I wiped away the weeds & foam. / I fetched my sea-born treasures home... Ralph Waldo Emerson







Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Sewing Needfuls


                   

Hi! My local WeatherBug link predicts tomorrow's weather:
sunny with a little rain. What the heck does that mean?!
Today is stunningly perfect, so beautiful...



but the winds is picking up, blowing from the southwest at about 30-35 MPH.

on its way?

This was from my friend Raven, in a recent email,
''The weather suddenly turned cold and damp the last few days. Autumn is here. Summer is gone. My cat wants to sleep in the bedroom now...''

Her words are so beautiful, so evocative of the coming season....



I am resolutely being summer-y but a rainy day does turn one's thoughts to autumn and indoor projects.



I made a few cinnamon hearts to go with bowls of apples. [unscented for now, I add the essential oils as requested.]


And some sewing ''needfuls'' or make-dos....





Prim needle strawberries filled with dry, clean white quartz sand from my beach. Like emery grains, the fine sand cleans rust from needles and keeps them sharp.




I used the last tiny scraps of a favorite c.1890 log cabin quilt block. Every tiny piece of antique fabric is used in my projects. Nothing goes to waste or is discarded...The old calico is so dainty, so sweet.



Hand-dyed linen for the strawberries' toppers or leaves, and a raw linen string loop.


These are fun tied to a sewing basket or larger pincushion...



or I sometimes add a longer ribbon and attach them to my scissors. LOL, if I was smart I'd hang one round my neck because I constantly lose my favorite needles...and then poor bare feet find them, causing much yelling and recrimination.



We have to stop a moment and really look...I didn't crop this shot, below, because...just LOOK at the quilt behind the pin keep! Is that not the most beautiful and amazing quilting? c. 1850-70. Probably my finest quilt, despite the fact that the front is both faded and horrendously patched! If it had not been patched mid 20th century it might have been discarded or chopped up, a tragic end. Front is NY Beauty or Delectible Mountains. I think it was once red , white, and blue.....



I am working on a BIG batch of Fall Hearts...white on white, romantic/ shabby, Autumn blues, and woolen prim. Oh and neat grey starfish and crimpy weird grey linen. They'll be ready soon, especially if we have that sunny-rainy day tomorrow...



I'm also doing new living room pillows, trying hard to stay neutral this Fall. [Will I resist the lure of brilliant orange? It's very hard....I'll have to paint the pumpkins white? sigh. We'll see...]

love

lizzy

gone to the beach

PS yes the footprints in the sand, last post, are the tiny shorebirds' feet. I'll have a nature/ birds post  for you all in a few days, stay tuned...