- Long light

Retrospective (11/11)

Patch #290 Autumn sun

Original Post 

Early morning sun ...

throws long light, warming skin well before the air can ...

Likewise late afternoon, shadows lengthen and days get short too soon ...

We got to drive off into the sunset as my son-in-law's parents had offered to watch J and J ...

We waved good-bye and headed out to dinner, our first time out together without the kids in over four years. We took our time, talking about our respective first dates, eating food without cutting kid-size pieces, avoiding politics (which we had already gotten out of the way, finding ourselves in accord and thoroughly sick of it all), sharing various dishes, enjoying the experience of slow food.

Then drove home by the light of the rising moon ... happily sated.

- Change is in the air

Retrospective (11/11)

Patch #289 J's new wheels

Original Post 

It may still be summer in Texas, but here in St Louis the times they are a changin' ...

Even though it has only been five weeks since we were last here, J and J have grown. Today was an especially big day as Jackson got his first "real" bicycle ...

something that required fierce concentration ...

And since J was occupied with his new bike, Jace got to try out J's old strider bike ...

which he thoroughly enjoyed ...

almost as much as playing with pumpkins ...

and running after "cars" ...

Needless to say, we all had a good appetite for dinner ...

Acorn squash stuffed with Italian sausage, apples, celery, onions, garlic, panko crumbs, and cheese, seasoned with rosemary. The perfect Fall dinner.

- Almost a week

Retrospective (11/7)

Patch #288 Hi bird

What didn't get written into the original post was our visit to the Austin Nature and Science Center with G. In addition to trails and hands on artifacts such as fossils, the center has a small menagerie of injured and imprinted animals that can't survive in the wild.

One in particular breaks my heart ... an imprinted roadrunner that spends her life spinning in circles, then stopping while her eyes jerk back and forth. After which she begins to spin again.

Except, G and I quietly crouched down and I coached him to softly whisper "Hi bird" over and over again. It worked. She stopped her endless spinning, turned her head to the side, and listened ...

The memory patch came about as I looked at a printed fabric and saw a stylized roadrunner, so I stitched it with images of Mesoamerican gods gliding behind my eyes.

Original Post

Yesterday was a productive day ...

with retrospective patches completed for October 2

http://imgoingtotexas.blogspot.com/2016_10_02_archive.html

featuring an overlay of Texas ...

on Europe ...

October 3

http://imgoingtotexas.blogspot.com/2016/10/on-edge.html

showing two rounds of pomegranate dyeing ...

using liquid concentrate ...

and aluminum acetate mordant purchased from Dharma Trading ...

October 4

http://imgoingtotexas.blogspot.com/2016/10/comment-alert.html

featuring my first attempts at Inktense Shibori, the first of which reminded me of the queen butterflies in our garden ...

And October 6

http://imgoingtotexas.blogspot.com/2016_10_06_archive.html

featuring the second bit of Shibori, a tribute to Hazel's wonderfully wild hair ...

Today we're headed to Austin, where we plan to have some more fun with G while his mom and dad celebrate their 8th wedding anniversary (a little early).

- The Eiffel Tower of constellations

Jude Hill's SunMoonStars has been on my mind, but you would be hard-pressed to know that from my recent posts.

Nonetheless, her personal constellation post two days ago

http://spiritcloth.typepad.com/spirit_cloth/2016/10/sunmoonstars-night-sky.html

aligned with my own thoughts about the only constellation I've ever been able to spot with any reliability: Orion. But not the sword-wielding hunter, rather my own vision of an Eiffel Tower dangling precariously in the sky, aka Patch #287 ...

And of course there's a story to go with it, of crystal clear winter nights when my teen-aged self would walk four blocks south to my best friend Rachel's house. Always Orion hung in the sky, but I never noticed the sword, focusing instead on the tripod legs of my imagined Eiffel Tower. And yes, I knew it had four legs, but certainly if viewed from the side it would only reveal three, yes? Mais oui!

There was an earlier take on this bit of indigo-dyed vintage linen ...

but I'm well-pleased that I gave it another try. And even though I considered adding a field of tiny backstitches, in the end I decided less was more.

Addendum: The unused patch ended up in a bagstories piece, although you really have to squint to see it here (3/31/18)

- That's a wrap 2

Retrospective (11/6)

Patch #286 Don's boat 

with thanks to Hazel for the inspiration.

Original Post 

I've always loved extra long jeans. You know, the kind that drag on the ground. It used to drive my mother nuts, especially when I was an adult. But I have persisted to this day. Fortunately, my chair wrapping episode last week

https://imgoingtotexas.blogspot.com/2016/10/wrapped.html

led to an "Aha!" moment as I contemplated yet another pair with ragged hems.

Here's a before and after shot ...

along with a close-up of the front ...

and a b-side shot of the 6-stranded floss that I used to blanket stitch while rolling under the frayed ends ...

You (and I) will have to wait for some time to pass before I can report on such mundane matters as how the mending stands up to laundering and future wear.

Meanwhile, here's Don's latest contribution to our eclectic decor ...

And since I don't have a "before" shot, here's a similar piece that I found on the internet that gives a sense of how it started out ...

It's amazing what a little bit of milk paint and embellishment can do ...

I especially like the cloth-wrapped sail ...

and can't wait until we're once again strolling on the Manteo waterfront.

P.S. Here's what is keeping the assemblage company on the wall ...

- Don't think twice, it's all right

Retrospective (11/7)

Patch #285 Nobel words

Original Post 

I have been absent without leave since last Friday, the result of a four-day play date with Griffin, who memorably said of the ragged bit of cloth ...

"Don't worry Nana, you can fix it."

"Well actually G, it's supposed to look like that."

In any case, pictures were taken and have been inserted into their respective posts. Words and patches will follow eventually because I do want to fix that.

Addendum: The ragged bit of cloth became a "Liz A" nametag for FASA and WVAL in 2018.

- Are we having fun yet?

Retrospective (11/7)

Patch #284 Crepe crazy

Original Post