I'm Going to Texas

Friday, May 20, 2016

- Darn it

Patch #141 is a second attempt at darning stitch inspired by our trip to New Orleans to see the Newcomb Collection at Tulane ...

In reading Sally Main's essay in The Arts and Crafts of Newcomb Pottery, I learned that needlework production was similar to pottery production in that each piece began with a watercolor sketch ...

followed by a pointilistic stitch style (which this photo of a photo doesn't capture very well) ...

In doing a take-off on a small segment of this piece, I wanted to replicate the appearance of the backs I viewed at Newcomb. Happily, I succeeded ...

Last, but not least, I found confirmation of my technique in this reprint ...

first published in 1906. In it is this description of darning as a decorative fill ...

which syncs up quite nicely with what I observed. By the way, I did make a first attempt using a coarser linen, which you can see here: http://imgoingtotexas.blogspot.com/2016/05/laissez-les-bon-temps-rouller.html

Thursday, May 19, 2016

- It's a dillo

This excavation appeared in our side yard recently ...

Signs of rooting about in our paths and gardens led us to believe it might have been dug by an armadillo. This morning, I made a confirmed sighting.

Sigh.

They really are pests and we should probably live-trap and move it. But what if it's a mama dillo?

I dunno.

Anyway, I pulled out my old hunk of roadkill dillo, found a few years ago when picking up trash along the ranch road ...

and immediately thought of Jude's stacked running stitch (which I've been "seeing" in everything lately).

Patch #140 is what I made of it ...

I rendered both in monotones the better to see just the patterning. Here's the colorized version ...

Wednesday, May 18, 2016

- Speaking of flowers

Patch #139 Child flower ...

There's a whole new set of wildflowers blooming, including horse mint, so named because of its size, not because of any association with the horsey set ...

When I first spotted it along the roadside, whizzing by at 60 mph as a newbie Texan, I named it "pagoda plant" ...

These days, the yellows still hold sway with the emergence of brown/black eyed Susans ...

helped along by the debut of the sunflower set ...

but the purples are coming into their own, including new blooms of Texas thistles ...

along with the cone flowers and mealy blue sages at the Wildflower Center ...

not to mention this first appearance by the mountain pinks ...

which made a beautiful yellow dye last year as I recall.

Tuesday, May 17, 2016

- Progress report

Patch #138 Thinking outside of the box ...

G's end-of-year parent conference was today. Highlights included his house full of shapes ...

and a flower in his favorite color ...

Nice work G!

Monday, May 16, 2016

- Pizza! Pizza!

It's rare enough to find pizza that makes my New York heart sing, let alone find it in a sleepy Texas Hill Country college town (San Marcos, known locally as SMTX) ...

We don't go often, but when we do it's a memorable experience ...

As was our visit to Paul's Deli in Williamsburg last month, where you'll find yet another pizza box memorialized http://imgoingtotexas.blogspot.com/2016/04/travellin-shoes.html

P.S. I would be remiss if I failed to mention we were in town to attend a book launch about the springs of San Marcos ...

which can be viewed from glass bottom boats like the one pictured above.

Sunday, May 15, 2016

- Love those old shirts

Mary Chapin Carpenter's song This Shirt never fails to bring tears to my eyes. However, I have not one, but many old shirts that hold precious memories.

Patch #136 is from one of my all-time favorites ...

And it's perfect because today would have been my Mom's 85th birthday. If only ... but no, she departed this life in 2008.

Some of her shirts are still in my closet, others have been worn to the point of threadbare and now reside on my stitching-cloth table. The one that contributed to today's patch was my nightshirt for many years. Pieces of it have appeared in the Close Your Eyes and Close Your Eyes Too books that I stitched for G and J. Other pieces became a part of my Hearts for Charleston quilt square and Mending patches. You can find Index links to those projects in the right side-bar.

Today, another of Mom's shirts became the background for retrospective Patch #102, which began as both a spin on Don's wooden patchwork for J ...

and Jude Hill's recent posts about stacked running stitch ...

The only problem was, I liked the back even better ...

So, you can either go back to the April 11 post to see the patch in its final form or you can click the Retrospective Index link in the right side-bar to see my progress on all of the belated patches that I've been slowly catching up on ...

Saturday, May 14, 2016

- Strip tease

Retrospective (5/22/2016)

Patch #135 Good luck

Original Post

Once I got started, I couldn't stop. The strip of black and white squares, begun yesterday, was completed by dinner time ...

And now I know how long my monthly patch strips are: exactly 57 one-inch squares. I couldn't have done better if I tried.

This week's weather patches got done for dessert ...

Twenty rows of seven. I do love these little bits of linen!

Friday, May 13, 2016

- Know thyself

Retrospective (5/22/2016)

Patch #134 Friday the 13th

Original Post

I am smitten by Jude Hill's nine patches ... likewise Judy Martin's. But when I made a pile of 1.5" square patches, I found myself profoundly dissatisfied when I tried putting them together in blocks of nine.

Still, I love making my little one-inch weather patches, which I string together in week-long rows of seven.

So it was that a light bulb lit over my head today: make more strips ...

This I like.

I also very much like fresh veggie fritters. This batch has red potatoes, carrots, yellow squash and onion ...

One egg, a bit of seasoning and a 1/4 cup of Bisquick to hold it all together while sautéing in olive oil. Perfect with grilled whatever and a dollop of sour cream, avocado and lemon ...