Oh Happy Day!

Paul was installed as the new Worship Minister at Blue Point Congregational Church this morning.  

He has been filling in on Sundays for over a year while they were looking for a part time pastor. But they have shifted their model and he has signed on long term to continue what he has been doing. It's good for Paul....and it's good for them. Oh Happy Day! (The choir sang that song during the service this morning....and did a fabulous job.)

celebratory carrot cake

It's a lovely church along the salt marsh in Scarborough, Maine....

with warm and friendly people working for the common good. Oh Happy Day!

   

Jenny and Dave...our friends from Lexington, KY also arrived today...and we will spend a couple days catching up and poking around Southern Maine! 

They timed it well....the fall colors are nearing peak...and the ducks are back on the pond!  Oh Happy Day!

Connectedness

"I do believe in an everyday sort of magic - the inexplicable connectedness we sometimes experience with places, people, works of art and the like; the eerie appropriateness of moments of synchronicity; the whispered voice, the hidden presence, when we think we're alone." Charles de Lint

This is one of the photos my son Nate sent to the family when he told us to go outside to see the northern lights a few nights ago. I love everything about it....and am just now noticing the green on the horizon. Pure Joy!

Since that evening....I've seen dozens and dozens of photos of the lights on Facebook and Instagram from people all over the United States....and the world...in every color that you can imagine.

Then I got a delightful email this morning from Kate from the UK also celebrating the aurora borealis from across the Atlantic. 

Kate pointed out that this Charles de Lint quote that sits at the header of the online version of my blog was even more meaningful at a time like this. So many of us were experiencing the the color...light and beauty of the northern lights all at the very same time. And it all happened in the darkness. Kate pointed out the "eerie appropriateness of moments of synchronicity."  Inexplicable connectedness at its best! 

We are not alone! Thanks Kate!

Go Outside!

Nate texted the family last evening around 7:30 and told us all to go outside and look at the northern lights. 

The four of us were all in three different locations....and connected and chatted by texted about magnificent color.

Paul and I were also greeted by other neighbors enjoying the show too. It was an unexpected moment of joy...just by going outside. 

At the beginning of the Fabulous Free Motion course we made linen and lace backgrounds....and it was time to add a focal point. The lesson was to create delicate flowers or leaves out of painted paper towels. I hope to try that....but this time I used what I had on hand.

I've had this sheer painted curtain fabric from another class for quite sometime...and I thought it would work well for this lesson. 

I applied fusible to the back of the sheer strip....cut out my leaf shapes then fused and stitched them to the lacy background. I think it turned out pretty well. In the end it may not quite be my style...but I think the idea can evolve into something that's a little bit more me.

I went outside again a little later last night...and the northern lights had changed to a soft green. It kind of has the same soft vibe as my linen and lace piece.

On this second piece I used the same sheer curtain swatch...but used black stitching. 

It might be a little too strong for the lacy background...but I do like the doodleness of the black stitching. 

And now....I'm going to go back outside and see if there's another show tonight!

Stitch Doodling

Bob and Nancy are in the second phase of their vacation....and Dave and Jenny  arrive on Sunday for a few days. Paul and I just slid back into our routines today....but we're looking forward to more time with old friends.

We have beautiful a pin oak in the front yard...and I've always loved the somewhat wonky shapes of the slender leaves. 

And this one is especially pretty in a vivid October red kind of way.

One of the assignments this week in the Fabulous Free Motion class was to use floral wallpaper scraps to practice outlining more complicated shapes. I didn't have wallpaper...but I did have upholstery scraps in my stash from thrift stores....and here and there. I sometimes rescue scraps from friends' trash.

We were to cut them into squares and create a doodle quilt of sorts. It was absolutely fun...and hard to stop! 

It does remind me of the watercolor doodle flowers I've done in the past....which is why I liked used black thread making it look like ink.

Moving away from the small squares....I did outline a larger piece of this outdoor fabric. I found that double stitching the lines helped it show up more....and made it more doodly. I will lean into that a bit more next time. I may even add some paint giving it some depth of color. This fabric is going to be fun to play with.

I turned a smaller piece into a card.

I could have done this for hours. But then again...I guess I did!

There's nothing but potential!

Speaking of florals....look what Margie had finished on her board.  

It was a 1000 piece challenge...but she stuck with it...and it was gorgeous sitting on her coffee table when I walked in today! 

Well done Margie! I'm looking forward to doing this one!

Friendship

We love sharing some of our favorite coastal spots with people that we love! And...I think I've taken you along to these sites over and over too.

The weather has been just perfect and it's been so nice having Bob and Nancy here. Bob is one of Paul's seminary buddies that he goes to Colorado with....

....and we've known Nancy for almost just as long as we've known Bob.

Kettle Cove

It was a blue sky fluffy white cloud kind of day....

and Bug Light Park was postcard perfect.

I have mixed feelings about cruise ships...but they are important to the Portland downtown economy. This large Norwegian ship dominated the view of the city from Bug Light Park from across Portland Harbor.

I have a few more pieces in the puzzle.....so let's celebrate a couple more inspirational suffragettes!

Lucretia Mott was born in 1793. She was a Quaker minister, a women's rights activist and the first president of the American Equal Rights Association.  

Sojourner Truth was born into slavery in 1797. She risked her life to escape with her young son and lived her entire life in the fight for justice and women's rights. "Ain't I a woman" is a famous line from one of her speeches".....and Paul used to have a poster highlighting the words from this speech.

Inez Milholland Boissevain was born in 1886 and was a lawyer and public speaker. She led a women's suffrage parade through Washington DC in 1913 all dressed in white and wearing a crown. On her dying bed in 1916 her last words were "Mr. President, how long must women wait for liberty?"

Love Each Other

"There are things you do because they feel right & may be the real reason we are here: to love each other & eat each other's cooking and say it was good." Brian Andreas

Limelight

As I walked around the pond yesterday morning I was quite smitten with how this wabi-sabi branch glowed in the sun. It was most certainly in the limelight...in color and form.

There was a warm October glow everywhere...and today is a much needed rainy day. Our good friends Bob and Nancy from Minneapolis arrive this afternoon....and the chili is simmering.

And just today I got Brenda's changing seasons card in the mail....so I can share the other two Tiny Pages Art Exchange cards. I couldn't photograph in the backyard because of the rain...but I could stand in the natural light at the patio door....still better than artificial light inside.

Brenda used colored pencil to create fall to winter her card.  She was worried about the texture of the paper...but I think it's adds the essence of fall. 

And I'm pretty sure she knows how much I like ginkgo leaves!  Thanks Brenda!

Becky depicted all the seasons on her card she sent to Tracie. 

And I love her wreath of fall leaves on the back.  Well done Becky!

And there nothing better than the glow of a clean house....all ready for guests.

The Games People Play

I love going to the farm stand in the fall!

I came home with an teeny tiny pumpkin with a pretty darn good stem.        

And I love bringing home a beautiful pile of fresh produce.

I played a little mind game today....I cleaned a little then I sewed a little. I dusted a little then I sewed a little. I vacuumed a little...then I sewed a little. And it made for a delightfully joyful puttering day. 

This ended up being kind of a goofy piece...but the assignment...and the goal was to practice free motion stitching around objects and in directions.

There are a few lines that are programmed decorative stitches on my machine...but most of them are free motion patterns over fused fabrics.

It's wonky...it's whacky....and it was fun.

These stitchy doodles are a little wacky too.

Oh...the games people play!

Lucy Burns

We've see lots of ball on our walks....and it makes me smile thinking of the kids and adults playing in the neighborhood. And...I like anything round. 

Obviously we're not picking them up....but I can celebrate them. And it was time for a new puzzle....and this time it's round! 

This seemed like the perfect puzzle for this moment in time. Votes for Women! And I'm looking forward to voting FOR a woman in November.

Monica Garwood created these images of prominent and powerful women in suffrage movement....and the puzzle contains a little information about each woman.

Lucy Burns was born in 1879 and was a teacher and dedicated suffragist.

She helped found the National Women's Party, which worked for the ratification of a women's suffrage amendment to the Constitution. She was a force to be reckoned with. 

Fresh Eyes

What a difference a few days makes. 

About a week ago...there was just a little color in the trees across the pond. Look at them now! 

Have I mentioned how much I love October? 

😉🍂

I would have never thought of putting these colors together....but it works.

That's what's been happening as I assemble small chunks of my stripes project....surprisingly pleasing schemes. We'll see how all these small chunks work together as a whole....with ALL the other colors.

I really like this chunk oriented this way....but somehow it ended up turned the other way in the project. 

With most of the big chunks lightly fused....I may be at a stopping place for now. I kind of have to be actually. With guests coming it's time to clear the dining room table off again...and start cleaning and tidying up the condo.

Most of the  rows and columns are just lightly fused...which means I can still adjust.  

I may work in a few vertical stripes with that dark blue piece at the bottom right....the whole bottom half of that column isn't fused at all. It still needs some fiddling. 

But I needed to stop for the day....and it's far enough along that I feel good about tucking it away again. Fresh eyes between guests...or after will be just the right thing.

This is a very handy quilting tools....a table top ironing board I got at a quilt show in Lexington. 

I lay a piece of the release paper on it...and have been able to do all my fusing on this fabulous little board. 

 

An hour after taking that last photo....I walked by and just slid a chunk of vertical purple next to the blue....and yes....a vertical stripe will be what this spot needs. I'll have to work on the right color. 

But it needed another....so the next time I walked by I added the tan. The bottom of that last column didn't seem right....so I laid on a light neutral piece down on top of the red.

But I HAVE TO STOP for now....I'll figure it out with fresh eyes in the next session.

Changing Seasons

The theme for this week's Tiny Pages art Exchange is changing seasons.

Tracie's card went to Brenda.  She used a stiff credit type card to scrape on the tree trunks and sponged on watercolor for the leaves. 

The back is a watercolor leaf print. I love the effect on both and they certainly capture the wabi-sabi-ness of this changing season. Well done Tracie!   

My card went to Becky. The front was better in my head. I wanted to depict the four seasons in this little catalog fish scale design....but the color variation is a little too subtle. It's bright and cheery....and in the end maybe that is enough.

The back was a little more obvious. 

I did a little free motion stitch leaf on watercolor paper...painted it in and cut it out. Brenda's card is on its way to me....and I'll share Becky's card once Tracie has it.

Speaking of free motion stitching....I continue to work on homework for the Fabulous Free Motion class....but am squeezing into the nooks and crannies of my days. Here are a couple of recent assignments. The heart used some of the tutti frutti fabric I made from scraps.

Once I cut out the heart it already had fusible on the back so it was easy to attach to the background ready for free motion outlining. I LOVE this technique....it might be time for some fall leaves with scraps!