Nell's Own Quilt

Sewing Closet Update

Another good thing about having my sewing machine in a closet is that I can hang things from the built-in racks. It's nice to have a place for strips of fabrics just after they have been pressed.

Simple Wooden Toys

FarmBoy and I chatted a bit yesterday about memories of the best play times we had as children. The discussion was initiated by his witnessing my tossing away of three empty (plastic) thread spools. He related that some of his best memories of childhood play were of the imaginative sessions he and his playmates had with leftover wooden thread spools.

Today I saw Soulemama's post about similar play, and I was delighted. Her musings so reflect my own feelings about toys. See her blog here.

(By the way, my own favorite play memory is of a time my cousin Randy and I filled empty soda- pop cans with sand and raced them down makeshift tracks we created ourselves in the dunes along the coastline of Washington state. [Pop cans are not as nice as wood, aesthetically speaking, but we were deserving of points for recycling.] Nothing from my childhood kindles lovely memories like those of a day spent in soft gray sand with the ocean's rhythmic roar in the background.)

Pasta Salad Made Easy

Thanks to Nokiomi (not her real name, but a very cute one) for posting the recipe for one of my favorite things to eat. And thanks to Kate for creating it. See it here.

Regarding George S. Kaufman

I was encouraged to hear the following via an NPR broadcast Friday, on The Writer's Almanac:

It's the birthday of the playwright George S. Kaufman, (books by this author) born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (1889), who inherited a terrible case of hypochondria from his mother. She wouldn't let him play with other children, for fear of germs, and she wouldn't let him drink milk either. The only beverage he was allowed was boiled water. By the time he was an adult, he was terrified of being touched and he never shook hands. He was so afraid of dying in his sleep that he often didn't sleep for days. He once said, "The kind of doctor I want is one who when he's not examining me is home studying medicine."

But despite his quirks, Kaufman managed to cowrite more hit plays than anyone else in the history of Broadway, including Animal Crackers (1928), Strike Up the Band (1930), and You Can't Take It With You (1938). His various partners through the years all said that he was a meticulous rewriter and polisher, that he was never satisfied with a script even up till the last minute. Even on the most triumphant of opening nights, he could always be found backstage, pale and terrified that the play would be a flop.

It is encouraging and touching to me to hear of artists I admire who suffered from mental health challenges. How inspiring that the author of the play from which my favorite movie was adapted struggled as he did, while becoming a blessing to so many.

Bayside Quilting

FarmBoy drove me to Olympia today, and while he listened to the Husky-Cal game on the car radio, I visited a new-to-me quilt shop called Bayside Quilting. It is my new favorite place. They had lots of fabrics like these, which I love. In fact they had the most amazing collection of 1930's reproductions, and just about everything else I could have imagined. What a treat!

If you can get to Olympia, Washington, I highly recommend you visit this shop. It is at 225 State Avenue (pretty close to the side of the bay).

Update for Kate's Sake

Jake's Quilt Progressing

Oleo Spread

Love in Blue Quilt

Wuzgonnabee

Here is the Wuzgonnabee Jake's Quilt, with the stack of squares for his new and improved quilt on top. The first quilt just didn't turn out well enough to leave the family, so I am remaking it: same fabrics, same design, more experienced quilter.

Rose Hips

I wish you could see these bright red rose hips in person. They are so big and beautiful this year. (Nice that big and beautiful can be used to describe hips, no?)

Neighborhood: November!

Spring Pallet Patchwork Spread

Healing in Patches

"Depression is not due to an unwillingness to accept responsibility, fears of coping with reality, laziness, cowardice, or weakness. It is an illness. To be sure, there are things you can do to make yourself feel better or at least stop your depression from worsening. . . . Distracting yourself in a positive manner means seeking out, and engaging in activities that keep you busy, give you pleasure, and help keep your mind off your pain and anguish."
---David J. Miklowitz, PhD, The Bipolar Disorder Survival Guide, page 217

It is no small matter to me that I can get up in the morning and find this on my quilting table, waiting for me to turn it into something warm and useful and beautiful for my home. How thankful I am to be able to quilt.