Memorial Day

For all those who served  

Thank You 

In Flanders Fields

BY JOHN MCCRAE

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row,

    That mark our place; and in the sky

    The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

    Loved and were loved, and now we lie,

        In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

    The torch; be yours to hold it high.

    If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

        In Flanders fields.

Indigo quilt

 

This quilt has been whispering finish me......finish me........sew I finally did, a little bit at a time between piecing other quilts or maybe machine quilting while I thought about what to do next on whatever I was working on.  Finished finally!!  I pieced this back in 2020 when every day felt like a snow day because we were supposed to shelter at home, lock down, avoid gatherings, etc etc.  Good thing I had a large stash of fabric and I still do.  These were all Asian indigo fabrics that I purchased in a bundle several years ago,  I just felt like I had to keep them together and I wanted to show off the prints.  Its done.  --Ann--

Spa day

 

Spa day for the wool sweaters. I really don’t mind the extra fuss for my wool sweaters they keep me warm and make me feel good so I need to return the favor. First a soak in sudsy water not too warm and not too cool. Then a rinse and a squeeze and into the washer for a little spin, if they look like I descended from apes then into the dryer on medium for 20 minutes or so.  Super wash wools have been treated so the scales on the fibers don’t join hands and felt and become smaller, they stretch and stretch instead, the dryer brings them back to fitting the human race. My sweaters that are not superwash wool get a little hair conditioner in the rinse that makes them very soft then they get to relax in the sun on the deck until they are dry. Sometimes they hang out with me in the sunroom. They are all carefully folded and stacked on the shelf in my closet and wrapped in cotton fabric because the wee beasties that like to chew through the wool don’t like to eat their vegetables. Cotton is plant fiber and wool is protein.  They are safely tucked away until next fall. ~~Ann~~

Friendship stars

 

This is one of those quilts that needs to be put on the design wall before I can sew anything.  Right now the white and black fabrics are grouped in rows I could mess them up.  It might look really clutteered then.  I do like things somewhat orderly.  I guess I'll sew the 4 patches and think about it some more. --Ann--

Wind

 

Some junk my brother welded together into dinosaurs.

Wind damage on the farm. The straight gray sticks to the right of the white plastic chair is a leg of the swing my swing set had two swings, the country school swings had 4.  —Ann—

Wind

 

Last Thursday was hot and humid like the middle of June hot and humid minus the picking of strawberries hot and humid. The weather forecast said there would be storms that afternoon they hit southeastern South Dakota mid to late afternoon.  I could see the dark clouds approaching from the southwest. The 5:00 news was all weather warnings.  The sky kept getting darker by 5:15 it looked like night, darker than the total eclipse of the sun in 2017 which was covered with a thunderstorm in eastern South Dakota…..so dark. Was this what it looked like in the dust storms of the thirties? I never imagined it could be as dark as it was during daylight hours.  Rain started hitting the windows it looked more like a smear of mud. The wind was getting stronger,  trees were bending not just swaying.  At 5:30 the power went out, a few minutes later a 30+ foot tall spruce tree fell fortunately it missed the deck and the house.  More rain…..enough to clean the windows gradually the sky got lighter and that wall of wind and dirt moved on to do more damage across the county and state. The sky cleared as quickly as it came then turned orange as the sun was setting a bright pumpkin orange. The next morning was fairly calm with a clear blue sky as blue as a fresh squeezed tube of cerulean paint. The sky is always the most beautiful after a storm.  Thousands of trees were blown over and lots of buildings were damaged, thankfully no serious injuries where I live.

This came like a panther prowling and stalking then attacking with an arsenal of offensive maneuvers. None of Carl Sandburg’s little kitten feet and fog.

We were without power until about 9:30 Friday night. We heated water on the grill for coffee and used the pour over coffee dripper.  I think all power was restored Sunday night.

My youngest brother is on the farm where I grew up, he lost a lot of trees and some buildings were damaged but mostly just missing shingles. The cluster of ponderosa pine trees that my dad planted when the house was built in 1959 were broken and uprooted. I used to leap over those trees when I was little zig zagging from one end to the other and back.  My brother was cutting down a damaged hackberry tree on Friday the wind caught the branch just as it was falling and took out the swing set that my dad built in the 1960’s.  This was a swing set to rival any country school swing set. A wind storm blew the windmill over one summer so dad repurposed the angle iron into the legs and supports of the frame and used the water pipe for the top crossbar.  I spend many hours in the wooden swings with my brothers and playmates growing up.  I hope my brother can repair it.  

The only thing left is the stump.  Counting our blessings that no one was hurt.  --Ann--

off the needles

 

Just another pair of socks off the needles.  I need these little mindless knitting projects for waiting rooms and appointments with hubby.  Just a simple knit purl pattern k4, p2 for 4 rows then move the purl stitches over two for 4 rows, move them over again and it makes a twisting pattern that almost looks like a cable but its super simple.  Mindless knitting.  Probably won’t wear them until next fall. --Ann--

Quilt recipes

Time to start a new quilt……the thought process………

1. Start thinking about it before the last quilt is done
2. Wander through books and old magazines while thinking what can I do with these leftover strips 
3. Just finish this quilt
4. Scroll through my own blog looking for ideas notice I very seldom include measurements 
5. Aha moment……..find my quilt recipe book. This is my little journal that does have the dimensions and which tools I used to cut the parts for the blocks. Also the source of the pattern so I can find the book or magazine.
   
   
   
   
   
   The recipe and work begins on the next quilt.  It felt like summer yesterday.~~Ann~~

Flimsy done

I frittered away most of the day last Thursday then finally late afternoon I decided I needed to do something.....just one thing........I was going to sew just 2 columns of blocks together......one small goal.  That was easy and didn't take very long so I sewed the next column then the crosswise seams.  That was easy and it was only 4:45 I could sew the last two columns and be done!!!!!  And I was!!  Start a new stack of quilt tops to be basted and quilted.  I need to start setting goals again because otherwise I might spend the entire day reading or wasting away on the computer.  --Ann--

Reading list #2

Not much blog worthy going on in my life. Oh wait that’s because I have been reading.  Some have been very good books and some just ok. This has been the coldest, windiest, greyest April that I can remember I know it’s May but it finally feels like April after 60 some days of March.  Great weather for reading. Always look for a bright side…The scillas are finally blooming. I’ve driven past this yard a couple times and gasped at the expanse of blue, yesterday I stopped to take a couple pictures.  The house used to belong to a lady in my church, her yard and flowers were always perfect. Now it looks like a student rental and much neglected. To the memory of Mrs. C. She also taught 6th grade I didn’t have her for a teacher but a classmate told me she was the last teacher who read aloud to her class. Happy reading ~~Ann~~

1.  The American Agent by Jacqueline Winspear Maisie Dobbs book #15
2. Life in Stitches by Rachel Herron a series of essays about knitting and life.
3. The Existential Worries of Mags Munro by Jean Grainger about a middle aged police woman in present day Ireland
4. Anxious People by Fredrik Backman again for book club
5. It’s Better That Way by Debbie MaComber just fluff for fun
6. The Girl from Ballymor by Kathleen McGurl takes place in present day and 1840’s potato famine in Ireland present day art history student is researching second great grandfather who was a very successful portrait painter.
7. The Moving Finger by Agatha Christie another murder mystery 
8. A Distant Melody by Sarah Sundin romance takes place during WW2 Christian novel the power of prayer.
9. My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry by Fredrik Backman I had to read it again about a young girl dealing with the death of her grandmother.
10. The Consequences of Fear by Jacqueline Winspear Maisie Dobbs #16
11. Shadows Reel by C.J. Box newest Joe Pickett Wyoming Game Warden mystery
12. The Sunlit Weapon by Jacqueline Winspear #17 of Maisie Dobbs mystery series
13. Stuff by Daniel Frost a researcher looks into the minds of hoarders.
14. A Murder is Announced by Agatha Christie a Miss Marple mystery 
15. Stars over Alabama by Sean Dietrich the story begins during the depression of the 1930’s with 3 different small groups of individuals, their lives finally converge the last few chapters of the book.
16. The Good People by Hannah Kent takes place in rural Ireland in 1820’s some people still believed in fairies. 
17. The 100 Years of Lenni and Margot by Marianne Cronin the ages of the two main characters add up to 100 both are in a long term care / hospital for book club very good 
18. An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon book 7 of the Outlander series it ended on cliffhangers for a couple characters. Good thing there is a book #8.  Most of the story takes place in 1777 and 1778 Revolutionary War in colonial America.