Good Morning

The light is different this morning. The sun has been behind clouds for the last few days and now peaks out from a different slant in the sky. Light spills in my window like spring; and the birds send their songs spilling in with this freshening light. I counted no fewer than seven different songs trilling in the pre-dawn outside my window this morning. The melodies blended then and I lost count.

Thought for the Day

"We encounter Gethsemane daily, and we must daily decide whose will shall be done."

-- Michael Phillips, The Garden at the Edge of Beyond

New Testament Quote

So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God

-- Hebrews 4:9

So then,

We
still
rest.

We still
keep
the Sabbath day
Holy.

We do no work.
We do not cause "servants" to work.

The difference between the New and Old Testament versions of this immutable law?

We will not be executed if we fail to keep it.

Oddfellows Quilt

Three years waiting, and 72 hours on the frame -- and this quilt is finally finished.

This quilt block is known as the Oddfellows March, because evidently when they march, the Oddfellows do some sort of cross weaving pattern that if mapped out would evidently resemble the way the blocks align. One going one way and the next going another. (And yes, there really is such a group as the Oddfellows.)
And another name for it is Oddfellow's Star, because of the secondary pattern formed where the corners of the blocks come together.

Three borders (one of the leftover sawtooth triangles when I decided the quilt top had gotten big enough) finish the design and frame it.
I pieced the quilt in homespuns and random lights which gives, I think, a more scrappy feel. And I did not preshrink any of the fabric, but I did machine wash and dry the quilt then. Which is why you can see in these photos, that lovely -- comforty -- squnchiness.

Warm and snuggly.

Connecting

Having internet connection difficulties.

Will post again when resolved.

Now I'm Quoting Myself

Yesterday I found myself saying "If you get any group of women together you are bound to have differences, but I've found if we are all looking at God instead of looking at each other, those differences melt away." I've said something like it before. I'll probably say something like it again.
Because it's true, and not just for groups of women -- for any group.
Why is it true?
Possibly because our minds are so full of serving the Lord that we haven't enough time to spare for criticizing others.
Possibly because when we look at Christ, and try to be more in line with what He wants, we are less out of line with each other.
Possibly because when we look at what Jesus did for us on that Cross we realize if He can forgive us -- give His life to forgive our sins -- then we should be able to forgive someone else.
Possibly because that's just how God works.

Dutchman's Breeches

The Dicentra family is best known for Dicentra spectabilis, or Bleeding Hearts, which showy pink blossoms are shaped like hearts with a white tear dropping pendulously from them. Other Dicentra's celebrate similarly visual names, there's "Squirrel Corn" (Dicentra canadensis), and this early woodland bloom known as Dutchman's Breeches.

Dicentra cucullaria

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.

Drawing a Blank

Has my blog seemed sort of sparse or random recently?
Current projects demand most of my creative time and energy -- a daily blog post seems a struggle now and I find myself staring at the computer thinking I have nothing left to say/write.
My tired brain tells me there must be something interesting to say, but I draw a blank.
So what am I up to?
I'm putting together all new materials for a women's spiritual retreat, six sessions (3 a day for the weekend, or one per day for a week long retreat) complete with slide shows and handouts and, naturally, enough research notes to turn each 45 min-1 hr session into it's own book.
It's exciting to discover the way things dovetail, and see how many "coincidences" the Lord has prepared for me with this message.

Red Winged Book Bird

Re-visiting old projects (in other words, going through old boxes) I found:

An easy scrap quilt with a bonus. This is my Red-Winged Book Bird Quilt. Using all my leftover red fabrics and scraps, I made "book" blocks from five rectangles (2.5"x10.5" each) to make the 10 inch blocks and sashed my red books with a black batik. But I didn't stop there. Do you see? Down in the bottom right corner of the quilt is a red-winged blackbird.


Stuffed machine applique on the unfinished quilt top, this attempt at a red-wing blackbird crooning over a cattail was inspired by an old favorite PBS show Book Bird, and the fact that while I was making the blocks for this quilt I was listening to Where the Red-Winged Blackbirds Sing. It's completely obvious I drew my template from looking at the woodblock print cover art of Jim Schulz's CD.

A Thought about Books

It seems to me that my favorite novels were almost all published before 1940, most before 1910, and many before 1880... I return again and again to my beloved classics. And I am, most definitely, a re-reader. It is necessary for me to own the book, partly because I often catch myself writing in the margins and partly because any book I like will need to be read again (and again and again). Good stories must be savored and good writing is worth reading over even if you already know by heart how it turns out in the end. Subtle nuances are there to be enjoyed and discovered with each new reading of the tale.

In Advance

In advance of the Thalia blooms (also shown in new header) the spikes of these lovely daffodils are peaking up green from the soil. Soon there will be a mass of them, these "Orchid Narcissus", blooming white and shining in the slanting sun. Three years ago we planted 300 of the bulbs, and they have been beautiful each April since, making a mass of snow colored spring against the edged of the garden and lawns. Remind me in the fall, I want to plant more of these lovelies.

I've Looked at Clouds

...from both sides now,
from up and down,
online and off...

Have you seen The Cloud Appreciation Society Gallery?

A Verse 31 Woman

Are you a Proverbs 31 woman?
Wait, I mean Proverbs, chapter 16, verse 31.

The silver-haired head is a crown of glory, If it is found in the way of righteousness.

~Proverbs 16:31 (NKJV)

Young's Literal Translation puts it this way:

A crown of beauty are grey hairs, In the way of righteousness it is found.

Is that how we think? Do we respect age, and a long righteous life? Do we consider grey hair to be a glory, a crown of beauty? Not for women, and you may have noticed a product called "Just for Men"... No, in our society, as we age we are told we must dye our hair, hide our age, and cover-up our grey hairs.

A woman's hair is often said to be her crowning glory -- what, I have to ask, is wrong with a silver crown? As the number of grey hairs on my head increase and are starting to show, I should like to think I have earned each one in living a righteous life ( I hope I have, anyway). I still remember a friend of mine in college saying that at her first grey hair -- just one grey hair -- she intended to start using a color rinse. She had no intention of aging. Well, she may dye her hair now, or she may not. We've lost touch over the years; but I suspect she has aged, as I have, whether she admits it or not.

I know my friend was a Christian, and she strove to live a righteous life. And I know many God-fearing women who color their hair. So, please, please don't misunderstand what I am going to say next. But I have to wonder... if I hide my grey hair with dye because the world says I should -- might I someday also reach a point where I hide my faith in Christ because the world says I should?

Quilts

Been missing the quilting? So have I. While my sewing machine and iron sit in the corner sulking and lonely I've been busy with other projects (knitting is just so much more portable and easy to take along with me). But in the back of my mind I've been thinking about quilts and quilting and planning my next project... okay, next fifty projects.

Not forgetting all my UFOs, there's "The Quilt Between the States" I promised I'd design for a couple people (a quilt which in theory could/would have been made by quilters during the American Civil War), I promise to finish up our For the Birds Sampler soon ("soon" a loosely defined term which translates as "sometime before I die"), and, oh yeah, I've got an absolutely huge quilt just sitting there basted and waiting for me to finish it.

But also, I'm curious to try these Crumby Maverick Stars, and some small part of me wants to make a few of those 5 inch Dear Jane Quilt Blocks too -- like Melanie, who is Crazy About Quilts .

I've been thinking about small quilts and smaller quilt blocks ever since reading about the Priority Alzheimer's Quilts and the monthly quilt auction put on by the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative. Making a small quilt next sounds like a good idea, don't you think?

Time for Quotes

But what minutes! Count them by sensation, and not by calendars, and each moment is a day.

~Benjamin Disraeli

Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent. Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you.

~Carl Sandburg

The flower that you hold in your hands was born today and already it is as old as you are.

~Antonio Porchia, Voces, 1943, translated from Spanish by W.S. Merwin

The 1933 Muffin

Years ago I copied this recipe from an old beat up copy of Quick and Easy Fast Breads. It's one of my favorite fast muffins to make because it always turns out well, and because it's such a basic recipe you can throw anything in (fruit, nuts, seeds, chocolate chips) and it still works.

[Dry:]
2 cup unbleached flour
2 tbsp sugar
2 tea baking powder
¼ tea salt

[Wet:]
1 cup milk
1 beaten egg
¼ cup oil

My shorthand on the instructions reads:
"mix dry
"add wet
"add extras
"bake 425 for 25 min in well greased muffin tin.
"Let cool before flipping out."

Ummm... okay...
If you're not familiar with quick bread theory, the idea is to combine your "wet" ingredients and your "dry" ingredients separately and when you put wet and dry together don't overstir. Just fold it together enough to make a blended but still lumpy batter. Then add the fruit, nuts, whatever extras you want. Still being careful not to overstir (overstirring makes a rubbery muffin).

The proverbial handful of blueberries is always a great extra to add in, and one of my favorite variations is to add about 1/2 bag fresh cranberries and roughly 1 cup citron, possibly some pecans on top if I have any to hand.

The muffin tin needs to make 12 good sized muffins, or 9 largish muffins, or 6 giant muffins. You'll need to adjust the baking time accordingly -- don't let smaller muffins burn just because I said my oven takes 25 minutes.

... and the "flipping out"? Well, I'm sure you can handle that with no further explanation. :-)

The Morning Woke

The morning woke to fog and shades of sleep, the branching sky spoke softly in the east, and syrup laden sap surged forward like the clocks.

The maple and the mocking bird sang spring amidst the dawn, the robins mentioned there was work to do, and warm winds stirred among the daffodils.

Spring Cleaning?

March is the month traditionally set for spring cleaning, and my sewing area could certainly use a good going over and sorting out. But what are the chances that when I'm done it will look anywhere near as nice as Canterbury Quilt's Studio? She has such a beautiful space!

The Green Sofa

Behold, you are beautiful, my beloved,

truly delightful.

Our couch is green;

the beams of our house are cedar;

our rafters are pine.

~Song of Songs 1:16-17

"Our couch is green." She says. This sticks out at me each time I read Song of Songs.

Hair like a flock of goats feeding on the mountain? Fine.

Teeth like wet sheep, eyes like flighty doves, legs like ancient trees? Okay.

Handy home decorating tips? A tad out of place, perhaps?

Why is that in there? What does it mean for green couches and pine rafters to be included in this passage of Scripture?

Various Bible commentaries suggest that this passage is speaking about the pastoral nature of shepherding -- describing a resting place [cough, "bed"] among the trees. Some suggest symbolism, green being a color of spiritual richness and fruitfulness, pine and cedar being costly gifts, sweetly fragrant and strong. Either explanation seems logical...

...and yet, somehow I am not satisfied with that reasoning. Somehow I keep thinking how like a woman it is to plan a home as part of her expression of her love. To literally mean: the house you build for me and I tend for you has cedar beams and pine rafters because we love each other and that just says home to me.

"You're eyes are like doves." he says.

"Thank you, I love you too. Now, about our cozy little nest..." she says.

Maybe it's just me, but it seems intuitive that a woman might say something like that. To express love through home-making. It feels honest to include that detail in the story. There I was, he writes for all to read, pouring my heart out in poetry. Describing her beauty, telling her of my love. And she responded favorably. She loves me... and she'd like to get a green sofa for our living room.

Past Trips Photos ::3

Longwood Gardens.

Pennsylvania, 2007

Past Trips Photos ::2

Jierpoint Abbey.

Ireland, 1997

Past Trips Photos ::1

Inside the Orangery at Longwood Gardens.

Pennsylvania, 2002

Piece of Yarn: Alpaca Test Puppet

I'm knitting again and although I haven't got photos of that project yet (it's very much in the "what is that going to be?" stage still) I thought I'd show you something from the same yarn. This is my first time using alpaca yarn for a project and I must say I love knitting with this soft fiber. Before I started though, I wanted to see how this Alpaca fingerling I had from Frog Tree (type 2310, color#0012) would knit up on a 2.5 size needle. But doing another gauge test swatch? Ugg. Introducing my gauge swatch bunny finger puppet.
I cast on my set number of stitches, did a raised, purl on right side row (to mark for measuring gauge later), did stocking knit for my set number of rows, purled on the right side again (marking end of counted rows for easy measuring) and knit a bit more before splitting for the ears. I did a half row back and forth reducing, and when I got down to one stitch I crochet stitched down the inside of the ear back to the other half of the row and picked up the other ear. Then I added eyes and nose, stuffed his head with scraps of yarn, and seamed him shut up the back.
A little bit more white wool scrap, untwisted for whiskers and completely unspun to a bit of fluff for the tail and the rabbit was finished.
He's already been claimed, and taken away to play with another larger puppet who "needed a pet."