moed) asks us to take a closer look at shapes and designs. Sometimes when I go out on a photo shoot I focus on one of these elements.

Designs created by these tumbled rocks along the American River

Colorful rectangles leads me into some scrumptious Shave Ice on Kauai

Keep a sharp eye out for shapes and designs that surround you!

Waiting is over. And 8-week countdown starts!

The last time I blogged, I was waiting for my grandson to enter the world.

With just one extra 2 a.m. trip to the hospital, we got the word to come to watch the boys while Rachel and Sean headed to Kaiser Roseville. And finally a text, he is here!

Presenting Colton Levi Dennis (photo by Rachel or Sean)

Smooth delivery. Mom and baby are healthy. All the boys were excited to meet their baby brother, Colton Levi. Colton arrived on January 31, 2020, weighing in at 7 pounds 9 ounces and 20 inches in length. Reaction from everyone, he is so small and cute.

One day in the hospital and home. Sean was happy to be home to watch the Super Bowl and not in delivery as I predicted. Thought a February 2, Ground Hog day birthday would be fun. My daughter has a supportive husband in Sean. Good thing too!

Starting on February 2 my pup to be mama Ginger moved to Jo’s house in preparation for her upcoming birth of puppies. After an ultrasound Jo let me know that even though I am 5 or 6th on list Ginger was puppy full. My guess was 9 or 10.

Our preference is for a solid colored girl, but I will happily enjoy having a boy. Well On February 7th Ginger’s labor started. Grand total many hours later is 10 puppies – 7 boys and 3 girls.

I thought that I would not be high up on the list for a girl, but now I can get the third girl or a boy. I am so excited. Jo posts many photos of puppy piles. No individual portrait session yet. Pups are so busy nursing and sleeping. Moma Ginger is taking good care. Breeder “litterally” has her hands full. Jo sets up a Nest cam for part of the day, and I can check-in and see how much there is to do with a new litter. Silent tv on the corner of my computer screen.

Pile full of Puppy Love – Day 4 (photo taken by Jo)

Now I wait until I can meet the puppies in person, and then bring our puppy home. That date is April 1st. On March 13 I will meet the individual pups via facetime. Then, on March 22 we will visit the litter. Preparations now start. Decisions, purchases, and organizing the house.

So how will I pass the time? I am signed up for a 9-week beginner quilting class and my local quilting shop. I started last week. Even though there are plenty of tutorials, and answers on the Internet, I learn many tips and tricks from the interactions in class. Some of the blocks I am seeing online will make more sense in 9 weeks time, I hope!

My camera is getting a workout. Last week Colton had his first portrait session. Using my prime 35mm 1.4 lens I captured a perfect sleeping angel for his birth announcement.

This week my CTD (Camera Totin’ Days) group went to a familiar place, The Antique Trove. Usually, we find this is our go-to place when it is raining. But, alas the day felt more like Spring has sprung. This sunny day did allow us to spend time in The Antique Trove garden area. My focus here in the garden area was how to improve the decor outside. I have a succulent garden that I want to display attractively. So I am on the hunt for ideas.

My husband reminds me that we have too much stuff. But as long as I have a place for everything, and everything is in its place I disagree. Many items have been accumulated over the past almost 50 years. And I made a point of adding only good memories from my parent’s house. There are a couple of things that need changing in the house, but I will wait till puppy training is over.

While at the Trove I also enjoyed photo opportunities. Here are a few to enjoy.

Next week, I plan to go to Capay Valley to experience the almond trees in full bloom. Time to get out with the group. Last week after the baby arrived I thought I might have strep throat and so I kept away from everyone till I could be sure.

For the last week in February, my oldest grandson will be visiting from Knoxville, Tennessee for a week. He has plenty of restaurants he wants to visit, probably a trip to San Francisco and a family day celebrating my granddaughter’s 18th birthday. Time flies.

Traveling to New York City in March for a quick trip. Plan to see a show, eat some great food, and take in the sights.

Then home to ready ourselves for our new addition.

So now you are kind of caught up. Well, there is a VERY important item I skipped over. That is to VOTE on Super Tuesday. I am registered. I received my ballot, and plan to vote. Got to stop the continuous destruction of democracy. Interfering with judges should not be allowed. I just can’t understand the people who can follow this amoral person. Impeached, but not removed. VOTE HIM OUT! Rant done.

Sewing Along

My sewing room is almost completely set up. I have been busy developing my new skills. Learning the lingo. Finding places to gather my supplies. Investigating websites and watching YouTube videos.

There is a lot to getting into a new hobby. I am lucky to have space to create. My little sewing room now has some art on the walls, and space for some new upcoming fiber art.

Created by my mother Alina. When she was traveling she brought this project along.

My mother-in-law gifted us many years ago.

My closet has shelves to store my fabrics that I have been gathering. I have a chest my mother bought when she lived in Hong Kong. It is getting filled with rulers, rotary cutters, clips, pins, threads, etc. The coupons from Joann’s comes in handy.

My first project was a wall hanging for my grandsons. Dinosaurs in bright colors. Except for the binding I hand quilted this one. I was so excited to gift it to them that I forgot to take a picture. Well I know where it is so on Monday I will be babysitting and I’ll grab a photo.

I started with a few small projects. I found a cute book of pot holders and began to learn how to appliqué.

This pot holder was quickly followed by three more.

I then tackled a baby quilt for my grandson due in 2-3 weeks.

This is more of a soft quilt to lay on and not under. Babies do not use blankets until they are older so this will be useful for the little one.

Then I started to follow some quilting blogs, watching some tutorials and reading some pattern books. I decided to get some practice at cutting and stitching straight 1/4 inch seams. And I began my next project, a small pieced quilt. The last time I pieced a quilt was 40 years ago. My neighbor was a quilter and she helped me. I machine pieced and hand quilted a twin sized quilt for my four year old son. I don’t have a photograph of my work. I was pleased with the result. I had my daughter soon after and life continued on. My mother also quilted for the first time two twin quilts.

My sewing machine set up with a Sew Steady table.

My machine is currently sitting on a desk. I just got a new chair. My previous desk chair is quite old and the hydraulic lift was no longer working. I would sit at the desk and continue to slip lower and lower. A sinking feeling. New chair I can sit at a better angle. I still may end up looking for a better solution with better ergonomics.

I am practicing matching points. Some nights I sew a couple of squares, and then while watching tv I rip out about half of them. I am kind of a perfectionist when I look at my work closely. I know that once it is done the mistake will be happy little unique moments.

Quilt in progress. This is called a scrappy quilt design.

The color class I took at Cosumnes River College with Patty Felkner prepares me for my new endeavor. This quilt called for 4 dark and 4 light colors. Design was not my focus this time. Can you tell?

I am lucky that there are quite a few local quilt shops near my house. I visited 4 shops and found my new “home”. This shop has helpful people and nice fabrics. The shop is called Swifty Stitches after the Golden Retriever, Swifty the owner’s dog. This afternoon I met Swifty and his friend Lila, another Golden Retriever. Getting some puppy love is an added bonus. I signed up for a beginner class that starts in February. I hope that I will learn some new techniques.

Blockheads 3 starts this week. Designers from all over will provide patterns and the fb group will share the outcomes online. I thought I might be overwhelmed, but the group has encouraged me to jump in. I will experience new techniques and can find help if I need it. I bought some fabric (fat quarters) and so I will be busy.

Sew here I go! I will continue to blog, take photos, read about raising a puppy, pursue my genealogy and “dabble along”.

Category: Quilting