What’s not to like about shot cottons, silks and rayons? The batch of Skinny Scares, about 1″ by 280″, is finally finished. It’s a scarf, it’s a necklace, it’s a belt…it’s a fun accessory! This morning I felt confident I’d never make another one, but now, short segments of black and white fabrics sounds like a lot of fun…someone has to stop me!
When baby deer mosey though the backyard, it must be spring, even though it’s almost mid-July. That’s the joke around here- spring is a week in July and summer is two weeks in August.
This morning I watched one rascal lean on the stake and chicken-wire to nibble on a young Aspen tree. Aha- the mystery of the pushed-in chicken wire is solved. So cute- but not too cute. I knocked on the window to make the little guy move on. This fast growing baby deer monster did move on- to the wildflowers!
A giant cobweb and hidden layers of dust motivated me to start some very deep spring-cleaning. At the end, I put some old bowls away, making room for some ‘new’ dishes to come out and sparkle. In one bowl I put faux lemons- the bright yellow looks great with the blue stripes.
I’ve been joking that 2011 is just around the corner, but it’s just about true. Spring cleaning, summer strolls in the afternoon, fall raking, winter snow shoveling and it’ll be spring-cleaning again in 2011. Small things like weekly garbage pick up and large things like birthdays to remind us that ’round and round we go’ on this rollercoaster ride.
In Sunriver, the Owner’s Association wants the owners to approve a special assessment to build a new complex with community center, pool, river and sled hills. We can pay the full amount in a one-time payment, or at the other extreme, pay monthly for 15 years. Fifteen years…I woke up this morning realizing that would find me 74 years old. Yup, ’round and ’round we go!
May 1: Around and Around We Go!
The daffodils were poking up when four inches of snow sprung instead of spring. A race for the future began, with the daffodils growing and blooming in time to complete their life cycle. Now they are in full bloom and shivering in the 20-degree temps in the early morning. They should have waited for the warm weather sure to come soon. I’m still in my down jacket, waiting patiently.
Wearing my red down jacket first thing in the morning, it’s not unusual to see a Blue Jay bouncing on the branch of an Aspen tree, calling out “peanuts, peanuts, peanuts now!”
Squirrels have been digging up fluffy dried grass for their nests. Deer walk casually down the stone pathway, as if we built it just for them.
Sometimes we are up early enough to catch wild bunnies nibbling tender new wildflower shoots. Oh shoot!
On the shelves you can see a random collection of round objects: glass bowls, vases, a hand-blown cup from Japan, orange juice squeezer from my childhood, treasures from David’s family and other “knickknacks”. I never thought I’d collect “small trivial articles intended for ornament” (Merriam-Webster), but these small objects carry good memories and bring joy while I do ordinary tasks.
Or perhaps circles and Pi (the mathematical constant that describes the ratio of any circle’s circumference to its diameter) captivate me. Carl Sagan wrote his novel Contact around the idea that the secret of the universe could be found in this irrational number. If true, maybe this goes a long way to explaining all the paradoxes: we live in an irrational universe!
April 24: View From My Kitchen Window
I just might be cured of Yellow Fever. I once envisioned embellishing and encrusting an entire quilt (or at least the border) with the collected yellow stuff. But after filling in a space smaller than four inches by six inches, I’m over it. Really.
It wasn’t until after I finished the postcards with stitched branches that I realized I’d been under the influence of these blooming trees on SE Yamhill Street in Portland, Oregon.
The excitement just keeps building as we get closer to the 35th Annual Outdoor Quilt Show and Quilters Affair week, put on by The Stitching Post in Sisters, Oregon.
One of the many events is the “Wish Upon a Card” fundraiser for the Wendy’s Wish Foundation. With over $30,000 raised in the three previous Wish Upon a Card silent auction and buy-it-now card sales, this year could be even bigger.
Yesterday I donated 13 of my postcards for the fundraiser. You can donate your own fiber art postcards too- check it out, make your cards and get them in by the first of July.
stitchinpost.com From this website, check out the store, events, and more.
http://www.sistersoutdoorquiltshow.org/WishPostcards09.htm See some of the fiber art postcards from 2009.
www.wendyswish.org For more information about the Wendy’s Wish Foundation and the late Wendy Huntley.
Circles are everywhere…everywhere I tell you! But sometimes they are fleeting. While spring has sprung in other places, we still have below freezing temperatures, snow or frost in the night.
By noon it can be “shorts weather” (if you wear shorts when it’s in the 40’s and 50’s).
April 17: Circles in the Snow
I finished 49 postcards on Thursday, April 15. My dues have been paid! And taxes, of course.
I save the zigzagging for last, so I can sort the cards by shared thread color. At 5-7 minutes per postcard, plus time to pamper the sewing machine (a quilters best friend), zigzagging 49 postcards adds up. But who counts the minutes?
P.S. Yes, I love Sulky Blendable thread!
