Page and Text size

   

     The first thing that I needed to do was to determine a suitable size and font for the text on my pages. I soon knew that I wanted a font that was semi-script so that when I was embroidering the text, I'd have some flow from letter to letter.  I always backweave my loose ends and avoid knots when at all possible, so I didn't want to be having to do that every letter. 
     I also marked a half inch between the facing pages, as described in the original post I found.  I created a template on a piece of posterboard and cut out the spaces where the sewing would be.  I could then lay that on the pieces of muslin I had cut and draw pencil lines to show my margins.  I did learn that I should NOT have drawn the pencil lines.  I should have only lightly marked the eight corner points.  Then, if text was too close to the margin, I could make the page slightly bigger as needed, without my future blanket stitches running into my text. 
     I did make the muslin pieces big enough so that I could eventually use my stretching frame when sewing certain parts.  When doing the text I did use a small hoop. 

Fabric Book

     And so the journey begins.  I saw these two links several years ago and this last year I decided that I would start to make a version of this myself.  I'd collected several quotes that I liked, and eventually narrowed it down to 16.  Once that was done, I picked a font and size and from this decided the size of each "page" in my book.  Quotes would be on the left, and some sort of embroidery or applique or beading, or some sort of stitchery would be on the right.  Depending on the length of the quote, some of this might bleed onto the left page as well. 
     I'm trying to take pictures along the way and document how I've progressed as the project moves forward.  Celebrate the successes and learn from the challenges, and share what I've learned.  I hope you enjoy following as much as I'm enjoying the creating.

http://millionlittlestitches.blogspot.com/2009/11/how-i-make-my-fiber-books.html

http://millionlittlestitches.blogspot.com/2009/10/take-it-further-fiber-book.html

Sunflower

Flower Friday



A sunflower that popped up from the birdseed over the winter of bird feeding.  A nice surprise even if small. 

Fish

Throwback Thursday



Yep, I used to fish a bit.  Wasn't real keen on ice-fishing since I didn't really care for standing out in the cold, but some of the lakes around the town I grew up in had a lot of walleye.  Was considered really good eating in the day, but now I don't think I could hardly handle it.  Not that good of a taste and way, way too many bones to deal with while eating.  Loved that wool shirt jacket though.  Had another in my early teens.  Wish I could still find something like that.  Comfortable and warm.  Probably about fourth or fifth grade here. 

A difference made

Whatever Wednesday

As a teacher, you hope that over the course of time and the hundreds of students that walk through your door, you make a difference in one of those lives.  Upon retiring, that question has seemed to dwell in my mind more often as what I did all those years is now set in stone and it is too late to try and correct things anymore to be even better since I am no longer in the classroom.  This is part of a Facebook message I received today from my former Assistant Principal and colleague.

Steve, I have been working hard to transfer all of our accounts out of Wells Fargo to Matanuska Valley Credit Union. I have spent at least 4 hours with a young married women in the Eagle River Branch named C V.  She is fabulously bright, professional, detail oriented and personable. She delighted me today to regale me with stories about her time at PHS and her two favorite teachers Mr. Cook and Mrs. R-A. She credits you both with your kindness, teaching style and compassion. She stated she entered business because of you, BRAVO.  She says hello to you.

Well, nothing like making my day.  I count amongst my former students that credit me with many things, a writer for the Corps of Engineers who is also a musician and has released a CD, an actor who has been nominated for an international award, a scrub-nurse in training, a fellow teacher who credits my keyboarding class as the most important class in her education and has challenged both my writing and that of her students, and several who are now involved in various educational aspects. 

It's been a good day.

Scissors

Textile Tuesday



Three by three by three.  Three generations, three specialties, three scissors.  The top pair are my Gingher scissors.  I'm mostly a quilter and taught Business and IT.  The middle pair are my Mom's Gingher scissors, now mine because of her dementia, she at one time mostly sewed clothing but ended up being a quilter, and was a Home Ec teacher.  The bottom pair are my Great Aunt's pair of Hartfort Buttonhole scissors, she sewed her own clothing and some embroidery, and taught math, specifically upper level math and mostly Calculus. 

Monday Memories


This is the Sowle Farmstead.  In the picture is my Great Grandfather John Sowle, his wife Viola and my Great Aunt Mabel.  Viola would die before Mabel was 20 years old and John would marry Pearl and their son, Leland, would be my Grandpa.  There was 20 years age difference between Mabel and Leland.  Mom lived here through high school when the farm was sold.  The house was there until after I was born, although I'm not sure how much longer, and I would have still been a baby so I have no recollection of ever seeing this in person.  The house and barn are long gone and corn now grows there. 

Flower Friday

     This is a wild rose of some sort at the Lakeview Campground east of Tok.  This is where we started our summer road trip and our first night camping, both of the trip and ever camping together.  A small campground of only 12 spots and that night only three spots were used.  We heard a crane sounding and several loons calling most of the night.  The campsite we chose was right next to the lake.  Was a great start to our 11,300 mile, 56 day road trip.  We travelled the Alaska Highway to the Cassier Highway, through Glacier National Park, Yellowstone National Park, Mount Rushmore, Badlands, Duluth, across the Mackinac Straits to Alden, MI and family for a couple of weeks.  Then continued on to through Michigan and crossing at Port Huron to Canada to Buffalo, NY to Montrose, PA and more family for a bit.  Left and travelled up through Toronto and around Lakes Huron and Superior, through Winnipeg, Manitoba and then headed towards Edmonton, Alberta.  Caught the Alaska Highway where it officially begins in Dawson City and back through Yukon and into Canada.  It was a fantastic adventure.

Lupine

Canola Fields in Manitoba

Dryas

Throw Back Thursday

John Sowle

     This is my Great Grandpa John Sowle.  I can't trace my family history any further back with him as he came to Ithaca, Michigan on an Orphan Train from New York City.  That is all that he knew and when he reached St. Johns, Michigan, a farm family plucked him off the train.  In his early teens he ran away from the Sowle farm as he was basically an unpaid laborer more than an adopted son.  For a while he worked in a livery stable and slept in one of the horse stalls, but that ended abruptly.  The undertaking had a shop above and one night a body fell down the oat shoot into the stable below.  He left.

Sowle Farmstead

     He eventually made it to Ithaca and set up in farming and married Viola and they had my Great Aunt Mable.  Viola  died young and he then married Pearl and my Grandpa Leland Sowle was born.

Working Wednesday - Drapes and Insurance

 

 

     Today has been more of a work day than usual in such that there is a work day in retirement.  Started out by answering emails related to my small business of conference planning, which dealt mostly with informing prospective guest speakers that we don't have the money this year and filling out insurance forms, for the second time, for the underwriter even though what the insurance agent had me fill out was almost a duplicate.

     And then we finally got started on the new drapes.  We've had the fabric, seen above, for about two years after taking advantage of a 60% off on the fabric with a 50% off coupon even on sales items.  Was quite the deal.  Then we had to special order the traverse rod since here in Alaska, we're apparently the only people that ever want that kind of rod form Home Depot.  We've had that for about a year.  So, it's time to start and today we got the rod up.  I wanted to be able to do some actual measurements before cutting any of the fabric.  Will do some serious math tomorrow and then probably get started on the sewing.  Wish me luck.

Textile Tuesday - Wedding Quilts

 Quilt for former student and his husband for their wedding.

 Quilt for formers students new step-son.

Quilt for Nephew and his bride.

 

     I seem to have made more quilts in the past two months than I have in the past two years.  What with everything that needed to be done towards retirement and the last year working, getting settled into the new routine at home in retirement, and then the busy summer with our long road trip, I seemed to have left behind my crafting joy of quilting for a bit.

          I started in April and May for the quilt for my Nephew and his fiancé for their wedding.  It was a simple pattern, the snowball block, but the tediousness was in cutting 154 squares and then making sure I had 616 smaller squares for the corner triangles.  I used a jelly roll for that part which made quick work.  I got the top done but didn't quilt it until September after we got back from our trip in July.  In August I started on the wedding quilt for my student and had that mostly done and quilted that in September before we left for my Nephew's wedding. 

     When we got back, if fiddled around and then decided that  fat-quarter pack I had would make a nice colorful quilt using the Yellow Brick Road pattern for my former students fiancés son.  Little kids don't always understand all the attention directed at others and hey, when Justin and Phillip are cuddled up under their quilt, Koebryn can cuddle up under his.

     And now I am busy working on a quilt for our new grandson for Christmas.  Following a design that my Grandma made for all of her grandkids at the time in the later 1960's.  I've decided to carry on the tradition.

Memory Monday - Education

     Our family has experienced this building in three different time frames.  This is Grawn Hall on the campus of Central Michigan University.  In the 1930's it was the main campus building for classes when it was known as Central State Teachers College.  My Great Aunt Mabel was a student here and went on to teach Mathematics at her high school alma mater for about 40 years, often teaching small classes of Calculus and other upper level math in a small farming community.
     In the late 1960's, Mom was a student here.  It was now known as Central Michigan University.  She majored in Home Economics and minored in Physical Education.  A major/minor combination that her advisor would not sign off on.  Her reasoning was that housewives did not do sports.  The Dean had to sign off.  The funny thing is, that her and two of her classmates had this major/minor and all three got teaching jobs in smaller school districts because of this combination.  Remember, at one time boys and girls PE classes were not mixed and PE teachers did not teach the opposite sex.
     After a degree in business and a brief career in business and hospitality, I returned to school at CMU to obtain my teaching certification in business ed with a concentration in something new called data processing.
     Grawn Hall is still there.  A good solid building that borders one side of the Mall.  Updates of course have been made but the outside still looks the same.  There is an additional wing on one end which has been endowed as a business center.  A current remodel is currently underway that is adding an atrium and gathering/reception area on the back side.  Education classes have now moved on to a new building of their own across campus, but this will always be the education and business building to me.
     Our family has 96 years of work history rooted in this building. 

Flower Friday

     Growing up, Mrs. Wolschied next door had a big planter area around some trees with hundreds of bright orange poppies.  They just grew on their own, quite shaded actually, without much help from her as she had 13 children. 
     I thought that they were the most beautiful flowers.  At the time I didn't know that there were many colors and varieties.  Now of course I know different and in our yard we have these beautiful pink ones, a few orange, a whole variety of Alaskan Poppies in red, orange and yellow, and even a small variety of small double pink.  We even have three varieties of Himalayan Blue Poppies that grow about three feet tall on very thick, hard stalks. 
     My world has expanded through age and a husband that loves flowers and yard work.

 

     Thanksgiving has always been the holiday that has meant the most to me.  There seems to be less hub bub about everything unlike Christmas and Birthdays.  Our family still had a basic routine and some minor traditions, but it was still rather low key and basically ended up being four days when we were at Grandma and Grandpa Sowle's.
      We usually arrived on Wednesday evening after dad got out of work at the barbershop.  By the time we had crested the small rise just before their house, we were always looking for the spruce tree that Grandpa had decorated with lights.  Back in the 60's, having outside lights was something special and Grandpa always made sure they were up by Thanksgiving.  In the picture above you can see the tree right in the middle towards the back of the picture.  It was about halfway down the driveway on the side by Aunt Mabel's cottage.  It just always meant that the year had begun, to me at least, to see those lights.  After that was Christmas and then winter weekends skating and then summer. 
     Wednesday supper was always homemade noodles for the beef noodle soup that Grandma made.  I don't remember much else that went with it, just that the house always smelled so good from the pies made that day and the soup simmering when we arrived. 
     Later that evening Julie and I would help Grandma as she made the cinnamon twist rolls.  A sweet dough rolled out big and slathered with butter and brown sugar and cinnamon.  Folded over in thirds, cut, we'd grab each end and twist it a couple of times before laying it in a pan of a mixture of walnuts and corn syrup and more brown sugar and cinnamon.  They'd raise for a while until baking just before we'd open up the click-clack couch for bed while Mom and Dad and Grandma and Grandpa played cards.
     In such a small house everyone was up early and Julie would help Grandma "pinch" the turkey of any remaining quills and then we'd have the rolls made the night before and wait for the turkey to cook.  Dad always liked a pumpkin pie with walnuts and cranberry sauce with ground orange rind and nuts.  Towards the end of dinner Grandpa would always stir together whatever was on his plate to appall us kids. 
     I'm all grown now and I've been through a memorable Thanksgiving while a Cadet on the ship Sparrows Point while slowly sailing through the Straits of Mackinaw, shared a potluck meal in a remote Eskimo village where I had my first teaching job, started new memories with a new husband and family while we packed up leftovers for our children to take home, and this year we have our first grandchild, a beautiful baby boy, joining us for new and wonderful memories. 
  Lots to be thankful for, from memories to future gatherings.

Retired

So it's official.  Today was my last day teaching.  I finished packing up my room for the summer, as usual, but also cleaning out a lot of my stuff that whoever is hired to take my place will have no use for.  Left a binder on my desk with names and numbers and instruction sheets for the copy machine, the coffee stand, the school website and things in my room.  Copied data files to a DVD and left that in the binder as well.  Said my goodbyes, shed a few tears and walked out the door.  I'm sure that it will really hit in the fall when everyone is heading back and I'm still able to avoid the 5:10 alarm every weekday morning.  Ten years of hospitality and banking and 26 of teaching.  Time to relax, ready, sew/quilt, hike and spend time with Bert.

Old and New

     I can't believe how time gets away from you sometimes.  I had planned on commenting on a more regular basis about things as school goes on through this year as I progress towards the end of my career and retirement. 
     Right now May 21 seems a long, long ways away as I deal with too many deadlines and adults.  Right now I'm having a great time teaching but it's the adults that are getting in the way so I'm holing up in my classroom and making progress and getting the year off to a great start. 
     First hour is Accounting and the kids are really doing well and catching on, much to the chagrin of others.  They are not assumed to be academically good.  I'm working to prove otherwise.  Sewing is good and we're learning basic skills and fabric and patterns and are planning for our future projects.  Microsoft Office is a big class and it's been a bumpy start but I think they're settling in this week.  Keyboarding is so boring for me as a teacher, and add to that the majority of the class is ninth grade boys.  I'm sure you get the picture but I'm pleased and impressed and they are really digging in.  Customer service is small, only four students but we are having great conversations and good work.  So busy with all this that I haven't used my Web hour to get much accomplished on the school website but the list is surely growing.  I think next will I'll have to really settle in to that.
     I was looking through pictures that I had uploaded to my phone a while back and ran across a throw-back to the past and decided that I needed to have an update.  That is what you see here.  The top picture is my classroom as is looked 18 years ago.  Old IBM PS2s with either dual floppies or a small hard drive and a floppy connected by a token-ring network.  The bottom picture was taken just last week.  One computer probably has more memory than all of the old lab times two or three and no floppy drives and with flat screens.  Gone is the overhead projector replaced by a program to demo over the network.  Times have surely changed.  This lab is the fourth set of computers I've worked with in this room and the fourth upgrade of software so it's never been a dull moment.
     And only 128 days to go.
    

First Day with Kids

     First day with kids back in class for the second semester.  Should be a challenging schedule from the stand point that my two computer classes are full, mostly freshmen, mostly boys, but I'm optimistic that 3rd and 4th block will go well.  But 9th grade freshmen boys in keyboarding is not a recipe for the greatest buy-in that is for sure. 
     So the schedule for this, my final semester ever teaching is Accounting I, Sewing, Microsoft Office, Keyboarding, Customer Service, Prep Period.  Last period this semester is sort of another prep period but I'll be working on maintaining the schools website, teaching applications to teachers, putting together how-to lists and instructions for various people in school and creating a binder of all my local knowledge of what I do in addition to my actual teaching job. 
     And I have to continue cleaning out crud from file cabinets and cupboards that is my stuff to take home, stuff that I should have gotten rid of a long time ago, and generally leaving things really nice for who will be getting my position when I'm done.  That's just me.
     I'm going to try to remember to take a picture of my current computer lab so that I can post a picture of my lab in 1997 and one in 2015.  It is fun to compare and amazing at the same time how far things have come.
     So, only 135 days to go.

Fireweed

     This was taken on Pioneer Peak this summer when we took a hike up to the 2000 foot level.  There is a picnic table there where you can rest and eat your lunch.  The view is out over the Knik River and up the river to the Knik River Glacier.  We had a beautiful day and enjoyed our time before school started for me about a week later. 
     Looking forward to being able to do more of this on OUR schedule starting this summer after my retirement when our schedule will really be our schedule. 
     Fireweed has quite a root system and can be an invasive weed when it shows up in your garden so we usually pull it, but in the wild it's natural and can cover rolling hills.  It is especially prevalent after a wildfire and is one of the first bits of green to reappear.  It can be absolutely stunning.
     Only 139 more days.

Day 140

     Yep, only 140 days until I am retired.  Well, at least until the last day of school.  Technically and officially I won't be retired until July 1, but my last day is May 21.  After a bit over a year in banking and 9 years in hospitality and one year as a Kelly Temp and 25 years teaching, I'm hanging it up and will be joining my husband, who has been retired for nine years, in sitting back and putting the feet up.  So let the countdown begin.
     In the meantime, I can't believe that it has been over two years since my last post.  I keep thinking of this blog but never quite get to the point of posting anything.  Call it a resolution or just trying to calm down a bit and get some thoughts out, but I'm hoping to post something each day until the number 1 that is positive, interesting, amazing or a simple observation.
     So, off we go.

Two Fair Ribbons!

I won TWO ribbons!

We decided that today was the day to go to the fair. Wanted to make a day of it rather than just an evening. Well, the usual 35 minute drive was 1 hour and 45 minutes due to traffic from home to the fair parking. I was willing to walk around on our way to the Quilt Exhibit but Bert headed right over there.

Well, barely in the door and there hanging up on the wall, not folded over amongst other quilts like in the past, was my quilt. With TWO ribbons! I received a Blue ribbon for my Class, Applique Hand, and I received a Purple Rosette Ribbon for Best of Division which is the best of all eight classes in that division. I was blown away. I was just standing there taking it all in when this lady that I didn't even know, out of the blue asked if I quilted. All I could do was point at my quilt.

I know that I'm pretty emotional some times, but I had tears running down my cheeks. Such recognition is quite a bit overwhelming. After a pretty rough first full week at school, this was a pretty good pick-me-up.