Thursday, December 3, 2015

Looking with new eyes.

Years ago, I was contacted by a Scouting friend. He had a friend who had a newly adopted grandson from Russia and was looking for a way to interest that boy in reading. The boy had read a book about "Flat Stanley" and she was looking for others who would participate in a visit from one sent by this boy.

Having been a non-reader as a child, I was eager to help and before long, Stanley arrived in a post.

That began a year of adventure. Suddenly I was seeing things all around me that I had hardly noticed before. The camera and Stanley went with me daily. We saw all kinds of things  ... some ordinary and some unusual ... and took lots of pictures. Each week we sent off letters and pictures to Ivan, telling him of our adventures.

A year or two later I had a second visit from Stanley. Since Ivan was a Scout and it was scouting through which I had met him, I took Stanley with me to the National Jamboree. Here in the picture is the up-dated Stanley enjoying a display of patches. I think he was happy to see a patch from Russia.

The thing that made me recall the adventures with Stanley was a post from one of my blogging friends.  JoAnn at Scene through my eyes always has wonderful photos of all kinds of things.
Recently she posted a scavenger hunt of random and beautiful pictures that illustrated items on the list for the month of November. I checked out the list of words for December and wondered how difficult it would be to join the challenge.

Last night I carried my camera as I went to choir practice, thinking of some of the words on the list. I was surprised how many I could spot on just one trip. Perhaps carrying a camera is part of it. Taniwa, always seems to have a camera with her and posts wonderful pictures.

Maybe like the days with Stanley, I can see things in a new way. For now, I still need to figure out how to store and organise my pictures on this new-fangled laptop.

And now new decisions in the tree skirt.
I quilted trees into the kite-shaped points but they really don't show and I wonder if I am just wasting my time.



I had thought of quilting bells inside some of those inner shapes but am now beginning to reconsider.


Perhaps just straight lines about an inch inside the seams would be just as effective.

What do you think?



I bought green binding for the edges.

Well, I'm off to the sewing group today.
Maybe they will have a few suggestions.

8 comments:

  1. Well thank you for the nice comment. I really enjoy the scavenger hunts - and it does make me look closely at what is around me. Love the flat Stanley story - I've always wanted to do one of those. Love the tree skirt - I think just quilting the shapes of the blocks would be great.

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  2. I can see them and they look beautiful on the skirt.
    It is a lot more work, but it depends on how fast you can work and get it done in time;)

    Debbie

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  3. Yep, I've always got that camera with me. Sometimes I have to remember to take the pictures but with it being lugged around on my shoulder all the time the weight reminds me to use it. The scavenger hunt sounds like great fun... I've done that Flat Stanley story myself with a child in a friend's 3rd grade class (it was Flat Jessica and she drew and sent a flat version of herself). As for the Christmas tree skirt, honestly I would just quilt a quarter inch inside or around (or both) those triangles and other shapes.

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  4. I love the fabric you chose for your tree skirt and I love too your little quilted stars in the points....although this needs more time, I think it's a great idea :)
    it looks original.... in my humble opinion!!
    Wishing you a nice week-end,
    Isa

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  5. Fresh eyes bring fresh ideas - just like second opinions bring new perspectives. Interesting things become every day unless we do something different...like bring a camera along! blessings, marlene

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  6. If it was a quilt, that was higher up, and to be seen more closely, I'd do the more elaborate quilting, but, since it is a tree skirt, and likely to be covered with packages, I would do the easier quilting.

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  7. I like your pictures. I am rather lazy to take photos or bring my camera with me business. Do like seeing with my eyes than spending time to pick up my camera. Having said that, when I want to do so, I do a lot and digital camera lets me take a quite lot of it without fuss!

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  8. The snowflakes are the real standouts - I would stick with simple quilting. It will be down on the floor.... Ah Flat Stanley. When I taught fourth grade and we studied North American Geography, we had a classroom full of Stanleys traveling all across the continent - so engaging!

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