My Stuff

Motel 75…

This Post Card, of which I have several copies, is of my parents’ motel … quite a lot of my stuff came from here at one point… now, just the few post cards, and a vinegar & salad dressing dispenser set from when dad bought the restaurant next store and turned it into motel rooms. Everyone in the family likely has something from the motel… Oh, and I have a brick in the garage dad and mom scavenged when the motel was torn down. That was before mom was in care so pre 1998 – it was replaced with an Assiniboine Credit Union.

Fabric Hoarding?

A generational disorder? My gramma had a closet full; mom, a trunk full…

Recently I went through my fabric stash or most of it, not the scraps … I use them for “placemat quilts” which I currently use mostly under my sewing machine. I did manage to get rid of a bit of stuff… the leftovers from when I had the living room drapes cut down to fit my in-laws’ cottage windows … and some other scraps from really ancient projects … not really a very successful reduction of stuff. Still fills the same amount of storage space!

I do have a better idea of what I have though, and I do have a lot of good stuff for lap-size fidget quilts… or wheelchair-size touch quilts. For the placemat sized quilts I have already made, I have used scraps I had on hand. And, I use the crazy quilt method mostly. A picture of one follows. I am trying to think of ways to make it into a fidget lap quilt even though it is already sewn together. Ideally you would add the fidgets before you put the back on. I’ve never made one, but it sounds like a fun project.

I do have a placemat quilt “under construction” in my ufo (unfinished object) drawer … Not the fabrics I would choose if I was starting this project from scratch … Bright colours and a variety of textured fabrics would be preferred. Familiarity of fabrics or “fidgets” is also a factor to consider. Securly sew on all fidgets! You can use patches of fabric, pockets, trim or buttons from favorite old clothes, ribbons, lace, etc. A big issue when making fidget or touch quilts is washability, especially if your loved one is living in a personal care home setting. While the ufo in the picture is certainly machine washable, it does not have the “pizazz” that a good fidget or touch quilt should have.

Going through my stash sure gave me some great creative ideas! I didn’t get rid of much though.

Christmas Stuff

I started decorating for Christmas earlier than usual this year (2020). Perhaps because of the pandemic. Home a lot more that’s for sure, perhaps that’s why. And, putting up decorations is preferrable to housework and many other tasks I could be filling my time with.

I have so many bins of decorations… boxes of stuff! Time to shed? Once again there is the memory issue to deal with… this is the ornament I made. This one is from Gramma’s tree. This one, your brother’s mother in law made… Oh, I love this one … Our first Christmas together. Then there is the dog’s first Christmas. The last dog’s first Christmas… How old are these candy canes exactly? etc. You get the idea.

Plus there are the colour scheme changes. We used to prefer a mish mash but now we seem to really like that turquoise blue you seem to see everywhere … So I have a whole set of garlands and ornaments in that colour from my BLUE year… I love garlands, he doesn’t… So they usually don’t even make it to the tree. Not the big bushy ones… but I can sneak on strings of beads or shiny things… So, each year the tree is totally different but the same. Decorating it evokes memories and gives comfort. The lights provide illumination through the dark phase of the year.