Wednesday, January 12, 2022

HST's, A Superhero And One Mess After Another

 Remember last week when I mentioned my plan to tackle squaring up years of flippy corner bonus HST's?  To be exact 3500 HST's. Just trim 100 HST's first thing every morning.  Well it's probably no big surprise my plan didn't go off as planned.   It's the usual excuse, you know this happened, that happened and excuse after excuse.  To be honest there was days last week when I just threw up my hands and said "to heck with all those HST's!".  The next morning I'd regret my decision.  So it was time to play a little game of catch up over the weekend. 


While binge watching the last few episodes of Dexter I began to tackle my huge pile of procrastination HST's plus 200 more than what I needed so I could be ahead of the plan.  Yes my quilting friends I was feeling like a quilting superhero.  There's nothing that can stop me now!


Hours of trimming.  I'd sit and trim for awhile, stand(very slowly) and trim for awhile.   The office/sewing chair is kryptonite to this 52 year old quilter.  I really need to invest in a chair with more cushion like a recliner or couch.  Hmmm?...a recliner for a sewing chair?  Sounds perfect for my hips but not sure it's doable.   Avoiding being in the chair is probably the more doable option.  I made good progress and by the time I watched the last episode of Dexter I was pressing the freshly trimmed HST's.  The rest of them could wait until the next day.


The next day had other plans.  My kitchen sink wouldn't drain.  So while hubby was at work I tackled the clog myself.  I'll spare you the yukky stuff and jump right to problem #2.   Well first of all I didn't find the clog in the plumbing under the sink, it's under the house and that is hubby's area of expertise due to possible critters.   We know snakes like to hang out down there, we found those when we did a remodel a few years ago.  They probably wouldn't be too active when its 20 degrees outside but who cares, it's a snake.  Anyway,  this pipe would not go back onto the bottom of the sink.  I thought it was just me and my lack of plumping skills.  Nope!  Mr. Podunk couldn't make it work either.  He said it needs replaced.  Oh happy day, I'm without a kitchen sink for another day.  The plus side of this situation is no cooking means more sewing room time.


Nope, the next day had other plans.  It started off with me oversleeping.  I'm pretty sure the stress of me trying to be a plumbing superhero might have been the reason I overslept.   What can a gal do but try to make up for lost time.  The plan was to pick up a few items at the store, stop by Hobby Lobby to look for a background fabric for my next project and then drop off my dad some meatloaf, visit for about an hour and head home.  I should be back by noon.  

Excuses, Excuses, Excuses.   What can I say...Hobby Lobby is a wonderland.  How can you not look at all the things?  So I did.  I'm not ashamed.  I deserve a little girly time in Hobby Lobby after playing plumber for a day.  I was a good girl and only bought fabric since we are having to replace the sink and pipes under the sink.  

Before that one quilt police pops up and tells me how horrible this fabric is.....I know the risk and I don't care.   It's cute, it makes me happy.  And just to make you cringe I'm going to let you in on a little secret, I'll probably mix it with good quality fabric and a few Walmart prints too.  


Once I finally made it to dads(1pm, I should've been home already), I threw out another excuse.  
It's not an excuse, it's a fact and the right thing to do.  Dad is soon to be 76, he gets almost no visitors besides me due to the Covid.  He is and has always been very social.  The kind of guy that when he walks in a room he owns it, works it, and everyone loves him.  He needs engagement.   So to just drop and run isn't the right thing to do.  Me and the grandkids is all he has and you know how millennial's are, they are young and living life.   

Dad always reassures me he is fine being out there all by himself and not seeing too many people other than when he runs errands and shops for groceries.  But I know all about regrets.  Family is more important than HST's.  I left around 3 pm, so I could get home with enough time to eat and  be ready to help install the new sink and pipes. 

NOPE, Mr. Podunk came home empty handed.  No sinks in stock that will fit and that aren't way too much.  We just want to replace the stainless steel with stainless steel.  Looks like everyone else is just as thrifty as us.  We thought ordering from Amazon would be the way to go. NOPE.  

To make a long story short we both went down a  internet search rabbit hole for a stainless steal sink.  At bedtime our situation was we could pay way too much for a sink we didn't want or like  OR we could wait a week for one to be shipped to our local Lowe's.  

Again this morning I woke up late.  This is getting old real quick.  I like being up before the chickens.  Mr. Podunk has gone to work but has left me a note.  
FOUND A SINK AT HOME DEPOT, BRINGING IT HOME TONIGHT

Thank goodness.  The last few weeks have been one thing after another. It started off with my car not starting.  It just needed a battery.  Did you know the price of batteries has almost double in the last 5 years? 

 Then my dryer quit working.  I love my dryer, its old, no bells and whistles, just a turn knob and start button.  We considered replacing it with a new one but I hate my new washing machine with all the bells and whistles.  He left the decision up to me on whether or not to replace.  As long as we can still get parts for the old girl I say fix it.  

After that we had gravel poured in our driveway.  A good gravel guy smooths out the gravel so all we do is pay for the job and TADA we have a nice looking driveway.   NOPE.  The worst driveway job I've ever seen.  Luckily our neighbor saw our mess, brought over his little bulldozer looking thing and smoothed it out for us. 

 And that brings to our current issue, the sink.  

My goodness that was a long winded rant but it's part of my quilting life and why I can't seem to get things done.  Thank you to those of you who stuck it out to the end.  

Before going to bed last night I did manage to get the rest of my trimmed HST's trimmed, pressed and sorted.  800 HST's, from 1" to 3.5".


They were sorted by size and stuffed into baggies.  It's starting to look like I should have started with gallon baggies instead of quarts.


My well organized storage bin will soon be to small as well.


There's many more to trim.  I pulled todays baggies last night.  To stay on track I need to trim 200 HST's today.



Should I get these completed there will 2300 HST's left to trim.  Twenty-three days of trimming 100 HST's a day.  I'll keep you posted....LOL!


I keep trying to remind myself...


If you missed my Bloom word of the year post you can read it here

Until next time....

I hope you find time to stitch up something sweet!

See you soon!


















 
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16 comments:

  1. My theory is that appliances (and sinks) have sympathy pains with each other. One gets cranky or sick, and something else will join in. Every time! I'm sure you will have no regrets that you spent more time in Hobby Lobby or visiting your dad. Much more important and enjoyable. I drove a friend to the airport Monday morning, and really really wanted to stop at Hobby Lobby on my way home. But I got sidetracked and didn't get there.

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    1. I agree with your theory. Better get to Hobby Lobby this week before the sale ends!

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  2. We have had all sorts of little calamities too. I get it!
    Quilt police - I too mix fabrics of all types and genres.

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    1. It's so odd how we can go months with no issues and then out of nowhere half the house falls apart.

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  3. I've been doing taking care of all of my HSTs too! I found tons of plastic bags holding all of the leftover HSTs from projects for many years, and I got tired of moving them around. So I trimmed and put them together into something, each batch separately. The smallest batch became a pot holder, and the biggest becase the center of a new quilt, that I'll add applique around. Also a few table runners, little quilts, etc. I'm so glad that I won't be running across them again and again! My husband asked me how much in $$$ I saved by not throwing them out, and I calculated about $60 worth of fabric. Yikes...

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    1. Sounds like a years worth of project making just from scrap HST's. Wow! You're an inspiration! I many need to put a sign up in the Studio that says Nan V. did it, so get to it!

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  4. Yep, sounds like regular life!!! Last summer at our new house (new to us, 35 yrs old), the kitchen sink was leaking into the wall area, the laundry room sink hoses started leaking (right into my face: squirting fiercely)when I felt around to see where the water was coming from, and with the home warranty that we had (don't ever go with the company with "National" in the name!!!), I was washing dishes in the kitchen sink for MONTHS!!! And there is a new Hobby Lobby being installed in our local mall, so that is going to be dangerous for me!!! LOL Looks like you'd better design a HST pattern soon before the HST's band together and swallow you up!! :-) Hope this week goes better for you!!! Hugs, H

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    1. Our home is old also, 1960-ish ranch. Poorly built and maintained. Mr. Podunk would never purchase a warranty. Just mentioning them sets him off on a rant. Stay away from Hobby Lobby! It will suck you into a time warp and then suck all the money out of your bank account!

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  5. I’ve heard that trouble comes in threes and I believe it. At the end of the summer our giant chest freezer died, then our heat pump quit working and wasn’t fixable, and our built in microwave died. The heat pump and new furnace took 8 weeks to come in and another 8 weeks to get installed. We had no luck buying another large freezer. Everywhere we checked said it would be a 6 to 8 week wait. We finally settled on one about half the size because we could take it home the same day. We lived without a microwave for a couple of months until we found one that kind of fit in our space.(It fits side to side but has a gap at the top.)

    I love Hobby Lobby and I bought the same fabric because it is so cute!

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    1. Yes! Bad things always come in threes! I didn't want to say it, you know, it sounds kind of crazy or wacky. But I say it every time and Mr. Podunk rolls his eyes.

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  6. Hang in there! MAYBE THE STREAK OF BAD LUCK IS OVER

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    1. Thanks! I sure hope it's over. Bad things come in 3's so we should be on our way smooth sailing, at least for a little while.

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  7. Like you, I'm not a fabric snob. I've purchased lots of fabric from Hobby Lobby. But I will say I'm very disappointed because they no longer have their 40% coupon & their fabrics are no longer 30% off everyday. AND ... some of my favorite fabrics have come from Walmart. I've purchased lots of little prints, dots & full bolts of the Waverly solids. Frankly, I don't see any difference in Waverly & the "designer" solids. Hope all the bad stuff is over for you guys now.

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    1. Our Hobby Lobby has fabric for 40% off right now. She said the sale was good for the week. I too love Waverly fabrics. I'm not going to name the designer brand but Waverly is better than one of the most popular. I buy prints that make me happy even the not so good designer fabrics, hopefully on sale.

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  8. I like your HL fabrics. So bright and cheerful! I mix fabrics since a lot of my scraps come from my quilting buddies who are going to throw them away, I have no idea where they come from originally. We recently had our streak of bad luck - frozen water pump in the barn, back door knob came off in Husband's hand ( he was on the outside), and big chest freezer quit. I hope nothing else happens for a long while.

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    1. OH my! Bad luck must be going around like a virus. A freezer going out is double trouble. You've had your 3 bad things so you should be good for awhile, they always come in three's.

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Happy Stitching! Lea Anne

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