Blogiversary #15

Another year of blogging my adventures.  Fifteen!?!  

It was a quiet year - I had one big quilting project, not a lot of foster guinea pigs and some of health issues.  All those things slowed down my writing topics.  

Regardless... I managed to have plenty of good times with family and friends (I love you all), got out dancing (whee!), snorgled a few piggies (when can I foster baby piggies again?), and finished Winter Stars (huzzah!).    I even worked on the Drapes of Doom!   I am so lucky to get to do the things I do.  

Thanks for reading (I'm always surprised when someone comes up to me and says "I saw that on your blog").  I appreciate the comments!  I look forward to another year of sharing stories. 

 

Doomed... Yet Again

I guess visiting the Drapes of Doom (a set of sound curtains used to dampen reflected sound in a dance hall) in February wasn't enough.  I invited five of those drapes into my home this week to add jute strips to the side.  The modification will allow the 17-foot tall velvet curtains to be hung on their side.  I spent Friday afternoon working on them.  

I was still living in Rehoboth the last time I took delivery of any drapes.  Time flies! 

I Like Thursday: Sewing, Snow and Skiing

Wow - the last time I liked up with I Like Thursday was at Christmas.  I've been busy, I guess!  Yeah, lots of good stuff going on.

The new year means a new season of Project Quilting challenges:  three completed and three to go.  I've been squeezing in the challenges between the Midnight Garden quilt: a week for the PQ challenge, then a week of sewing triangles (and playing with layouts).  I've accomplished a lot in six weeks!

Snow!  Let's see... first was the Snow Ball at the end of January - a 12 hour contra dance event (I made it through most of the first nine hours before I tuckered out).  It was a blast!

I Like Thursday: Lovely Things

Happy Valentine's Day.  May you get to spend some time with someone you love.  Of course, some of your loved ones may not be humans.  Like some of mine.

I love Mabel and her moochie nose.  It's so hard to get a photo of her just chilling out, because as soon as I get near with the camera, she starts looking for treats.

Wedgwood, on the other hand, is much easier to capture all comfy and relaxed.

I Like Thursday: Cars, Curtains, Cavies

A crazy week.  Work has been flat out, so not much fun stuff.  Still, I found a few good things to like.

It's the end of an era.  The car was supposed to be picked up last week, but the flatbed truck broke down on two separate days.  I felt a little guilty enjoying the new car with the old one sitting there forlorn, stripped of its plates.

So I ran out the door and did a happy dance when the guy arrived.  I have the tendency to do that when I'm excited.  Yeah, there's more than one service guy that thinks I'm a little nuts.

The battery had died, so he had to jump it to get it on the flatbed.

And then it just rolled away....

I Like Thursday: Cards, Cookies and Cheer

I like that I'm just about done with all my Christmas prep.  As long as work doesn't get any more insane, I should be able to coast to the new year (and by saying that, I've probably sealed my doom).

I like receiving holiday cards.  My sister's card is so wonderfully simple.  It's a print of her own watercolor.  Pretty, isn't it?

I also received a pair of guinea pig cards:  loafy pigs around a snowman and a two Christmas elves (complete with pointed little ears!).

I Like Thursday: A Light Week

Last week was busy, this week has been quiet.

I like the trees!  They're changing color:  greens and pinks and whites.  Oh, lovely. 

I like that Rob mixed me up a batch of permethrin.  I sprayed down a pair of jeans, my hiking boots and a pair of socks.  It makes tick check a little easier after hiking in the woods.

Have you ever played Forbidden Island?  I really like this game.  Discovered it during one of the monthly Game Days I go to.  Up to four players, played as a team to collect treasure and get off the island before it sinks.  Doesn't hurt that the cover reminds me of Myst.  (I loved that game.)  Played Forbidden Island over the weekend and we survived!

Fixing Grommets on Acoustical Drapes

My most recent Drapes of Doom™ repairs involved some guesswork.  I was frustrated I couldn't find any examples online.  So I'm documenting what I did (and will update with any success/failure).

Removing old headers and replace with new jute

The backstory:  I volunteered to repair a set of heavy velvet acoustical drapes that are used by several dance organizations in the New England area.  The drapes are roughly 6 to 8 feet wide, and 14 to 16 feet tall.  They are well used.  The first set of repairs included splitting three very large drapes (16' across) into two narrower drapes so they'd be easier to handle (six 25-pound drapes are easier to put up and take down than three 50-pound ones!).  I patched holes and restitched hems.

I received 10 drapes for my next set of repairs.  I was asked to patch holes and deal with grommets that were pulling out of the drape headers.  This was more of a challenge.  I didn't want to sew over the metal grommets, wasn't sure how to shore up the weakness.  In the end, I left many of the grommets as they were.  Three drapes had more torn grommets than intact ones and the fabric around the others was tired.  I sliced off the entire row of grommets for those drapes, ripped out the crumbling jute, and attached a brand new jute header.  This required a full set of grommets to be installed.  That seemed to be the safest route to fix the drape:  removing all of the weakened fabric and jute, then add new.  The drawback was that it removed three inches from the height of the drape and required a full set of grommets.  Even though I was given the green light to do the modification, I wasn't sure if there'd be issues with a shorter drape.  (Although I think they've been happy with the modification.)

A Bit Less Doomy

The most recent pile of acoustical drapes are migrating from behind the couch towards the front door.  This is a good thing, because each army-green duffel bag moved is one drape done.

I can now add grommet removal to my list of skills.  The bowl of little brass colored rings has filled steadily over the last week.  Once I removed the grommets, I patched the spot with denim, so they're ready to be re-grommeted.  I also added iron-on patches to any holes I found and fixed a couple of hems.  Two headers had more torn or weak grommets than good one.  I deemed them unpatchable, ripped out the headers to replace them.  The very last drape is prepped for a new header tonight.  Yay.

I Like Thursday: Ups, Downs, Arounds

It's been a flaky week.  Work has been strenuous.  I've spent time straightening up the sewing room.  It's the thing I do as I move from one project to another.  Prepping for a busy weekend and another busy week.  Whew.  But for now, it's time to relax and enjoy the things I like.

Before and after patches on the Drapes of Doom

I like that my rogue missing order of tea finally arrived!  Yay!

I liked taking photographs at the library (in case you didn't see the final photos of Mom's quilt).

I like that I have a home for Lighthearted Love.  I decided to give it to the library for fundraising.

I like progress on the Drapes.  Work has left me wiped out each evening, so I haven't made as much headway as planned.  But one down, twelve to go.  First drape was a learning curve with a new way of patching, but I think I've got the hang of it.

I like trying out new things - like ironing together my batting scraps.  Doesn't require pulling out my other machine to do zig-zag (just need to finish writing the post).

I like that I've started walking again.  It's been a very blobby few weeks.  The weather hasn't helped.  But I need to get moving again!

I'm heading over to Not Afraid of Color to see what good things other's have seen/done this week.  Check it out!

Doomsday

My living room was a minefield yesterday.  I finally unstacked the pile of drapes to assess what repairs I'm doing.

Doomed Again

Three years ago I took on a project to split three large acoustical curtains in half.  They are (fondly?) referred to as the Drapes of Doom.  They were heavy and massive.  Unfortunately, my Singer Graduate never recovered from the experience.  Sadness.

But I did... and somehow agreed to work on another eleven drapes.  How did I manage that??  When we hauled them into the house, Rob swears there were thirteen of them.

Giant Curtains of Doom

Or - How I Spent My Memorial Day Weekend.

I responded to a Facebook message in late April, calling out for someone who'd be willing to alter a set of acoustic curtains.  The request was to make them smaller.  Sure.  How hard could that be?

Pile of six finished drapes (and a 12' of chain link)

Ten days later I took delivery of three massive duffle bags.  It took a few days of contemplating those bags before I had the courage to pull out the smallest curtain and assess the work to be done.  What had I gotten myself into?  These things measured 12 to 16 feet wide and were just over 14.5 feet long.  HUGE.  They each weighed a ton.  Well... maybe closer to 50 lbs apiece.  Still.  Just dragging them out across the floor was a workout. 

I spent a day or two examining the drapes' construction and educating myself.  It helped to have an aunt who does upholstery work.  I learned that the red stripe on the jute webbing across the top of the curtains indicated the weight it could hold.  My aunt described what kind of thread I needed and we discussed the alterations.  She also offered me use of her industrial strength sewing machine if my Singer was not up to the task. 

Seam ripper in hand, I tackled the first curtain on Saturday afternoon.  After several discussions, the final decision was to simply cut them in half, top to bottom, so they'd be smaller and lighter.  I lucked out that all three drapes had a center seam I used to split a straight line.