Passing time

I've been playing with a new format for Land of Flood and Drought - 2017 ...

Each patch is 1" x 1 3/4" so I'll be able to use the linen strips from Remember 2016. And I'm using  Jude's paperless patching, along with split back stitch for the lettering and numbering. When working light floss on dark linen, I also wrap the back stitches for a more solid line.

Since I wanted to record temperature as well as rain this year, I cribbed off the newspaper weather map and came up with a range of colors for each ten degrees:

100+ ... Reds

90s ... Dark oranges

80s ... Light oranges

70s ... Yellows

60s ... Greens

50s ... Blue greens

40s ... Blues

30s ... Purples

20s ... Pinks

<20 ... White

Lucky me ... the first two weeks in January ranged from the teens to the 80s, so I got to use eight of the ten color groups!

So, the top block of each day is the high temperature and the bottom block is the low. Likewise, the top represents the noon to midnight hours for moonrise depictions (since highs normally occur in the afternoon and evening), and the lower block represents midnight to noon (when lows normally occur).

I'll use variations within each color, as with the yellows and blues on the 2nd and the 9th ...

and I'm continuing to record daily rainfall ...

Obviously this piece will be much larger than the 7" x 53" Land of Flood and Drought - 2016. I'm envisioning four blocks of thirteen weeks, each 13.25" x 30" once the black and white edging strips are added. Or not ... I have a habit of changing course as I go.

I'll probably stitch a week's worth at a time and then post the results each Sunday or Monday. I'm looking forward to seeing how the colors warm up as the year progresses while wondering just how many red patches will be needed this summer!

Addendum: This piece was abandoned, but later became a part of the bagstories project (3/30/2018)

How it went

The placket cloth is growing ...

and stitch is being added randomly as the spirit moves me ...

We also did some more picture hanging (Don made the small bead board backings) ...

And the view over my ironing board has improved immensely ...

although we really do need to replace those switch plates (which were all labeled by a previous owner).

Company coming is such a great project motivator!

Addendum for Grace:

Enjoying myself

We're back from our Christmas road trip to St Louis, about which there will be more in future posts. But in the spirit of Enjoy 2017, I decided to play with a new idea before finishing up Remember 2016 ...

It's a cloth-in-progress made from linen shirt plackets and a repurposed linen table cloth hem. I had the idea as we drove the 750 miles from St Louis to San Marcos, and my fingers fairly itched to try it once we got home.

I'm hoping it will ultimately serve as a base for a new handbag/tote, but it has a long way to go. Meantime, we're getting ready for guests, so posts on progress will take a while to appear.

But fear not, fun will be had!  

Be it resolved

First and foremost, best wishes to all for a peaceful new year. After taking a week off from blogging and commenting, I'm ready to begin anew.

In the past, I've used this time to do a "Year in Review"

http://imgoingtotexas.blogspot.com/search/label/Year%20In%20Review

and acknowledge the blog community

http://imgoingtotexas.blogspot.com/2015/12/beginning-to-remember-2016.html

However, since this year has been a daily exercise in remembering, I'm ready to look forward for a change.

So I'll continue to honor New Year's resolutions past ...

2013 - Create

2014 - Blog

2015 - Stitch

2016 - Remember 

by adding a new one-word resolution:

2017 - Enjoy!

To that end, I plan to be:

Finishing Remember 2016 ...

Quilting the Land of Flood and Drought - 2016 ...

Creating a new book for our grandkids entitled Moondance ...

Honoring our roots and branches with a new patch project ...

Telling the stories behind the people and places and objects that have filled our lives with such happiness while welcoming a new granddaughter into our midst.

Being open to whatever might come our way ... because my life is a true collaboration that wouldn't be complete without Don. We are beginning our 40th year of married life and there isn't another time or place that we'd rather be than here and now.

In short, the plan is to thoroughly enjoy life and all it has to offer. 

I hope you'll join us from time to time along the way.

New Year's Eve

Retrospective (1/18/2017)

Patch #366 I did it!

Twelve months filled with 366 patches of memory (I had to pick a leap year, right?) 

On the day of I was too busy to take that in. J was busting moves ...

while a boy and his dog looked on ...

There was a movie to watch ...

and a new year to celebrate.

Time enough to reflect.

- Happy anniversary

Retrospective (1/18/2017)

Patch #365 What 39 years looks like 

We got married on New Year's Eve Eve, at 2:30 in the afternoon on a Friday. The day was crystal clear and cold. By nighttime, the snow had begun to fall.

So it was appropriate to celebrate on a freezing cold evening in St Louis. We went to YaYa's in Chesterfield ... dining on duck and trout as we reminisced. And while our wedding cake may have been somewhat forgettable, the anniversary chocolate soufflé with ice cream and raspberry coulis was most definitely memorable.

We left the restaurant as a sliver of crescent moon was setting in the west. Another perfect memory.

The only down note in the day was Jackson's stomach virus that kept him from joining Jace in their indoor bounce house ...

Likewise, J missed our daily game time while Jace napped ...

The good news is, J bounced back the next day.

- Sing

Retrospective (1/18/2017)

Patch #364 Wylie words

Also commissioned on one of our prior visits was a sign with lyrics from Ray Wylie Hubbard's autobiographical song Mother Blues. Don and I worked together on selecting wood, paint, and a font to fit a frame that Meliss wanted to use ...

It was definitely a long-term project and I think Meliss and Jake had kinda given up hope that they would ever see it. 

Which made the surprise even better ...

And even though it's hard to tell from this picture ...

we really enjoyed our surprise gift from the boys of a trip to the movie theater to see Sing!

After which there was some pre-nap playtime ...

And then settling down ...

for some story telling ...

READ indeed ...

- Good timing

Retrospective (1/18/2017)

Patch #363 Centerpiece

The last time we were in St Louis, Don and Meliss painted the dining room a rich blue/green. Then Meliss commissioned a centerpiece for her table, that we delivered for Christmas ...

While I had the camera out, I also took a picture of the glass doors ...

Well-timed as the cleaning service wiped them clean the following day.

Original Post

Gone but not forgotten

I'm taking a break to be with family, but rest assured that there will be posts and patches to finish out every day of 2016.

- Christmas, part II

Retrospective (1/18/2017)

Patch #362 Complete joy

We arrived in St. Louis just in time for dinner. After which we had Christmas all over again. And even though the pictures are blurry, given that I was still learning how best to deploy my new iPhone, the joy is evident.

J's new hat was well-received ...

Jace was equally taken with it ...

And I was taken with the green peace ornament he made for me ...

Pop Pop's tic tac toe board was a hit ...

Especially when J realized he made three in a row ...

N.B. It was only after the patch was long done and I was reviewing this post that I noticed it was the same color as Melissa's top, which is just barely visible in the background. Serendip!

- On the road

Retrospective (1/18/2017)

Patch #361 In the midst of Joy

Writing this on January 18, 2017, I am remembering the day after Christmas. The patch is orange, for our last day with G in 2016. And the "O" recalls our travel to Oklahoma City.

Traffic was light, seeing as it was technically a holiday, Christmas having been on Sunday. The downside was finding The Paseo in Oklahoma City's art district, buttoned up tight. And it had looked so appealing online ...

Oh well, maybe next time. At least we got to console ourselves at Ted's Cafe Escondito in Edmond, where hot off the griddle tortillas made waiting for a table a pleasure ...