Thursday, May 1, 2014

May Day in the Ozarks brings new friends and a little magic

CHMustings: Summer tanager
Summer Tanager
It seems that every year I forget how spectacular Spring can be. It seems that every year I am reminded that this is my favorite time of year.


I noticed a Summer Tanager now lives among us. This little guy has been singing his head off, sitting on a branch right outside my office window. Look, you can see his mouth--er--beak open as he communicates with another. 

I love these guys and have been looking for them since I first spotted one when we first vacationed here in 1997.

I was a little worried about the hummingbirds a few weeks ago. They were late coming, with my seeing the first one on April 5. For the longest time I saw only one or two, then three. Well, no more worries, except perhaps how to afford all the sugar to feed them. We are inundated. That's OK, because I love these little critters. Yesterday, I counted six on one feeder. I don't usually see that kind of behavior until very late in the summer; never this early. Normally, they don't get along so well, fighting when somebody tries to eat nearby. Not this year though. We have five feeders in the yard and each of them has its share of active participants.

I just went onto the deck this May Day to bring out a bird feeder. We bring them in at night, because of raccoons and whatever else roams around. I was wearing a magenta chenille robe. One of the hummers, a little green female actually landed on me, just below and to the left of my chin. I had my camera with me, but there was no way I could turn it around fast enough to capture this sweet, apparently hungry, little bird. So, I just enjoyed the the moment. She was only there for an instant before making her way to the feeder. Magic moments!

Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Earth Day, my favorite day of the year


Today is my favorite day of the year -- Earth Day.

Mother Earth was kind enough to give presents -- a gentle rain shower that turned our Arkansas back yard into a rain forest. The sun is shining now. Like all females, Mother Earth is prone to changing her mind. As I look out the window into the woods, droplets of rain on the still new leaves sparkle as the warm sun caresses them. The landscape shimmers as if dressed in sequins. Thank you Mother Earth. The effect is spectacular.

Almost thirty years ago on this day, I experienced a kind of environmental awakening that has forever changed how I see and think about things. This new kind of spirituality inspires deeper thought, a kind of peripheral vision that takes in new dimensions, and a sense of connection to all living things.

"When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the Universe," said John Muir, founder of the Sierra Club, who was born on this day.

That quote has been my favorite since I first heard it. Connections are not always clear. Sometimes they are difficult to discern, but we must not be blinded by the obvious.

On that day so long ago, I walked with a group of other nature lovers along a trail. It was a time when "Save the Earth" was a popular slogan. I was disturbed about oil spills, killing dolphins in tuna nets, too much plastic that never degrades, landfills overflowing with trash that could be recycled into useful products, and the very future of the only planet we can call home. But as I walked the trail, in the forest remnant that had been largely untouched since it was carved out by glaciers hundreds of thousands of years ago, I realized that humans aren't able to save the earth any more than they can affect it. Mother Earth will save herself, even if it is at our expense. I fear for humans who totally miss the point. The only thing that man's work will destroy is man.

I'm saddened that little has been accomplished in the past 20 years. And I am frustrated -- no angry -- at recent political attempts to reverse protections of the environment.

Even though I'm unhappy that there must be legal efforts to thwart man's destructive behavior against himself, it is too important not to be supportive since not everybody gets it. My hope for the environmental future of mankind is that more people realize the connections. 
 
 
 
 
...reprinted from 2010 but still relevant today

Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Gotta love Springtime...

It is April 1. There is no mistaking the signs of the season. Spring is here! I suspect it will be worth the wait. 

chmusings: first spring bouquet
My first Spring bouquet. Color, thanks to daffodils and Forsythia; scent thanks to hyacinths.

chmusings: first asparagus
These asparagus, planted from seed two years ago are still too tiny to pick, but not too small to whet my appetite!

chmusings: forsythia in bloom
This is a first for this young forsythia. She's a little leggy, so a nice pruning will help for next year.

chmusings: bleeding heart
There can be no better feeling of expectation than seeing the new growth of a bleeding heart plant.
It looks like Spring 2014 is going to be lovely. It looks like this snowy winter was good for the plants. I can't wait to see what else pops up out of the decaying leaves.

Saturday, March 22, 2014

For the winter weary, Spring is here!

I consider myself among the winter weary. Even here in the Ozarks, this winter was a little too cold, a little too snowy, and a lot too long. Despite it all, the calendar says it is Springtime, and until this weekend, that was good enough for me. I decided to take a walk around the property though, just to check it out--to make sure. I liked what I saw. I did!

The following are just a few of the subjects I had the pleasure to enjoy as I walked. 
I can't wait to enjoy the sweet fragrance and beautiful colors of the lilacs. This particular plant was here when we moved here nine years ago. It was among several bushes planted in the shade of the house. Then never bloomed until one year when we dug them up and moved them. Now, we get a few more flowers each year.

chmusings: lilacs are getting their leaves
These lilacs are getting their leaves




Below is a Bradford Pear, intent on flowering. It won't be long now. We have a pair of them in the yard. I'm sure there will be more in the future as they are just delightful little trees. I always marvel at how early they flower. Often times, these are used by landscapers who use them to line driveways, sidewalks, or to decorate a small suburban front yard. We had no such organizational plan when we planted it, except as an anchor for a small garden. Basically, I just like it. Flowering is a plus on this attractive, perfectly shaped, conical tree that is beautiful in every season.

chmusings: Bradford pear about to bloom
Bradford Pear about to bloom
Oh, the sweet scent of the hyacinth...Is there anything more lovely? I have always loved this sweet staple of the Springtime garden. Rarely do I see the flowering bulbs in a garden center, that I don't go over to take a whiff of its intoxicating fragrance. As one of the earliest flowering bulbs, it remains one of my favorite Springtime garden pleasures.
Soon-to-be white hyacinths
Our property, which sadly doesn't have many wildflowers, is peppered with these lovely little Wild Asters--at least I think that is what they are. They are tiny little lavender clumps and are abundant at this time of year. When I first moved to the Ozarks, I was amazed at the wildflowers that grow in some of the most unusual places. If only people chould be as strong as these tiny woodland flowers. They appear every year, no matter the weather, even if snow is on the ground. They can be found in pathways, in lawns, gardens, and anywhere else they feel like growing. They are tough, little flowers that only make me want more. Their perfect little daisy-like petals are simply lovely. And what a beautiful sight for winter-weary gardeners.
chmusings: Wild asters
Wild asters
It is a ritual of Spring to look for the daffodils. Like clockwork, they bloom each Spring with a satisfying reliability. They too are tough little flowers that have the ability to brighten any Spring day. It won't be long before these turn into that sunshiny, yellow cupped flower, some of which always make it into the house. Often times, they are the first bouquet of the year. These plants were also here when we moved in. We moved here in January, so I had no idea what was planted previously. What a delight it was to see them pop through the layers of dead oak leaves, and then to produce their lovely yellow flowers. I have since planted many more, in different colors and varieties. I love them all.
chmusings: daffodil buds
Daffodil buds
Who doesn't love the look of a Crab apple tree in full bloom? I am still waiting for that lovely view. This young tree, planted a couple years ago to commemorate Earth Day, just one month away, is still young, but I'm hoping it flowers this year. On our woodland, rocky property, I'm just grateful that any tree we plant survives. This one looks to be in good shape, which pleases me greatly. Crab apple trees are a delicacy for deer. I don't now how they missed this one, since they are never too far away. Lucky, I guess. This will be a pink flowering crab, and I can't wait to see it in bloom. Maybe this is the year...For now, I'm just thrilled to call it a sign of Spring.

chmusings: Crab apple tree
Crab apple tree


This is the bud of a magnificent Magnolia tree. I was very worried since just as the buds began to swell, we had a cold, and snowy day, complete with freezing rain. There is a little damage on some of the buds, but overall, it looks like we will have a tree full of flowers very soon. I just love the look of magnolias in bloom.
chmusings: magnolia
Magnificent Magnolia
Yes, there will be strawberries! This year, I will mulch with straw, apply diatomaceous earth, and spray a mix of garlic and peppers to ensure that I will get berries. These plants produced beautifully last year, but I didn't get any of fruit thanks to the slugs and sow bugs that ate them all. My turn this year!


chmusings: strawberries
Strawberry plants
Finally, one of the best signs of Spring in our yard is 'Bout Time Creek. This is actually a dry creek bed, but as you can see, it is now wet. Love Springtime! In fact, it is about time it is wet, thus the name. This runs through the back yard and as the water trickles from the higher ground east of us, it makes the most lovely music. I could listen for hours.
chmusings: 'Bout Time Creek
'Bout Time Creek

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Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Making progress; quilting feathers

Quilted feathersI've finally mastered free-form free-motion quilting feathers. The word "mastered" may be a bit of an exaggeration, but is pretty descriptive of how I feel about it. 

Suffice it to say I accomplished feathers, at least on this block. I didn't think that would ever happen. To experienced quilters, feathers seem so simple. Yet to those of us that haven't been able to master them, they represent a really difficult skill. 

Joyously, I crossed that line yesterday. There is something so wonderful about the moment when a struggle becomes an accomplishment. It is truly an 'aha' moment. Suffice it to say I am exhilarated. 

To me, feathers on a quilt are elegant. They give it a regal feel. A beautiful quilt needs beautiful feathers.

This marks the latest revelation I've had in what has become an ongoing saga of my going-on-two-years-now quilt project, better known as my aqua and yellow quilt...I must come up with a new name for this; I'm tiring of calling it that. 

When I finally began to free-motion quilt the blocks in this sampler, it was a long time coming. I am really going to love it when it is finished, because it has represented such a remarkable journey. I'm so grateful to Leah Day for her incredible inspiration and the can-do attitude she has communicated to me and thousands of other aspiring quilters. I've been immersed in her videos and that of other quilters who have shared their expertise with the rest of us. There are some amazing online resources available to anyone with an interest. 

I finally got the confidence to design the quilting for these quilt-as-you-go blocks, again, giving credit to Leah Day for the amazing filler designs she has devised. This is the third of 18 blocks in this quilt. The other two are below. I think I can see the light at the end of the tunnel for this quilt.

When I looked at the stack of completed blocks, cut to size and awaiting their final action--the quilting--I wasn't sure how to proceed. Since I had taken pictures of each of them, I printed out the first one, as a sketch, rather than as a photograph. Google's Picasa, excellent and free software to manage digital pictures, has the ability to turn any photo into a line drawing. 

Just looking at the block, I saw what I wanted to do. They say, let the quilt talk to you--and it did. This is the rough sketch I came up with.
This is how it turned out. I made only one change, the stippling in the corner. I thought it looked better with the more uniform lines. 

I know my quilting is not perfect. In fact, it is far from that, but I also know that once this quilt is done and it is washed, the effect will be like magic. There is nothing better than a just washed quilt. The area that isn't quilted puffs a little which accentuates the stitches even more. Imperfections simply melt into the background. Oh boy, I can't wait.

Anyone who has followed my journey--and I appreciate your interest-- knows that this quilt began in Jan. 2013 as a BOM (Block of the Month) from the Quiltingboard, a wonderful and active quilting site I belong to. This particular BOM was meant to be somewhat of a challenge. It was and continues to be. 

When all the blocks were completed in December 2013, I decided to place them on-point, on the diagonal rather than the vertical, I had to come up with some filler blocks. I agonized for a time about how to quilt those, since there are six of them that are all the same. So, I started with the printout of the line drawing. This is what I came up with for all of them. It is basically all about hearts with some stippling in the open areas. I wanted to showcase the diagonals, since that forms the secondary pattern in the quilt, so I think this will do the trick.

The following articles in CHMusings relate to this quilt
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Tuesday, March 11, 2014

New way to mark the quilt

Glad quilting
I have never been a fan of marking the quilt. It is the one aspect of quiltmaking that I find often tedious and sometimes frustrating.

I've tried different marking pens, pencils, pounces, chalks, and everything else I can think of. 

I'm always looking for new ways to do this task. So, when I learned of this new technique, marking with Glad Press 'n Seal, I thought I would give it a try.

Glad quilting 2I apologize for not being able to give credit to whoever came up with this rather ingenious idea. Truth is though, I can't remember where I heard about it. I have been doing a great deal of reading on the Internet about marking a quilt.  

Building Blocks Quilt Along

Glad quilting 3In doing Leah Day's Building Blocks Quilt Along, one that combines piecing and free-motion quilting techniques, block by block, I decided this was a perfect time to try marking the quilting pattern using Glad Press'n Seal.

In the first photo, at left, I placed a piece of the Glad Press'n Seal onto a pre-printed pattern provided in Leah Day's Building Blocks Quilting Project. The paper has a sticky side that adheres perfectly to the pattern. Once smoothed out across the paper, it was easy to trace the lines of the quilting design onto the Glad wrap with a ball point pen.

Glad quilting 4The pattern requires stitching in the ditch and around the block. I decided to do that first, since although the Glad paper is transparent, stitching in the ditch is hard enough without any obscurity. Besides, I tried it and the lines were awful so I picked out the stitches, ripped off the paper and started again. I put pins into the paper, which probably wasn't necessary, but after lining it up perfectly with the seams, I didn't want it to shift at all.

It was pretty easy to sew through the paper, although I admit it did feel like I was sewing a disposable baby diaper.

Glad quilting 5The third picture shows the entire block completely quilted. It was easy to follow the lines, or at least as easy as following the lines without the paper would be. That is never an easy task. Truthfully, I much prefer free-motion quilting freehand. I need practice at this however, because I know that isn't always possible.

Removal of the paper was fairly easy, as shown in the fourth photo. It was just a matter of scratching the paper with a sturdy fingernail or the trusty seam ripper, and then ripping it off.

The only problem here was that with this pattern, there are lots of tiny quilted areas, so it was a little more tedious than it otherwise might be. Also, the paper remained sticky. It was easily tearable though and it appears that every bit of it was removed.

The fifth and final picture shows the completed block. There appears to be no remnants of paper left, and the stitches were not harmed in any way by pulling on the paper.

Even though I can't see any remnants of the paper, I will not press this block on its right side. I will press it from the back just to be sure. I've seen what plastic products do to an iron. It isn't pretty; doesn't smell very well either.

I just might use this technique again, although I am not sure it will be my only marking technique. It is nice to have options. Certain things will work better than others depending on the circumstances.

I am just glad I found a way to try something new.


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Thursday, February 20, 2014

Ready to quilt


My last update on this project was nearly a month ago, my first blog post of the new year. I had just given up on trying to figure out how to complete this quilt top, daunted by mathematics, colors, and patterns, and style. So, I left it alone for a while. I started working on another project altogether--a new quilt project Leah Day's Free-Motion Quilting Building Blocks Quilt Along. This one will be black and white and pink all over--more on that another time.

It is about time for an update on my complex quilting journey to complete one particular project. I couldn't be more excited. This soap-opera will one day reveal a completed yellow and aqua quilt.


Once I finally quilt obsessing over just how to construct the finishing triangles needed for this on-point quilt, I figured out how to make them. It was so easy. I gave in to the computer software as my friend Jane had suggested. At the time, I had thought of all kinds of reasons why that wouldn't work, but, I was completely over-thinking the problem. Once I realized that, I printed out the templates, added the seam allowance of 1/4-inch and cut out the pieces. I sewed them together, and voila, the perfect setting triangles, as seen below.

There was no figuring. I didn't even need to wrack my brain with some obscure mathematical formula. I made 10 of them along with four smaller triangles for the corners.

I am now ready to come up with a final layout of my squares. I just love the addition of the chain blocks, also Jane's idea, which adds the secondary pattern. I'm thrilled that the triangles continue that pattern to the edges of the quilt. That was what I wanted all along.

Next, I will cut out the backing fabric and squares of batting. I will then begin free-motion quilting the individual squares. The designs for each squares are something I haven't planned for. This will be my final design choice and final challenge with this quilt. I have never been very good at picking quilting designs, but I am in no hurry. I want to examine each block until just the right design comes to me.

I will use yellow and white gingham with alternating white squares for the backing. I already have the batting. While the quilt is large enough to cover the bed, I may just add a couple of borders to finish it off. I can't wait to post a picture of the completed quilt. So, stay tuned!

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