- Days of future passed

Patch #236 Every good boy ...

My brain is all over the place on this one. At first I was going to title the post "Monday music" in recognition of the fact that The Mama's and the Papa's song Monday, Monday has been running through my head ever since watching a PBS special Monday night.

Those of you who have been visiting the blog for a while know that I'm quite deaf, so music runs through my head pretty much non-stop. There's actually a scientific explanation for that which I wrote about here http://imgoingtotexas.blogspot.com/2014/12/my-own-personal-soundtrack.html.

In any case, I've actually been somewhat relieved to have 1960s music overlay the trumpet voluntaries that NBC played incessantly through the two weeks of the Olympics. And as I thought about music generally and the music of my 1960s youth, I recalled the few short years when I played violin. That was when I learned the mnemonics FACE and "every good boy deserves favor." Sadly, I had to look up the notes of the four violin strings, which were lost somewhere in memory. GDAE ... to which my monkey mind immediately ascribed an Aussie-inspired mnemonic of "g'day." I won't soon forget that.

I must have been at least passably good at violin as I was tapped to perform in a school district-wide orchestra when I was ten. The experience of that is also lost to memory, except for the mortifying recollection of being called down to the principal's office in 5th grade. Walking down the long, dark halls was dreadful (truly, full of dread) as I wondered what terrible transgression had resulted in my being called down. If I was relieved to discover that I was being given good news, the fact of the matter is that 50 years later I only remember feeling terrible.

Likewise, we moved the following year to a new school district where I encountered the polar opposite of my beloved violin teacher. Instead of sitting to play in a small group, as I had been accustomed, I was forced to perform alone, standing through the entire lesson. Though I didn't know it at the time, my low blood pressure made me lightheaded and weak at the knees. At eleven years of age, I only knew that I was utterly miserable and begged my parents to let me stop. Which they did.

This little guy loves music, too ...

I just hope he finds much encouragement as each year slips by ...

Every good boy deserves that ...

- To the gills

Patch #235 Gills

Today a tiny patch-full of pin-tuck pleats as a memory keeper for this ...

No, it's not an umbrella. It's one of the mushrooms from week three of One Hill Country Year (http://onehillcountryyear.blogspot.com/2016/08/week-3-august-14-20.html) that morphed from tennis ball to lunch plate to this ...

The gills ...

looked like pleats of fabric. So I went to school on pintuck pleating.  Fortunately, I had a sheer thrifted blouse that had fine lines already printed on it ...

Not exactly the right color, but the 1/16" spacing was (ahem) tailor-made for pleating. However, I quickly realized the flower motifs were going to limit the working length of cloth available for the patch, hence the tiny, but very satisfying, end product ...

As for the title of this post, the following Merriam-Webster definition ...

made me think of an alternate example:  <The patch was packed to the gills with pleats.>

- In closing

Patch #234 Lace making

I confess ... I sorta watched a lot of the Olympics, staying up much later than usual and feeling the effects of way more television than I'm used to.

By the time the closing ceremonies began, I was over it and back to stitching. Except something made me look up and put on my glasses. Lace? And women of a certain age. Dancing?

The commentators made some inane comments, but I picked up just enough to pique my curiosity.  And in so doing, learned that it was bilro lace that was being featured. I googled it and found this slide show: https://www.slideshare.net/mobile/Elizabethb/the-art-of-lace-in-northeast-brazil-41772330 which begins with bilro and continues with a number of other lacemaking techniques practiced in northeast Brazil.

Recalling that I had recently gotten a lace print linen shirt at the thrift store, I looked to see if it might work as a memory patch ...

You (can) learn something new every day ... 

- Come a rain

Patch #233 Agave

Eight inches of rain fell this week ...

inspiring a very green look over at One Hill Country Year, re-visioned from this ...

to this ...

as I wasn't sure about the Pojagi-influenced patching. The posts have all been revised and I'm much happier with this new version. 

In any case, it was this photo of an agave ...

that inspired today's patch. Turned on its side, it looked for all the world like clouds swollen with rain ...

I also used it as an opportunity to re-try my hand at seed stitch, which has never been a favorite. And I've gotta say, even though I like the effect, it's a stitch that simply doesn't make my heart sing while working it.

Oh well. At least I have this to make me smile ...

Found in Don's scrap bin, it looked for all the world like the moon peeking out from behind a cloud. Don claimed it was purely accidental, a scrap of wood used to blot the paint from a foam dauber.

Whatever. It has found a home by my sewing chair ...

Because there are no accidents ...

- The rainbow connection

Patch #232 R is for ...

After finishing G's anchor patch yesterday, we looked back on some of the other patches. 

"Do you remember the 'Q is for quilt' picture in your book?" I asked (seen here http://imgoingtotexas.blogspot.com/2016/07/q-is-for-quilt.html).

"No," said G, so we pulled out the book and looked at the page.  "That's my favorite color," he said, pointing to the orange background. "And that's your favorite color and Pop Pop's favorite color," he continued, pointing to the green and blue in turn.

Then looking at the next page in the book he asked, "Can you make a patch like this one?"

"A rabbit rowing roses under a rainbow? Of course I can," I assured him.

Better yet, as the afternoon showers gave way to the evening sun, a real live rainbow painted itself onto the clouds ...

After snapping several shots, I asked G which one he liked best. "This one," he said ...

"It's got the brightest colors."

- A patch to match

Patch #231 Match that patch

Can you draw inside a car?

Can you draw near?

Can you draw far?

How about this one instead?

Drawing on a bouncing bed! 

Well, it's not easy,  

But it's fun!

Then you sew 

Another one!

Check that patch 

and never fear ...

Just put that matching

patch right here ...

Can you tell 

that we just read

Dr. Seuss 

then went to bed?

- How it goes around here

Patch #230 We get ...

So this is an example of how things happen around here. Meliss sent a picture of a frame she wanted to hang ...

along with a question about how to get a quote reproduced to put inside.

"Oh, your dad can do that," I said with great assurance.

"Wait, I've never done lettering," Don said with equal intensity.

"Not a problem," I shot back. Then I proceeded to audition a number of fonts, finally securing Don's approval for one called Papyrus.

Meliss sent frame dimensions ...

and I mocked up the quote in a close-but-not-exactly frame that we had on hand ...

Then Don tried his hand at lettering with milk paint, after I put in a request for the word "days" since there's a Walt Wilkins song by that name that I really like  ...

Meanwhile, I tested out boards to see if I could get them to add up to the requisite 23+ inches. They did ...

Meliss sent a color sample ...

after commenting that the initial paint test of black on white didn't look quite right. So Don did a second pass of brown on cream, which inspired him to consider combining the word "days" with another work in progress ...

So yeah, this is how we roll ... laughing all the way.

- Cue

Patch #229 BBQ

We've had rain in abundance this week ...

which has brought cooler temperatures. So our Tuesday afternoon errands in San Marcos provided an opportunity to indulge in slightly heavier fare: cue ... as in barbecue, bar-b-que, BBQ, or simply Q. Which means beef brisket if you live in Texas and something else entirely if you don't.

Growing up on Long Island, a backyard barbecue meant burgers and hot dogs. In Virginia, Pierce's Pitt Bar-B-Que was the non plus ultra, where the meat was pork and the sauce had a tomato base. 

Nothing could beat it for succulence.

So I didn't really "get" Texas brisket at first. It seemed kinda dry and not all that flavorful. Until the fateful day when I stood behind someone in a cut-to-order line and overheard, "Fatty end with bark, please." Ah, that's the secret!

Because really, lean makes no sense. If you're going to eat cue, you need to go all the way. And I've since learned that properly smoked brisket, with its blackened exterior and red halo line, needs no sauce if the meat is already dripping in its own juices. All you need is some white bread to soak up the excess drippings and some vegetal sides so you can convince yourself you're eating something healthy.

Something like this ...

served on sheets of salmon pink butcher paper. Pure bliss.

Oh, about that "Q" on the patch. I found a box of rubber stamps at the local thrift store, so even though I'm far more comfortable with hand lettering these days, the "Q" gave me the perfect excuse to try out my new toys ...

done in satin stitch for a change ...

N.B. I just slipped in a retrospective post for last Sunday: http://imgoingtotexas.blogspot.com/2016/08/up.html

- Happy House-iversary

Patch #228 Orisha

If you look back to my blog post on August 15, 2015 (http://imgoingtotexas.blogspot.com/2015_08_15_archive.html) you'll see a couple of works in progress and a picture of G heading up the walk to his new house.

Today's patch is a scrap of sample stitching that I did while making a kitchen towel housewarming gift, pictured in detail here http://imgoingtotexas.blogspot.com/2015/06/always-learning-latest-lessons.html and saved for a rainy day (which today happily is).

So Happy House-iversary to the happy homeowners. May each year in your home be better than the last.

- Up!

Retrospective (8/16/2016)

Patch #227 Jace's Arrow

This post was originally going to be titled "Funk" because that's how I felt on Sunday morning. I was six days behind on the blog, the dishwasher died, my back hurt, and it was grey outside (hot, hazy, and humid). 

Lassitude ... lethargy ... ennui ... the words rolled through my brain as I tried to get in gear. But as the patches fell from my hands and rain began to fall from the sky, my spirits lifted. 

So, looking back at my photos, here's a shot of Don's creative clamping solution to putting Jace's growth chart together ...

It's the perfect metaphor:  make the best of what you've got and things are sure to look ... up!