Rose In Bloom

"Not a remarkably gifted girl in any way, and far from perfect; full of all manner of youthful whims and fancies; a little spoiled by much love; rather apt to think all lives as safe and sweet as her own; and, when want or pain appealed to her, the tender heart overflowed with a remorseful charity which gave of its abundance recklessly. Yet, with all her human imperfections, the upright nature of the child kept her desires climbing toward the just and pure and true, as flowers struggle to the light; and the woman's soul was budding beautifully under the green leaves behind the little thorns." -- Rose In Bloom by Louisa May Alcott

What Books to Keep

A friend recommends a book, a sale title looks interesting in the bookstore, an extra purchase at a yard sale, the shelves begin to sag a little under the weight of my reading habits. It is time to sort out my bookshelves and decide what is worthy to remain and what must be passed on to the local Friends of the Library bookstore. No two tales are the same, though some are similar (after all, if literary critics can be believed, there are really only seven plot lines on which all literature has been based). Many of these novels are friends, how do I decide which to keep and which to pass on to new homes?

A long time ago I watched an episode of Star Trek: Next Generation, the premise of which was that a superior alien race (somehow responsible for a lost or wrecked space shuttle) had created a virtual reality for the lone survivor. This poor astronaut lived out the remainder of his life in a simulation based on a book the alien race discovered on board the shuttle. The trashy novel described a sleazy casino full of stereotypical characters and the journal of the deceased astronaut described his days there as being condemned to a living hell. ...If only he had brought with him a better book.

If an alien race discovered my bookshelves, would I wish to live out my days in the world they imagined and created from any one of my books? I don't think I can honestly say I would wish to live in Watership Down, or board with any of The Brothers Karamazov ... Thank goodness I am not given to reading crime thrillers and horror novels!

So this will be my test. If I would wish to live with such characters, in such a setting, through tragedies and triumphs -- then the book will stay. I'm rather curious to see how well I can stick to this rule.

Books on My Nightstand

Did you want to know what I'm reading right now?

The Bible (every day)
Set-Apart Femininity by Leslie Ludy
The Magic Garden by Gene Stratton-Porter (the only one of her books I haven't read yet)

Now you know.

Socks for Supper

When I was little one of my favorite books was Socks for Supper; it told about a poor family who didn't have much and a second family who made cheese and bartered the cheese for socks with the first family (thus the title of the book). The socks were made from the yarn of a sweater that the poor man's wife unravelled and re-knit. The second (cheese making) family then unraveled the socks to knit a sweater for a Christmas gift for the first family. I loved that book.

It's a great story. But I have to admit the idea of unraveling and re-knitting sweaters into socks into sweaters again -- NOT terribly keen on the idea. Seems like wasted work, because it is not snap your fingers and socks appear type stuff here. (I mean it's not rocket science, but it's not quick work.)

There are my socks, as far as I've gone, obviously I still have a toe to finish before I have a full pair. There's enough yarn in the Opal ball of self striping sock yarn that with this short cuff sock pattern I think I will have enough to make a third sock. (Fraternal triplets -- fun!)

And nobody better unravel them... Okay?

Ying and Yang

“Feminists” and “Chauvinists” I read those two contrasting words together in the first pages of a book, Story by Stephen James. A little further on the word “equality” appeared. I like the way James slipped that one in. He says, “The image of God is found in our unity as well as our uniqueness. There’s a great equality here. A completion of each other. Our fullness reflects his fullness.” *

James doesn’t offer to unpack the image of Ying and Yang that pops into my head. He leaves that idea alone. Nor does he launch into a politically correct reinterpretation of the phrase ‘separate but equal’ or the phrase ‘all men are created equal.’ The preponderance of cultural archetypes and trivia generated by his words are left for the reader to know and ponder. I think I am going to enjoy this book.

Equality, and fullness, and uniqueness, in my opinion and in my thoughts today, do not reside in pandering to lowest common denominators. If no one is more excellent than another, then excellence ceases to be, and we are none of us unique then. Our equality becomes tedium.

Conformity and non-conformity fail alike in their inability to represent the subtle curve of fullness. The satisfaction of a life lived abundantly by knowing and following rules, then stepping out of the box to lead away from the pack, to find a narrow path less traveled. There is a balance to fullness.

We are not, any two of us, the same person. Each of us unique, through to our cellular level. But we are encompassed by the fullness of our Maker -- even when we stand defiant on the inadequate line twining between two curved shapes called Ying and Yang.

Do you represent yourself with one side of the coin or the other? Do you choose to be separate or choose to be equal? Do you choose to align yourself with all men, with all humanity, with all children of God? There is where our equality is found. Equally unique. Equally full. Equally guilty. Equally loved.

Equal before the throne.

* James, Steven; Story; p.22; Fleming H Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group; March 2006

Two Snuggly Star Quilts

In the Leisure Arts book Quick Quilts from Your Scrap Bag there are an insane number of quilts I love (and a couple I'm not keen on, but, hey, everyone has their own style). I rarely follow someone else's designs, preferring to create my own; and I rarely make the same quilt twice, because there are so many quilts I want to make, I don't have time for more than one of each.
Unless it's an Odd Fellow's Star, and you can see why can't you? To start with it's a great name. Okay, they called it Odd Fellow's March in the book, but I've heard it called both.

The quilter in the book, Susan Marie Stewart from Colorado, used a flying geese border where I opted for a sawtooth, and I haven't exactly followed her dimensions either, but I'm totally on board with her idea of using scrappy homespuns for these blocks.
In that one I used reds and browns and golds -- earthy tones-- and a shot of a color I call "Arsenic green" It's larger so I sent it to a friend to hand quilt for me, she's done a couple quilts for me before and she's really good so there's always a bit of a backlog. This quilt's been at her house for a long time waiting it's turn and she's finally putting it in the frame this week. :-) I can't wait to see what she does. It's going to be great!

The one I quilted myself is a smaller, snuggle on the couch, extra comfort when you're sick or had a bad day sort of size. I did that one with just blue homespuns; and instead of a solid Kona for my background I used light tonal prints (for extra fun scrapiness).

And I set it on point. [You didn't really expect me to make two quilts exactly the same now did you?]

Besides, see how nicely it shows off an individual block in the corners;

but you still get the stars where the blocks come together in the center of the quilt.

Those inset triangles also provide a place for adding a few daises -- in the quilting of it.

Don't you love the puckers where it shrank around the stitching when I washed it? It's so happy.