Early Dark, a Book, and RSC 2025 Nine-Patch & Snowball Progress

As the evening dark begins descending earlier and earlier it signals to me a time to slow down, stop hurrying, reset priorities, especially where daylight is concerned, and enjoy the slowness of the season.  I love these early and long nights.  They're just what I need and, I suppose, just what the earth needs, too.  I couldn't get this song out of my mind and decided to share.   


I think I've mentioned before that our local library has a little shop where they sell used books and give away magazines and some children's paperback books.  A few weeks ago I picked up this book, The Home Builders.  

I love children's book for a variety of reasons.  Sometimes they just make me laugh--a little surprise at the end, or just-perfect illustrations, or a funny story line.  Other times there's a subtle truth presented so simply that a child can understand and an adult can understand more.  And other times, the illustrations wow me.   

The illustrations are what captured my attention in this book.  I fell in love with the colors the illustrator, Simona Mulazzani, used. But it isn't just the colors, it's also their intensity and tone and how she uses the colors together.  I think they are beautiful and sometimes the combinations are surprising.  I couldn't figure out why they were so appealing.  And then it hit me:  these colors are similar to the ones I use most often in quilts (minus the oranges).

As I've been making blocks for my 2025 RSC quilt, I've been frustrated with how few medium value fabrics I have.  They are mostly darks and lights, with very few mediums.  Some of the blocks look like a muddle.  This may turn out to be a boring quilt.  I'm glad each 9-patch is surrounded by white snowball blocks!

Anyway, it was an interesting observation.  I need to buy a few fabrics with lighter tones and values.

I've been feeling a little scattered lately.... 

  ... what with trying to find the best, yet least expensive, retirement health insurance policies (one of my policies more than doubled its rate from last year to this year!); trying to stay motivated on the sewing/quilting front; and trying to lay out my RSC blocks to consider placement and size.  Kitty Bitsy thinks those blocks on the floor are a free ride.  She jumps onto one in a way that lets her slide across part of the floor like it's a skating rink and the blocks go flying.  She makes quick work of my efforts.
 
They were arranged as I thought I wanted them but I need to make several more edge blocks and cut some more for around the edges.  Sadly, I didn't count before Bitsy skated through.  I should have taken photos and counted as soon as I put the blocks on the floor.  I need to decide whether to make the quilt larger or the same size as Jolene's, 9 blocks by 11 blocks, which equals about 54" x 66" before quilting and shrinkage from washing and drying.  That seems like it would be a short person's napping quilt.  (I like to tuck the end of a quilt under my feet and pull it up to my neck and across my shoulders for a nap.)  Anyway, this will most likely become a donation quilt so it matters much less what my preferences are.  I'm so close to having the blocks ready to sew into a top that I might just call the blocks I have enough.  However, that leaves me a short stack of unused, one-color, 9-patch blocks in several different colors....  Hmmm.

For anyone who may be wondering:  my headache persists and my energy waxes and wanes.  Have you tried or do you know anyone who has experience with acupuncture?

Okay, that's it for today.  I need to get on with some other things.  I hope you're having a good weekend and are enjoying whatever weather and activities come your way.

--Nancy.

RSC Blocks, Little Plaid Basket, Locust Trees, and the Ocean

Autumn has been moseying its way into central Ohio, even now at the end of October.  The temperatures are cool but the colors are still mostly green.  It's an autumn without the bright colors we associate with fall.  The colors and timing this year is similar to the the year I made the maple leaves quilt.  That year I decided if nature wasn't going to provide autumn colors, I would make them myself.  I think we'll still have green leaves in November again this year!

These six blocks below are probably the last I'll make for my Rainbow Scrap 9-patch quilt.  Last month Angela suggested sea colors--blues/aquas--but I had plenty of those and made these instead.  

Oops!  I finished stitching this Little Plaid Baskets with Zinnias block.  How can I have spent so much time with it in my hands and not have seen the problem?!

It looks like I'll be doing some unstitching soon.  (Color above is more accurate.)

Lizzy and I both talk about locust trees.  I love our honey locusts, and was surprised when she first responded with her intense dislike of locust trees.  What's not to like? I wondered.  She mentioned the thorns she remembers from childhood and how they stabbed her feet.  But ours don't have thorns.  With a little research, I learned that there are several kinds of locust trees.  Finally, a year or so ago at a nearby park, I saw what she was talking about.  Now I understand her dislike of the trees. 

In autumn the leaves of our honey locust trees turn a bright golden hue.  When they cover the ground, they almost seem to pave the it with gold.  I feel so wealthy in the fall.  The leaves add such brightness to my world.  Their only drawback is that they are not friendly to our house:  on rainy or damp days, they cling to our shoes and if we're not careful, come inside and fall to the floor leaving a mess.  Even with that small inconvenience, I love them.  (The photo at right was taken in a neighborhood a mile or so away.

And the ocean!  We went to the dear, dear ocean the first week of October.  I was thrilled to go!  After family events at the beginning of the year, I thought our trip last September was the last time in my life I would see the ocean in person.  It was wonderful to go again.  (The weather is better in September than October.  That is, if there isn't a hurricane.)

This was our view from the hotel room on sunny Tuesday morning.  You can see the rain streaks on the window.  They were easy to ignore with the gorgeous view.  We were on the third floor this year, so a better view but more steps. Later that day we walked through beautiful Thompson Island.  It's on the northeast corner of Rehoboth Bay with a path that meanders through a forest and ends at a tidal marsh.  It's an interesting contrast to have forest just a mile or so from the ocean.

The forest floor was covered with pine needles from the tall loblolly pines. (What a fun name!)

The next day was cloudy with a calm ocean.  I love the ocean no matter what the weather but boisterous waves are more fun to watch.  It was foggy in the morning and still cloudy after the fog dissipated.

It was interesting to see the little tide pools after the tide went out.  They were gone after a few hours.

Another interesting feature of the beach this year was the ledge the waves/tide created in thee sand.  It was less than a foot high and was only along a short section of the beach.

On Thursday, the waves were stronger and the sky mostly clear blue.

This is the path we walk from our hotel to the ocean.

And this is the path from the ocean to the hotel.

I've been back from vacation for two weeks but I'm having trouble setting aside the vacation mindset.  Responsibilities?  What responsibilities?  I just want to relax.  Do you struggle with the transition from vacation to real life, too?  I need to get on with making alternate blocks for the RSC quilt....

--Nancy.

Links to Enjoy #37 - Words, Art, Sewing Machines

These are a few links and two videos I've enjoyed over the past few weeks.  I hope you'll enjoy one or two of them, too.  


With simple graphite lines that appear to have been quick strokes, the artist created the most amazing drawings of cats, both at rest and in motion.  If you love cats, you'll probably enjoy these.  If you don't love cats, maybe you'll be converted to their delightsomeness.  (Or not.)


I thought this was a sweet reminiscence of sewing, made by Singer.  I learned to sew on my mom's old black 201 Singer, and it's the machine I still use.



If you've been reading this blog for a while you may have noticed that I love words and their etymology so, of course, I thoroughly enjoyed this post, Linguist clearly demonstrates how 'thinking is walking' in English.  He says, "Our minds "race" or "wander," our thoughts "stray," and we "arrive" at conclusions," all words we also use when we physically walk.  Maybe our minds do walk, figuratively speaking.  Fun!


I've always admired hand-painted signs with their near-perfect letting.  Here's a short demonstration of round hand lettering.  Amazing!


Enjoy!
Nancy.

Autumn Nine-Patch, an Owl, and the book *Still*

Summer is slipping into fall here in central Ohio.  The leaves of trees are in their slow transition from green to bright autumn colors, and the honey locust leaves are already blanketing the ground in gold.  The groundhog tells us whether we'll have more winter or spring will come early but, as far as I know, there's no animal that tells us if we'll have a long fall or an early winter.  I'm okay with that.  The seasons change all in due time and I know autumn is nearly upon us because the days are growing shorter and shorter.  I love this season of early dark and longer evenings and nights, of cool, crisp air, of bright colors reaching toward the sky, then carpeting the ground.  For me, it's a little heaven on earth. Do you love autumn?  

I've not done much sewing, or quilting, or much else, either.  I don't do much, as in my days are not busy, and I still know where the times goes.

I finished this 9-patch top a few months ago, sans border, was ready to be done with it, and put it aside.  

I decided to use double gauze for the backing and realized that this quilt really needed a border, so added the dark maroon.  I chose a teal backing, but it shrank in the washer and dryer so I had to remove a row of blocks from one end of the top so it would fit on the backing.  Then I reconsidered that backing's color and thought maybe orange would be better.  When I bought a longer length and washed it, it shrank even more than the teal.  I decided against it not because of the shrinkage but because the color was too bland.  This quilt had mostly autumn colors but it has plenty of tiny teal squares, too, so I think the teal back will work.  You can see that the batting is also just barely large enough, and I hope it will be enough.  It will get quilted very simply with big stitches using perle cotton.  With all its challenges, this quilt might turn into nothing worth the time!  (I started hand quilting it last night and the gauze grabs the needle so it may be slow going.)

Instead of more greens and blues for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge blocks, I pulled out some fabrics that lean toward army green and some that lean toward golden browns.  I pinned them last week and will sew them this week.

My daughter and I went to the Ohio State Fair in August.  The Natural Resources area must have had a youth art competition because there were many drawings and paintings by children. 

This gorgeous, primitive-style owl captured my attention.  I thought it a fabulous drawing.  (I think the white fluffs in the sky are a reflection on the glass/plastic covering the drawing.  Ignore them and delight in that gorgeous owl.)
 
Have you seen the book Still by Mary Jo Hoffman?

When I saw it recommended and looked at the cover, I guessed it was a book of nature essays in a small format.  I was wrong.  It is a gorgeous book of photographs of natural objects--seed pods, leaves, shells, flowers, etc.--and it's about 9" x 12".

In the photograph to the right, she has arranged stems from a tree into star-like shapes.  This captured my attention because we need a new star for the top of our Christmas tree, and these seem just about perfect.  I need to borrow the book again to remind myself what tree these are from.

I cannot tell you what kind of branches/stems/grass she used to create the arrangement to the right but it intrigued me, as did many of her photos.

If you like seed pods, seeds, branches and stems from trees, and other nature bits, you might enjoy this book.

Hoffman takes a nature walk every day, quietly looking at the detail of whatever holds her interest.  She brings the objects home and photographs them, capturing details.  Often her photographs look like flat lays, with leaves or nuts, seedpods or flowers carefully arranged.  Some of the photographs are of objects that she's gathered over time reflecting their growth from spring to fall or that show the variety found in an object. 

She wrote and included several essays as well as clear, concise details about how she photographs the natural objects.  

This is the kind of books that makes me wish I'd thought of taking photographs of the natural things I collect!

I'm going to bed soon, but I should go and DO something so I can write an interesting blog post!

What have you been up to?

--Nancy.

Links to Enjoy #36

Maybe you'll enjoy one or two of these links:  corn sounds, word connections, upcycled animals, or Smokey Bear.

Did you know corn makes a noise when it's growing?  When I first heard this I thought, Really?!!!  Now I wish I'd paid closer attention when I was a child, standing in my uncle's cornfield.  (Be sure to have the volume up for this video.)


From the video description:  

This time lapse photo sequence from a Nebraska corn field allows you to see and hear corn grow.  It's thought that the crackling noise is due to tiny fractures that occur as the plant stretches, breaks, and grows again.

I have also heard that growing corn (in acres and acres) increases the humidity in the air....  

Pathfinder shows a  line of connection between two things in four ways and three steps.

I love these upcycled, recycled, adorable, creative animals made from mostly wood by Kirsty Elson.  A pig, a lion, a cat, a bird, a gorilla, and a few dogs.  Which do you like best?  (I can't decide.)

Did you or your mother or grandmother hang clothes outside and use clothespins to attach the clothes to the line?  I remember helping my mom and grandmother hang the clothes and, for many years, I had a clothesline.  And we all had clothespin bags similar to the one in this tutorial (except all of ours were deeper, and some of my mom's and grandmother's looked like little girls' dresses).  I'm thinking about making one of these.  I have a narrow wooden hanger 6"-8" wide that would make the cutest "peg bag."  Wouldn't one of these be great for other purposes, too -- miscellaneous ribbons, notions near the sewing machine, thread,...?  

My introduction to Smokey (we called him Smokey the Bear instead of his real name, Smokey Bear) was probably in TV commercials in the 1950s.  The Ohio State Fair has a 15" Smokey who greets children by name (with a little help) and who used to invite children to sing with him.  Smokey's Story and  Smokey Through the Years  are fun websites to learn more about this famous bear.  Who knew there was really a Smokey?!  At the website you can also watch some of his commercials.


--Nancy.

Somewhere Between Green and Blue....

Aqua, turquoise, blue-green, green-blue, cyan, cerulean, azure, celadon, turquoise, teal, and probably hundreds of slight variations in those color combinations make up the color range between green and blue. Aqua is the RSC color for August, so I made a few nine-patch blocks for my quilt similar to this quilt Jolene made.  My preference leans toward teal, but I have plenty of lighter, brighter fabrics in the blue-green range.

There are one or two squares in this group that I might think of as absolutely green, but aqua is one of those flexible colors.  Put it next to blue and it might look very green.  Put it next to green and it leans toward blue.  Ah, well, since no one polices the Rainbow Scrap Challenge, we can all decide which fabrics look aqua (or pink or blue or red, etc.) to us.

I love Jolene's quilt but I'm not sure whether the blocks I'm making will pull off the look.  I haven't laid them out in any arrangement yet.  I think it's too soon to know, specially since I don't have the fabrics for the  background blocks (white, or off white) chosen yet.  

I also made a few more pink and purple blocks.  I don't know how many of each I will need....

Does it count for good when you really want to do something positive and can't quite muster the energy to do it?  It feels like life is passing me by as I wait to get past the effects of the drug that I hoped would alleviate this headache.  I sometimes wonder if I will ever be able to fall asleep quickly again, or if I will ever recover from having too little sleep.  What do you think, or what have your heard, or what has your experience been:  Can we catch up on sleep?

I did not know that Hens and Chicks plants grew flowers!  (Unless maybe this is not a Hens and Chicks plant.)  I was in an office building the other day and when walking past one of the doors I saw this plant with a long "string" coming out of it.  At first I thought someone had raped a pink charging cord over the plant.

Upon closer inspection I realized it was a stem with flowers.  Aren't they the dearest little flowers?!

 

If I get back to the building in the next week or two, I'll check on this plant and see what the next development in its growth is.  Or maybe I'll stop in at the office and ask about the plant.

Linking this post to Angela's RSC post at https://superscrappy.blogspot.com/2025/08/scraphappy-saturday-aquamarine-vibes.html.

That's it for me this week.  I hope you have a good weekend and upcoming week.

--Nancy.

Links to Enjoy #35

ChatGPT, the kindness of others, textile sculptures, spinning and weaving, and postcards are the topics of these links that I enjoyed.  I hope you will enjoy one or several of them, too.


Writer Amanda Guinzburg asked ChatGPT to evaluate and choose several of her essays to send to an agent.  Read her crazy conversation with ChatGPT, all presented as screenshots.  It's unbelievable how human-like ChatGPT sounds.  Have you interacted with ChatGPT before?  What do you think?


I thought some of these Site-Specific Textiles by Rachel B. Hayes were beautiful.  


Read about the mostly-anonymous kindnesses of others in "A Restaurant Surprise I'm Still Thinking of Two Decades Later."  Also, don't miss all the stories in the comments section.  They may be better than the original article.  Do you have experiences of being the recipient and/or the kindness-giver?


There's a movie called "The Nettle Dress," about the process of harvesting, processing, spinning, and weaving nettle to become cloth to make a dress.  Below is the trailer.  And watch another brief video showing how the spinner/weaver scoured (cleaned) and weighted small skeins of the yarn for the weft.  (Whenever I think of nettle I think of stinging nettle, a wild plant that causes an awful reaction on my skin.  How does he prevent a reaction, I wonder.)


I think this was so interesting to me because in earlier decades I was a spinner, dyer, and weaver.


For a while, Bonnie and Ellen worked together.  They became good friends and then Ellen moved away.  She began writing a postcard a day to Bonnie who saved them all.  She amassed thousands which are now on exhibit at Willamette College.  See photos here at Bonnie's blog and read a news article here.


--Nancy.

Four Purple Blocks this Week for July's RSC Challenge

It's purple month at RSC and these are the first four of my purple blocks.  

I don't have many purples and the ones I do have seem pretty boring to me.  Maybe it's because I'm not a big fan of purple that I have the ones I do.  I have three more blocks ready to sew which I hope I can finish this coming week.  They are of different fabrics than these, ones I found when I dug a little deeper.  (I'm already looking forward to whatever the next color will be!).  For anyone who is curious about these blocks, I'm hoping to make a quilt similar to this one.

I'm wondering what I did this week, since I haven't done much sewing and I haven't posted for a few weeks (except the quote a few days ago).  Not much, actually.  A little cutting and pinning of fabric, and a lot of sleeping/trying to sleep/trying to wake up/napping.  I'm giving up on the most recent medication the doctor prescribed to try to get rid of this New Daily Persistent Headache.  It persists through the drug and makes me so sleepy that I'm awake for about eight hours a day.  Enough is enough of this medication.

My husband fell twice last week, once at the doctor's office and then at home.  He's a big guy.  He fell in the kitchen and asked me to help him up.  I suggested we call the squad but he didn't want to.  He told me to let him get into a good position and then he said, "Now lift me up."  And I thought, Well, I'm strong, I can do this, and I'll just lift with my knees bent.  We tried three times and he couldn't get up.  I called the squad and they lifted him in a minute.  His blood sugar was much too high and he's been losing ground for the past few months.  So I've been doing the things he used to do, plus taking care of him and his needs, and not keep up very well with the things I would generally be doing..

Life's a little slow right now.  It'll change again in coming months, I'm sure.

I hope you are healthy, happy, and doing things you love!
--Nancy.

P.S.  I would link this post to Angela's blog, So Scrappy, but it looks like she didn't post this Saturday but you can still see plenty of purple blocks on her other July posts.