Tag: COVID-19

Life in isolation (heavy on sewing)

We aren’t really in quarantine, but we are self-isolating pretty solidly. We have done curbside pickup for a number of items, and I did go to a small grocery store a few days ago. My oldest son has been dropping off groceries once a week, but we stay at least 6’ away. And I did visit my primary care provider for a very sore shoulder. They were very cautious with no waiting allowed except in your car. The poor PCP was in full face shield and mask which made it rather challenging to do some detailed examination. She was able to schedule me a referral to the orthopedist for next week. The specialists are just now opening up their practices again.

But on to happier things! I have been sewing up a storm. I made 70-80 masks for family, friends, and a nursing home. I made a scrub cap for my daughter, but the pattern needs some more tweaking before making more. I also got a number of quilts finished, all baby sized. I apologize for the wrinkled. These have all been curled up in a closet.

These two were completed while we were traveling. I was determined to use up a bunch of batik scraps I had.

Scraps from a bedroom quilt. I love the brown/teal fabric.
More batik scraps

I also had a bunch of his pink print from my granddaughters quilt. I pulled the pink and white from scraps, and the white was just too bright once I got the top together. A woman at a lovely shop in Lake Havasu recommended using a cranberry thread to pull things together, and it was a good choice. This is the same pattern as one below based on a 6” square.

One of my few “girly” quilts

I had to order fabric for this one. Friends of my second son are ardent UNI fans, so I went with this theme for them. Normally I just do an all-over meander on baby quilts, but I did free-form curvy lines on this one.

For a University of Northern Iowa baby. Their colors are (surprisingly) purple and gold.
Backside of the UNI quilt

I did this quilt with my brand new Accuquilt Go! cutting machine. I am not a good rotary cutter, and I have been thinking about one of these for a while. A local quilt shop had a special going, so I did it! I got the basic cutter, a 2 1/2” strip cutter, and a set of cutters for miscellaneous shapes that finIsh at 2” and 4”. The miscellaneous set is called an 8” Qube, and it is lovely. I particularly like the animal focus fabric. This is the pattern of the girly quilt above, but based on a 4” square.

Just a quick Accuquilt sample. Cute animal fabric, isn’t it?

I have also been cooking. I finally got over my fear of crepes, and we have had them a couple of times filled with eggs, cheese, and bacon. The left overs were enjoyed with maple syrup the next day. Multiple batches of brownies made me decide I really needed to stop baking when there are only two of us! We have had sweet chili grilled shrimp, Dijon salmon, sous vide steaks, and lovely Iowa pork chops.

I told you this was a more positive post! I am getting ready to start making masks again with a local non-profit. I said I would commit 10 hours a week. They think I can do 30 in that time, but I think I can do a lot more. I was making masks at a rate of 4/hour when I had to cut my own fabric, and this group will be providing fabric and ties or elastic. I am pretty efficient at assembly line batch sewing.

Kevin and I have been getting out on our bikes over the last couple of weeks since it finally warmed up. That has helped my mental state quite a bit as has a number of bright sunny days. I just wish we could go camping …

COVID-19 update

Yes, it has been a while. The last post was made from Kofa National Wildlife Refuge in Arizona, an absolutely beautiful, isolated place surrounded by mountains. I am writing this update from our house in Iowa, and it has been  7 weeks or so. I had better note what happened.

We left Kofa and decided to go towards Grand Canyon National Park. We spent the night of 3 March south of Lake Havasu at a BLM site. Not very scenic, but fine for an overnight. It was very unlevel though and a pain to get the rig parked well. We were planning on going to one of the many boondock areas south of GCNP, but Kevin decided to see if Trailer Village had any openings. Surprise, surprise – they did! We stayed there for 5 nights in a full-hookup campground. We got our laundry done, caught up with some streaming shows, and wandered around the park and surrounding areas.We even road the bikes quite a bit. It was a good thing we didn’t depend on the boondock sites. Everything was terribly rutted and muddy with snowmelt, and we wouldn’t have fit comfortably in any place we looked at.

Mountain bluebird decided to pose
Gotta have at least one canyon shot

We were just marking time until the FMCA Diesel Club Chapter meeting, and we decided to stay in the Yavapai FS campground outside Prescott. Lovely place, no reservations that early in the season, but the site was pretty cramped due to encroaching vegetation along the sides. It rained and rained, and we were very glad to have a solid surface site in a beautiful place. No pictures because it really did just rain and rain and rain with a little snow thrown in.

By this time, we were getting nervous about the virus spread. The last time I was hospitalized in 2016 I ended up almost dying in an ICU, and I actually have some PTSD from it, so my anxiety began to ramp up. States were beginning to shut down, and the kids were worried about us being so far from home. After much though and agonizing over the decision, we decided to cancel our attendance at both the Diesel Club and the main FMCA rally. It was the right move even though we lost hundreds in fees. We spent our first night on the road, 13 March, at Verde River Resort in Camp Verde. We got the coach cleaned, laundry done, and were ready to dry camp back to Iowa if needed. Instead we spent our first night on the road at American RV Park in Albuquerque. Nice place, and we have stayed  there before. The next two nights were at Cabela’s in Lone Tree, CO south of Denver and in Kearney, NE (very nice!). Taking the toll road east of Denver was a brilliant move, worth every penny of the cost. We parked the coach in the storage unit and collapsed in bed in the house which always seems so huge when we first arrive!

My anxiety has still been pretty high in the last month which is why I haven’t gotten around to posting. Things are beginning to calm down due to more information being available, and I am getting along pretty well now. We have cancelled our Alaska trip planned for this summer. We also delayed until late July some motorhome modifications we are going to have done in Alabama. Until then we are self-isolating as much as seems reasonable. I have been busy in the sewing room, but I will post about that later.

That is the end of this topic, at least for now. Tomorrow I will post a much more positive piece about how I have been surviving isolation.