Road Tripping

Oct 3, 2018 by tlmiller

Who doesn’t love a good road trip? 

I know there are some of you out there that shudder at the thought, but I’m not one of them, so when I had the opportunity to visit my sister for a few days with the single goal of painting her living room, I packed a bag and hopped into my car.

With a long drive ahead of me, the first stop on any road trip for me is McDonald’s for a breakfast sandwich and a large Coke.  Or, sometimes, just a large Coke.  What can I say.  It’s a thing.

Heading east, into the sun at 6:00 a.m., is always challenging.  For some reason those visors are never where I need them to be.  I spent quite a lot of time flipping visors back and forth with limited success.  

To keep myself entertained across the vastness of eastern Colorodo and Kansas, I listened to an audio recording of The Magnolia Story, by Chip and Joanna Gaines that I picked up from my library.  Not my favorite book, but interesting enough to hear about how they got their start and their lives together.  Motivating as well.  If you like Fixer Upper and Chip and Joanna, then definitely worth a listen (or a read).

The drive to my sister’s is about 9 hours with stops for gas, but I like to take the longer route, and by that I mean hitting all the quilt shops on the way…and Kansas has a lot of quilt shops.  My two favorites are Quilt Cabin, in Colby, KS and Quilt Cottage, in Hays, Kansas.  (Don’t believe the reviews on line – they’ve gotten much friendlier these days.)  Such wonderful fabric it’s hard not to buy a yard of everything, you know, just because it’s fabric and fabric is my addiction…Hays is also the home of Be Made a unique gift store that’s a must stop for me.  Their delightful store is in downtown Hays…so much to look at and the people are so stinkin’ nice.

Sis and I spent quite a bit of time watching paint dry (literally) on her living room and dining room walls.  Too gray?  Not enough taupe?  Too dark?  Too light?  Paint selection is surprisingly hard work, so we took a break to head up north to Liberty, Missouri.

I’ve recently started watching The Midnight Quilt Show on YouTube with Angela Walters and had no idea that every time I visited my Sis that Angela’s quilt shop, Quilting is My Therapy, is just a tad bit north of my sister’s home.   Okay, more than a tad, but my Sis indulges me quite a bit.  She’s been known to drive me to Hamilton, Missouri.  Such an enabler…

Normally I’m not a big meet a person I admire in person fan, but I cannot even believe the excitement I felt at just getting to see her shop.  She comes across on her quilting show like someone you’d love to have as a friend and that added to the excitement – watch the videos, you’ll see what I mean.

I have no idea what I would’ve done if she’d been there is person.  Stare maybe?  Flee in a panic?  I like to think I would’ve kept it all casual and just said “hi” like I’m a normal person, but fortunately I wasn’t put to the test.

I will tell you that the day was cloudy and overcast, but my heart was full of sunshine.  Isn’t it amazing what a fabric store can do for a person who loves fabric.

After I got my fabric fix out of the way, and drooled a bit in the process, we headed back home to see how the paint drying had fared without us.  Turns out paint can dry all on its own without anyone watching.  Who knew?

A color was chosen and the painting the dining room began.  I did end up staying an extra day to finish the dining room – it’s so satisfying to finish a project.

I’d love to show you all the fabric I purchased on this trip, but I didn’t buy any!  I know, right?  What’s up with that?

I ended up painting a dining room with my Sis instead of a living room and lots of fun was had.  And, while I was a little bit stiff and sore on my drive back from all that painting, any time spent with my Sis is always worth the trip.

Make it a clear day!

Tami

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Welcome Back

Sep 24, 2018 by tlmiller

Welcome back to ThereisThat.com.  It’s been a while, I know.  Check back in a few days for new adventures from my life and all that is quilty in my world.

Tami

 

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Mabel and Her Table

Mar 14, 2017 by tlmiller

Mabel is the name of my HQ18 Avante.  She has an 18-inch throat, stitch regulation, and she moves like a dream along her 12-foot frame.  She has three feet on each side and takes up about 8 feet in width, which gives me plenty of room to move around her on all sides. 

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My Bertha

Jan 11, 2017 by tlmiller

I like the idea of Bertha, which Bee Bonchay describes as “a set of beliefs or a force greater than yourself that you have absolute faith and trust in…” and “finding your Bertha becomes your beacon, your symbol of hope…your strength when you feel weak.”

I found my Bertha, what has become my own personal symbol of hope, about eight years ago when I first put my hands on a long arm sewing machine; the way I felt resonated through my entire body.  All these years later I still dream of that moment, of what feels like ballet, poetry and a sense of wonder all rolled into one.  I fell in love with the glide of the machine across fabric and the way my body felt when I was one with that movement, swaying and swooping, guiding the machine in the most basic stippling pattern, laying the stitches and watching my hands create.  I have spent hours dreaming, reliving my time quilting with a long arm.  My body remembers the magic and it makes my heart ache.

Through the years I’ve continued to piece quilt tops and quilt them on my domestic machine while I watched Craig’s List, looking for a used machine, something that wouldn’t cost too much.  That wouldn’t be too big for the basement of the house I lived in at the time.  That I wouldn’t have to defend as just more clutter in an already crowded space.  I was looking for a compromise I could live with, something between what I wanted, and what I could make work.  I didn’t find what I was looking for.  Turns out, I wasn’t willing to compromise on my Bertha.

I have never given up on having a long arm.   Dreams exist for a reason.  They are the belief that someday will materalize.  The promise of possibiity.  For me, a Handi Quilter Avante is my own personal Bertha, which barring any more weather delays, will reside in my basement this Friday.  The unfinished basement where I live now is perfect for this long arm and its 12’ frame.   The long arm will be delivered, set up, leveled, and basic instruction on how to get this particular long arm up and functional will commence.  On Friday.  The day after tomorrow.  I know there will be a learning curve.  How can there not be?  We will get to know one another; learn each other’s quirks and I’m sure try each others’ patience.  Even with all that, I am eager to get started.  To feel the magic again.  I am, in fact, giddy with excitement.   Friday.  I can’t wait.

For now, my long arm doesn’t have a name as we haven’t yet met.   It is enough to know that this long arm is the Bertha in my life; my reminder that I am strong, that I have joy and a purpose in life that is mine to explore.  My reminder that life is good.  My Bertha is the realization of a dream that for the longest time was only a someday.  Someday in the future.  Someday when there was more time, more money, more space.  Someday.

Whatever its name turns out to be, my Bertha is a long arm sewing machine; a physical, tangible reminder that in this life hope is always present.  Which is just how it should be.

TM

Please feel free to leave a comment using the “COMMENT” link in the header section of this post.

 

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Ham Glue

Jan 8, 2017 by tlmiller

We all have our own jargon or catch phrases that have special meaning when used with our loved ones, friends, and family; words and phrases that come from our interactions with each other and are own language specific to who we’re with.   One of my own personal favorites has to do with E-6000 glue and my friend, Terri.

Awhile ago I was looking for a glue that could handle joining coins to magnets.  I always end up with extra coins when I travel outside of the U.S. and rather than exchanging them back for U.S. currency, I decided that it would be a practical souvenir of my travels to create magnets I could use on my refrigerator.

I told Terri of my plans and one Saturday we headed off to Jo Ann’s Fabric specifically to find glue for my latest project.  This particular Jo Ann’s had the display of glue way in the back corner of the store, so we wound our way through fabric and numerous distractions, focused solely on finding glue.

Once we found the display, we began selecting glues at random and reading off the intended uses on each package.

We weren’t having any luck until Terri picked up a package of E-6000.

“Metal, glass, pottery, ceramics, ham, rocks, mag…”

“What?  Ham?  Seriously?” I asked, startled.  “On what planet would we ever need to glue ham?”

“…nets.  Ham?” Terri stopped reading.

“You said ham,” I told her.

“Ham?”

“Yes.”

“I did?”

I nodded and we both looked at each other, adjusted our glasses and peered at the label, trying to figure out who would even think of making a glue intended for ham.

We read the label.

Metal.

Glass.

Pottery.

Ceramics.  And burst out laughing.

“Horn,” Terri said.  “It says horn.”

We couldn’t stop laughing.  We stood in that far away corner of Jo Ann’s for a long time laughing about gluing ham, and I bought the glue, of course.  How could I not?  Now, whenever Terri and I are discussing a project that requires glue, the question is always “do we use ham glue, or something else?” More often than not, the answer is going to be ham glue.

Now, just for clarification, you should know that I’ve never actually felt the need to glue ham, but I’ll tell you it does make me smile to know that if I’m ever on a planet where there is such a need, I’ll have just the right glue.

TM

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I am a quilter

Jan 3, 2017 by tlmiller

I am a quilter.

For the longest time, I was unable to say those words.  I’d qualify my craft with words like “beginner,” or “novice” or “just learning.”  I know that at any one time all of us are looking over the edge at something new – we are beginning an experiment with color, or taking a novice’s approach to a new technique, or learning a skill from another quilter.  Yet, despite quilting for many years, I didn’t feel worthy of identifying myself as a quilter without serious qualifying statements about my skill level.   Until one day when I stopped at my local Starbucks before work.

As I stood in line, waiting for the barista to brew my personal addiction, a venti, soy, no water, extra hot, Chai with cinnamon powder on top,  a woman in line behind me tapped my shoulder.

“Excuse me,” she said, looking apologetic,  “but you have what looks like string stuck to your tights.”  She pointed downward to the back of my leg.

I turned my leg and looked in the general direction of where she was pointing.  Sure enough, there was a long piece of the most beautiful lime green tucked up against the back of my knee, clinging to my black tights.  I smiled.

“Thread,” I said.

She looked at me blankly.  Apparently, I wasn’t the only one missing their morning caffeine fix.  I expanded further.

“It’s not string,” I said, pointing to the back of my knee.  “It’s thread.”

We both took a moment to appraise the back of my knee.

And, as if it explained everything there was to know about the bright green thread tucked against the back of my knee, and the universe we both found ourselves occupying at that given moment in time, which to my way of thinking it most surely did, I added, “I am a quilter.”

Now, I could’ve gone into a long winded explanation as to how that particular thread managed to wind up on the back side of my knee.  I could have explained that I often get dressed in my quilt studio, or that my most recent quilt was being quilted with that particular color.  But, seriously who needs all the gory details?

I play with fabric and  thread.  Enough said.

I am a quilter.

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