Gone To The Beach: virus

Wednesday, May 20, 2020

Out and About ~ May Rushes By

Hi everyone! And welcome to new readers and commenters.

from Penny in SA, a morning cappuccino

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The past two days here have been oddly summery, not really warm but that balmy softness of summer has permeated the air. Is it vestiges of Storm Arthur, his outer reaches, bringing us tropical air? This afternoon the wind really picked up, bouncing the tiny green leafed branches of the ugly locust tree. Again it looked like June or July---but when Mo and I went for his dinner walk, I found the wind howling from the east [rare] and very nippy again.

Over the past week I've worn shorts and flip flops and layers including blizzard weight down parka and wind pants over sweatpants, wool socks and boots, and every choice in between. You just never know. And when it's cold but there's a late 830 sunset, I find my inner clock very confused---feels like 3 PM in November but is 9 PM in May. What's a girl and her doggy to do?

Mo and of course go for our walks. We are finding bits of spring, like the aforementioned tiny leaves on the trees. I always loved the traditional legend, that Native Americans knew to plant their corn when the leaves on the trees were the size of a squirrel's ear.

More Van Gogh iris. Now is their big bloom time. The blue is very hardy here.

Below, one of Van Gogh's Iris series, glorious color. I put a link at the end of the post if you wish to see more of his iris paintings.

Irises

And in the beach lane one day we got a rare glimpse into someone's slightly open grey wooden gate. Yes, we peeked.

On the back of the door was a heart shaped planter, wood and tin. Lovely! I have one similar, to try this idea?

Late fancy tulips.

Grape hyacinth, the tiny bells are such a beautiful blue.

Lilacs in bloom, despite the chilly days.

I still do not have the nerve to pick up treasures. I always forget an extra bag. Many round shapes have caught my eye, washers mostly, but also a gold coin and a gold hoop earring.

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Meanwhile I stopped working on Baby Pineapples because I was hemming pants for a friend.She is always there for me if I need her, so I am happy to help. But it was hard, my machines are set up for cotton piecing; high tech stretchy sportswear fabric was a challenge. A typical virus annoyance, for her---no tailors open, no drycleaners, to fix her spring pants! We rely on our small businesses far more than we realize, I think.
As I did the sewing I had time to think about the bright mustard and blue Blackbirds quilt.

I tried to recut the long rectangular block with the velvet star, and still couldn't find sections to easily cut or even piece to create the needed 9 x 15" background. The J Crew blouse had cut darts, princess seams and was a size 0. Discouraging.

Then I had a eureka moment.
I was making When the Wild Geese Fly, in bright mustard yellow instead of cheddar.

But no! Wrong wrong wrong.

The idea of this quilt is a Winter quilt...an early sunset on a grey day when everything is dark--brown fields, black branches, indigo shadows and grayness; that odd white sun [I was set on the wrong track by the idea of ''the sun must be yellow'']---with, who knows, maybe a hint of palest barely there pink? Long wavy skeins of geese and winter ducks silhouetted in the last cold breaths of the sun.The blackbirds who do not migrate [crows, starlings?] that feed at sunset on the frozen marshes.

That is what I want this quilt to convey.

I put the blue velvet stars away for now. They will become something, someday. I am so glad I caught my wrong path in time and rethought this project.

Another project for a friend, my grocery shopper. We both love batiks. Prices tho are sky high, two 30" pillow zippers cost 25.oo, wow. And batiks are running around 12.oo a yard.

Mo wore his earflap hat tonight for his walk in the 35 mph cold wind. But no coat.

I hope your week is good!

love

lizzy

gone to the beach.....

beach pictures today from Penny's daughter Nicky in South Africa; isn't this beach amazing! Umhlanga beach, South Africa.

Note the ships lined up on the horizon, just like mine, a world away.

and from Kelley in Southern California. This was the Pink Super Moon a few weeks ago,with the stately blue heron standing in the moon's reflected path. .

***more on Van Gogh's many iris paintings, over 100! The lesser known paintings are quite fabulous and beautiful, worth a look: HERE

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What we call a ''clear'' storm, high winds, sunny skies, huge waves:

"High Surf Advisory issued May 19 at 9:08PM EDT until May 20
at 6:00 PM EDT
...REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 PM EDT WEDNESDAY...
* WHAT...Large breaking waves of 6 to 8 feet in the surf zone.
* IMPACTS...Dangerous swimming and surfing conditions andlocalized beach erosion.
A High Surf Advisory means that high surf will affect beaches in theadvisory area, producing rip currents and localized beach erosion.
..............................................................I hope the nesting birds are okay!

Monday, May 11, 2020

April into May Quilt Update

French General kit ~ fabric collage

Hello, hello! It's Monday and so begins Week 11 [12?] of the coronavirus staying home times. Today I have a little round up of quilt projects worked on in April and on now into May. The year is almost half over! What have I accomplished? Well. January and February were okay, but March was pretty much a dazed and confused loss for me. The uncertainty is appalling---will I get the virus, will my friends and family? Will we die? It's hard to maintain that level of crisis though and by mid-April the days seemed lonely and quiet but more normal despite the tedium of making masks, masks, masks.

I thought Mo's dog walker would resume her visits by now, I thought I'd be able to run essential errands---but I guess NOT.

So I narrowed my world down to my little projects. I treated myself to this interesting kit from French General. here

It wasn't cheap! And it arrived wadded up in a ball, all crumpled. When I contacted FG, the response was, Let us know if anything is not usable.

Well, again, I ''can'' smooth things out and use the contents, but I like things looking new and nice for forty bucks, I think $50.oo with shipping. Color me sad. Let down, disappointed.

Their logo is so darling. A scooter made of safety pins!

The blue, "French Blue" is outstanding.

The Basket block is authentically antique and very pretty, with fine quilting.

The applique fabrics are beautiful and generously sized.

There were couple reasons to try this kit, beyond I want it.

The applique fusible is one I have never used, so an opportunity to try it out. And the threads supplied are a brand often mentioned in quilt and embroidery groups, but are very expensive and not readily available here. This is a chance to try the threads out .

Included is a backing, a new to me fabric Moda's Sashiko cotton canvas. hereThe indigo threads mimic the hand sewed lines of Japanese stitching called sashiko and also have the feeling of boro [Japanese mending] and Indian kantha quilting, all interests of mine. Opinion, the fabric is lovely but very perfect of course; it lacks the handmade charm of its inspiration crafts.

I also wanted to see French General's new lawn fabrics. here Lawn is an expensive, fine but sturdy, thin cotton, originally used for nightgowns and infant clothes, blouses sometimes nowadays. The fabric enclosed is, I think, their regular quilting cotton, actually more appropriate for applique anyway.

And look at these darling antique buttons.

I'm trying to get past the damaged wad it arrived in, and hope to have the project set up soon for deck sewing if the sun should deign to appear this year.

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Next has been cutting 2 1/2" squares for the It's Yellow quilt. On days when feel stressed and unfocused I can still manage to sit and cut the squares.

Now I am wondering what I should use for the main background of the quilt? Lori asked me if I have cheddar yardage, and yes I do. It is a truer mustardy cheddar, not brown as the photo appears, on the left. I also have chrome yellow calico yardage, on the right.

Not sure which I prefer.

When I showed this fabric online awhile ago, I got a snide comment, Oh I remember THAT one from the 80s [when calicos weren't ''authentic'' was the unsubtle message]. Well yes or no but it's 30 or 40 years old and I love it.

I don't have enough maybe of the vintage-y chrome yellow yardage but I have a bunch of chrome yellows from the "Hideous'' project [Jamestown] that I could mix in. I have three yards of the vintage yellow, six of the cheddar. (School bus yellow is chrome yellow / cheddar is chrome orange. The nicknames are modern affectations.)

Or...isn't this the most beautiful perfect repro blue? Found online. [if the photo doesn't show, it is faded indigo with tiny white moons and stars.]

Windham Fabrics Cunningham quilters cotton fabric

It would be so cute with its celestial motifs, to go with the moons and stars of the borders. But. I've been choosing my scraps---you know I don't do scraps---I guess with the yellow in mind and I'm not thrilled. Photos are very useful design tools for quilting ideas and decisions. What do you think? Which yellow? Or blue? A blue quilt would be so much more useful.

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First three Stars for Blackbirds project.

pattern envelope

pinterest, by I think Lorraine Hoffmann
I like her version with more crows.

Mine will of course be far brighter, because that's just me....

Do I redo the large star's background that is wonky and wrinkly? It is actually square/ rectangular but the shirt I used had cut darts that skewed the lines and made ripples.

Vintage blue velvet from my friend B.

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I fibbed, there have been a few---3?--- sunny days. I finished the December block of Year in the Country.

I eliminated the ant-like deer and focused on Peace.

And today we braved the wind and sat out.

I finished all but two snowflakes on November. The pink moon will always remind me of the pink supermoon moon in that May of the coronavirus and the snow we had in that same May, the other night.

That block is the final block, so exciting! Why is that this block, my very favorite, is the last laggardly block? I loved it to much to let it go or what?