Midweek: wrapping up the year

 I left for Florida (see Monday's post) with 18 9-1/2" crumb blocks on the design wall.

By the time I got home on Friday I had a good idea what I'd do with the crumbs.  (Surely I am not the only quilter who mentally designs quilts as a way to fall asleep.)

I've made several crumb quilts over the years and I challenge myself to come up with different ways to set the blocks.  I made 7 more blocks (total 25) and cut them in half.   It took less than five minutes to choose the setting fabric.  And voila! 

54" x 63".  6 yards including the back and binding.  Serpentine-stitch quilting. 

 

The leftover units are now three placemats. They await binding.   While I was at it I made some others.  

One of my souvenirs of the trip was a cold (not Covid, not flu) that has kept me close to home and a box of Kleenex.  Sewing is a good remedy!    (I feel MUCH better this morning.)

Linking up at Wednesday Wait Loss 

Come back on Friday for the Annual Reckoning.   

Christmas in Key West

The Holidays in Key West:   my 52nd Road Scholar program!   We began traveling with Elderhostel in 1996 when they changed the age requirement.  My parents traveled with EH, too, so I'm second-generation.   Click on the tab to see the entire list.

When Stevens was a parish pastor he worked on Christmas, of course, so for all those years we didn't travel during the holidays. When he retired we realized that we could, and in 2013 we went to Quebec  with Road Scholar.  Key West was next on the list but we didn't get around to it (the program fills quickly) and then he was unable to travel.  This year I was determined to fulfill that goal (and to avoid being alone or the awkward guest).  

(I've been to the other end of Route 1!) 

Sunday, December 21:  ORD-MIA.      I didn't realized that I could fly nonstop to Key West.  Instead I took the Keys Shuttle  from MIA to Key West. It was expensive and long (4 hours) but it provided a tour of sorts through the Keys that I wouldn't have gotten otherwise. 

A key or cay is a specific type of small, low-lying sandy island formed on coral reefs, often in the Caribbean and Florida, while an island is a broader term for any landmass surrounded by water, which can be large, continental, or volcanic.  

I arrived just as the group was finishing dinner. I got the meal to go and everything was just fine.  We stayed at Fitch  Lodge,  a pleasantly funky assemblage of early 20th century houses converted to hotel rooms.  

There were 23 in the group.  Four other solo women (three widows, one divorced), two solo men (one single, one whose wife couldn't attend), and couples (their children/grandchildren were with the other grandparents).  Texas, California, Ohio, Arkansas, Tennessee, New York, Massachusetts, New Jersey, North Carolina, Florida, and Illinois (me).   Group leader Howie  Geib was a real pro, able to keep us on schedule and answer every question. 

 Monday, December 22:  Old  Town   tour by trolley followed by a tour of the Truman  Little  White  House     The building was originally officers’ quarters for the Navy  base,  finished in 1890. (The Navy has been in Key West since the 1820’s, at first to combat the real pirates  of the  Caribbean    (and Gulf).  The land belongs to the Navy but the museum is owned by the state of Florida, not the federal government. Seven presidents have stayed here for working vacations, beginning with Taft (obviously before it was named for Truman), Truman, Eisenhower, JFK, Carter, and Clinton. Truman truly loved it, and it is furnished as it would have been in 1949.   

 Lower right: Truman's Hawaiian shirts. Upper left:  some of the staff/aides/officials dressed the part but others couldn't quite manage it.  Upper right:  they played a lot of poker; ashtrays are made from shell casings. There was a table cover (not shown) for photos because heaven forbid they should be seen gambling.   Lower left: a note from Harry to Bess.

After lunch we went to the Mel  Fisher  Maritime  Museum. . “Today’s the day” was his upbeat saying as they searched for years for the .Atocha. , the Spanish  treasure  ship that sunk off the keys (along with other ships in the fleet) in 1622. Fisher and his crew first found the Henrietta Marie,  a slave ship, in 1972. They found the Atocha in 1975. Its treasure was valued at $450 million. Silver ingots, gold and silver coins, gold jewelry, fine emeralds, and so much more. And it is said that that was only half what the treasure fleet was taking back to Spain.

The museum collection shows off many of the artifacts and provides the context for the Spanish conquest of the Americas, the extraction of the mineral wealth (and exploitation of the natives), and the many aspects of shipboard life and the trans-oceanic shipping of the 17th century.

Exhibits on the second floor are about the Henrietta Marie and the slave trade: west African society (economic, cultural) and the plantation economy of the Caribbean and U.S. south.

**One reason it took so long was that the ‘guidebook’ to Caribbean wrecks misestimated the probable location of the Atocha, placing it considerably to the east.  Fisher found a clue in some archival record that it might be farther west and that turned out to be correct. 

**After the treasure was found the US government sued to take it on the basis that the waters belonged to the US. The case went to the Supreme  Court . They ruled finders keepers.   

Monday afternoon: free time. I went across the street from the Fisher museum to the Audubon  House.  .Audubon. visited Key West in 1832.  . Capt.  John  Geiger built the house in 1849. Thus the house is named to commemorate Audubon’s time in the Keys. The house remained in the Geiger family for more than a century. The last descendant who lived in the house let it fall into disrepair. It was slated for demolition (a gas station was proposed to be built) in 1958 when it was purchased and restored. That began the historic preservation movement in Key West. 

The house now has a few Geiger pieces but most furnishings are typical of the period **with quilts!!!** 

The third floor is a gallery of Audubon prints and paintings   including several from elephant folios (so called because the paper was the size of an elephant’s ear).

  

After dinner: holiday lights tour on the trolley. There is a contest and a lot of people go all out.

Tuesday, December 23:   docent-led tour of the Key West Art & Historical Society. Housed in the former Customs  House,  designed by Boston  architect  H. H.   Richardson   for a more northerly climate. Great comprehensive history of Key West with a lot about the Maine (the ship), Henry Flagler and his .railroad. , .Hemingway., cigar  makers,  Tennessee  Williams , and more .  

After the museum tour we had free time. 

 I visited the Key  West  Woman's  Club.   Their clubhouse is the 1892  Martin  Hellings  House.   The club was chartered in 1915 and bought the house in 1941. They’ve contributed extensively to civic improvement, including founding the library. Of course I brought greetings from the Zion  Woman's  Club.   

The docent is a snowbird who lives in Evanston the rest of the year. 

Next stop:  Books  and Books  owned by Judy   Blume.  She goes in to work a couple of days a week (she's 87!) and she was there!  

We talked a few minutes about the books that were popular that week.  I apologized that I have so many unread books at home and bought a t-shirt instead.  

 

 

 

I walked down the block and there was the Key West Public library, so of course I went in. [Remember that the woman’s club established it.] Now it’s a part of the Monroe  County  Library  System.  They have a patio garden with a story walk.

As you can tell, Old  Town  Key  West is very walkable.  In a few more blocks I reached the  quilt  shop.  They have yarn and upholstery fabric, too.  The quilt fabric is tropical bright.  I indulged in an eighteen FQ  bundle (Riley Blake) and a half yard of lime green just because.   

On the way back to the hotel I stopped at a potter's workshop. She was having a clearance sale to make room for new creations. (I completely understood).  I had a few minutes back in my room to put my feet up.   (“Rest and relaxation” is not my vacation style.). 

Five of our group (Laura & Jimmie, Janet & John, and I) bought tickets for a champagne sunset cruise. At this time of year that means 4-6 p.m. (sunset was 5:45). We sat in the stern along with two other couples and had a great time chatting. They served wine, champagne, and soft drinks, along with with crudites, some charcuterie, shrimp, and cookies. Unfortunately a cloud bank came up at 5:40 and obscured the actual sunset. But it was a lovely late afternoon to be on the water. (Stevens would have been in his element.)

Back on shore we met up with a half dozen from our RS group and went out to dinner. I opted for dessert:  French toast with Key lime filling garnished with bananas and blueberries. 

Wednesday, December 24:   the Hemingway House, with cats.  It was built in 1851 and unoccupied for many years when Hemingway and Pauline Pfeiffer (wife #2) moved in.  Her uncle bought it as a wedding gift. They lived here from 1931-39.  He wrote To Have and Have Not, Islands in the Stream, and short stories (including Snows of Kilimanjaro). It became a museum in 1961.  

The six-toed cats are legendary.  They all have names and wander the grounds.  They are very well cared for. 

 

I climbed the 88 steps to the top of the Key West lighthouse.   This 1848 structure replaced the original (1825) that was destroyed in a hurricane.  It used to be on the shoreline but much of the current Key West land is fill.  

View from the top, with Ken from Massachusetts. 

Note the metal roofs. That's the building code, required after a devastating fire that went from wooden roof to wooden roof among the closely-packed houses.  

And that inspired the name of Tennessee Williams' play "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof."

 
The founders of the Tennessee Williams Museum couldn't afford to buy the house where he lived so they bought this little house.   It happened to be open on Christmas Eve afternoon so several of us went in.  I had no idea he'd written so many plays.  

Christmas Eve:   Another group member and I went to the 5pm service at Key West UMC. We were so glad we did! Lovely church, lots of people, good homily on “make room at the inn.”   The church was on the same street as our hotel.  The rest of the group met us after the service and we went out to dinner. 

Christmas sunrise 

    

Thursday, December 25:     to the Dry Tortugas on the Yankee Freedom III, a high-speed catamaran. 2-1/2 hours, 65 miles each way.   

Ponce de Leon named the group of seven islands Dry Tortugas because there were turtles (tortugas) and there is no fresh water except rainfall.  The first lighthouse was build in 1825.  Construction on Fort Jefferson began in 1846 (19 million bricks).   It was strategically important as the gateway to the Gulf of Mexico and just 90 miles from Cuba.  

The fort served as a Union prison in the Civil War (despite Florida being a Confederate state) for captured deserters.   Among the more notorious prisoners was Dr. Seeley Mudd who treated John  John Wilkes Booth after Lincoln’s assassination. The Army abandoned the fort in 1874.

I was surprised at how large the parade ground is.  The cannonball 'furnace' was very interesting!  

The Dry Tortugas were designated a wildlife refuge in 1908, a national monument in 1935, and got national park status in 1992.  

The day-long tour included breakfast on board and lunch picked up on board and eaten at the dock.  Snorkeling was available to those so inclined. 



I chose to wade. 

Back in town:  our closing dinner.  We posed in front of a Christmas tree made out of lobster traps.

Friday, December 26:   the Keys Shuttle picked me up at 9:30.  Just as with the incoming ride, the driver provided interesting information about the area.   I got to MIA at 1:30.  It was relatively un-busy.  The flight home was uneventful. I was home at 9 p.m. and asleep by 10:30.   What a great Christmas vacation!

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Feral chickens are both a nuisance and a tourist attraction.  They were introduced by Cuban immigrants (cigarmakers) partly for eggs but also for cockfighting.  They wander everywhere.  It's illegal to feed them.  

They are a mix of junglefowl and fighting bantams. 

Kapok tree; senita cactus; bamboo.

Strangler fig; roots of ??; Malabar almond. 

 

Friday check in: sewn together

 I took advantage of Wednesday's sunshine and warmer temperatures to take a short walk at Sand Pond (part of Illinois Beach State Park).  The front came through that night and Thursday was gloomy and rainy.  Today will be a return to the icebox.  

At Thursday's Rotary breakfast we played games (two versions of "guess the carol") and had a gift exchange.  Chris got the pair of pillowcases that I made, along with a box of  candy (shhh...regift of one of the 'festive foods' from earlier in the month).  I got something I knew I wouldn't use but there was a Walmart gift receipt in the bag so now I have a merchandise credit.

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I stopped at a thrift shop on Monday where the neckties sell for $1.00. And it was senior discount day.   There were a half dozen in golds and creams, just right for this project.   

The blocks are sewn together. I'm auditioning ties to use for the borders.

Wednesday is senior discount day at the Zion Salvation Army. No ties but two great flat sheets (one from Kate Spade) and some shirts.  All have been laundered and processed.  

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Linking up with Finished or Not Friday

This will be my last post until after Christmas.  I hope you have a wonderful celebration with faith, family, friends, and food!  (And fabric, of course).  

 

Midweek: slight progress + reading

On the domestic front:  every so often a puddle appeared in the basement bathroom (adjacent to the family room, AKA my studio).  The plumber checked the toilet and the seal/collar are good.  This week I saw the puddle again--and heard drip-drip-drip. Turns out it came from the dishwasher (right above the closet that is next to the basement bathroom).  The plumber popped the panel off the dishwasher and said the pipes are fine, the problem is the spray arm/drain assembly.  I called the appliance store (we are so fortunate to have a real appliance store in our town).  The dishwasher is out of warranty and the repair would be $200 .... so I'm giving myself a new dishwasher for Christmas. I'll be gone next week so the installation is scheduled for December 29.  

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Sewing is more fun than plumbing, even when it's a slow project. 

Necktie patchwork isn't hard but it is very fiddly.   I diassemble new acquisitions promptly, hand-wash them (dish detergent works fine), hang them to dry, and iron them.  After that they go into the bin.  It is impossible to keep the slippery silk in tidy rolls.  A full color-sort would require a whole 'nother set of storage containers that I don't want to invest in.   I had one bin of ties with interfacing ironed on -- I found out this week that the interfacing doesn't stay firmly adhered.  (It's interfacing, not fusible web. There is a difference!)   

Here's the design wall at the end of last evening's sewing. (I'm up to season 2, episode 5 of West Wing.)  

Bow ties are 6-1/2" unfinished. 

I like to make half-rects units.  I perused issues of Simply Moderne and found a bed-sized quilt that uses several sizes of these, set horizontally.  

My project is a mini, 24" square. 

Much more to come!

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Stefan Fatsis clearly recalls the copy of Webster's New World Dictionary he had when he was 11. That took me back to my childhood because the New World was our go-to ("let's look it up") dictionary in the 1960's. Like Fatsis, I'm interested in words: definitions, uses, and etymology. It turns out that we have a lot of company.

"We are in a golden age for the study and appreciation of words," writes Fatsis in the introduction to his account of present-day lexicography. He spent time embedded at the Merriam headquarters in Springfield, Mass., drafting ninety definitions, some fifteen of which made it into the online Merriam. He attended a scholarly dictionary convention and participated in the Word of the Year judging. He recounts the history of the American dictionary from Noah Webster to the Merriams to Random House and American Heritage. He writes about challenges: prescriptive vs. descriptive; the uproar about "ain't" in the Third (Webster's Third International--the huge dictionary that my husband brought into our marriage); the F-word and most controversially the N-word.

The paper database still exists in the form of millions of cits (citations, pronounced "cites") still at Merriam HQ. Digital versions began early but a sustainable business model with commercial viability is a constant challenge.

"To lexicographers, words are like abstract expressionist paintings, complicated and demanding of quiet contemplation and analysis. Their power lies in their existence, not their deployment. To others, though, words are armaments in an endless war, the the dictionary is the manufacturer. Two hundred years of marketing have pushed that idea--the American dictionary as influencer, authority, power." (218)

"Studying and talking about words {is] endlessly, enormously, incredibly fun," he says (269). I agree!

Linking up with Wednesday Wait Loss

Weekly update: holiday events, a cold snap, and a new start

The AAUW holiday luncheon was on Friday.   

We long ago stopped having entertainment at the luncheon. We just enjoy the fellowship, food, and fundraising.  $508.50 from the silent auction and $200 from the quilt raffle go to AAUW Greatest Needs Fund.   $130 from 50/50 cash and $275 in outright donations go to our local scholarship for girls planning to major in a STEM field.

Judy P. won the quilt.  The raffle tickets were sold only at the luncheon this year. (In years past the quilt was displayed at the state fall conference but now that's on Zoom. I missed the deadline for the state newsletter.  I never get a raffle permit so sales are "in the family."   I like to make quilts and I can't keep them all. This way AAUW benefits.  

Friday evening I helped serve at another holiday party.  Grandparents & Kin Raising Children in Lake County is an agency that helps people whose grandchildren (or other relatives) have come to live with them.    The CEO and founder, Harriet, is a friend from Rotary. The club is a GKRCLC sponsor.  So are the Hilyards.   

More than 100 people enjoyed the buffet dinner. The children were 2 (so cute!) to 16 and they all got presents from Mr. and Mrs. Santa. 

No photos of the children because of privacy.  No photo of Harriet, because she was a busy hostess.  But here are Joan (librarian and Waukegan Rotarian), Andrea (Rotarian) and a friend with me, and then here are Pat (another Rotarian) and me with Mr. and Mrs. Santa, AKA our good friends (Rotarians again!)  Bill and Debbie.  

Saturday's outing was brunch with P.E.O. chapter sisters.  The group was small but our conversation was lively.  We exchanged festive food. (This was the third festive food exchange I've had--all different, all delicious.) 

 Our Rotary club sells oranges, grapefruit, and mandarins every year.  The truck came Friday and I picked up my customers' orders Saturday afternoon.  Most of them came to my house to get their boxes but I made two deliveries.  I couldn't leave the fruit in my car because of the cold snap!   

Here's the car thermometer on Sunday when I went to church.  

The temperature will rise to the mid-20's.  I have more boxes to deliver, one of which will include lunch with Dorothy (AAUW and quilting friend).

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Though I was out during the day I was home in the evenings and I could sew!   My design thoughts are turning to the Modern Quilt Guild mini swap.  It is due by the end of February. I want to start now because (a) it takes creative planning and (b) I'll be traveling.   I challenged the swap partner (whom I do not know) to upcycle/recycle, so I'm challenging myself as well.  That means neckties.  That means a big mess on the cutting table and some half-formed ideas on the design wall.  There's a lot more to come. 

Linking up with Sew and Tell Oh Scrap Design Wall Monday Monday Musings

Friday check in: it's a flimsy + reading

 

No meetings, too cold to walk + an audiobook I had to finish (see below) = a flimsy.

6-1/4 yards by weight. 

Here's a closeup of the border/sashing fabric.  The black/gray on jade  goes well with the black/white blocks. 

I cut as many 2.5" squares as I could from what was left in this particular scrap box and made four-patches. After I took the photo I put all of them in a ziploc bag to await a future project.

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Sixteen + hours of listening with excellent narrators. It's a picaresque novel (remember that from English class?) of a trip from Nebraska to California by way of New York in 1954.

Emmett is the earnest hero, determined to reunite his little brother Billy and himself with their mother (who ran away to San Francisco to escape the failing family farm).  Duchess is the sly 'villain' who is equally determined to settle an old score with his father, a dissolute thespian in Manhattan.   Woolly is the endearing socially-challenged sidekick whose inheritance, hidden away in his family's Adirondack summer home, will provide for their future.   

A lot can go wrong, but in the end a lot goes right.  All the tropes of young heroes triumphing against the odds are here and just as in classic tales, it's a grand story.

Linking up with Finished or Not Friday