Sunset - June 2, 2020

Sunset - June 2, 2020

Saturday, June 20, 2020

Of bugs and books...

It is a rainy Saturday here at Taylorsoutback...a good day for making more little fabric bugs that will soon join all the scrappy flower pots growing along the borders of my Rowdy Flat project...

Because the bugs are tiny, experimenting with using freezer paper and different types of temporary glue...the Sewline pen vs. Roxanne’s Glue-Baste It. the larger bottle has the fine pinpoint applicator tip which I like for positioning applique pieces when needed. The smaller vial has a “dab” type applicator on the end - more of a miniature brush. Will just play around with all before deciding...
These small critters are more than welcomed in my garden unlike those pesky ‘skeeters or Wisconsin’s famous biting flies. For now, the borders of the quilt are progressing at a good pace. The first one is completed (minus above mentioned bugs) and a start made on the 2nd one. The variety of pot and flower designs along with using many different fabrics keeps the interest going - while working on one flower pot, I am all ready thinking ahead to the next one.





Summer is moving along much too fast around here...the nearby fields have all ready yielded their first crop of hay.


Iris flowers, lilacs and peonies have just about peaked and here we are ready to observe the Summer Solstice...I just don’t want the days to start growing shorter yet. We are so pleased to know our south field is a healthy one - last night the fireflies were dancing! And the monarchs are back flitting from flower to flower. 

In addition to some slow stitching & lots of gardening, the stack of read books grows higher. Can’t believe how many I have completed in the past few months - guess it is one more way to temporarily escape the madness of the world we live in. A few of the books were quick to go through and probably won’t linger much in my memory, but there are exceptions - 

A Single Thread by Tracy Chavelier and The Dressmaker’s Gift by Fiona Valpy. Both very, very good. 

But this one - I can’t recommend this highly enough...it will touch you, bring tears, smiles and new found awareness. The timeliness of it is incredible. 



While I had previously heard of the “blue people” of Kentucky, I did not know very much about them or the Pack Horse Librarian project created by Eleanor Roosevelt in the 1930’s. I won’t give away the plot other than to say it is filled with characters both wonderful and deplorable. One of the dearest though, is an elderly lady named Loretta Adams who lives alone in a mountainside cabin and has a stack of colorful pieces of cloth which she uses to make quilts, articles of clothing and items for daily use. When the beloved main character, Cussy Mary, visits Loretta one day, they have a discussion about people of color - Cussy Mary being one of the blue people and experiencing deep prejudice and isolation her entire life. Loretta points to a pile of cotton squares and says...

“See all my fabric, child? Well, them cloths are a lot like folks. Ain’t much difference at all. Some of us is more spiffed up than others, some stiffer, and still, some softer. There’s the colorful and dull, ugly and pretty, old, new’uns. But in the end we’s all fabric, cut from His cloth. Fabric, and just that.” 

Miss Loretta Adams - Kentuckian hillwoman.

If only everyone in the world would heed those words...

Be well, dear readers and continue to stay safe. 

Pat 

6 comments:

  1. Oh, that book sounds like a real treasure! Your sweet applique borders are wonderful! We're about finished with all the "spring" flowers too, peonies only have a couple more days left if we're lucky and dont have any hard rainstorms.

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  2. I had read a different book of the pack horse librarians so I will need to give this one a try also - along the same line there were nurses that did the same thing but I can't for the life of me remember the name they were given but they rode horses also although that one might have taken place in West Virginian. your applique is coming along so well.

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  3. A very poignant thought from Miss Loretta. The bugs on your quilt will definitely be much cuter than the real ones except for the fireflies and they're only pretty at night.

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  4. What a gorgeous header photo!! Wow!
    I look forward to seeing the critters flitting among your pots.
    I wish fireflies were more common around here. You have to go hunting for them, and I have never seen them locally. I have found them magical when I have seen them during visits to Illinois.
    Sounds like such wonderful folk wisdom. We could all learn from her!

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  5. We're getting that rain today. It was so needed. Your flower pots are really coming along great. Can't wait to see this one finished. Now...how did you know I was looking for the next book to read. I am almost done with We Were The Lucky Ones. I am having a hard time putting this one down. I think I will put yours next on my list. Thanks for sharing all your goodies.

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  6. That sunset is gorgeous! Your little bugs are so sweet unlike the black flies, mosquitoes, and annoying deer flies that we have here in NY State. I can't wait to see your Rowdy quilt when it's all together. I have those same books on my to-read list but must finish Varina first.

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