Rainy day flowers

A week of rain means progress on the feed sack quilt border.

I wanted to use some of the smaller feed sack scraps in the quilt and I thought an applique border would be a good way to do it.

This is the first long border, now all stitched and ready to add to the quilt.

I have begun selecting flower petals for the second long border and once they are in place, I will add the vines and leaves.

The top and bottom borders will also have flowers and I am thinking of adding a butterfly to each corner. Somewhere I saw a picture of a vintage quilt with butterflies made from feed sack fabrics. I think I made a sketch of the design but have yet to find which book I sketched it in.
Well, there is still time to find it as that will come at the end of the last borders.



Tuesday, while basting flower petals, I watched the enthronement ceremony of the new emperor on TV.

It was very serious and formal, and just as the deep purple curtains of the canopied throne were being pulled apart to reveal him in all his glory, the rain that had been falling for days came to a halt.

Then, a bit later, as he unfolded and began to read the written proclamation of his ascension, the sky turned a bright blue with the sun shining through my curtains.
I heard from a friend that he had seen a rainbow along with the sun.

The rain has now returned in force, but it was nice to have an opportunity to air my bedding in the sun and hang my wash.

I am wondering how the weather went so suddenly from a sauna to sitting indoors in a light down jacket. The dogwood trees in the park are dropping bright red leaves but others have yet to turn color.

The Hototogisu, named after the spotted Little Cuckoo, has begun to bloom in the front hedge and along the garden path.

In english it is called Hairy Toad Lily. The best part of this flower, beyond its beauty, is it is fine with excess shade and thrives on neglect.

This one has come up amid the azalea bushes along the west side of the house, making up for the lack of blooms (only one flower along the whole length of hedge) this year.

Tomorrow we will fill our rainy day time with a visit from the "Cookie Fairy". The expected produce to be Halloween cookies. Whoever would have thought Japan would have embraced that holiday!!!
Certainly, it was unheard of years ago, and even when my own kids were young, we could actually enjoy a meal without having to jump up and run to the door for trick-or-treaters.

rainy day work

Between train rides into town and down time at home, the feedsack stars got joined together.

I was a bit worried I would not be able to get all those points to meet, and was even thinking of adding sashing, but this time I am satisfied with the results. Each star has two setting fabrics matching at least two of the colors in the print. Two weeks ago I laid the blocks out on the floor of the church fellowship hall before choir practice and tried to get a good balance of colors.

This is a rather dull picture taken on the park fence on a very cloudy morning. In fact, it began sprinkling as I took the quilt down and started home. Actually, the blocks look a lot brighter.

Some facebook group friends said I should finish this without a border but I am considering an applique using the leftover feedsack scraps. Maybe on a muslin solid. To my thinking, a border would hold all these randomly colorful blocks together. Somewhere I saw some simple flowers that used a variety of prints... and maybe a vine and leaves. There is no rush so I may experiment a bit before I decide. Maybe I can find some inspiration in my collection of books...

The weather predictions include more rain in the forecast. It has actually turned rather cold and I added a light down comforter to the quilt on my bed. I was rather looking forward to something between the sauna days of summer and pulling out winter sweaters.

Indoor work

When typhoons bring wind and rain, sometimes it works for the best.

In preparation for the typhoon, I checked up on my outdoor plants.

This night-blooming cereus has been producing a big bud, and since I missed the bloom on the last one, I didn't want this one ruined by wind and rain so I brought it inside and put it on the bookcase above my futon.

Lots of things were cancelled because of the looming storm, but I decided to go on with my Cub pack meeting on Friday evening. We cancelled our raingutter regatta because it needs to take place outside on the roof of the American Club and not so good in wind and rain.
The regular meeting went well with new members joining, and we ended in time for families to go home without worry of storms.

Saturday, I was to sing with a small choral group at a wedding. It was probably a good call, but sad that the wedding was postponed. I feel sorry for the family who had put so much into the planning, but I enjoyed being able to attend my English class and be nearby for any possible wind events.

As it turned out, my area was not hit hard. Lots of rain fell, and as I was taking Nikko out regularly for her business trips, I was able to clear the sewer drains to keep the walkways from becoming lakes.

The wind gusts were not so hard, but I could hear much stronger wind screaming high above. None of the plants blew off the wall. One wet dog spent her time inside.

 The night-blooming cereus rewarded me for it's rescue...

and, to tell the truth, I might have missed the bloom had it been outside.

I have to admit it was a bit hard to turn off the light and shut my eyes.

It blows my mind that a flower this lovely only opens in the dark of night and blooms for only a few hours. By morning it was a hanging finished bulb.

It causes me to wonder what beauty we miss each day because our attention is elsewhere ...
so many things that are here and gone before getting our attention...
even people who are here and gone before we really get to know them...






Morning brought bright blue skies and sun. Though many trains were not yet running, I was able to attend church, and there were enough parts in the choir to sing Monteverdi's beautiful "Beatus vir" with flute and violin joining the accompaniment.

With extra indoor time, I was able to work on this year's Stewardship banner.

The quilted words at the bottom, "Anywhere, Lord, any time, don't show up with this lighting but will be at eye level when it is hung.

This is taken from the spiritual. I added a few extra four-letter words to fill the cross.

I thought the background would be more interesting than a solid color, and in a way, represents the theme as it takes a variety of many colors to make a rainbow and a variety of talents to keep a church active.

I still need to add the hanging sleeves and buy some dowels.


I took Nikko to the park water tap and gave her a shampoo so she could dry out in the sun and washed down the genkan and entryway tiles.

Seven rows of feedsack stars are sewed together ... thanks to being able to actually sit on the train with connecting lines being down and people staying home.
And ... what should really be getting my attention? The giant spoon syndrome that had turned my livingroom into an indoor disaster.