Along our morning walk, Nikko and I stopped to pull a bag of weeds.
Long ago, our area had rows and rows of police barracks. surrounded by fields.
Then the barracks were torn down and in their place were built rows and rows of apartment buildings.
These days, the families have moved out of the apartments and they are being torn down. You can hear the crashing and banging of the workers as they fall into rubble.
I asked someone in the neighborhood what they are going to put in that space and they said new apartments.
When the first apartments were built, my father-in-law petitioned to have the leftover fields turned into a park.
Though the park was planted with nice golf green style grass, no one seems to have ever bothered to pull weeds. They mow them down twice a year but that is all. The weeds coming up now are easy to see because the grass is still brown. Most of those weeds are perenials, coming up year after year ... like dandelions ... and spread by the wind.
On the mornings I don't have school, I carry a larger-than-usual bag and Nikko and I collect weeds before they have a chance to go to seed. Today we got a good collection. I think Nikko is thinking, "That's enough already! Time to get my breakfast is past!"
The soil was damp from recent rain so we got lots of those long tap-roots. Nothing succeeds like success so it is hard to stop.
On Wednesday as I was leaving school, two teachers told me they are expecting. One was a teacher I had made a quilt for and she said ... "oh, you don't have to make me another quilt, I can pass the one you made to the new baby". I think that was the wrong thing to say to me. I was lucky to get nice clothing passed down from my cousins as I was growing up, but I also had to pass favourite things down to my sisters and then watch them get destroyed. At least favourite things given my kids, like quilts, and Halloween costumes, were saved and given to my kids for the grandkids to enjoy.
Well, I liked the pattern of the last I-Spy quilt and it was fairly quick and easy to assemble so today I dug through my box of "kid-friendly" fabrics and marked and cut a pile of five-inch blocks ... about 65 of them, and also a pile of four-inch blocks. I have been given some strips of fabric that may have been intended for some machine piecing project and I think next I will measure and mark those to use as sashing. I like to make a quilt with someone specific in mind but I think I can get the centers made and then have time to put something special into the borders.
Well, no rush but piecing makes good take-along work and soon there will be some ready to go.
I do agree - new baby, new quilt. And as the child gets older it will love looking at all the images on the fabrics and naming them.
ReplyDeleteThank you for keeping Nerima weed free! I am sure Nikko is more interested in breakfast than weeds.
ReplyDeleteYes, I felt you enjoyed making the last quilt and it will be equally fun to make another one for another baby. And the sibling will be glad to keep his/her own quilt.
To give is so much easier than to receive, and a new quilt is the perfect gift. Maybe the lady felt guilty that you needed or wanted to sew another quilt, but I am sure she will treasure a new one so much. And the older one has their own to keep for him/herself. You do have time, but it can run away so easily. 5 inch and 4 inch pieces sound really good sizes. Happy walking with weeding along the way.
ReplyDeleteI think if I pulled all the weeds out of my yard, I wouldn't have any grass, lol.
ReplyDeleteNow Bean is tearing it up with his running around on the wet ground, guess we need to start seeding the lawn to get grass back in.
I can't wait to see the new quilts.
Debbie
I have weeds to pull in my flower beds...can't imagine trying to keep a park weeded. I agree with you on the baby quilt. Hopefully the quilts I have made become very personal and treasures for the babies has they grow into toddlers and older children. My grands call them loveys.
ReplyDeleteThe new baby definitely needs his or her own quilt! And presumably you have a bit of time to make it. Did you cut enough for two quilts?
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed the post. What a lovely pup!
ReplyDeleteYou are so thoughtful putting in time to pull the weeds. I am sure there are those who appreciate that.
ReplyDeleteSounds like another lot of quilts will be on the go again.
Oh how lovely, a new baby quilt to be stitched. I so agree with the thought that every baby should have their very own to love. I don't envy you your weeding. How wonderful you are to do such a thing and care for your environment. Why oh why do weeds grow so quickly? =) Have a lovely week, lovely Julie.
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