From the Little Quilt Room : Acorns and Squirrels.

___"In November, the earth is growing quiet. It is making its bed, a winter bed for flowers and small creatures." —Cynthia Rylant

Veterans Day is our usual start of Fall here, though this year has been chilly at times. Leaves on our few trees turn red and gold, the sky is often a leaden grey. This week's weather has been gorgeous, misleading. Today is just  quiet autumn rainy day.

These IG posts made me laugh.

 For the record it was 60* at 2 PM.

W did have a tornado warning earlier. I was in the shower and missed it; now gale winds are posting instead. This is when the little quilt room comes into its own, my winter refuge. [a tad --not messy but--congested ?] Afternoon sewing hour relocates a bit early this year. (The collected blues are for Blue Schoolhouse someday quilt, the cutaways of Halloween are for a mug rug maybe Log Cabin?)

I have just three more loops to sew on Halley's Comet--will it reappear in the same state in July?

Probably. It has been tucked away in my sewing tray for now.

Sparrows in My Garden quilt progress:

The borders are cut, sparrows are ready to be appliqued. They will be worked on probably tomorrow. 

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One of my worst habits, lol, is late night anxiety/loneliness shopping. You may recall how I love to shop. Usually I fill my ''basket'' but don't buy but recently I had a fun evening choosing projects for next fall. My motivation is how fast Sparrows went together! And who doesn't love acorns and squirrels?

 I won't link the shop I ordered from, because my post might sound a bit critical and the shop online is lovely.

The big treat:  this adorable table runner KIT. I don't think I have ever bought a quilt kit.

I was swayed by the laser cut applique. 

The colors are beautifully autumn, but the fabrics given are not at all not my taste or style.

I d never in a million years use printed plaids, esp w gold printing. And eeew, brown.

The appliques are crisp and pre fuseabled. Tiny corners, points--not suitable for machine applique---by me anyway.  Way pointier than in the photos.  They will need to be hand whipstitched, ugh. Or what? Just fuse and hope?

Teeny tiny squirrel ears? Acorn caps/ Who knows.

Doesn't seem returnable, the pieces kinda fall apart as one opens the tightly packed envelope. $50.oo. It will be stored and ignored, sadly.

Then this darling acorn pinkeep. But--it's huge like a pillow, like 8" x 12". So not in the mood for more resizing after a year of resizing all the Jan P patterns I love.  If I hav eto redraw and resize, why buy a pattern; I can draw it myself for free. snark, snark!  This was planned to be Christmas gifts anyway--so wrong seasonally. 

These inexpensive patterns. 

Charming, fun. Have potential, esp the Acorns one.  Maybe? Someday? 

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 Budget lesson learned? $100.oo ish dollars wasted. "Do better, Lizzy!"

Here I was another night---I really want this book, for example. And found darling pop-up books for Christmas gifts. Oh my, pop up books are so expensive. Do kids even like them now? I Pads don't do pop-ups, right?

Meanwhile I switched out the living room table runner for this very pretty festive kantha remnants  piece. From now-defunct Christmas Tree Shop on Cape Cod. I love its fall hues, esp the turquoise like my evening sky, below. I'd like to find that color batik for a throw pillow or two.

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Nature bucket list:   No November NATURE ? Too bad. It was the nature aspect that interested me, tho a  few seem doable. "Family [well just me and ghost of Mo] movie night--we can watch Sense and Sensibility on ? Netflix? I don't have Netflix, but whatever. Stargazing is always good, we may get to the church fair, farmers market, who knows. A tad disappointing. Most of their lists are weird food--a week of salmon, gag!, lots of decluttering. Nope.

 Oh well...

Hope your weekend is sunny, warm, and filled with crisp autumn air, colorful leaves! Or spring flowers for friends in ''the south''.

love

lizzy

gone to the beach.......

Nov bucket list: decorate the house for Tgiving ✅

November sunsets have been beautiful...note the birds flying home to roost.

Anything MSN or Outlook is currently down/ out of service as of today Nov 12.  I  will answer here and by tomorrow if still out, I'll try answering w gmail. If you have Chrome/ Google servers and email, you may get a my response. If not look back here pls. 

November~ Textures of the Autumn Beach

 "Welcome sweet November, the season of senses and my favorite month of all." — Gregory F. Lenz

Hi everyone! It's another Ten Best day here, so we are off to the beach to admire the hints of Fall that have appeared.

We had one chilly night! The ugly locust outside my desk window turned golden overnight. [sadly no Mr Mockingbird/ no Mrs Squirrel].

The beach dunes are beautiful, the tall grasses' seed fronds glow in the afternoon sun., dotted by the dark evergreen  bayberry shrubs.

Someone was sitting on my destination bench. Huh.

The high dune benches' view is better anyway, I told myself.

One afternoon I watched an immense skein of skaus or eider ducks threading their way slowly east, from far horizon of New Jersey towards the great marshes of the bay out east. I watched them for so long, they travel so far. Unlike geese and swans the sea ducks fly in large unspooling lines, very distinctive, and far out to sea, maybe five miles out--just a long thin black line wavering over the water.

Rose hips, just a few. How they glow in the low intense sunlight!

Dried grasses.

tiny--teeny tiny!---tracks [am insect? a crab?

And big fat bunny tracks.

Stray beach balls appearing again, so odd. 

The walks home are lovely too despite the loneliness. A sad and annoying note, just this weeks it was voted that dogs can now be on the beach off season. Mo adored the beach but was forbidden at his home beach. Oh how I'd have loved him being allowed by my side, esp as a younger doggy when he could run and walk for miles.🌈

Colors and textures are subtle but I enjoy taking notice of what mid-November offers.

Hydrangeas on the way home. All ae deep rose pink now, even the blue ones.

A rare red tree, not large, the ornamental black cherry tree.

This made me laugh, what a funny Jack-in-the-Beanstalk sunflower this is! The stem is a thick as my wrist.! And it is so proudly displayed by its owner.

Now back home, a cup of tea! Shall we try the pumpkin spice black tea sample that came with mey winter cinnamon tea? 

Around the house, Halloween is put away. Some autumn pretties for now. No Christmas til all the Thanksgiving turkey is eaten.

In the sewing room:

For my collection:of Halloween fabrics. It has words/ text! Love it tho I only bought a half yard.

And  "Crows in the Garden"; it's tiny [I think 3" blocks finished] and goes together so smoothly. Julie's patterns/ instructions are sooooo good always. Mine will be Sparrows in Lizzy's Garden, lol. Maybe if tomorrow is a stormy day, I'll get the top pieced

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love

lizzy

gone to the beach....

above taken after full moon flood tide last week.