The Battlefield

Directly across the road from our hotel is the Vicksburg National Military Park.  We’d read about this in a blog some time ago and after this morning’s iffy experiences, we looked forward to a contemporary and professionally designed attraction as we’ve come to expect from the National Parks Service here.

First, there was a video introduction to the events.  I never for one minute lost concentration, Mary stayed awake and yes, my hero watched it all through as well

From there, we picked up our map and jumped back in our car, because we’d decided to drive the 16 mile route.  We could have download an app to follow on our phones, but with data charges considered, that wasn’t really practicable.  Another option was to buy a CD to play in the car with a commentary, or we could do as we did in Gettysburg some years ago and have a park ranger come with us in our car and give us a guided tour.  Whilst that had been a really great way to learn about the events in detail, none of us were sitting an A level History exam with a Civil War module this time, so we opted for the simplest choice: we’d follow the map and guide ourselves.

There wasn’t too much traffic so we could take things at our own pace.  Fairly frequent memorials and markers were set on both sides of the single track, one way road and having stopped at the first few, we soon realised that if we were to stop at every single one, we’d be here for a week.

We hadn’t gone far when there were a few spots of rain on the windscreen.  It had been 97F when we went back to the car after the presentation, and the sky had looked a little dark in places, so perhaps it wasn’t that surprising.

We enjoyed spotting the various landmarks and changing landscape. doing our best to tally them with the map.

Though actually, once we were close enough, everything was very clearly marked with a blue sign for the Union and red for the Confederacy.

To begin with, we were driving through Union lines and yes, it was starting to rain heavily now.

I was happy with the window wound down, taking photographs, whilst Mary held onto the map and read the commentary as we approached a key point along the way.

Except that soon, what had been a refreshing few drops of rain became a torrential downpour and rather than get soaked, we would the windows up quickly.

As it thundered and lightened, we sat it out a while and stopped the car.  There was no fun to be had driving when we couldn’t see anything.

As is often the case, these things don’t last long and we were soon on our way again.

We continued our tour and simply followed clear signs as we reached the furthest point.

We came upon this white tent and thought that perhaps there had been an event in the park this weekend, before realising that this was the display of the USS Cairo, a Unionist Monitor ship which had been sunk by the Confederates.

Whilst Mary and I didn’t really want to dodge the few raindrops that were still falling, my hero was keen to see the Cairo at closer quarters, so off he went whilst we took a short nap!

Back on the trail then.

Past a cemetery where rows of simple stones marked the graves of some of the 17,000 souls who lost their lives here.

By this time, we were on the Confederate side.

Here was General Pemberton, who finally had no choice but to order the surrender.

Here was the monument to the dead of Mississippi.

Local men whose families attended the dedication of the monument and who appeared in the striking photograph alongside it.

And finally, here was Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederacy, whose house and office we’d visited in Montgomery.  I always find it pleasing when a thread runs through our travels and when, eventually, loose ends come together like this.

We knew we’d reached the end of the trail because lo and behold, there’s our hotel right opposite!

Our day wasn’t quite over though, because Bernina was calling about seven miles up the road at Stitch and Frame.  Don’t be fooled by the plain and unassuming exterior though, because inside is a dream of a sewing store!

Just a few quilting frames set up in the corner, alongside the latest Bernina commercial embroidery machine.

Everything Bernina in the next room too, alongside a few reels of thread.

Needless to say, there was a huge room full of fabric too, but I was simply too overwhelmed and forgot to take a photo of that.  But suffice to say, if I could have transplanted the lot to Gloucestershire, I’d have been very happy.

This evening, I chose a Mississippi speciality for dinner: catfish, hush puppy and fries.  It was delicious!

Practice practice

On the “About me” page, I describe myself as someone who wants to do it all perfectly in the next five minutes.  Though that’s pretty accurate, I recognise that if something does go right first time, then (in professional-speak) “opportunities for learning are missed”.  We’ve been watching the new series of Masterchef and noting how frequently the contestants who go straight through to the second round without the need to participate in the cook-off are eliminated.  It’s almost as though the weaker cooks gain an advantage from that extra time spent in the kitchen.

In the last few days, I’ve been gaining advantage from extra time spent with my sewing machine!

I accepted a challenge recently and thought that I’d get on and get ahead.  With a couple of days open on my calendar, it seemed a good time to prepare one or two things to have up my sleeve for when life gets busy again.  So, out came the sewing machine and a small gadget called the “Spanish Hemstitch Equipment” and I sat down to create some samples.

I’d not gone very far before I decided that it was a waste of time creating mere sample pieces.  Why not use the practice pieces to make something useful?  Actually, in the small instruction book which came in the box with the gadget, there was a small project for a table mat.  I had fabric and thread on hand (!) so I cut and prepared the pieces as recommended.

I even got out my overlocker and serged the edges.  My goodness, that was quite an adventure in itself!

I finished some of the edges too, but as I did, crisis struck.

I needed to refill the bobbin and when I replaced it, I got an error message.  The hook wouldn’t engage.  At this point, I didn’t panic – the same thing had happened before and I had been given advice about what to do. 

This time, though, I got a different message.  Oh dear.

Help!  Thankfully, I have a very good friend with considerably more experience than I have and several emails later, all was well.

I’d also added two or three other “tricks” to my repertoire of actions to take when things don’t go quite right.  Every cloud has a silver lining, eh?

I was going to need to use every one of those tricks in the next few days, because things didn’t go quite right.  Remember, I not only expect to be an instant expert but I’d like it all to turn out perfectly too?  (Even if this is only a sample; a practice piece!)

So I ripped it out.  Frogged it, as they say (ripit ripit, geddit?)

I decided that I needed to work a practice piece so that my practice project would turn out ok.  After all, I need a respectable piece of work at the end of all of this, please.  Second rate just will not do!

Even after much practice though, yesterday afternoon did not yield a single respectable sample.  More practice is needed.

A pity that most of my practice is in frogging it, though.

My prize arrived!

You might recall that I was the lucky winner – not of the lottery, but of a draw for a trolley system for my sewing machine.

Look what arrived this morning.

I opened the trolley bag first.  Very smart and rather larger than I imagined!   I couldn’t wait to explore…

There’s a good, solid retractable handle to pull it on two sturdy wheels

and a grab handle at each end too. 

Inside it’s lined with small pockets here and there

and loads and loads of padding, securely fixed with velcro patches.

The whole front unzips and opens up, making it easier to load the machine, which is not only very large, but also rather heavy – 20kg.

I unplugged my machine and carefully lifted into place.  All those additional padding blocks had to go – it took up almost every inch of the bag.

The pockets at the front are deep enough for additional feet and other accessories and I don’t feel worried that they’ll squash up against the metal panels of the machine and be damaged in any way.

Those inside the bag are probably better suited to lighter, thinner things like scissors and Swiss Army Knives  - the Bernina sewing version, of course

There are small pockets on the inside of the top flap which are ideal for spare needles and unpickers plus the Bernina universal tool for getting in all kinds of awkward corners in case of emergency.

I lay the knee lift on the top and squeezed the sewing table down the side – that was the only part which didn’t seem to have an obvious home.  Maybe I’ll investigate if there’s a better place for that.

Foot pedal in one end pocket, power cable in the other

I zipped it all up and squeezed between my desk and the cupboard.  Wide load coming through!

It was rather easier loading the embroidery module.  The bag is similarly padded with a non-slip panel on the base which fits the solid base perfectly.

There’s a secure strap to hold it in place, though I don’t think it’d go anywhere.

A large pocket inside the front flap holds all the hoops and any other paraphernalia – the templates and any threads – will fit in the outer front pocket.

Zipped up, secured in place, we’re ready to roll!

But oh my, there’s a huge empty space in my studio. 

I think I’ll get it all out again

Training

I heard a voice coach speaking on the radio a while ago, explaining how the vocal cords are just like any other muscle.  They need to be kept in shape with regular exercise.  I mention that not only to justify my regular use of my own vocal cords (!) but to apply the same principle to the  many other skills we acquire but then fail to keep exercised.

Ahem.

I use my sewing machine regularly.  It’s always out, always threaded up and ready to sew.  I switch it on and off I go.  But I’ll admit, it’s quite some time since I used the embroidery unit and so when I saw this blog entry I thought, yes, that’s me.  I wouldn’t go as far as to say I’m intimidated by my embroidery machine but I will admit to being a bit rusty and the idea of something quick and easy seemed a good way of spending an hour this morning.

I downloaded the free design (only free for a limited time) and evidenced my rustiness immediately.  Just which file format do I need to load onto the usb?  Thankfully, like many such things, once I gave it some thought, it all came back to me and soon, my machine was purring away.

I did have to consult the book to check the bobbin threading pattern for embroidery, mind you.  I knew where the thread should go, just couldn’t seem to get it there (and working with black thread didn’t make it any easier).

Then came the colouring in bit.  I used my watercolour pencils which probably weren’t the best choice – I’d probably have done better to follow the advice in the blog post and use wax crayons instead.  But by the time I got to that bit I was irritated.  (I know, it doesn’t take much!)

Are you into “adult colouring books”?  If so, don’t tell me.  I don’t want to know!  In return I won’t ask you why you haven’t got something better to do…

What irritated me was “Outlining shapes with a darker color and working your way in is good practice. It allows you to add depth and layer colors as your inspired to.” Well, apart from the weird English of the second sentence, I wanted to ask “says who?”  Just who is setting rules for colouring in, please?  “Good practice”?  Good grief.

So, I leave you with a fine example of very bad practice.  Not only did I not outline shapes with a darker colour and work my way in, I also overdid the water spray and the colours ran.  I never was much good at colouring anyway.

Maybe I need some training?

One step at a time

Remember this?

Just before we went off on my birthday jolly to Carcassonne, I was playing about with a jelly roll of fabric which had been on my shelf for a couple of years.  I didn’t know what to do with it, but then I came across this and simply had to give it a try.

 

I didn’t get very far though and ever since then, the stitched and cut blocks have sat by my sewing machine. 

Today, I felt rather virtuous.  I’d not only done some of my (paid) work, I’d cleared my mending pile and there wasn’t much ironing sitting and eyeing me with that threatening look that only a basket of ironing can manage.  So, I switched on my sewing machine and prepared to begin.

Except I’d forgotten what I was doing.  There was no printout in the bag with those blocks either.  What a good job I blog about such things and include the links!  I worked out what I’d done, where I’d stopped and what more there was to do.

I soon had quite a pile of 5 1/4 inch squares and spend a few minutes trimming and squaring them off.

It’s a clever pattern that looks way more tricky than it really is.

So now it’s time to sew four squares together to create a larger block.  But there’s a decision to make.

Do I take the control freak’s route and choose the placement of the colours carefully?

Or go random and let the colours fall as they will?

I can’t decide.