Context But No Roadmap

 

Hi everyone. Mid April, ups and downs, we had a frost we had torrential rain, we had sunshine and one--!--no-wind/ warmish day.  [golf course driving range]

The sunshine makes me want to fill my deck pots with red geraniums or at least pansies. I do know better.

I've worked on Boardwalk most afternoons,---it is far more time consuming than I imagined; must stop after an hour or so or risk severe back and hip pain. Reminder pic of the inspiration quilt, maker unknown.

Context: on my walks I 've been noticing the inspiration boardwalks that we have here.

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Mel asked why do the different angles though, so I found this picture online of our big town boardwalk. It has always charmed me with the careful placement of the now weathered grey wood boards. [rebuilt after H Sandy, 2012]

This is a simple town boardwalk, as of course are the smaller ones. It's not Coney Island below or the Jersey Shore kind of boardwalk, we have no arcade games or carnival rides. 

There's an ice cream stand, a hot dog stand, that's it. But it is big, long, 2.5 miles? and much prized.  These are some older shots I took on an icy January day in 2019. A rare chance to find the walk empty.

These are all inspiration for a quilt, I hope this quilt. 

If not here's a delightful Boardwalk quilt. I'd love to make it too someday, so fun. HERE

Meanwhile, back to my own improv journey. The other day I had the sense to lay the made blocks on my actual bed. Oh no. Too big, too dull.

The original, by eye stripes looked better than the low contrast low volume look I was working towards. So dull. Too wide, too long. Clumky. 

I dithered, I measured I trimmed. The segments for now are raw edge 7.5"/ 6.5". 5.5". Today, all organized.

Omigosh the amount of threads to trim, I must do it as I go, a hated task.

Note: my floor is NOT dirty. It is bleached and weathered and worn, but not dirty.

So far, though I get attached, I get engrossed--this is hard work. Tiresome. Tiring.

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Here's another project I pulled out,  A Covid lockdown eBay find. Chocolate Milk At Poolside. 

When my kids were small, the plan was morning camp then poolside lunch: tomato and American cheese with peanut butter or mayo on Wonder Bread. One summer it was all the littles ate besides pizza. Lunch, rest/ read, was of course followed by an afternoon at the beach. Best times.

This eBay top w its odd colors is, I think, delightful. It needs only borders. I think it will make an awesome finish!

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On Instagram I've been following an account called...@until.found  until.found

The person sidewalk searches daily ''for the real diamond"--but instead finds tiny chamring treasures. Sometimes he recasts them in silver to sell on Etsy.here I so want the Balloon Dog charm. 

The artist is in the Netherlands, do we still have Trump tariffs, or we can buy from Europe again? His prices are in EU currency.

The guy finds a lot, a LOT of beads and actually just a lot of stuff. At day 55-ish, I am dubious--are the finds, well, planted?

I've been looking again at my lanes and sidewalks since these  posts began. [always, really]This is all I've found this year January to April, plus another penny and a nickel.

But maybe sidewalks in Netherlands have more to find? Here pavements are constantly swept and cleaned; the beach is mechanically raked/ sifted twice a day. So I put aside my suspicions and looked at this a different way...How wonderful it must be, would be, to set out every day, looking for that real diamond! But finding joy instead in tiny trashies. Or in symbolic life diamonds--love, peace, health, optimism, happiness. A smile, a kind gesture. Life diamonds. It's a lesson to be learned.

Bench celebrating spring even if Easter is long gone.

Have a good week. Look for a diamond every day!

love

lizzy

gone to the beach......

"Boardwalk" / Walks/ Self Challenges and Goals

 

Hi! Happy Monday! April has begun, the sun is shining--but that ocean is VERY cold, so----brrr.

Goals: do a little spring cleaning every day. Not a scrub the bathtub list, but clean the junk drawers, sort the shoe rack, wash the windows kind of list. Oh the windows did sparkle for just one day.

My busywork project[s] is / are decided. Main focus is Boardwalk, inspiration pic below.

This will be something different for me, I'm a planner, a patternmaker, a finisher. Iprov is something unfathomable for me; low volume is not my style. And yet--Boardwalk, as I have named it, appeals to me. 

BW is just an old saved pic from my files, there's no information, no pattern, no plan. I printed out a couple of pics and drew the lines of the segments.. I estimated size of the strips and length of the  sections. Noted that the strips of stripes vary in width, and the central potion is constructed in two pieces.

Close ups of the fabrics reveal that the old quilt is not just faded blue, greys, whites---there's red, pink, lavender; brown, brighter blue, a few check and polka dots.  Some makedo stripes, cool. 

The strips vary in width, some are wonky. They bow in places, they don't match up with their neighbors.  I studied, I mused, I imagined. I didn't sew much though.

My friend returns duvet covers and pillowcases I've made for her, to be reused and recycled. She is the star of beachy grey and blue. Her solid sheets are finest cotton from Boll and Branch. Soft with use but sides and edges are sturdy still.

I had planned to recreate the segments as the original but that just didn't work. Instead I am shooting for the overall result.

Getting out my stash fabrics is stressful, mess makes me very anxious, lol. But I'm using what I have mostly. 

Additional  fabrics: Julierose's recent projects using ''jelly rolls'' inspired me to buy a light neutral batik roll. Because I need pretty fabrics, esp here where a result may induce closer study--we deserve to see beautiful pleasing fabric.

 I've never bought a jelly roll before this one. Nice  assortment but these precuts are not very economical. I estimate there's about 2 1/2 yards here, costing I think around 50.oo USD ''on sale'' [plus $12.oo tax and shipping!], So $20.oo a yard. Exorbitant even by current economy standards, cotton is running, what, 12-16.oo a yard? But just this once, my Easter treat. Instead of chocolate.

Most important I'm giving myself permission to quit at anytime. Unheardof.......

A second ''see how it goes" idea is to use the beautiful red/ yellow/ pink fabric bundle I got last summer, from Two Thimbles. I planned the fabric group to commemorate my deck pots garden, 

This is the pattern, a never before seen  Jan Patek.

 At the moment I plan to back it with soft flannel, bec I have no warm spring quilts, or any really. QB has me actually sleeping under my quilts and spring at the beach is frigid til late June usually. 

My version will be square with  extra rows on one side and bottom?

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Miami Ohio Sampler is my summer deck /beach project, but there are some pieced blocks I can do now, if BW gets boring. Much thanks to Penny for sharing her pattern which unlike mine has actual patterns and dimensions. I'm sort of noncommittally considering it my 250USA quilt, my family were Ohio pioneers, we used to be able to be proud of that.

So that's my plan, life is too short to finish a project again like poor dear Snow Day, rejected and unwanted, unloved by all, hundreds of wasted hours, and so on.

 No rules, no strings, nothing is a ''must do." 

Except that junk drawer. My mom always said if you give one  or two hours a day to housework---every morning [after bath and make up, before shopping or library or  fun], you never had to do a giant exhausting spring or fall cleaning. On the other hand she loved to iron and watch ''her show'' on TV; she loved to cook---and wax floors. So grain of salt here...

I'm more committed to my daily walks, sadly solo but must replenish stamina after weeks of heavy snow plus the horrible flu episode. Remember the secret walkway to the beach. Empty and bare in winter.

Bird's nest, this is perhaps a mockingbird nest, according to my bird nest guide.

And on the reshaped beach,  I find dried twigs and pods for my nature sketches,

Various interesting paw prints appearing now. These are raccoon prints, I think, though they are very large.

For Easter, silly I know, just me, I set out a pretty dishtowel,

made a tiny Easter meal--small roast beef, roasted parsnips and asparagus--- and tried not to think about days gone by, filled with Easter egg hunts and family visits; dresses with bows, socks with lace trim. Bunny stuffies and a tiny Beatrix Potter book tucked in, or a Golden nature guide. Then later with Mo who kept my home from empty-nest syndrome for 12 special years. My brother sent pics of his  daffies:

Better days ahead.

have a great week.

PS The Minnie Mouse doll outfit was a success! And dolly got to go to Disney too, awesome. 

love

 lizzy

 gone to the beach..............

it's been very foggy. I do love fog.

note the bulge of the water, a very high spring equinox tide.