Cabin quilts...

We decided to spend Thanksgiving at home this year, just the two of us (and Madison). So today, instead of making pies or deciding which wines to take tomorrow, I packed up my sewing machine and quilt projects, and headed for Peggy's.

I finished the last seven blocks for a quilt called Checkerboard Stars, then pulled out a quilt I started back in 2006 called Cabin in the Cotton. It's a pattern from the 1930s, made from Log Cabin blocks in pastel colors, set on point with white sashing strips in between. It's fussy and time-consuming to make, and so worth it... the blocks are beautiful. I have about 40 blocks done, with 32 large blocks (and 20 small blocks) to go.



This has been a good project to take to my Wednesday sewing group, easy to work on while talking. And we do a lot of talking, the four of us. It was a fun, fun day... I love these ladies!

I don't have a photo of the complete quilt, so searched around on the internet and found the original quilt, c. 1933. It is in the collection of the University of Nebraska International Quilt Study Center and Museum, in Lincoln, Nebraska. This is what mine will look like, one of these days.

Runner...

All the years I've been quilting, and I've never made a table runner. It could be because my dining table is round. Maybe.

But our new stereo cabinet is low and wide and beautiful, perfect for table runner. To be fair, I tried to find a braided rag table runner to match the others in my house, with no luck. So I set aside my other quilt project, and picked out fabrics from a stash of my favorite Civil War-era fabrics.

The table runner will be simple, and quick to make. Just 5-in. squares with corners from the same black-figured fabric.



When the blocks are joined together, those cream corners will become a diamond at the intersection of each block. A simple technique that looks complicated when finished.

Welcome...

This quilt has been a long time coming. I cut fabrics from my stash a couple of years ago. At a retreat last February, I made all the blocks. Last week I sewed the blocks together, then the rows, then squared it up. The ladies I sew with every week suggested blue for the border, and I found the perfect fabric in my stash.

Today I cut borders, which turned out to be a challenge because of the three blocks that wrap around each corner. But the top is finally done. The book I got the pattern from calls this quilt "Welcome Wagon."

All that's left is to piece a wide strip to add to the backing fabrics, because I think the back of a quilt should also be interesting to look at.  Then I'm ready to baste the layers together, and quilt it. This quilt is so very geometric, any fancy quilting will be lost in the pattern and fabrics, so I'll quilt it with a simple grid. And that means I'll be able to do it myself. And I love that.

Rough morning...

Waking up for any reason at 3:30 in the morning is bad enough. But this morning was truly awful. Flashing lights woke me up, but the gunshot really got my attention. We couldn't see much from the house, so DW walked down through the pasture and then he saw the horses, dead on the road. A deputy came to the door; he told us that a woman hit both of them, and miraculously walked away unhurt.

The deputy was looking for help finding the owner of the horses, and as we talked, we realized who they belonged to. We have fairly new neighbors, a young couple with three kids. They've been working hard to replace fences and repair the barn, and although their place isn't on the county road, their horses have gotten out before. We gave him directions, then waited and watched. And a while later we saw a tractor come down the private road, and one at a time, our nice young neighbor hauled them home for the last time. It just broke my heart.

Foundation is everything...

Today was a first for me: I went to a photography expo. It was fun and I learned so much. I went with a friend who wants to learn more about landscape photography... and is smitten with the new Nikon mirrorless cameras. There were some amazing photographers giving presentations, and everyone shared tips and techniques. And the whole day was free, courtesy of Kenmore Camera.

And thanks to a presentation by Nikon's national training specialist, I think I've settled on the perfect wide-angle lens for landscape photography, finally.

Raging...

This morning, DW and I headed for the little town of Snoqualmie and breakfast at a tiny diner right in the old part of town. We lingered and watched the rain fall, then drove downriver to see our magnificent waterfall, Snoqualmie Falls. The river is near flood stage thanks to days of rain in the Cascades, and we knew the flow would be about as high as it gets. 

                      Our spectacular 269-foot Snoqualmie Falls

As we walked through the trees toward the edge, we could already see the spray high above the river. Two hundred feet from the railing, we were getting soaked. Raincoats helped, umbrellas were useless (as many were learning the hard way).

Leaning over the railing, the falls was am amazing sight to see. The water over the falls thundered down to the river, then bounced up nearly half the height of the falls. The spray from the falling water blew up and soaked everyone along the edge. 

It isn't always this full, of course. The river has flood controls, and in past years I've even seen it with nothing but a trickle of water. One of these days I'll dig up those photos and post them; seeing the falls with no water is almost as interesting as seeing it at flood stage.

The end... or beginnings?

The end of summer too often signals that I'm running out of time to accomplish a list of tasks I assigned to myself... and I need to let go and be happy again, that maybe I gave myself too much to do... that maybe the weather will hold and I'll have plenty of time... that maybe nothing on the list was that important in the first place.

I'm always better when I wake in the early morning to the scent of autumn in the air, and know that the world will slow down and time will be there once again. Summer is too hectic, too hot, too short for me, and I'm always glad when I can shake it off and relax, and settle into a new routine, a slower pace.

And does any other season arrive with such a blaze of color?