Texture for Tuesday

the gnarl of a grapevine

Come Ye Thankful People, Come

As the holiday approaches the thought passes through my mind:
WHO are you thanking?

You are, no doubt, thankful for the blessings of your life, you are thankful for health, or wealth, or the afternoon football game when your favorite team finally wins (I'm assuming)...

But who do you breathe that "thank you" to under your breath?

Do you thank a blank universe, random genetic mutating chances, an impersonal deity who wound up the world and left it to fend for itself?

Or do you thank GOD?

Do you actually, or mentally, write Him a Thank You note?


Father, I wanted to write today to thank You for all the blessings in my life. I am not so well-off as some but I am a great deal better off than I deserve. I know that this is Your doing. Thank You for protecting me from dangers I am not even aware of. Thank You for walking with me. Even when I forget to hold Your hand You are always there for me, watching over me and waiting to guide me. Thank You for the way the sun rises and sets, the way clouds roll and oceans foam, for the veins of leaves and blue dwarf stars. Thank You for tadpoles. Thank You for Your Son, and the knowledge of saving grace. Thank You for stooping to write Your name in the dust from which I am made. Thank You. In the name of my Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

November Fields

I have seen the land that seems always November.

I have heard it call in the honking cries of geese above the clouds.

And when the fields lie bare and barren I have remembered,

this stark landscape is beautiful too.

Magnolias

The stream bends here, and if you are tempted to watch it to follow the curve and line of the water as it rushes and spills under the bridge and over the dam on the right side of the road, you will miss the sight on your left.

This magnolia tree. Long past the season of blooms it offers to the autumn season a rich red of fruits. The color so perfectly matches the old barn against which it grows that I find it impossible to believe the tree was planted for the glorious creamy white blooms that will cover it's evergreen branches in the spring.

No, somebody knew that other seasons need beauty too and planned for this perfect combination.

Photoshopping

More Color

The reds of this photo, relieved by a flash of yellow, are sweet gum leaves. Would you have thought reds looked so good against a background of rusty-tan of pine needles?
I wouldn't have thought of it until I tried to figure out why this image works, but I think it does work because of the shadows. The dark of the shadows provides the needed contrast and keeps this color combo from becoming monochromatic in a bad way.

Litmus Test

The discussion on the car radio this morning as I drove was insightful. I thought I would share what I gleaned.

How can we be sure if we are a "new creation in Christ" and are really and truly Born Again Christians?

I would love to say we know because we are then perfect and never sin... I would love to be without sin in my life. We are all still human, however. We will still make mistakes.

The way to know we Born Again is not that we do not still face sin in our lives. It is that we are uncomfortable with that sin, ashamed of our wrong thoughts or actions, and we regret the sins we commit.

But we take that discomfort and that shame to the foot of the cross and we leave it there... knowing that there, our sins are forgiven and we are washed clean again.

Texture for Tuesday

fallen willow leaves

Today, Tomorrow, and the Next Day

Just a couple scheduled posts... I meant to do more but have run out of time. I'll be at another conference -- this time in Indy -- and then I'm visiting family and friends over Thanksgiving.

But I'm taking a project with me to work on. I'll take pictures to show you... ummm, soon, of my Socks.

That's right, folks, I'm knitting again. (Like I didn't have enough fluff-bunny-making fiber arts projects going on already, right?) It just seemed more portable to take knitting along on a multi-phase, multiple states, many nights trip like this one. I've never made socks before but a friend gave me some instruction and instructions... I went out and acquired some size 2 double pointed needles and self-striping Opal wool sock yarn... and away we go. (That's not exactly a pun, or is it?)

So, to recap: Scheduled posts. Then nothing while I'm having turkey and driving a gazillion miles. Then Finished Sock photos. Yea!

100% Cotton, 98.5% Pink

I took my camera along this week to my favorite fabric store...

Happy Shopping for Pink Quilt Fabric Saturday.

Color Series, Part 6

Would you ever think to put together reds as your whole quilt? No? This photo might change your mind. The leaves offer a range from a blue-toned red to a pinkish red, while the positively orange, orange-red berries are held by a deep maroon or burgundy red. Okay, you're right it's not entirely red alone. The merest hint of olive green appears in the stems at the bottom of the photo. Consider that your "ugly fabric" every quilt should have one.

Color Series, Part 5

Sargent's Crabapples, offer a variety of color combinations based on where you're standing:

From a relative distance you see a three color combo -- golden yellow crabapple leaves, off-white overcast sky, and dark shadowy evergreens.

Up close -- the dark greens recede to hints in the background, the shaded golden yellows still dominate but now we add the red of the crabapples themselves.

Where the birds are already feasting the berries disappear. The use of the flash makes the leaves a paler yellow and the damp bark of the stems stands out black-brown.

This next photo makes me think of a quilt done in stripes. Checks (four patch or nine patch) in the grey-white of sky, the yellow of leaves, and the red of crabapples, banded in horizontal bands of sashing in the deep chocolate brown/black of wet branches.

Sargent's Crabapples.

Color Series, Part 4

Maple Leaves

burning golden oranges against an evergreen background

cutleaf salmon and red against cloudy grey

mostly yellow (and a few darks) show up the splashes and dots of pink

Texture for Tuesday

Orange Autumn Witch Hazel Leaves

Painted Cinder Block
with a dash of fall color to frame them.

Color Series, Part 3

An intensely Burning Bush beside the frondsy yellow of the Asparagus bed. The touch of green grass adds a touch of the "cool" colors to the image balancing and grounding the dominant "warm"colors, and making an excellent three color combo for quilting fabric choices.

Potluck

Desert first... Pumpkin pie. Yes, I know it's not a bland yellow like a regular pumpkin pie, that's because even though I use the recipe on the label (from the pumpkin can) I triple the spices they say to add... and then I grate nutmeg into it too. It's just better that way.

So, I wouldn't call this a great photo. This is the soup I took, the Potluck was last Sunday, and I'm still getting compliments about it. It's so easy to make too.

My Grandad's Favorite Bean Soup

chop up one extra large onion (or 2 regular sized onions) and put that in the bottom of your "big silver pot" with a little olive oil and just a pinch of kosher salt.

Let that go for a while while you open up all your cans.

First add:

2 cans cream of celery soup

12 oz chicken stock (or bullion and water)

Then add the cans:

1 large can Navy beans
1 small can Pinto beans
1 small can Black beans

1 can sliced potatoes

Plus a box of frozen (now thawed) chopped spinach.

And slice up some Butterball smoked turkey sausage to go in the soup as well.

Simmer for an hour or two, put it in the fridge, pull it out simmer some more for dinner the next night, put it back in the fridge, take it to church and simmer the during the service until the potluck.... this soup just gets better and better until it's gone.

Pink Saturday (Color Series part 2)

Happy Pink Saturday. For those of you who have no idea what a Pink Saturday is... well then, you need to visit Beverly at How Sweet the Sound. (There's over 100 people posting pink on Saturdays.)

...and now for the Pink:



The stems of pokeweed are a bright pink in the fall to warn that this is a toxic plant. The berries, which turn a dark purple, are eaten by birds though; and the missing berries reveal a small pink flower shape.

Color Series Part 1

Pin Oak and Blue Spruce

Aren't you glad I found my camera again?

The Busy Season

Autumn seems to be a busy season for me. Gathering nuts, burying them in small holes around the house, forgetting where those holes are. Flying around south and north and westerly then south again. Yup, very busy. Too busy to have had much time for more quilting projects. But I've been taking my camera with me and snapping pictures of inspirational color combinations.

I was going to begin posting those photos. But....

In all my autumnal business I have *cough* temporarily mislaid my camera. I will find it again, and when I do I will be able to download to my computer and then upload to this blog the color combinations that fall is providing. The shades of oak and evergreen, the burning bush and frothy asparagus fronds, the pokeweed berries on their bright stems....

So it's DIY color-inspirations for now. Look out your window. What colors paint your view today?

When you burn a brush pile, always call it a bonfire. It makes it more fun and not a chore.
When you burn a brush pile, dead dry pine branches will go up quickly. And when the fire slows down, the willow and sycamore branches will make dancing shapes of flame (some of which can be captured on your cell phone).

Oh, and when you burn a brush pile, remember to have lots of water handy for putting it out. It's been a dry year.

Vote

Hopefully you're voting for my favorite candidates -- but even if you're not -- VOTE.

Participate in the process.

Exercise your rights.

Those who do not cherish their rights will most certainly wake one morning to find those rights taken away.

My Voting Selection Guidelines:

1. Which candidate is most likely to surround themselves with advisers, appoint judges, etc. who will carry out God's will for our nation?
2. Which platform upholds the moral principles outlined in Scripture?
3. When I pray about this election, who does God move me to vote for?

Texture for Tuesday

Storm Clouds Brewing

Tea Leaves Before Brewing