Endings

I just finished reading the "goodbye" post from Fat Cyclist, which Elden actually wrote four months ago. I feel as if a part of my life has disappeared.

I've actually felt as if a HUGE part of my life disappeared since Lizard's Parkinson's diagnosis back in August of 2018. I occasionally catch myself in a puddle of self-pity because of what my life has become. We have pretty much become primarily home bodies; we don't get out, and it's not because of any pandemic. When I begin to feel that way, I remind myself what Lizard must feel about his life. That quickly mops up any tears of selfdom threatening to fall from my eyes.

But that's off-topic. The end of a beloved blog I love is a hard pill to swallow. Crazy Mom Quilts was a cherished hang-out, and I'm not sure there is another quilting blog that has come close to the following Amanda had. But Fat Cyclist... there was a time when Fat Cyclist was a way of life for me. For us. Although Lizard wasn't able to keep up with blogs the way I did because he didn't have computer access around the clock like I sometimes did, oh, how he loved checking up on Fatty when he could.

How sad that I'm just now seeing Fatty's goodbye. Fat Cyclist was one of my favorite blogs to read back when I could read blogs every single day. I was sad when Elden moved to Red Kite Prayer because I knew that meant he would be writing less often. Red Kite Prayer was the top cycling blog on the internet at the time, and I thought I might like it as much as I enjoyed Fat Cyclist. Slowly, my life became a little too busy for as much blog-reading (16 grandkids overnight will do that to you!!!), so I didn't read RKP as often as I'd read Fat Cyclist. Before I knew it (because I wasn't reading as often), Fat Cyclist was back, and I tried to keep up as best I could. But life still got in the way. Fatty slowed his production as much as I slowed my reading, and when his posts became less and less frequent, I wondered if he was okay. I wondered if his family was okay. I wondered why I completely lost touch.

And that's sort of the way all blogs have been trending, right? Well, busyness and technology. Now it seems YouTube and podcasts are the way to communicate if you aren't on Twitter or Snapchat (which I'm not). Even Elden declares in his final post, "blogs are dead." (Just try to tell that to the quilting community!!!) Some of the cycling blogs I read years ago didn't make it to the then-average lifespan of a successful blog, which, at the time, was eight years. Many didn't make it eight months!!!

I vaguely remember one cyclist who also was a quilter, and I so LOVED that blog. It was open to the public only a short while. Many of the blogs I used to read on a daily basis are gone now. Many of the blogs I loved to check up on until my life took its unexpected spin a few years ago have either stopped publishing or are now publishing extremely randomly (kind of what I am tempted to do every now and then when priorities keep me from computer free time). Even Red Kite Prayer has moved on in the form of Cycling Independent or TCI.

Are blogs truly dead?

I still LOVE to read blogs, but I don't prove it at all. I visit a very few of my very favorite blogs maybe once every two or three weeks, and even then, I often don't have time and/or means to comment. (Access via one of my computers is restricted, so even though I might be able to read a few while multi-tasking, I often can't see any included images or comments.) Are security restrictions contributing to the death of blogs? Are phishers of the blogging world contributing to the death of blogs?

I don't want blogs to end. I don't want to give up blogging. At least not yet. I hate that I can't be as active as I once was. Especially now that it feels as if Lizard and I are a bit cut off from the rest of the world. Blogging was such a big part of my life. I keep hoping it can be again one day. Especially since I will not move to Twitter and I have even less time to devote to YouTube than I do to blogs. The blog community was my community, and I treasure it. Even now, when it can't be the priority it once was.

I wanted to title this blog post "Painful Goodbyes", but the last time I pulled something like that, everyone thought I was jumping off the deep end! I'M NOT!!! I'm pretty darned happy, and I'm not giving up!!!

But the blogging world has changed. I feel as if I've lost a friend and motivator, even though Fatty is still around, just not in the blogging world. The quilt Lisa (The Hammer) gave to Elden made me feel kin with her, even though I know next to nothing about her, other than she's very fast on a bike. Yet, she probably didn't make the quilt. She probably paid to have it made.

Magic lives on, though, because I have my own Fat Cyclist jersey with pink. It isn't going to be cut up and added to a quilt for a good long time because, thankfully, I can still fit into it. But jerseys come and go, just like blogs, I suppose. And I have cut up a few for a future quilt for Lizard. (Shhh! Don't tell him!!!)

And that means I still have something in common with The Hammer. Lizard will one day have something in common with Fatty. I don't have to pay someone to make it. Lizard likely will treasure it as much, if not more, as Fatty treasures his quilt. And that future quilt will be something full of rich memories both Lizard and I will be able to wrap up in together.

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Snowflake Monday

I have been trying to finish up Mother's Day gifts - quilted table toppers - and had to practice the pattern to make sure I could do it right before I cut into the mom fabrics. Of course, my favorite practice piece included snowflakes!!!

I thought I was going to need a few smaller snowflakes to finish off this gem. But I found exactly six unused, perfectly sized, shaped but not stiffened snowflakes in my Moda Blockheads project. Several of my 2018 snowflakes were inspired by weekly patterns during Blockheads 2. And the way I worked some of my blocks was inspired by the snowflakes I added to them.

I had SO much fun working with snowflake fabrics (and snowflake appliqué) making this table topper, I can't wait to finish up my Blockheads project now!!!

In the meantime, I got to add another round to this week's simple flake because it didn't need to be as tiny as I imagined when I first started it. The name comes from the most predominant weather element we've had this year.

You may do whatever you'd like with snowflakes you make from this pattern, but you may not sell or republish the pattern. Thanks, and enjoy!

Finished Size: 305 inches from point to point
Materials: Size 10 crochet thread, size 7 crochet hook, empty pizza box, wax paper or plastic wrap, cellophane tape, water soluble school glue or desired stiffener, water, glitter, small container for glue/water mixture, paintbrush, stick pins that won't be used later for sewing, clear thread or fishing line

Gusty Snowflake Instructions

Make magic ring.

Round 1: 12 sc in ring; sl st in starting sc. Don't pull magic circle too tight.

Round 2: Ch 2 (counts as 1 dc), 1 dc in same sc as sl st, [ch 5, sk next sc, 2 dc in next dc] 5 times; ch 2, 1 tr in 2nd ch of starting ch 2 to form 6th ch 5 sp of Round.

Round 3: Ch 2 (counts as 1 dc), 1 dc over post of tr directly below, [ch 5, in next ch 5 sp work (2 dc, ch 3, 2 dc)] 5 times; ch 5, 2 dc in next ch 5 sp, ch 1, 1 dc in 2nd ch of starting ch 2 to form 6th ch 3 tip of Round.
If you're not reading this pattern on Snowcatcher, you're not reading the designer's blog. Please go here to see the original.

Round 4: Ch 2 (counts as 1 dc), 1 dc over post of dc directly below, [ch 2, in next ch 5 sp work (1 sc, ch 5, 1 sc), ch 2, in next ch 3 tip work 2 dc, ch 3, 2 dc] 6 times, omitting last 2 dc of final repeat; sl st in 2nd ch of starting ch 2; bind off. Weave in ends.

Finish: Tape wax paper or plastic wrap to top of empty pizza box. Pin snowflake to box on top of wax paper or plastic wrap.

If using glue, mix a few drops of water with a teaspoon of glue in small washable container. Paint snowflake with glue mixture or desired stiffener. Sprinkle lightly with glitter. Wash paintbrush and container thoroughly. Allow snowflake to dry at least 24 hours. Remove pins. Gently peel snowflake from wax paper or plastic wrap. Attach 10-inch clear thread to one spoke, weaving in end. Wrap fishing line around tree branch (or tape to ceiling or any overhead surface) and watch snowflake twirl freely whenever you walk by! Snowflake also may be taped to window or tied to doorknob or cabinet handle.

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I Feel My Savior's Love

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Hallelujah

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Not Quite Christmas

Second practice table topper is done, and it went much smoother than the first one, which is for my mom for Mother's Day.

When I first started the ocean-themed table topper for my mom, I intended to use a wider variety of self-cut blue jelly roll strips from my leftovers. My blues include snowflakes, butterflies, flowers, batiks and solids. Once I got going, I decided sticking to one theme would be nicer if she ever has company for dinner. I'm hoping the family can gather again one day...

One of the reasons I made the first practice table topper was to see if I could complete the kit I bought for my mother-in-law's Mother's Day gift without purchasing the 60-degree diamond template the pattern says is required. I was glad I worked a practice table topper not only so I could give one to my own mom, too, but also because I made a few mistakes. One of the biggest mistakes was misreading the pattern. I saw (2) 1.5-inch strips as 2.5-inch strips. Pretty huge mistake! And what a tremendous size difference!!!

I did the second practice piece with my snowflake leftovers in the correct size because many of them have small print. I wasn't so sure the kit would look as good in the smaller size, but I didn't want to have to buy more fabric if I didn't have to. I feared I might lose a lot of the print detail if I cut the western-themed fabrics that narrow.

When I tried to visualize the Home on the Range strips half the width, I decided that was just too small. The lovely fabric designs would be lost. The illustration on the front of the Shabby Fabrics pattern actually shows fairly accurate placement of the print designs in the narrower strips, but I hadn't looked at that as closely until after I made the decision to go with the larger size. So I ordered more of the background, backing and binding fabric so I could complete the kit in the larger size. Any leftovers will be added to the quilt project I intend to help my mother-in-law with next month when we visit again. While I wait for the fabric to arrive, I finished whipping up the smaller table topper, which went SO much faster because it is SO much smaller!!!

Of course, I had to appliqué snowflakes onto the smaller table topper. Initially I thought I'd have to make a few new snowflakes because I wasn't sure I had six small enough to fit on that tiny table topper. But going through my Moda Blockheads 2 leftovers, I found a stack of unused but already-shaped flakes small enough to add to this project.

The backing of my second practice project is from my blue snowflake stash. I've now used up almost all of this particular fabric.

I also decided after pinning the second side of the binding in place, because the topper is so much smaller and because I didn't have the new fabric for my mother-in-law's table topper yet, that I had time to hand-sew down the binding on the smaller topper. I really like the way that turned out. I think in this small piece, top stitching on the binding would have detracted from the self-cut jelly roll snowflake leftovers I used in the binding. I did NOT use up all my blue snowflake leftovers for this project, and for that, I am joyfully content!

For the two blue table toppers, however, I did use up almost all my batting remnants. This is all the quiltable remnants I have right now. That will change the next time I finish a quilting project.

I do have a bunch of skinny batting remnants I use for stuffing amigurumi and pillows. I'm anxious to dig into my hand-dyed crochet thread stash once again so I can start making more amigurumi. It's been WAY too long! I used to crochet snowflakes and amigurumi on the bus and train during my daily commute. Now that I'm mostly working from home, I've been trying to establish and set aside a new block of dedicated crochet time. Not successful yet, but still looking for opportunities.

I also used up the snowflake diamond remnants to make a couple of new quilt blocks I can add to my Moda Blockheads 2 project, which, as I recall, needs a few more smallish blocks to complete the layout. Making these remnant blocks was SO fun, I really want to get back into block-a-week mode now! Just maybe not any new projects quite yet. When I get my WIPs down into single digits...

Moda Blockheads 4 started last month. I was SO tempted to dive in! I finally decided to save up this year's Blockhead patterns for after I whittle away a few more of my existing WIPs, including Blockheads 2. I don't know if I can finish my Blockheads 2 quilt this quarter, but this year might be doable. I am trying to finish SOMETHING on the project each week while others are making new blocks. I'm planning a rather spectacular and dramatic finish, so I think it will definitely be worth the wait!

Linking up with Alycia Quilts.

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Wordless Wednesday

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Tex-Mex Roots

I grew up frequently enjoying enchiladas, sopapillas, burritos and tacos. With lots of Hatch chile, of course!

Now Lizard and I have our own at-home Mexican salad bar, burrito bar, taco bar (and not just on Tuesdays) or torilla soup bar at least four times a week, usually more like five or six days a week. Italian typically fills the rest of the monthly menu.

I also put great effort into growing my own spices, peppers and onions all year long, and I do my best to grow my own tomatoes during the summer.

Chili has been a mainstay at our house. We (obviously) haven't had the annual Super Bowl chili cook-off at work for two years now. I realized the other day it's been too long since I made my own chili. So I pulled out six varieties of beans and fired up the crock pot. It's huge, so we had plenty to share, and the neighbors said it was awesome.

It had been at least three years since I made my own homemade chili mac. Oh, boy, was this latest batch a hit!

My mom got me hooked on chili and eggs when I was very young. I hadn't made that in probably more than a decade. Lizard doesn't eat eggs, so I rarely make them. He was game to try his favorite breakfast of biscuits and gavy with chili while I scrambled up one of the best breakfasts I've had in a long time.

The pièce de résistance, though, was something new to my kitchen. I'd thoroughly enjoyed Navajo fry bread at a Truth or Consequences restaurant decades ago and at the end of our 2015 Ride the Rockies. But I've never had or made homemade Indian fry bread, even though the first 28 years of my existence was a hop, skip and a jump away from the Mescalero Indian reservation.

I don't know why I was so afraid to try making this on my own until now. Scores of fry bread recipes may be found on the internet. I read a few, then did my own thing, with each fry bread turning out a little better than the previous attempt. The fifth specimen was perfect!!! Lizard said our fry bread with my homemade six-bean chili was the best meal I've ever made. Rolling the dough is such good arm exercise, too. You can darn sure bet these babies will be on our menu often now!

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