Nature Journals and Blues

 Hi everyone, posts are out of sync because I had a not-great IV session Monday, plus other stuff going on behind the pages here. I took some time recently to catch up on my perpetual Nature Journal [set of 2]---and finally came to the necessary conclusion that the tiny much loved books are FULL.  Done, complete. These books are only about the size of your hand. 4" x 5" maybe

As always I love words and quotes and these and other  thoughts were pasted in. 

Who knows if they will ever be found and mulled upon.

Space was so meagre I had been pasting in small scribble jottings because there was no space to do a real painting.

A few pressed petals and  sketches  crept in, done on a separate small watercolor pad and tucked in.The red poppies that appeared in the wildlife tub charmed me.

As did the annual giant dragonfly migration last week.

New technique seen on IG. No sketch.

A pressed weed or two. Papyrus vetch?

Some pretty notecards for ideas:

Fun and casual, sadly I am not a fine botanical artist just a lonely woman [covid times] who produces personal blips and blobs. Never will be good. The point was to see and record, to try.

So--the end. I do have a new, larger,  book to use, to begin again. I found nature's finds very sparse here. If I restart this exercise I'll also paint homely items, like, oh, a can of soup or a zucchini. A knitted hat with a pompom.? Right now I am ambivalent--I was dedicated to the accomplishment of the journalling goal, but doing something poorly for three years took its toll. Tomorrow is another day

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Books: while tidying the bookshelf that has really almost no books, I was attracted to this older Minick & Simpson Blue & White.

Such inspiring ideas, both for home decor and quilts.

love this shirting Star!

oooh, acorns.

I have this pattern, can't get enthusiastic about hundreds of pinwheels though. Or sunglasses.

Would love to do this border.

Remember Bitty!? Given away as a newborn gift quilt, never to be seen again. My thinking was a quilt entirely hand appli and hand quilted. I loved making it.

I got a kick out of this small interview w author Laurie S. She said the strict blue and white decor was from her sister, co-author Polly Minick's home design style--for herself, she actually loves orange. How wonderful, a woman after my own heart.

Saving a few weeds and seeds, wondering if, like Polly M,  I will leave the blues , or decorate or Fall. 

I ordered a bag of real gourds, white, dry and prim for the big bowl. And is a new rug a thing for my future. Baby Mo left his mark on the lovely blue rug I have, as he was old 

and so ill at the end of his life. Maybe dunes colors?

In quilting, a quandary. This?

or that?

This is approximately my blog's birthday! 17 years. It has been a constant joy to write. If Blogger glitches us out of blogging now I will miss it. Thank you all for being here. Say Hi, so I know you stopped by? [IG image]

Have a great mid-September!

love

lizzy

gone to the beach......

Twenty-five Years

 Who could have imagined this---and events that have followed--the pandemic, the Demise of our democratic values.  A country divided by ignorance and greed. My heart breaks again and again.

Never forget this day.

lizzy...

September Doldrums

 

Hi, everyone! It's HOT, humid, sunny---we are at the height of summer now as September rolls in. If you're a pumpkin spicer who is putting up Fall, sorry, you're delusional. Fall won't come for two and half months, that's like from Christmas til Easter.Yeesh. [I did see an Easter post on Instagram today though. Crazy]

That said, in recent years I'm less a fan of September, much as I love and drag out the vibe of summer.. The heat and intense sun glare are nerve wracking. Where are those 40 mph cold winds when we need them?

It has been such an annoying week! My deck umbrella broke,

my Old Navy order--leg warmers! on sale. A winter necessity--has been lost. [EDIT: now found! Delivered by an anonymous kind neighbor. Great legwarmers and long sleeve tees if you're in need of either] 

My grocery delivery order wouldn't go through, the jeans I ordered (first in at least ten years!) fit, a size smaller, but were way too short. So Lizzy, right?

The Sketchers knock offs of the UGGs I wanted are truly horrible, as were the ''solids'' [batik  hand dyes] from Hancock's mail order.

Look at these wrinkles. After two washes, the wrinkles remain. And the fabric is like cardboard.

 Lastly (this was so sad for me):  Little Friend no longer plays with dolls so wasn't interested in the recent outfit I brought as a back to school present. Her mom finally unearthed the doll from a  stored away bin, so I put the outfit on to do a fit check.

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I don't really enjoy  making   the  doll clothes, so  its okay the child has moved on.  Kids change so fast. Though at the moment I admit my feelings were very hurt. This was a hard  outfit to create. You'll remember from previous posts.

Then! I saw this ''make 16 HSTs at a Time" [half square triangles] vid on Instagram, just had to try it. HERE I  have a stack of beautiful 10" squares, a ''layer cake'' as they're called. Historic repro fabric by Pam Buda, gifted by my lovely quilter. I had the notion to make a cheddar and prints allover triangles quilt to show the fabrics off. A winter pick up project.

The reels go so fast. Of course the method was a Fail. 

I don't know what else all--oh we got a letter from the Homeowners Association "Do Not Feed the Pigeons." I have never seen a pigeon here but don't consider them, or other birds ''vermin''. There are two very established mourning dove pairs that nest here--do these HOA dummies think the doves are pigeons?  I am baffled, especially as doves are seed foragers, they do not take food from humans, and 2-they don't flock in huge numbers as described. They appear alone or in pairs. And have lived here since my kids were babies who were scared by the hoo-hoo, mournful moans in the spring.

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The good news is my sparrow couple now return each evening looking for crumbs! And even drink from the water dish I have given them. Surreptitiously of course. It makes me so happy to see them, Memories of days with Mo.....

The flower pots are doing well, they like the heat and sun if watered well. 

 

I never see honeybees or bumblebees lately, just clouds of what I call sweat bees. Small ugly yellow? They sting!  Are they pollinators? 

And my question: I  plant pollinator attracting flowers--but what are we pollinating? The nearest apple orchard is probably 75 miles away? Farms even further.  What do these insects pollinate that we want to encourage? More study needed.

More pollinators: this has been a great summer for butterflies. So far I ve seen Monarchs, Yellow Sulfurs, White Cabbage, Admiral.The Admiral was esp fun to spy. I saw not the insect itself but its fluttery shadow in the stark sun and shadow on the deck.  There's also lots of very big dragonflies; their migration begins now. 

And on a walk the other day I saw either a hummingbird or a hummingbird moth in the lowest branches of the ugly locust tree. Again the frantic wing flapping caught my eye. 

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This was such a surprise!

My amaryllis has bloomed! I set out  three pots in May in a quiet corner. My intention was to feed the bulbs and have them regrow, replenish through leaf growth [damaged by bricklayers last summer]. Then hopefully they might might bloom next winter. I had NO idea they'd bloom in the summer. Only friends who live in the the southern  hemisphere, like Penny and Dorothy, grow ammies that bloom outdoors in the summer like lilies. 

I brought it in because of heavy rain which could destroy the delicate petals. I think it's Big Red, almost 9 years old now, though usually I plant Big Red in the round delft bowl. It's so pretty!'

Early evenings now bring flocks of Oystercatchers  and cormorants. They are grouping and practicing for their migration journeys soon, in October. They circle over the shoreline as the beach becomes quiet at sunset.

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I finished sewing the binding of Noah's Ark, but forgot to take a picture before I dropped it off to be washed by my friend who has the big fancy washer/ dryer. I hope I can how you soon.

I might not have washed it, the appliques looked so crisp and cute, but I had used that unfortunate  applique paper that didn't wash out with hand washing. I wanted to see what a machine wash did. IThe not-dissolving paper is disappointing so far. 

Meanwhile most evenings I do a bit of work on Posies.

I still like it and feel it captures my garden's aura if not the reality.

 Looking forward to adding the Sparrows border, I hope it works design-wise.

I went to  an end of summer bbq the other night. Oooooh delicious food and so fun. Sadly it was too hot and humid, over 90% , to sit out and enjoy the summer evening. These friends are moving soon, so it was an ending of sorts.

EDIt 2: Amazon promptly brought a new umbrella and my friend put it up!]

Anyway, that was my week. Sorry to be whiny. I blame my bad mood on the ceaselessly awful news we are flooded with. Constant dread, ''what will happen next?" I don t always succeed but I try to scroll past news--but what do you think, will my mail in voting ballot  be counted in November? Your thoughts?

have a good holiday weekend!

love

lizzy

gone to the beach...