Thursday, March 19, 2020

    DAY 2 IN A "JOURNEY OF OUR ISOLATION"


This block is from my new project which is a calendar quilt by Piecemakers.  This pattern combines my need to applique plus my love of embroidery.  The embroidery is not quite finished-fox needs a face and I have to plant some flowers in the grass.  This is a cherry tree in full blossom.  Silk ribbon will make the blossoms and the second photo shows the beautiful variegated pink/rose ribbons.  Ribbon embroidery is a bit new to me so makes me a little apprehensive.  There are 12 of these blocks, of course, and one large center.

Here is a lovely thing...

My perle cotton threads.

I NEED HELP WITH THIS...ANYONE?
Comments are not coming thru to my email so I don't know if I have one unless I look at the blog.  I know I have been out of the loop for 9 months.  Have there been some changes?
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I go out to the mailbox armed with my can of lysol (put 'em up!).  I spray the mailbox, door knobs and the mail.  How about you? I have heard from lots of older quilters who follow the same precautions.
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Here is something that occurred to me while stitching.  We are asking the young people-mostly millennials-to stay home, don't socialize, no dating, no shopping-we are asking them to stop what comes most naturally to them.  Of course, not all are being socially responsible but many are.  

I hope the boomers who denigrate this group will remember that millennials did them a service and that boomers need to return the favor.

Boomers mostly seem to vote their 501ks and ignore the very real problems of the younger people to wit:

climate change
massive student debt
massive cost of college
lack of good jobs
automation
these are all I can think of now as I am a boomer not a millennial

I think we as a group have been selfish in the deferral of solutions to very real problems an act which seems to echo Marie Antoinette's  "Let them eat cake".
END LECTURE

YOUR MOMENT OF ZEN
A moment of reflection, humor, or beauty in these trying times 


These photos are by Ed Mis of houses in February showing icy lake effect weather.  I was reminded of scenes from Dr Zhivago and the ice houses in the tundra.

Happy Creating!

I am linking up with:
Slow Stitching Sunday, Bambi's Blog, Making Monday,  Em's Scrapbag, Esther's Wow, 
Midweek Makers, Whoop Whoop, Finish or Not!, and Off the Wall Friday.

15 comments:

  1. Hi, Pam! I'm looking out my window right now at a cherry tree that is in full bloom, and I can tell you that your pink ribbon is PERFECT!! :-). I can't wait to see your ribbon-embroidered blossoms! I'm neither a boomer nor a Millennial -- I think I'm "Generation X" or something, whatever they call the kids whose parents are baby boomers. I'm not Lysoling the mail or the mailbox but I did use hand sanitizer liberally after filling up my car just now at the gas station. Those icy lake effect houses are just magnificent!

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  2. OMG Pam your applique work is fabulous, and I can't wait seeing it with the embroideries...
    Your musings about these difficult times are very inspiring, and I can't help thinking that maybe, just maybe, we all are given a chance to reflect on our way of living, of excessive , useless consumerism... and then also some important "what if"...
    what if we turned to a simpler life ?
    What if we privileged small, local producers ?
    What if we came back to a "make do" state of mind ?
    What if we stopped a moment and focused on contentment, gratitude, respect ?

    As à quilter, it's no secret I have more than once been tempted with the latest fabrics, the latest patterns, the latest quilt books, etc... that are now neatly stashed and sleeping on my shelves. It's human... however, being now forced to stay home, and make-do with what I have, I realise that the less you have, the more creative you become. You start making your brains work harder, you let your imagination take the lead, and the result is sometimes magical !
    Let's take the challenge we are now living as an opportunity to focus on essential values, and show our children, our young generations, that these are the secrets to a happier life...

    THANKS for your post, dear Pam. God bless you.

    In stitches,
    Nadine

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  3. PS I really should go back to posting on my little blog, especially now ! 😊

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  4. Amazing ice photographs. Your cherry tree is going to be gorgeous and I love your thread collection. xx

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  5. I love the little fox peeking out from behind the tree trunk. The pink ribbon will be perfect as cherry blossoms.

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  6. Here is a link to a page that may explain what you need to do to get notifications again:
    https://www.journeybytes.com/blogger-email-comment-notification-fix/

    I have looked many times at the Piecemakers patterns. If you don't mind saying, what technique does this pattern call for. I have looked at it many times. I'm pretty sure if I order one of them I will use floss in stead of ribbon embroidery as I am not proficient with the ribbon and honestly don't want to do the practice necessary to be really good at it.
    xx, Carol

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    1. I followed these instuctions, sent a test message, and voila-I now have email comments..Thank you Thank you. I saved this link to my email so I can find it again if needed.

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  7. I did respond to yesterday's post but noticed this morning that a cookie blocker I use did not allow it to post. I'm so glad you have come back to blogging. Yours has always been one of my favorites to visit.
    xx, Carol

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  8. Your little fox/tree project is adorable! Can't wait to see what else you add

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  9. test to see if email connection is operable now

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  10. I too have been having time to read more blogs! I like your idea of the journal. Don't know if I'll manage daily though. Social distancing started last Friday in Portland. Seems like more than a week ago. I have to restore order in the fabric mess that dominates just now; then I plan on lots of sewing.

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    1. I won't be able to blog everyday either. I will just keep track of the days-hopefully we won't exceed Daniel Defoe's year. Just responding to comments on my posts takes time and effort.
      I fully expected Oregon to be socially responsible. One of my favorite states. I was born a left-coaster and idly imagine a life in Oregon.

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  11. Your little fox is adorable! glad you are back to blogging - you will be surprised at how many bloggers there are that are cool to follow ;-) Enjoy!

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  12. Those ice houses are amazing. They look like gingerbread houses covered with frosting. Though, I wonder why they are so brown.

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  13. I love how you point out that one group calling another irresponsible is somewhat invalid. We should seek solutions, not disharmony, and lumping people into arbitrary groups does not help. I know plenty of students who don't party, and plenty of older people who care about the environment, etc. Let's hope solutions to many problems facing us can be solved.

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