too many Sundays and a couple of extra Fridays, none of which were today...LOL
Having the holiday on Monday tends to do that, I think. It's a quiet night in my valley. No sound of heavy trucks, hauling. No pinpoints of light in the nighttime sky. Even Mr. Moon is hanging out elsewhere...probably over California or Bali. Every thing is slight off kilter, like a table that slants and the spilled beverage all runs one way. I don't know what that is about, except that it's unusual to have these 30+ and 40 degree days in WI in January. We still have no snow, at least through the midsection of the state. Nice for the heating bills, but weird.
At my age I don't really miss the bone chilling cold of WI in January, but I do miss other things. How clear and crisp the nights are, with stars twinkling above us. The music from the skating rink, or the sound of the ice skates, and the laughter of the kids in mittens and scarves who fly across the ice. Even the hoots and jeer and scrapes and thuds of the boys playing hockey in the mostly dark pond behind my house.
I miss the crunch of the snow as you walk, and the really frigid 'squeak' it makes as the temps plunge below zero. Steamed up glasses are something I can live without, but after so many years, they become part of the norm.
These days as you drive or walk, it's the familiar brown of November, and as the rain keeps falling, a bit like March. Almost any seasonal change month except January.
So tonight I picked out this orphan block, that I quilted as a 'solo' block. These broken dishes or HST blocks keep popping up without my looking for them. This one is pleasing with it's bright colors, and off kilter plaids. Some of the triangles are pieced to get a big enough scrap to use....I like that. And I do it, when I remember. Any time I am just a tat short of being able to cut the piece I need, I can stitch a tiny bit across the 'short' side, press and cut my square or triangle. I often wonder why we are so reluctant to do that? It barely shows in the pieced quilt, and when it does, it just adds to the charm...*VBS*. When I see 'that' in the quilt of another, it feels like she and I share a secret...a good secret, a kind of sisterhood.
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12 comments:
Having pieced shapes certainly adds a certain 'something' to a scrappy quilt :-)
its interesting what "perfect" we've assimilated from "show" quilts that really isn't part of the heritage of scrap ones...
Love this little red square, I think I have seen it before! The weather is certainly strange here too, the bulbs are coming up. But I do not really like cold weather, so not complaining. The 'leaf' quilt-top that was handed down to me - the one I took apart to re-do - has some pieced pieces, I think that is such a neat find. Kind of like a game - can you find a pieced piece? Have a great weekend!
Finn you are just amazing...I look forward to your posts every morning, you just write things so perfectly. I loved your description of these past 2 goofy weeks. I was just talking about that yesterday with me husband, but you said it the way I couldn't. Thank you for being here in the morning when I get up and log on. Have a great weekend! Carol
We too are having strangely warm weather up here. Most of our snow has gone. I don't like it. I agree with my sons who say that the air is never really fresh until it's at least -10 (-25 or so). They love playing hockey so that may be part of it. Lol.
DJ and I thought that having Tuesday be just like another federal holiday due to Prez Ford's funeral didn't help. We joke that if it were not for the paper sitting on the table to verify what day it was, we would be lost. No real need to HAVE to keep track when you are not working or have outside appointments. Adds to the confusion.
I once heard the off kilter plaids described by a guild speaker as being "casually off grain" It DOES add a certain charm and my word, wouldn't you go bananas trying to keep them perfectly on grain? Love the colors in this one and the ingenuity that made it.
Hi Finnleah, I must chime in with Carol and reiterate exactly what she said. I do think you just 'nailed' this weird feeling that I've had this week. I DO NOT like this mild warm winter for many reasons, and my mind has been so 'skittish' all week. I've had 3 days to myself to do as I please, and I could NOT settle down. I think Lois at Quilting Confessions is having a similar problem. :)
I LOVE that small quilt! I too occasionally tack on pieces (now why, one would ask, would SHE do that if you had seen that fabric closet of hers!!!) ROFL
Did you read my mind about the lack of winter? I'm so sick of rain and 50 degrees. I want snow. I want cold. And I want them NOW!!!!!
I like your solo block. The colors go well together.
I hope you get some winter days soon. We become such creatures of habit and need the seasons to be what they are supposed to be *s*
Your red block is just great. The colors are perfect and piecing together some fabric to make enough is just the right thing to do. I have a few pieces like that 'hidden' in a quilt here and there *s*
Oh I LOVE that broken dishes block/quilts. I love the colors in it!
It is interesting, your comment about piecing scraps to get enough for a patch. It is such a simple, and in the grander scheme, beautiful touch. I find that when I teach my quilting students to be more free from the rules, it also reminds me to practice what I preach. This is a very pleasing block
I love to see patches that have been joined to get 'enough' for the shape, especially on older quilts. Adds to the scrappiness in my opinion and doesn't detract at all from the overall effect.
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