Saturday, September 10, 2016

Fall for New Beginnings

I hope that you had a fun Labor Day Weekend.  Sunday and Monday were cool and cloudy here and while Barb and I planned to both can some tomatoes and freeze fresh peaches, the peach-freezing didn’t happen until this afternoon as the peaches were not ripe enough.  The whole process takes time, but there is just something about a taste of summer in December or January that is so special.
I think fall may be my favorite season of the year.  After the obligatory cool and humid weather of last week, we have sunshine and 80 degrees.  The reds and golds of autumn are right out my window and the nights are cool enough for good sleeping.  Even though it’s been a while (and then some) since we had anyone in school, fall seems like a beginning, a time to get organized and possibly some new shoes.
I find that I’m in the mood to clean up and make a list of my UFO’s.  It’s kind of like getting a new notebook and crayons for the first day of school.  (Remember the smell of floor wax and new crayons?) When I’m deeply into a project, I rarely stop to put things away.  The plan is to clean up after I finish the current project.  What really happens is that I get distracted by 1) taking a class that has nothing to do with what I’m currently working on, 2) the season changes and I’m no longer interested in what I was working on, but want to start something new, or 3) the sun comes out and I go outside and ignore the mess.  So every 2-3 months I need to haul my wandering mind into the present moment and create a neatness, which lowers the anxiety level and fools me into thinking I will get it all done.  Mostly, it’s the simple things:  throw away the empty starch can, put the rulers back in their assigned places, and refile the fabrics I took out to test and then didn’t use and didn’t put away.  Today I put a new cover on my ironing table and put away/threw away a few things that appeared to be nesting there.  It makes me feel tidy.
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(The thread spools on the window ledge were customized by Toby when he was a pup.  He managed to bite most of the way through so that there are few pieces that are longer than 12 inches.)  Even the small things give me the illusion of control.
The Northwest Quilting Expo is just around the corner and I’m ready to be newly inspired.  There is a lot of quilting talent in the Portland area and it’s fun to see what new things have been created.  There’s also a whole boatload of vendors to tickle the imagination and empty the wallet.  I can hardly wait.
Speaking of inspirations, the quilt I showed you last week needs just a couple more pieces appliquéd.
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Since I’m doing it by hand, it takes a while.  The colors in that quilt inspired me to go off on a little tangent of my own.
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I really liked the oranges, yellows and purples and found that I had some batiks with varying degrees of all those colors and went for a gradation in the background.  It’s made up of six-inch double square blocks and the pumpkin plant is fused on.  The plan is to have the pattern ready by late next week.  We can take pre-orders so it will go out as soon as possible.  This pattern will be mailed so that the appliqué pieces will be accurate.  We’ll send these first class (as opposed to mule train) so they’ll get to you fast.
All our Halloween patterns will be on sale through the 10th of October.  It’s about now that I think I have plenty of time for Halloween projects, but these autumn weeks are pretty full and go so fast, it’s good to get started now.
My tomato crop is kind of puny this year, but there’s plenty of zucchini.  Luckily, there are plenty of zucchini recipes out there:  zucchini bread, chocolate chip zucchini bread, chocolate wave zucchini bread and of course all-chocolate zucchini bread.  I’m even known to use it as a vegetable! Truly, about the only thing better than zucchini bread in all its variations is pumpkin bread.  It’s a shame I don’t like to make salad nearly as much as I like to bake.
Someone brown and furry (not to mention freshly groomed and wearing her new collar) is telling me it’s time to get her some dinner.  Just look at that cheesy smile.  Ella is not terribly subtle at the best of times and comes on pretty strong when it’s meal time, so I’d better get with it.
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I’ll work on the new pattern as fast as I can.
Quilt for fun!
Candy

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