School Supplies

A new school year is in the air.....I can feel it.

I was either a teacher or a student for 35 years....and I still get a little twinge this time of year. I loved love buying school supplies. There is something about a new box of crayons...fancy notebooks and colorful folders that give me a sense of excitement and anticipation.  All things are possible with new school supplies.

I've been picking away at my latest puzzle called "Old School" since the beginning of August...and here on the last day of the month....I finally finished.  Have you noticed that I  haven't even mentioned it? 

I was practicing restraint....and saved it all for this post.

I had every intention of working top down on this one....but I found searching for all the variety of pencils to be tedious. So I used my tried and true method of making little piles of color...and doing the pieces and parts that were easy first.  It worked well on this one.

In the end I was left with JUST the pencils....

and they went together in a flash.

I noticed on the box that this particular company has a "lifetime free missing piece replacement" policy. How cool is that! I needed that on the last one!

I'm excited about the next one.....another one from Philippa's puzzle club.

And here's a beautiful quilt from Elaine....who recently received my little kawandi quilt.  She loves purple and orange....and that's evident in this beautiful quilt.  But what makes this one especially unique....is how it came to be.

Elaine belongs to a quilting group and they took a round robin approach to the individual quilts they were working on...taking turns deciding what quilt technique to add for each round.  Elaine started with suggesting  the feathered star for the middle.  

Then another member chose what pattern the next round would be....and so on.  Pretty fun way to approach it! And...I'll have to say that I'm quite humbled because it's clear that Elaine is an excellent quilter.  I'm almost embarrassed by my little practice piece I sent her.  Well done Elaine!  Thanks for sharing!

Repurpused.....

....with love and gratitude.

Remember I said I had a plan for the circles I cut from Eliza's wrapping paper?  Today I cut smaller circles from a few pieces of art she has given me over the years to pair with the wrapping paper. She's given me a lot....so I wasn't depleting my stash too much.  I adore Eliza's art!

The wrapping paper was a pretty blue on the back....so I cut her art circles a bit smaller and let the blue be a border. Then I just put them back to back and ran them through the sewing machine.  I ended up with a 5 foot mobile she could hang in her room....or wherever.

It was hard to photograph it this afternoon... it was a little unruly in the breeze.

I didn't pay any attention to the order of the wrapping paper circles....so I got three pink ones in a row. But it will twirl a bit as it hangs so it's all good.

I think it's fun....I think I want one.

I am grateful to have a creative little 6 year old in my life.....Elisa brings me a lot of joy!  

Fun wrapping paper and very special art...repurposed with love and gratitude.

When It Rains.....

 .....the mushrooms appear.   

And oh how I'm fascinated with mushrooms!

These were paper thin and translucent.

And how excited was I yesterday when I got an envelope of goodies from Eliza! 

It's nice to be loved.....

...it's fun to get jewels.....

....and who doesn't love a basket full of flowers. 

Thanks Eliza! You made my day!

It all came wrapped in this great wrapping paper....did she know I love circles and dots?

They look like Kandinsky's circles.

I spent a little time this afternoon cutting them all out....I have an idea for Eliza.  

Eye Level

Sometimes the stars line up and there's that serendipitous moment when you are in the right place at the right angle....and you discover something fabulous right outside your door.

Last night on my evening walk I cut across the lawn in a way I don't go very often and I got a glimpse of something unusual in the maple tree.  

My radar is always on alert....for interesting things....and something was tucked in the leaves. It was right at eye level...so I was able to get right up close to check it out.

It's pretty small....so I was guessing/hoping it was a hummingbird's nest. We've have several visiting the feeders all summer. 

I absolutely love how they tied it around the branch...suspending it off the edge. It's like a little sling or pouch. 

Do birds return to a nest?  Might they nest here again next year?

After a little research I found out that hummingbirds rarely reuse their nests...but on occasion they do rebuild right on top of the old one.  They also might use materials from the old nest and build one nearby....and I'll be watching. The nests are made from an assortment of things and held together with spider webs.....how cool is that!  This kind of construction allows the nest to expand as needed for a growing family.  

Unfortunately my research also suggested that this might not be a hummingbird's nest....they average only about an inch in diameter.  I'm taking my tape measure out tomorrow....I think it might be more than an inch.

The other eye level attraction in my yard is a low branch on my sycamore tree. Do you see it dangling there at the bottom.

And on it...are several green fuzzy seed pods...which just fascinate me and I've been watching them develop all season. Usually they're so high up I can't really photograph or enjoy them unless or until they fall. By then they are brown....and many hang all winter on the bare tree...and I love the look.

"Stars shining bright above you

Night breezes seem to whisper 'I Love You'

Birds singing in the sycamore tree

Dream a little dream of me."  Gus Kahn

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAIIKuSI2Z0

Found this image from a post back in 2019....

the seed pods in the winter sycamore tree.

Playing With Blues

I saw this colorful scene on my walk this morning.....I loved everything about it! 

I couldn't decide which view I liked best....so I'm including both.

Have I mentioned that I've been on my own for walks....Paul has a broken toe.  

I was compelled to try another small Kawandi machine quilt with raw edges and random shapes.  This time I used just blues.

I don't think I was very successful with the transitions in the middle....the lines are too harsh. Maybe I could soften them with some little tikelis.  

It was marginally successful.  If I do it again I'll use all the COLORS!

Like all Kawandi quilts....I worked from the outside in using darker scraps around the outside and overlapped, tucked and sewed as I went around.  

I transition to lighter fabrics as I went in....and like I said....I could have done better with the transitions. Always learning.

I trimmed it up and did a satin stitch around the edge using a variegated blue thread.

Oops....I forgot to add a backing fabric....so the back is just the interfacing. 

Maybe I'll stitch it onto a card. 

I made a second blue one just like the orange and purple piece.....so nothing really new to add.  That piece....BTW....is on its way to Elaine!

I would like to try another one by hand.  

And a little follow-up on the Devil's Bit....I'm loving this little flower.  Such a nice late summer treat!

Simple Things

Life can be complicated....so some days you just need to celebrate a few simple things.

Like arranging some wabi-sabi leaves.

Then watching them shrivel up. 

I'm also celebrating the fact that I got more than 2 ripe tomatoes in one day. As a matter of fact I got a whole handful...and they went well with the fish tacos Paul made tonight.  Your gift just keeps on giving Janice!!!

I continued my delight in simple things....and had a little photo shoot with my tomatoes.  Just because I could.

It's the simple things that bring a little joy into a complicated day.