Saturday, May 4, 2019

Storytelling

The storm last night was fierce, the windows rattling as thunder boomed and lightning flashed directly overhead ...

We took comfort in a handful of dewberries picked earlier in the day, sweetened with a bit of ice cream and a granola/streusel mixture for a deconstructed crumble (recipe at the end) ...

This morning we woke to green and 3.8 inches in the rain gauge ...

Fortunately, we live 300 feet above the Blanco River, which is at flood stage and rising. Not for the last time I think, "we live in a land of flood and drought."

The land this spring is a riot of grass and wildflowers, everything taller than we've ever seen things, especially the Mealy Blue Sage ...

and the Yellow Indiangrass ...

I tried to capture how much the soil and mulch moved in the downpour last night, but it defied the camera's eye. Suffice it to say everything got scrubbed clean on the Rocky Road ...

And so it was that I pondered green along with the Kindred Spirits (#Ragmates2019) in Jude Hill's Patchwork in Perspective.

My first impulse was to pull out the luscious package of cloth purchased from Fiber on a Whim last year, a study in green ...

But after watching Jude wander through her scraps, I took a quick look at this relatively tidy bin (which I was the result of organizing my cloth while waiting for class to begin) ...

and then ultimately decided to root through the small scraps ...

Given how much I use green (my grandkids can tell you it's my favorite color), it was no great surprise that, in the end, it felt like I just won the lottery ...

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Recipe: Topping for a deconstructed fruit crumble

1 Tbs softened butter

1 Tbs cinnamon sugar

2 Tbs flour

2-4 Tbs homemade granola

Mix together and crumble onto a sheet of parchment paper. Bake for 15-20 minutes until lightly browned and crunchy (I gently nudged the crumbs every five minutes or so as they baked).

Use as a topping on fresh fruit and ice cream ... or just nibble (I did both).

Addendum

 

10 thoughts on “Storytelling


I love seeing what all of those scraps look like together! That is the most fun part for me! I’d love to have one of those wall maps with pins of where everyone lived! Then it would make more sense to me  Stay dry!

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  1. I was truly amazed at what emerged from the scrap bin … and staying dry will be a challenge with rain in the forecast all next week! May it be sweet and steady and slow …

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Hi LA – sounds like the storm was quite fierce – but that rain would be most welcome. We are also having heaps of rain in our country of flood and drought – fortunately today has bee a big blue sky day – glorious. The sculpture looked grand in the garden. Go well. B

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  1. Barry – there’s something magical about manmade metals rusting into oblivion as the plants grow all around …

    Here’s hoping both ends of our world receive the blessing of rain without attendant floods …

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Almost four inches of rain in a single night is really a lot! And that map of lightening. Wow! I’ve been pawing around in my bins for greens too. That’s a nice handful you’ve got there. I’m re-impressed with just how many shades of green there are!

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Thursday, May 2, 2019

A horizontal design wall

Since I haven't figured out how to fit a vertical design wall into my life, I've moved my current project off the living room floor and onto the guest room bed ...

It's a first-time cotton patchplay and larger than anything I've done before ... but as a memory of P's baby days pieced from her clothing, I'm loving every stitch I take.

12 thoughts on “A horizontal “design wall”


  1. connie akers

    Liz, I have a piece of insulation board that was left over from the trailer project. It’s what I use for a design wall. What you can do is cut it in 2 & tape it to fold so it can be slid under the bed or such. It’s yours if you want it.
    Connie
    Sent from my iPad
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    Connie – I’m getting such positive feedback on this idea … but even so, I’m having a hard time figuring out where a design wall would fit into our space

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    1. the nice thing about using insulation for a pin/design board is it’s extremely light and easy to move around. I have some large boards that I tip on the floor to the wall and some smaller ones that easily sit atop a bookcase. If company’s coming, I just tote them downstairs. Love the colors here. I suppose there’s a natural unity in the clothing choices.

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    2. Getting a little distance and perspective on your work when it is large can be a pain. From your photo I get a clear sense of motion and activity from your wonky log cabins, all in sweet but strong colors with high contrast. Any girl would love it.

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    3. What great suggestions re a light, folding portable wall! I love this project – it has such a sense of the young girl whose clothes have shaped it…

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      1. B – your comment made me realize (how did I miss it before?) the sweetness of laying out P’s coverlet on the back of the quilt my mom (her great grandmother) made so many years ago … memories

Wednesday, May 1, 2019

It's all about the pockets

P turned two last weekend and I wanted to make something to tie in with her new play kitchen. As you can see, she loves pockets (with apologies for her poor little face as P was having something of an allergic reaction to the great outdoors) ...

So, even though I didn't make the chef's coat and toque, I had great fun embellishing ...

I did a similar treatment on a chef muppet ...

Which made for quite the pair of presents ...

Of course it helped that her big brother turned out to be a gifted muppeteer ...

[wpvideo BF1fQMdP ]

Thanks G!

 

12 thoughts on “It’s all about the pockets


The next generation takes to the kitchen and continues the legacy of good food. Chef Parker looks ready to go in her toque and chef’s coat. What an adorable photo and belated Happy Birthday Parker. Does Parker have a favorite food? I shall look forward to seeing her first menu…

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  1. Pizza! And because her parents are extraordinary cooks, her birthday pizzas were grilled, four ways … there was traditional sausage, the kids’ fav was bacon, there was a margarita with smoked mozz and fresh basil, but best of all was (for the “grown ups”) mozz, pear, speck, and arugula with a drizzle of honey. Of course, P and G took a taste of arugula and now I’m thinking the last version will be everyone’s fav in the future!

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So cute! Moon wanted a chef’s costume when he was little. I bought the coat, too, but didn’t trick it out in your cool ways! I did sew the black checkered pants to go with it though.

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  1. Hazel – sewing clothes has never been my strong suit (ha) … I much prefer embellishing, although I was taken aback at the shoddy seaming of the ready-mades. I may yet take needle and thread to them.

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Too fabulous Liz! You might be able to imagine my glee when I saw the pockets!!! And how P rocks them – they make so much sense for young ones (and old ones) all that stuff you collect as you wander and need a place to put it…but I also think there is something fab about a young girl’s swagger when her hands are in her pockets – it equalises things somehow.

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  1. Fiona – your comment has me grinning ear to ear … and yes, our P has quite the personality to rock red polka dot pockets!

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Super cute! I love how you personalized it for her! They are adorable A song I made up years ago that under twos love, because they love POCKETS! They always find them!
“Parker has two pockets, two pockets, two pockets
Parker has two pockets, two pockets, two pockets
A place to hide her hands!”
We also sing one or none – whatever fits!
Book: “Peter’s Pockets” – I think you will really like the little story of it, sewing is involved! I used to have an old library discard of this book. I loved it!

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Saturday, April 20, 2019

Patch pocket for P

Shhh ... it's a birthday surprise ...

Meantime, here's what we were up to at Pedernales Falls State Park ...

And Austin Scoops ...

 

14 thoughts on “Patch pocket for P …


  1. Sue – thank you … for every photo I use, there are dozens more … and for every post I write, there are at least ten that never make it out of my head!

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  1. Grace – somehow I don’t recall our kids or older grandkids being enthralled by pockets, but P certainly is … she loves digging her hands in and sashays with pure joy

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Hi LA – pockets are they way to go – getting into it earlier the better. Ice-cream is great; but making stone cairns has to be one of those universal joys. Go well. B

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  1. Hazel – yes, I do, too … and you can usually read my mood by how far I dig my hands in

    And that fabric … culled from my daughter’s discarded pjs (I always ask to get first dibs on her Goodwill donations)

 

Wednesday, April 17, 2019

Between here and there (redux)

Addendum: Fiona's comment reminded me of her post on Paper Ponderings with its wonderful series of photos from the exhibition opening, including three of her reading the back of the pennant with the words to Rod's song:

You can find the most recent (and future) blog activity on the new blog:

          https://imgoingtotexas.home.blog

But since some folks still come here to Blogger to use the Kindred Spirits links and others continue to use this URL in their own blog rolls, I thought a new post might be in order.

So, here's an update on Mo's project I Dream of a World Where Love is the Answer. The mended shell has returned home from Australia, with beautiful bits and pieces from the Artsite exhibit ...


 But the pennant remains in Sydney, where it will be gifted to Old Man Crow on his birthday, as revealed by Mo at the end of this post on her blog:
https://itscrowtime.wordpress.com/2019/04/04/the-ripples-of-love-as-the-pennants-and-talismans-fly-home



Happy birthday (a little early) Rod!