I like making things: March 2017

Monday, March 27, 2017

The last coat of varnish is on

It has been pretty gloomy here the past few days which is actually a good thing because we have had some much needed rain.

Yesterday I put the second and final coat of varnish on the sewing machine lid. Because of the dampness and a hospital trip tomorrow all day I am not going to try and move it.
It needs some dry air to dry it out properly. It does look nice though even though the colour does not match exactly. I am happy with it. You can see that it is not properly dry yet.

When it is fully dry I have to get someone to help me carry it up to my sewing room then I will be able to put it all together and give it a try. I will try and do a quick video of me using it. The excitement of it all has been dulled with recent events but I know I will be happy to have it all working.

I took some photos on my walk out with the dogs today. The trees are not flowering so gloriously as they usually do because of the weird weather patterns we are experiencing. The rain has greened up the grass a lot which is good but the oak trees have not started to bud yet so it is a mixture of Spring and Winter out there.

My husband is not improving any at all, in fact, he seems to be getting worse. The appointment tomorrow is with the neurologist who has ascertained that his B cells have been totally depleted and he has no immunity at all. His heart is also a big concern as he has not come out of atrial fib. We have transmitted four times already and each transmission had 10 events recorded. There could have been a lot more but he doesn't press the button all the time, only for the really bad events. They have put up three out of four reports so far where we can look at them online and they all show atrial fib with erratic heart rates both high and low, pvc's and other things which I have no idea what they are. We will take the monitor in tomorrow and get them to unload it while we are there to save bothering our neighbour to have to transmit over her landline. The VA does not do very well at making sure these reports are seen by the doctors. His electrophysiologist doctor is only in the VA once a week as is his cardiologist so we don't know if they have even seen the reports. His neurologist is the only one who keeps on top of things. He has been a godsend to us, we are pretty sure without him my husband would not be here now.

Wednesday, March 22, 2017

The new normal

Things have quietened down a little here. Our son Andrew was buried in NJ where his wife and two children live, we were not able to attend because my husband is not well enough to travel.

We organised a Memorial Service here in MO as there are a lot of family here who wanted to pay their respects. I had a lot of help from neigbours and family to do this and it was a lovely tribute to him.

Our other son and daughter came to attend and spend some time with us but they have both gone back to their lives. One lives on the east coast and one on the west and we are smack dead centre of the US.

My husband's health is getting worse. The doctor has told us that he shouldn't be out in public and even in small groups he should wear a mask as his immune system is so compromised now. Added to that he has heart issues that seem to be getting worse. He soldiers on though and thinks he is immortal which I am sure is what is keeping him going. He is always sure the miracle cure is just around the corner. There is power in positive thinking.

So, many changes to come I think, probably have to move to a place where there is minimal maintenance and no land to tend to.

My husband is fighting this because he doesn't want to give up his workshop and tools and the eternal optimist in him believes he will get back out there to work one day. I hope he is right.

The last few days I have been able to get out to the workshop myself and put some coats of stain on the treadle sewing machine cabinet. Just one more coat I think will do it. Golden Oak to try and get some yellowness into it. I had to use dark stain to get the depth of colour but it was more red than I hoped. Hoping the oak will help but whatever the outcome it will have to do. Finally, a coat of varnish and it will be ready to come back to the house and have the machine put back in it.

It is weird, a few weeks ago this was my primary focus.

How things change so quickly.........................

Friday, March 3, 2017

Might not be around for a while

This past week we had some devastating news. My husbands eldest son, my stepson Andrew was killed in a car accident. We are gutted, in shock and totally lost.

Added to that, my husband had the cardiac cath on Monday which didn't show any blockages, which was excellent news, but he has rampant atrial fib which is probably the cause of a lot of his more recent problems. We spent three out of four days at the VA hospital, they are putting him on anti coagulent medication because of the atrial fib and other factors he is at a very high risk for stroke. He is also wearing an event heart monitor for 30 days and has been advised not to travel far or fly. He has numerous upcoming appointments.

Plans are afoot for a memorial service to be held in Kansas City for the family from around here but we will not make the actual funeral in New Jersey which in itself is devastating but the doctor fears serious problems if we travel and attend it.

I will be keeping up with reading the blogs I follow as I get some sort of comfort from reading them but don't feel like posting myself right now.

Glad you stopped by

I started this blog in 2011: Ever since my Mum taught me to knit at the age of about six or seven I have made things. Back then it was doll clothes. I was also inspired by Mrs Levitt an elderly lady who had a sewing room in a conservatory type room on the back of her house. I would sit and watch her in awe as she sewed.

When I was a child living in England the school system was such that you started at 5 years, did two years in Infant School, then four years in Primary School then five to seven years in Secondary School, depending on whether you chose to stay on after fifth form to get qualifications to go to University. I can't remember much of the Infant school other than making the standard square doily thingy from fabric that had holes in it so you could embroider patterns into it. A bit like the modern day cross stitch fabric but with bigger holes and spaces to make it easy for small hands to use. I also remember with great joy getting a toy sewing machine one Christmas which sewed only chain stitch but I did make doll clothes on it and that was before I started Primary school. I do have very vivid recollections of Primary school and having sewing and knitting lessons. In Primary school I knitted gloves and made a dress from scratch hand sewing it all.

Secondary school continued on with sewing by which time I had progressed to using full sized sewing machines and was making more intricate skirts and dresses. My parents bought me a proper sewing machine when I was thirteen. I used that same machine right up until I emigrated to Canada at age forty six years.

I have always had a fascination for sewing machines and knitting machines. I bought my first knitting machine at around age twenty one from an ad in a newspaper for twelve pounds. I had absolutely no idea what one was just that I wanted one. I trundled on the bus to the address in the advert and handed over my twelve pounds having absolutely no idea what I had really bought. Fortunately it came with a manual. It was an aged Knitmaster, very basic and I loved it. I wore it out. Next was a Brother push button one which I didn't keep because it was at a time in my life when things were difficult. Later on in my life, around forty, when things were better I bought a brand new Brother punchard machine with a ribber attachment. I loved it and made many things. Life took a different turn, I moved countries twice and along the way, regrettably I sold it.

Now, through the universe's blessing I now have another machine. It is a vintage one because they stopped making them early 90's but works perfectly and I love it. So I decided to make this blog to document my knitting progress and include sewing projects.

In 2013: we embarked on a new hobby, leather-work. My husband got started with it and it drew me in. It is something we can do together. We have a workshop so have plenty of room to work. We added another workbench for me to work on in 2013. We already had one but we were tripping over each other both trying to work at it. We only make things we want to make. It is strictly a hobby. We made some things for our good neighbours who help us out a lot. I am also working on Christmas presents. So this blog now incorporates the leather-work. Knitting and sewing will always be my first love though.

Fast forward to 2023 and now age almost 75 years. I have seven sewing machines, four knitting machines, several ribber attachments and a garter carriage for one of the machines. I am blessed beyond words, but I know that I have more than enough machines to keep me going in my lifetime so I don’t think I will be adding to my collection any time soon……….unless a nice embroidery machine manifests itself very cheaply.

I am a Brit living in the USA, sometimes I spell like a Brit and sometimes like an American. Sometimes I use slang and even make grammatical errors. I blog for the pleasure of it and to record my endeavours in the event that my memory fades, as I am sure it will with more age. I will be able to look back and remind myself of the things I have made along the way. So please forgive my mistakes when reading about my life making things here in the hinterlands and I hope you get as much enjoyment from my blog as I do from reading the blogs I follow.