Waiting for the Storm

We had a storm warning, it was not been as bad as initially forecast, so far. We had about 4" of snow last night and more is expected. The sound of the wind howling, keening, singing and sighing through the grain elevators about 1/2 block from my house is one I will forever associate with my stay in South Dakota. My home in Hawaii is in a very windy area so I am used to wind noises, (not that there is any comparison in temperatures of course) but I do like the extra, slightly eerie dimension the elevators contribute.

I can't help thinking about the homesteading pioneers in South Dakota. No tee-vee machine, interwebz or radio, living in a shack built out of sod if they were lucky or an uninsulated wooden shack if they were not. What a hard life they had and how comparatively easy we have things today. How lonely those bitter winters must have been. They were a hardy breed as were their children, the generation that is almost gone now.

The other day I read a blog post written in May of 2010 about

"... quilting blogs where we don’t just show finishes or occasionally confess about our moments of indecision, but chat openly and often about our works in progress, our inspirations, and our moments of decision."

This struck a chord with me and reading further I saw that over 850 quilt bloggers had signed up and linked to it. I was quite surprised because I do not recall ever seeing that particular button on any of the many blogs I visit. On the other hand it is quite old so maybe it was a passing fad, but it made a lot of sense.



This brings me to the batik windmill blocks I had made. I saw the project as a wall-hanging or very small lap quilt in an old magazine of Lori's and it caught my fancy as such things are wont to do. After making three of them I knew I didn't want to do another 27 for an entire quilt.

They are an odd size, about 13" because I put narrow sashing and a cornerstone in the middle. I did that because I just did not like the way the block looked with the fairly ugly and very mismatched "bought in a moment of madness bargain bundle of batiks" I decided to use. What to do? Waste not want not and all that. This is a moment of indecision if there ever was one...

I have some thoughts, mainly in the direction of a row or horizontal strippy quilt. This might (partially) solve my butterfly moments problem. What do you think? If I do go that route, what should I choose for my next row?

Y'all come back!

Butterflies

I don't know if it is a symptom of aging or lack of focus, or both, but I am increasingly unable to start something and progress through until it is finished. I have always been a 'small bites list' person but these days I don't even get around to making a list, then not much gets done.

The number of 'works in progress' is becoming alarming, and they are not progressing. Butterflies in the brain, that's what it is. Is there a solution? I am working on it but there had better be!

The halfway point seems to be the slipping point. I start out with tremendous enthusiasm and about half way through "Oh look! That's nice, I want to make that!" and I am off in a completely different direction. So far I seem to be running at the rate of about one stalled project a month.

My White Christmas Amaryllis in bloom, snow outside. Click picture to enlarge This is a butterfly moment. Not flea brain as some people say, butterflies, much prettier. Oh look there is a flower! Isn't it pretty?

Step one, make a list. Step two, kill Lori when she helpfully points out the omissions.

Happy New Year to all!

Y'all come back!