But I did a stupid thing. See that bobbin up there? Well, I'd been stashing the full bobbin up there to keep it handy.
It was a stupid thing to do. Better I should have stashed it on that pin next to the thread that I'm using. Because all of a sudden, my machine seized up.
It would go neither forward nor back. I couldn't figure it out. I tugged at the wheel, I checked the needle, checked the bobbin....nothing.
I took three deep breaths.
Then I took four or five more.
All I could think about was, "Nobody can repair this because they're all closed!"
Breathe. Think. Invoke Grandpa, who could fix anything. Invoke the memory of the US Army telling you in Junior College, that you'd make a pretty good mechanic based on the skills test they were giving students.
And breathe again. And grab pliers, a good light, a crochet hook, and a screwdriver. I took the top off my machine. Got the crochet hook to pull out some of the thread, unwound, unwound, unwound, under and over the belt, tugging to keep it coming. Then I got to "ground zero" where I couldn't grab any more. I'd built up quite a pile of "thread barf" and it was just coming and coming... I think it was almost a quarter of that bobbin.
By that point, the limited mobility of my hands was telling and I had to call for Hubby, who removed the wheel assembly and squirted a bit of WD-40 into the assembly behind the wheel, where the last bit of thread was caught.
It all came out. And it all went back together again just like it was supposed to.
And I'm back in the mask-making business. Whew....
This is the pile of thread barf. And the bobbins are now stashed appropriately, AWAY from my machine. I would never have imagined that (a) thread could get there; and (b) it would wind so tightly as to be almost impossible to be removed.
But that's what I get for "stepping on the gas" when I sew. I hit my goal of a dozen masks today. I did an inventory, and Hubby began to cut more ties and body parts. This is the Basket 'O Masks that I have for myself. I made 2 more for Kid #2 and finished 2 more for Hubby. It's a small basket; there are only 3 masks in there; one is in the wash.
We're working not only with nice large swaths of fabric, but with the bits and bobs left over. You can piece together some of the parts to make the front/back pieces, but you do need to have straight pieces for the ties, just for the strength you need to be sure they're sturdy enough to stand up to daily use and washing.
As you can see, I just tie a knot in the one end. I've seen so many sewists (sorry, not sure I like that word, but I'm going to try to use it) and they've done a great job finishing and making sure that every end is trimmed and folded... I'm not that kind of "sewist."
The light in my sewing room (yoga/office/yarn/music room) isn't the greatest. We put in new halogen light fixtures with a nice ceiling lamp but it's just not enough some days. So I asked Hubby if we had a spare task lamp that I could use. Turns out, the answer was "yes." You can see the lovely little lamp to the right there. When the machine is closed, I can still use that lamp as a regular light in the room. It reflects nicely across the space so that when I'm doing Zoom calls, it's a balance to the lamp on the desk.
It feels like I've got something accomplished even though part of the room is still quite a mess. I have to buckle down and really get moving in there. I put a yoga mat down, and now Quinn and Tippi like to trade "guarding" me when I work in there! Which means, though, that I can't do yoga...
Not Knitting Or Sewing...
So I also did this...It's a blanket for my grand-dog, Feleena. It's a bit small - she grew a lot since I last saw her! She lives in Colorado with Kid #1. She's a snuggle-bug and likes to wrap up in blankets; being a short-haired dog, that's probably a good habit to have in a state where it's snowing more than any other kind of weather. I got the color selections from Feleena's "mom" and did what I could to find the fleece. I think I should have made the fringe a little deeper, but then I should have done 60" fleece, not 45" ... it's cushy, and Feleena loves it but I wish it was a bit bigger.
I like doing these blankets; our church's Youth Group did a bunch of them for the local animal shelter, so maybe the size was ok anyway.
Mother Nature...
This is what I found in a basket of raspberries. They were yummy and sweet; the blackberries I got were bitter - I don't recall blackberries being bitter... but anyway, I noticed this heart among the bright, luscious berries. I miss having our own raspberry bushes; but in all honesty, they mainly provided berries for the birds and squirrels! We never got a lot of berries from them in the first place, but truly what we got were delicious. Much smaller, of course, than these. But our own.
The other day, after teaching another virtual yoga class (I can't wait to tell y'all about our ZOOM classes coming -- and check out the PS below!), I was pulling out of the parking lot at the studio. It's really nicely landscaped; our landlords are wonderful people. And I noticed this: a little nest. I'm not sure what species. I'm not sure it's current but it looks like it's from this year. I know it's not a hummingbird nest because those things are the size of a thimble. But it's a tiny bird. Right now, it's bucketing rain and thundering; I feel for any wild thing out there that doesn't have shelter. I know in the last storm, the wind was so strong it blew over our hummingbird feeders; and I didn't get a chance to fill them today. With the rain and storms all day, it didn't seem like anyone was going to be feeding anyhow.
I have to get the pictures of the orioles off the camera... but in the meantime, here are the lilacs.
We thought we bought two of the same bush - the tags said "French Lilac" which is what we wanted. But somehow, there are slight differences between the two of them. As you can see, the far bush is already in full bloom. And up close, the flowers are bigger, and the scent is a little sweeter.
The near bush, identical in size, same look of the leaves, has smaller flowers, isn't quite in full bloom yet, and has a sharper scent. It's still that "lilac" smell, but it's got a bit of a lemony overtone to it.
Granted, they're both lovely; you can see and smell them for quite a bit of distance, and I'm not complaining. It's just weird that as they get older you can see the differences so much more clearly.
Random Picture...
So someone posted, "Show me the oldest thing you have in your house." I could probably have put up a picture of Tippi, though she would have been offended. But instead, I thought about it for a bit, and realized that it was this. My great-grandmother's wedding ring.
I asked my mom, and we reckon it's about 120 years old... It's thin; and the edges are a tad sharp. When I inherited it, Hubby said, "Let's get it polished up." And I said, "Not on your life."
I wanted the patina on it that I remembered all my youth...My great-granny taught me to cook, and taught me to crochet. She taught me a lot about persevering even when you thought you couldn't do something. She spoke 4 languages. English was the last language she learned. She was dismayed at the "dumb immigrant" comments - yeah, even back then... And I had her in my life till I was 14 years old.
This ring is the oldest thing I own. And it's the most treasured thing.
P.S.: If you want to take online yoga classes during the COVID-19 crisis, please join me and all my teachers at www.just-breatheyoga.com and go to the upper left, under the "Livestream Yoga" tab. Classes are there; we ask a $10 donation so we can pay our teachers while the studio is closed to students.
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