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!

Lot's of quilt activity ....

I had sent the scrappy, basic but utilitarian top off to the long-arm quilter's a few weeks ago. That happens to be my local quilt shop: North Country Quilters. They have a very long long-arm quilting machine and I've been more than happy with the results. (There is a picture of the long-arm machine on their web site.) For this quilt I chose a pattern called "Aspen Leaf" and it worked out very nicely. The top's piecing is all rectangular, angular, and straight lines, but "Aspen Leaf" has curves and they create a wonderful contrast. I chose to fill the quilt with wool--utilitarian requirement for the winters up here. I like cotton filling for spring/fall quilts but since I made this one quite large (80"x100") I want to get good use of it during the frigid months between November and--as present weather can attest: March! Indeed, any notion that March might be a spring month up here really needs to be dismissed. We may have reached the equinox, but there is some lag in play which keeps spring at bay. We are expecting another snow storm tomorrow into Saturday!

It's OK, rather. I am content to know that the day lilies, which I bred and raised into what will be their 3rd year this summer, are safe and sound (I hope) under the protective coat of snow. This should be the year I discover what sort of blossoms my handy dabbing between stamens and pistils has produced. I went on this hemerocallis sexcapade at the urging of my dear friend Bobbie--a day lily hybridizer on Cape Ann--whose garden is a glimpse of heaven. I can't remember the parents-to-be of my babies, but I'm pretty sure it's written down somewhere around here. If I get good blossoms, it will be my honor and privilege to name the new hybrid. But that's jumping the gun... it won't be known until mid summer if indeed I'll be handing out cigars.

Oh that's right, I was talking about the basic, scrappy quilt that is now quilted and bound. I recall the day I brought it into the shop to pick out a quilting pattern, filler, backing material, and thread. Another customer in the store, upon seeing the top, exclaimed that the colors "popped". They popped. I remember when colors didn't "pop", and seem to think this usage of the word came into being on television arts and crafts programs within the last few decades. The word in this context makes me cringe. Understatement. It makes me want to pop someone ... well never mind. I shall not allow violent thoughts to intrude on my blog! But the sentiment was kind and I appreciate it; and she got away unscathed.

It took well nigh 400" of binding to finish the quilt. I make my own. A nice, uncomplicated, relaxing endeavor. I sew the first edge of the binding onto the quilt with the machine, but then fold it over and finish the second side by hand using an invisible "ladder" stitch. I enjoy this bit of hand sewing. I leave it till late evening when the day's work is done, turn on a creative television program or put on a video and stitch away. It took 4 evenings to finish.

I'm very much pleased with the result. It's going to be a useful quilt; it wasn't hard to piece; and the yellow/orange/red warm colors create vibrancy with the green/blue/purple colors. They ... No! I shall not use dreaded "p" word! ... they create striking contrast.



The "Aspen Leaf" quilting pattern is a nice contrast to the lines of the piecing:


I am currently binding another quilt, one that was finished and quilted some time ago but for some reason and another never got it's binding. When that's done, I have still another quilt to bind.

Progress is proceeding well on the "Celtic Solstice" quilt and I expect to finish piecing it sometime next month. I am hoping. Another post to come on that.

Moving right along ...

The scrap quilt--the diversion--was finished last week. It's off to the long arm quilters at the moment. Since I forgot to snap a picture of it all sewn together with it's borders, it'll have to wait till it comes back. The Celtic quilt is now back in play. I don't think I ever showed any progress pictures, so here's a few pics of some pieces and believe me, there are a lot more pieces to go.



I think I'm ready to tackle it once again. Making the large, not too difficult scrap quilt has put me in the mood.

The "big honkin' shawl' is done! (Except for some loose ends which I'll weave in this weekend). The time has come to stop referring to it as the "big honkin' shawl'. The word "honkin'" isn't suitable now that it has been blocked into it's fine finished state. "honkin'" worked when it was a mass of unruly stitches; now it's a refined shawl. There were close to 900 stitches around the last row. Holy moly, those rows took time to knit! Much pleased with the result. It measures approximately 62" square.

(Click pictures to make them bigger.)



The beads that I wanted to use for the edge did not work out, so instead I used small seed beads. But they are red. I'm just as happy with this result. Now that I see it, I think the original beads would have been too large. I'll save them for another project.

With that massive amount of knitting off the needles, I've decided to take it easy for a bit and I'm knitting up some simple, yet elegant, wash cloths. I'm planning to make soap again soon (my neighbor and her friend want to learn so we're going to make a fun project of it) and isn't it nice to have lovely new wash cloths to go with some lovely new soaps? I bought new scents this week: "Sweet Pea and Ivy", "Sandalwood", and "Jean Paul Gaultier" (A spin off of the pricey cologne. I bought a bottle some years back; one of my favorite modern colognes.)



This is an inexpensive cotton I found at Walmart. Perfect for wash cloths, on size 7 needles, knit corner-to-corner.

A diversion ...

The Celtic quilt requiring much focused attention is on hold for a bit. The dimensions of my currently finished blocks are causing concern. Somewhat skeptical of how to proceed, so I've shelved it for the duration and will re-tackle it after a good rest hopefully restores my faith and vision. Have offers from the local quilt shop to present my queries and will most likely take them up on the offer. What to do when one's blocks come out smaller than expected?

So in the meantime I decided it would behoove me to work on something less challenging, and fulfilling. And that's exactly how I've proceeded. Found another lovely pattern in my favorite book and went ahead and worked on it as a scrappy quilt. The pattern is less than pronounced seeing how it's made of scraps, yet still, I am very fond of it. Scrap quilts, I dare say, are my favorite: Something from scraps. How perfectly delightful!

I have sewn all the pieces so far on my 1878 Wheeler & Wilson treadle sewing machine, but now that I will be assembling these pieces into yet larger structures and then gathering those into a quilt, I may switch to the modern--yet deficient--machine. If only because it's much faster. For shame I should succumb to such trivial concerns! I have all the time in the world! ... I haven't quite decided yet.

I laid the pieces out on the living room floor this morning to ensure a somewhat balanced--and correctly oriented--placement. Picture herewith. All that remains is assembling the pieces into blocks, blocks into rows, rows into quilt, and then 3 (most likely) borders in green, blue, and purple.

I DO love scrappy quilts.



If you tilt your head back and squint you may be able to discern the pattern that is partially obscured by the use of various tints and shades of scraps.

Sharing a poem ...

It's been a while since I shared a poem, but I recently came upon one which must be shared.

THE INVITATION
By Oriah Mountain Dreamer

It doesn't interest me
what you do for a living.
I want to know
what you ache for
and if you dare to dream
of meeting your heart's longing.

It doesn't interest me
how old you are.
I want to know
if you will risk
looking like a fool
for love
for your dream
for the adventure of being alive.

It doesnt interest me
what planets are
squaring your moon...
I want to know
if you have touched
the centre of your own sorrow
if have been opened
by life's betrayals
or have become shrivelled and closed
from fear of further pain.

I want to know
if you can sit with pain
mine or your own
without moving to hide it
or fade it
or fix it.

I want to know
if you can be with joy
mine or your own
if you can dance with wildness
and let the ecstasy fill you
to the tips of your fingers and toes
without cautioning us
to be careful
to be realistic
to remember the limitations
of being human.

It doesn't interest me
if the story you are telling me
is true.
I want to know if you can
disappoint another
to be true to yourself.
If you can bear
the accusation of betrayal
and not betray your own soul.
If you can be faithless
and therefore trustworthy.

I want to know if you can see Beauty
even when it is not pretty
every day.
And if you can source your own life
from its presence.

I want to know
if you can live with failure
yours and mine
and still stand at the edge of the lake
and shout to the silver of the full moon,
"Yes."

It doesn't interest me
to know where you live
or how much money you have.
I want to know if you can get up
after the night of grief and despair
weary and bruised to the bone
and do what needs to be done
to feed the children.

It doesn't interest me
who you know
or how you came to be here.
I want to know if you will stand
in the centre of the fire
with me
and not shrink back.

It doesn't interest me
where or what or with whom
you have studied.
I want to know
what sustains you
from the inside
when all else falls away.

I want to know
if you can be alone
with yourself
and if you truly like
the company you keep
in the empty moments.

Project lists ...

I was just musing over all the projects I'd like to take on this spring (my mind is wandering on ahead--just a little--on a temporary sojourn to green breezes and dandelions; I'll come back in a few minutes).

There are new flower beds to dig--I want a bed all along the perimeter of the new deck. I'd like to plant some apple trees; at least a few of them. Red currants would be lovely to harvest. The big old patch of rugosa roses which came back to life after an initial attempt to dig them up last spring, is a spot I'd like to turn into a large circular garden. I think this year I'll need to hire someone with a bulldozer to level the area. In fact, the whole back field is a bit rough and a good leveling would open it up to many possibilities. At some point the driveway needs to be done up, with drainage systems installed. The front yard--from where I park the car to the steps of the deck--needs to be bulldozed as well, to remove the old dirt, packed down from years of use as a driveway. Then I can seed a nice lawn there.

Speaking of new beds, I came upon this series of videos on YouTube by Charles Dowding. He is a most fascinating man, full of knowledge and helpful information. I'm going to try his method this year:


One project that will get done this spring is the entry-room off the kitchen. I will have it insulated: Top, bottom, and sides; and sheet rocked. A proper entry door/screen combo will replace the fimsy, totally ineffective screen door that now hangs as the main entry to the house. Perhaps down the line, I can install a wood cook stove in there. Wouldn't that be just lovely? Fondly remembering the ones we had in our kitchen all through my growing-up years, and the one my Aunt Rose would always be attending to whenever I was at my grandmother's visiting. Wood cook stoves--in addition to being very useful--are also like teddy bears and security blankets. They bring comfort and reassurance. I think the reason is that they don't depend on 3rd parties for their operation. No electric, or propane delivery needed. In a pinch, a trip to the woods with an axe will get one through emergency situations. These "old" ways are good comforts.

Indoors, once the entry-way is finished with a closet in place, the closet in the music room will become a built-in reading nook with storage bench. It will make a great napping-cot and could even be used as an extra bed when necessary. The upper stair well needs to be painted. I bought the paint a few months ago. Just waiting for warmer weather now. Otherwise, it's pretty well settled in these rooms.

I have some spinning to finish, a loom that needs dressing, a quilt that needs finishing, another quilt that needs to be re-tackled, two quilts which need binding, the 'big honkin' shawl which has reached the point of having a will of it's own: Getting tricky to hold the whole mess of stitches in my lap as I try my best to finish it!! I have an inkle loom in the upstairs closet that I would like to dust off and get some bands woven. My interest in card weaving is piquing again.

There is no shortage of projects to work on. No shortage.

Meanwhile, I made this wallet last weekend; 3 hours on Saturday evening. I like it so much I went to the local quilt shop today and purchased two more clasps so I can make others.



I "fussy cut" the fabric out of a panel like this one: Peacock Panel. It was a very fun project.

Another YouTube series I recently discovered is this series on 18th Century cooking: James Townsend and Son. Absolutely fascinating and fun! History, food, how could it go wrong? Must share this series with you. He's got many videos up on YouTube.