Brightening up the music room ... spring visitor ... another project ...

My music room walls are pale blue, the ceiling is white. The wall behind the piano is dark blue, but there is little of it that is painted as there is a double-door closet in the middle of the wall. All the art in this room is one of two themes: winter/snow or birds. I'd been thinking that having looked at the blue walls for 4 years (yes! almost exactly... just a few more days to the anniversary) I wanted to brighten it up a little bit. So I visited my stash of finished quilts and found just the one; it works perfectly! All the color I could want now drapes the corner of the room I look at when practicing piano...



Happy, happy!

The snow is gone. There has been goodly amounts of water flowing down the mountain sides and Halls Brook has been roaringly alive the past few weeks.



Well! March seemed to take an eternity this year, but it is past and we are now enjoying April showers. There has been a good deal of mud around, but the glimse of greenery--and even some flowers!--shooting up out the ground tempers one's feeling about the dirt. The Fritillaria are coming up for their second year! I remember reading that they had trouble surviving our New England winters, but some bit of luck has sustained these two. Also seen peeping above ground are daffodils and crocuses. The crocuses have bloomed, the daffodils are a ways off still.



The ritual of bringing the bird feeders in at evening time has begun. A clamor on the deck last week alerted me that the winter pajama party is over for the bears. She (or he) has grown this past year--if this is the same bear that was around last spring. It was drizzling rain when I went out to take a few pictures: I was on the deck, she was below, enjoying the contents of what used to be a bird feeder. It made me a little nervous that she went around to the other side of the house and poked her head into the kitchen entry room. Oh dear. I opened the kitchen door and made some sound; they don't like hearing human voices. She backed out quickly and went along her way.



I have started another quilt, and truth be told, I don't like to have multiple projects (of the same type) going at the same time. I like to bring a project to completion before taking on another. However, this quilt will be made of wool applique and the technique is totally unlike piecing cotton, and lends itself to being worked on at a different time of day than piecing. Therefore, I consider it a good idea to get started. I like piecing in the morning or afternoon when there is plenty of light. I like hand sewing in the evening, when it is quiet and the day's labors are done. The wool applique will all be hand sewn. I'm following a pattern; there will be multiple blocks in the finished quilt, including one large central block. This is my first block in progress:



You can see the basting thread (white) on the pieces I have not yet button-hole stitched into place. This is a large project and will take some time. I found the pattern at a quilt show over the weekend. A very inspiring show, it was.

Work will begin soon on the kitchen entry and it's only 4 days away from my 4 year anniversary moving here. Another post on that to come.

A Secret Message ...

J&B I am unable to send email to your address! Will investigate to see if I can discover what's behind this mystery!

Progress ...

Many good things are happening. Music wise, I've made much technical progress with my left shoulder, ergo, my left hand is better positioned these days to execute musical requirements both at the piano and cello. It makes me happy to progress... at least to feel--subjectively--that I am progressing. It's such a joy, and yet at times so gruelling. They go hand in hand these two. I'm currently on a Debussy kick at the piano. I do love his music so. I have 2 of the 4 pieces in Suite Bergamasque pretty much down: The Prelude and Clair de Lune. Now to get the other 2 in my hands.

Suite Bergamasque played by one of my very favorite pianists of all time, Claudio Arrau:


Speaking of Debussy, we had a lovely Debussy sort of day yesterday... very atmospheric. I love these dreamy, fantastic, real yet almost illusory days:


[I'm expecting a bear to walk out of the mist any day now. Temps rose to the low 70s the other day!!! Their hibernation must be almost over. Many turkeys around the place this week (present company excepted!), and many, many birds making an appearance in the yard. Saw my first robin of the year!]

New topic. I attended my first quilter's guild meeting this evening. The Heartfelt Quilter's Guild based in Rumney, the town adjoining ours to the north. It was great! The guest speaker was Linda Baxter Lasco and she spoke of her journey and the many quilts she's made over the years. There was a show-and-tell from other members who have recently completed quilts; all the usual structured meeting points of address: treasurer's report, old business, new business, etc.; and pizza and a variety of delectable desserts. I'm very happy to have finally joined.

New topic again. Several wash cloths finished and a face towel under way on the knitting needles:


Oh! And the 8-shaft loom is almost all threaded for my next project. This picture was taken the other day shortly after I had started threading. Well under way now.


So I took several (four, to be exact) tumbles (fell flat on my back to be exact) the past 3 weeks. Ever since we passed the equinox, yet continued with winter weather activity! Twice, while shoveling and they were OK because I slipped on ice that was under the snow and my fall was padded by the snow. Once at the top of the deck stairs which was fine--more or less except that I hit my head against the rail post. Haven't done that since I was a kid, so the trip to nostalgia was nice. Finally, once again at the top of the deck stairs. This slip on the slush--which compacted when I stepped on it and made a most slippery surface--caused me to land on my back against the stair tread. I knew when I fell that something about it had a little more "umph" than the other falls. I didn't land squarely against my spine, it was a fall to the right side of my back. Now that the general discomfort and, yes, pain has subsided, I am left thinking that I might have cracked my lowest rib, in the back. I've had broken ribs before (doctors did it, not me!) so I'm familiar with the feeling. Will be making a visit to the doctor's soon just to confirm and to make sure all my bits and pieces are on the right track!