Homecoming

There was a little bit of everything in my day yesterday, and so I have a lot of pictures for you today. First, Big Bertha is home. Doesn't she look all spiffy having spent the past month at the spa? I'd say I think she lost a few pounds, but when I lift her, I know that isn't true.

Believe me, I hesitated about threading all the cords in and out behind my table and through the bars of my desk drawers because I didn't trust at all that she would be working again. But then, having faith, I went ahead, flipped the switch and turned her on. Ahhhhhh...a sight for sore eyes.

Only then, I wasn't really ready to sew, and so I turned her off again. Then, changing my mind, I decided I would sew and I turned her back on...only to get this message. What expletive do you suppose I chose for this?

Honest to Pete. This was very discouraging. There have been mechanical adjustments and electronic boards replaced, only to find the same problem still exists. There is a procedure to clear this code, which I won't go into yet again...but I went through the motions and then turned her off again. Then I texted Mike in frustration (as if he could do anything about it), and then turned her on again.

Okay...well at least going through the motions (just once this time) cleared the error, and she was ready for sewing. Since then I've had her on and off about a dozen times, and she's been working fine. It's kind of the equivalent of restarting your computer when things go haywire. If I only have to do it once, I can live with this. I've lived with it for five years, so what's another five years, right? I had to have it repaired this last time because I couldn't clear the error code, even after turning the machine off and on more than 50 times. So...we'll see. If it continues working I'll be happy. If not, Mike is going to start talking with the folks at Bernina. The repairs were made this time according to their own service bulletin, and so if even Bernina doesn't know how to fix it...I don't know. The question becomes, "then what?" For now, it's an open question, and I'll just have to keep sewing and see how it goes.

All right, so with that little break for a tantrum, I got to work on the last set of mini blocks for the Primary Squares mini quilt. The cutting was finished, and I was ready to start sewing them together.

One thing I was forgetting to do was to measure and trim each little section as I sewed it together. They were pretty accurate, but I trimmed little slivers off where I needed to.

This little girl interrupted me to let me know she was not at all happy with her treatment this morning. She'd been given a flea treatment on the back of her neck furs...which was a complete insult...and then, we didn't open the doors to let her out. I needed to leave at noon, and so the kitties were confined to the house the whole live-long day.

I just continued on with my sewing under her disapproving eye. And here, I'm demonstrating a big "duh" moment. I had these forked pins in an Altoids box, and they kept getting tangled up in one another. It reminds me of something my dear father-in-law used to say. If you're old enough to remember when the American Apollo spacecraft linked up in space with the Russian Soyuz spacecraft, then this will make sense to you. It happened in 1975 (the year Mike and I were married). I can recall Mike's dad saying, "Just give them two wire coat hangers! If they get within a mile of one another, those coat hangers will get tangled up!" And so it is with the forked pins. These were giving me nothing but trouble.

Then, in my "duh" moment, I remembered this unoccupied pincushion I made when I took the wool felting class a few years ago, and gave them a new home. Hopefully, they'll give me less trouble now that I can grab just one.

And then, it was time to leave to meet Mike to see the gingerbread exhibit at OMSI. We had a nice lunch, and then headed downtown, paid our money, and went off to find the exhibit. Just follow me...

Okay, here we are.

I'm going to show these pictures a little like a quilt show. I'll show you the sign explaining the gingerbread house entry. These were all built around the theme of "Egypt." (OMSI has a King Tut exhibit going on right now.) After the sign, I'll show you the entire gingerbread house and then some detailed shots. I'll only make a few comments along the way. Except for that, I'll just let you look and be in awe as we were. What these entries lacked in numbers, they made up for in details.

This next one was our favorite. The lighting was poor in here, and so we were using the flashlights on our phones and flash photography to see the details hidden in shadow.

This next one wasn't so much a gingerbread house per se, but it was an entry from Sarah's Cookies. The big shield in the back is a giant gingerbread cookie.

Smitty and Sadie liked this next one best.

Here, you can decode the hieroglyphics using the "alphabet" that follows.

This next one seemed to be malfunctioning somehow.

The area to the right surrounded in blue frosting was supposed to be lit inside, and there were figures inside the enclosure. What you see there is simply a reflection of the surrounding environment. It was too bad because I think it was crucial to really understanding the whole piece.

There was a little bit of a treasure hunt.

Do you see the narwahl?

New Seasons Market is a local market, and this was their entry, thus the sign, "Old Seasons."

If I'm not mistaken, Ra is the sun god, and the one toward the back moved like the sun from right to left over the whole exhibit.

Check out the reindeer antlers and red nose on the sphinx. Also, I loved the gingerbread smoke coming from the chimney.

So that was it. There were only a few entries, but we really enjoyed the detail.

When we got home, I was surprised to have received this wonderful bag from my friend Gail at Shedding the Wolf. The fabrics are so cute, and this is a great size for a bag. I'll be able to use it for so many things. A million thank yous, Gail.

And she remembered the kitties with a catnip mouse. It was love at first sight for Smitty.

Oh...those pheromones...I could lick you to death!

Sadie was more suspicious.

I don't know, Smitty...just look at that floozy's feathered tail. Whoever heard of a mouse like that?

Okay, and I left them to their antics and finished sewing the little mini blocks together. These...

and these.

The last ones gave me the most trouble. I had one of the little corner sections sewn together wrong, and I sewed it together and took it apart three times before I had it right. They're wonky as ever. Thanks to everyone who chimed in with tips about this. There were quite a few things I haven't tried. It's a little late for these, but I'm filing all that new info away for the next mini I make...and there will be more. I really want to learn to do this well.

Here are all the blocks, and this is where I left it when I turned Big Bertha off for the last time yesterday. Then, I turned her back on again to see if she'd be okay...she was. Anyone want to wager whether I'll get the "all clear" or the error code when I turn her on this morning?

The only other thing I did yesterday was to spend some time on the Appalachian Memories block. The Bear's Paw barn quilt is finished now, and I've started on the roof of the barn. Still lots of stitching to do on this one.

So that's where I'm headed next. I have one housekeeping chore to do today, but first I'll finish up the mini quilt top. Fingers crossed about Big Bertha.