Things that give you pause

Posted on July 11, 2011 by Mary Beth Frezon

Maybe it’s just the phase of the moon or something but quite a number of things gave me pause the past few days. A few even brought a tear to my eye:

Yesterday I landed in my car to drive home just as The Thistle and Shamrock radio show was starting and it was about some of my most favorite music:

Turlough O Carolan was born in 1670. He lived through a time when the old structures in Irish society were dying and a new order was being imposed. Carolan adapted his traditional harp music to the baroque style popular in the Europe of his era, which gave him a unique voice as a composer at a pivotal time in Irish history. Today Carolan’s music is as popular as ever.

It was a fascinating playlist and I confess it made my heart sing and cry alternately.

Today: A rather long and fabulous discussion on SAQA about art, quilts, innovation and maybe why it’s not all it’s purported to be, what’s important etc. It’s been a long time since I really looked forward to getting more email about a topic in an email list. I found myself at lunch writing along involved reply on my iPhone. And while on break. LOL. I think my pause there was having a moment of feeling not so alone in what I do.

I watched Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix tonight and cried often during it. Whoa. That book might have been the one I stayed up all night to read. Wanting it to last… not being able to stop reading…

Maybe it’s the heat or whatever but it’s good to feel the heart strings tug once in awhile. Even seeing the young yearlings (one a spikehorn in velvet) has given me some moments this week. Nice.

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Made you think

Posted on July 9, 2011 by Mary Beth Frezon

Last night mom and I were chatting (me on my iPhone since I’m straightening out a computer problem) and she mentioned she was looking for a particular patchwork pattern. Being in my sewing room at the time (see above) I reached over and hauled my big encyclopedia of pieced patterns by Barbara Brackman off the shelf. Found the pattern, snapped an iPhone photo of it and told mom “email incoming!”

Put that back and pulled one of my first quilting books: 1001 Patchwork Designs by Maggie Malone. Photo and email.

Was flipping through 1001 later and realized this is what it’s all about for me: rummaging through pieced patterns, thinking about secondary and tertiary designs and riffing off those patterns. I do realize that to you, dear reader, this is a huge doh, tell me something I didn’t already know moment.

Adding this book to my night table stack right under LOTR, lol.

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Found while rummaging

Posted on July 7, 2011 by Mary Beth Frezon

In a stray pile of quilt show and entry paperwork: my QN01 rejection paperwork with this note from Hilary Fletcher on the outside of the envelope. Remember you fondly Hilary.

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Thursday. The mundane to an extreme.

Posted on July 7, 2011 by Mary Beth Frezon

A list of very mundane but odd things:

  • I think today is the end of my week of working every other day. In some ways it was rather disorienting, as in “what the heck? what were they thinking? what day is it?” In some ways it was just weird. Mostly though it gave me a great longing for “retirement.” Go figure.
  • Went grocery shopping last night. Bought some greek yogurt to try with some blueberries for breakfast. It was good. Not “nectar of the gods” sort of thing but ok. Have stuff to keep me going for awhile.
  • I came home the other night to find there was a new “trash” can, for single stream recycling – one of the weirdest ideas in modern life. We used to separate our recyclable things: glass, metal, plastic, paper. Now it all goes into one bin and gets taken away. For someone else to separate? To get put into the landfill? I have no explanation.
  • I’m ready to layer my current quilt. It will need another bit of ironing but then it is all set to go. Time to get going with the pins so I can get going with the sewing machine and get that quilted.
  • I decided I would watch all the Harry Potter movies before the last one came out. I had avoided all of them because I loved the books too much. I have watched the first two and found them enjoyable and strangely, very simple. Not so strangely – a different experience altogether from the books. I’m good with it. On to the next.
  • I’m ridiculously happy that I got an invite to Google+ I am still figuring out what it is all about but no doubt you’ll be hearing more about it. Beautifully designed interface.
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Happiness is…

Posted on July 5, 2011 by Mary Beth Frezon

…a really big hunk of black silk.

No I’m not using it for a whole backing. Tempting… but no.

No.

I put most of it away.

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