Dan's Ramblings

Dan here ~

Mud season, not a whole lot going on around here. Watching the snow and ice melt is much like watching grass grow or paint dry. Some days not a whole lot happens. The water is slowly rising, we can gauge it as it slowly moves under the swim float. Not real exciting but it is part of my day.

As usual walking takes up a portion of my day. Last week I broke the 500 mile mark for this year. It gets monotonous walking up and down the same road over and over. That may change a little now that I no longer need to wear my ice grippers. Hopefully I can safely store them away for the season. I’ll hold on to my hat and gloves as I think that I’ll need them this week. Especially if I find an opportunity to get a hair cut. That always makes me cold. Carol and I did see a beaver sleeping on his roof the other day. I guess, like us, he was enjoying the sun.

Someone is real lucky and quite probably doesn’t even know it yet. Sunday on my walk, I saw where a quite large Eastern white pine had twisted about 10’ up the trunk and fallen not on the camp but away from the camp. 

Around the Pond

Carol here ~

It hasn’t been a great week for walking, weather wise. Is was SO WINDY Monday and Tuesday. Dan asked if I was walking and I said nope, I made it through nine months of aggressive chemo and I’m still kicking, I’m not going for a walk in this wind and get dead by a tree falling on me.

I did get a good walk in on Wednesday, made it around the pond! First time since about this time last year.  Should be able to build back up to my 3-4 miles by summer.

Dan's Ramblings

Dan here ~

I wish the weather would make up it’s mind. This idea of warm then back to cold etc. is getting old. The wind was howling today, during gusts I could feel the house vibrate. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to the wind. 

Walking has been a nightmare as the changing weather has caused the dirt road to turn into one long mud wallow. Bad almost all the way, with sections where it is even worse thrown in. The town is working on the issue and have hauled a great many loads of fill as they attempt to get above the muck. We’ll see.

Still more or less between projects. I say more or less because I am still cleaning up scrap bins of leftovers pieces and whole blocks. As blocks are found they are squared to their best size and laid out on the floor with like sized blocks. 

Proud Grandparents!

Carol here ~

Remember last fall when I told you about granddaughter Kailey’s artwork being selected to hang in the Maine Capital Complex in Augusta? (if you missed that post you can read it here)

It finally arrived and last week was the art opening reception. Here is Kailey’s artwork titled “Fungus Among Us”.

Dan's Ramblings

Dan here.

I finished the baby quilt top. 

I am now between projects again. Maybe this is the problem with not working on 3 or 4 projects at the same time. Face it, what are the odds they would be at the same stage, so you could just jump back and forth between them. No thank you. One at a time for me. Often I will have a new project in my head before I finish my current one. But seldom do I start a new project before finishing the old. Today that usually even means cutting the binding as well.

Bindings and Sleeves

Carol here ~

I’m all caught up with the bindings on the quilts that are to be in a special exhibit at Maine Quilts this summer. If you missed that post you can read about it here.

Here are the last two, both of them with many flying geese.

Dan's Ramblings

Dan here ~

It looks like winter is not ready to throw in the towel. Weather forecast is for snow for Friday night into Sunday morning. Possibly cyclone snow bands at times. What that means is that the snow might come down wicked hard. Kinda like standing under the snow gun on a 10 degree night as you watch it pile up and get deeper by the minute, piling up waiting to get spread around by the groomer on it’s next pass as it cruises around, farming the mountain’s newly made snow.

Well, we are supposed to be blessed with somewhere between 0” and 18”. Sounds like another one of those snow storms where the best way to tell how much we received is to measure it afterwards. Won’t last, I hope that’s not just what they say to make it more palatable to get more snow this time of year.

The dirt road into the house is currently about 3/4 of a mile of varying depths of mud or standing water. More snow will mean more water and more mud. Not fun to walk, especially when you happen to meet one of the several cars that travel way to fast for the type of road. Splashes are much like Russian roulette, will I find a spot where I am out of the way or just stand still and take my chances. Knock on wood, I have not gotten a bad splash this season….. yet. It’s coming, it is almost inevitable with the traffic that goes through, same cars or trucks just people that seem to be always on the move. I had two, I think, last spring. Maybe it is a rite of Spring.

Yesterday I took the truck out to the tar road and walked on that, then drove back home. I had walked out to the tar and back with Carol, I was not going to wallow in it for 3 more miles. We do what we must.

The scrappy “Morning Star” quilt I have been working on is complete. I have always been amazed at the amount of time it takes to put a long border on a quilt top. I much prefer a multi pieced border. Oh well, I love how this came out. I think Carol already has a quilting pattern selected to use when she adds her magic to the quilt. 

Dan's Ramblings

Dan here ~

Crazy weather we have been having, warm then cold, snow then rain. Spring will arrive I just wish it would hurry up and be a little more consistent. 

Walking continues and the road conditions change depending on the time of day one walks. You all should know by now that early mornings and I are not the best of friends. The ground would be firmer early, but I guess I will need to just take my chances. 

Broke the 375 mile mark for this year’s 2022 miles last Friday. A little ahead of schedule but not much. It seems like it is more difficult this year. The mile did not get longer so I must have gotten older, don’t see how that happened.

A Close One!

Carol here ~

Remember that big-ass quilt I told you about last week that was 106” x 106”?

Morning Star, Pattern by Pat Speth

Maine Quilts 2022 ~ Part 2 ~ The Raffle Quilt

Dan here ~

The Maine Quilts 2022 Raffle Quilt is “Always A Way", an original design created by me. This quilt measures 82”x101”. I designed and pieced the quilt, Carol quilted this one-of-a-kind quilt using free motion machine quilting.

This and That

Carol here ~

Lena and I have finally finished quilting all Dan’s quilts, working on bindings now. Still have two to go. I finished this one up over the weekend.