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Thursday, September 08, 2011

Red Strings In the Sunset!

Who knew that a salt water gargle was the one thing that would get me feeling better?

This morning I woke up and my throat hurt So bad…I couldn’t swallow. My friend said SALT WATER GARGLE and to tell you the truth it makes me queasy just to say those words, but I did it several times today and you know what? It cut the gunk, it stung a bit, but my throat feels on the mend now. Remind me this next time, okay? First twinge of a throat thing is getting a round of salt water gargle! Old home remedies. Gotta love em!

And repeat after me: Never Never EVER trust a rented snorkel!

Since I was feeling pretty bleh still, I didn’t leave the house today. But I did have enough energy to want to do SOMETHING at the machine…..

Today is brought to you by the color RED!

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Say hello to my big bin of red strings! There is everything in here from pinky red to orange-y red to burgundy and everything reddish in between.

I put on some terrible made-for-tv movies ((The kind you don’t get drawn into or have to pay attention to)) and sat at my machine and just covered paper and pages with random strings.

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If some strips were too short to cover the paper, I just butted them end to end until the length was long enough.

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How many pieces of paper can be covered by red strings in the course of a day? OH, About 20 8.5” X 11” sheets.

There is some really weird fabric in here, from Christmas stuff, to stained glass crabs I picked up on a trip to Maryland, to the lucky cow fabric that I showed WAY too much of on the backs of quilts in the first Scraps & Shirttails book….and old 1970’s calicoes on forward. Some batiks, some tone on tones, some recycled plaids ((Including the scraps from one of my Grandpa’s shirts)) some reproductions….lots of dots, some Japanese and some artsy stuff with metallic gold on it.

Did it make a dent in my bin? Heavens no! But never fear, you will see these red string blocks showing up in something in the future. Not sure just what, really….but I have some ideas floating around. It was a great day to do something so brainless.

So tonight…I have ZERO voice. Barely a whisper, and if I try real hard, it’s between a bark and a honk. Attractive, no?!

I’m thinking if I keep playing Monk with my self-inflicted vow of silence, I may have my voice back by the time I teach in Kansas on Sunday! Or the students will just have to listen really carefully as I whisper.

Do you think charades might be a fun way to teach?!

29 comments:

  1. I just used the last of my candy cane Christmas fabric in another project, lol. Looking forward to seeing what exciting treat you have in store for us.

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  2. I'm glad you're feeling well enough to do a little sewing... and that the salt water gargle is helping! Take care of yourself... you can use hand signs or pantomime on Sunday...

    :)

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  3. Bless your heart miss Bonnnie - I hope you feel better soon !!! oh and the reds would def brighten MY day. - they're awesome.

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  4. Tina in NJ8:53 PM EDT

    Bonnie, a woman at church caught me just as I was starting to lose my voice and told me to use nasal saline spray in my nose whenever I thought of it, being sure to spit out what it dislodged. Well, this particular woman teaches voice at Julliard (no lie!), so I did as I was told. I haven't lost my voice since. That was years ago. My feeling: you can't overdose on salt water, and it doesn't interact with any drugs, so what have you got to lose?

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  5. Salt water gargles are a good remedy. And my speech pathologist friend has warned me that whispering when I have lost my voice is harder on my voice than just talking with what little voice I can croak out. Just thought I would pass that gem of wisdom along. : )

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  6. Love the reds. When you said you butted the ends, did you mean with raw edges or did you put in a seam? Can you use printer paper for your foundation? So glad you're feeling better. You might want to ask about getting a lapel microphone so you don't have to strain your voice so much on Sunday. Keep feeling better.

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  7. Bonnie, we'll listen real close on Sunday! I hope you're feeling much better by then though. Can't wait to meet you!

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  8. Personally I go for a hot toddy...a jigger of irish whiskey, juice of half a lemon, a tablespoon of honey and a cup of hot water..."cough, cough.."...maybe I need one right now....

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  9. i just had to laugh when i read 'who would have thought salt water gargle would help'. i answered in my head 'my grandma!'. haha. she was a diehard believer in gargling with warm salt water. said it killed the germs.

    sure hope you get to feeling better. the red string blocks are vibrant and beautiful. oh, and i always liked the cow fabric....

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  10. I'm struggling with the stained glass crab fabric...
    My mother always told me to gargle with salt water for any ol' ailment. I can not gargle - I think she was trying to drown me.

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  11. I grew up gargling with warm salt water all day long and having a hot toddy just before bedtime. I think mine were more honey and less whiskey than the recipe above, but it worked. It would be child abuse today, but in the old days the cough syrup over the counter had enough alcohol to give you a buzz so it wasn't really different.

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  12. I once taught sixth graders for two weeks with no voice as a result of minor surgery. It was a bit of a challenge, but charades worked very well. I hope you feel much better by Sunday. I have been enjoying your blogs about your cruise.

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  13. If you want to live dangerously, also crush an aspirin into the salt water - it kind of numbs it as well. My long-time go to home remedy. I still swear by aspirin - tylonol might as well be an M&M for me!

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  14. Ou..Ou...you can never go wrong with red!!!

    Ok...here is my 2 cents worth concerning your sore throat. I swear by my daily Vit.C so I haven't been sick in years....BUT, I always just dissolved a plain ole aspirin on the back of my tongue and presto...no more sore throat!!! It totally deadens the pain. Some people are wieners about the aspirin but I just tell them OK, then just have a sore throat! IT WORKS!!!

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  15. I'm making a strip quilt too out of all my scraps.I am making it for my niece for her 21st present.

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  16. I lost my voice this summer too. It was really wierd, sore throat, cough the works. Not good so I can sympathises with you. I like the look of your string blocks. Can't wait to see the finished result.

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  17. Anonymous4:17 AM EDT

    This only works at the BEGINNING of a sore throat but it works. If you wait a few days you are out of luck. When you first feel the scratchy throat coming on take a tablespoon of vinegar and you can't drink anything for 30 min. It will take care of the problem. I've heard you may add a bit of honey to that mix but I just man up and swallow. It's kept me out of the dr's office for sore throat many times.

    Love all your reds. I have that kind of paper. Maybe someday if I get caught up on UFOs I can sew some strings too. I love your blogging and laughed at your influence..how Mary Jo's can't keep up with the demand for cheddar!
    Diann Smith
    kyquiltymama@hotmail.com

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  18. Bonnie, so sorry you are still under the weather. Salt water is truly the way to go, even though, if there's too much salt, it makes me gag.

    Love the reds! Someone gave me a ton of scraps and now all I need is time to sew!

    Get some rest!

    Connie - Boise, ID

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  19. I have used the salt water remedy also and it does work. Eating potato chips also helps and then they are "medicinal". It must be the salt and grease that coat the throat but the pain does go away.
    Hope all goes well for the weekend.
    Love the pictures of your trip.

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  20. glad to hear the salt water gargle is working for you... I personally prefer a cup of herbal tea with honey & a shot of scotch - esp. at bedtime!

    I suspect we will be seeing those red strippie blocks again soon - one can never have too much red!

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  21. Anonymous8:35 AM EDT

    We always gargled with warm salt water. Speaking of old home remedies, in my teen years, I had terrible sore throats with abscesses. Doctor told me to gargle with a mix of Listorine & hydrogen peroxide. (Do NOT swallow.) That worked even better than salt water. Of course the old mediciney taste of that original yellow Listorine was nasty. :) Hope you are feeling better soon.
    Nebraska Quilter

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  23. I always forget about salt water, too. That's what my grandmother always recommended. Hope you have a voice for Sunday, or that they have a super microphone!
    I have a question about the strings. When you pull one out of the bin, do you press it before stitching it down? My strings are so wrinkled!

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  24. Bonnie - I'm in awe of the way you work with scraps - just can't do it myself - mine have to be "controlled" - and I look forward to seeing what comes up from these red blocks. And double in awe of the volume of work you do. Even when not feeling too well! Margaret

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  25. Ooh! Loving me those reds. I shall wait patiently to see what they become... and I don't think I will ever rent a snorkel!!!

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  26. Glad the throat is better. My Dad used to make us gargle with salt water then he would boil water and put in a bit of vicks and take the pan off the stove, put a towel over our head and breath. It made a steam tent. Really helped the congestion and coughj and sore throat.

    The string blocks are awesome! Look forward to what they grow up to be.

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  27. Apple cider vinegar works too (as a gargle). Get well soon!

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  28. I cut up my reds for the swap I am hosting over on your quiltvilleswap on Yahoo.
    So, I generated red strings! WHOOT!!
    Then checking back on this blog I see you have covered the papers in rectangles not corner to corner. I stopped making more diagonal blocks.
    Sigh!
    I want to ask but am not going to.
    Happy Thanksgiving to you.
    XOXOX Subee

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