Projects in process

Hello, everyone.

There was mention of things in progress a couple of weeks or so ago, and then no information appeared. Today there is a moment to catch up on them.

The rosary in progress. Using up the purple wire!

 This is the purple-ish rosary that's being worked on right now. It's a maybe whether the purple wire will last out the strand, actually. It might end up with a segment of green wire toward the end.

A trivet pad. 

This trivet was started as a way to check out round quilting with the walking foot. I used a variegated thread spool that was around--still plenty on that actually--and it really seems to have worked out well. Only needs a binding now.

The little corner of time between Thanksgiving and Advent

Hello, everyone.

I hope all of my US readers had a happy Thanksgiving.

That "little corner" of the title is a week long this year...plus a couple of days. (For my international readers, Thanksgiving Day is always on a Thursday. And, of course, Advent begins on a Sunday.)

We had most of the gang in house for the feast--moved the grandparents' table into the largest room and put in *all* the leaves--even had an extra guest. It was great. And as this was the first time the new graduate and the newly completed graduation quilt were in the same place, she received her quilt.

I used a new (to me) way of binding on this one. I made the double folded straight grain strip and pieced the sections with a bias seam, and then sewed it onto the back of the quilt. Then pulled the folded edge onto the front, pinned it down, and machine sewed it in place on the front. It went fairly well and was a lot quicker than the old way. Plus the corners are all mitered.

As the fabric was almost all from stash, that means much of it was from Fabric.com and some was from Hobby Lobby. The binding is plain black Kona cotton.

More from Estero Llano Grande

Hello, everyone.

As promised, some more pictures from our visit to Estero Llano Grande this week.

There were a number of butterflies. This one was willing to pose:

We walked back to the alligator pond, passed the first part, and went to the viewing platform at the end. No gator in sight that day!









Silhouetted against the cloud, part of the flock of pelicans. (More are above them, but they blend in with the sky.) They were wheeling around in an updraft before settling down for a late-morning rest.

Estero Llano Grande, second visit

Hello, everyone.

Today we went back to Estero Llano Grande State Park in Weslaco. We got there early, as the day was promised to be warm. ("Warm" in this context means "over 80F.") The forecast was not wrong.

There were a few birders there, but not whole flocks like can happen sometimes after Winter Texas season really revs up. No wind to speak of, a lovely blue sky with white puffy clouds here-n-there, a humid day but not a miserable one. Lovely walking conditions overall!

We saw, but couldn't get a photo of, a vermilion flycatcher and assorted other small birdies that we didn't even get a good look at. There were a number of waterfowl too, in the park proper and in the canal behind the park. (If you follow the trails you can walk along on top of the levee and view the canal.)

Today some of the most interesting birds were at the canal: a large-ish flock of white pelicans that we first saw swimming in the water by the tens and fifteens, then later flying in an updraft overhead, and finally in a clump on the far bank of the canal.

Also, and less to be expected, a pair of kites in a tree overlooking the canal.

There were other interesting sights also; hopefully there will be another post tomorrow with more photos.

Just catching up

Hello, everyone.

It's been quite a while--well, considering that I'm at home and not out of pocket--since the last post. It's been just one thing after another around here.

We did stroll down to the polling place on election day, even though there weren't any huge races to vote in, because there were issues that needed to be voted on.

On the way over, we saw the ducks having a little rest in the park:

These are domestic ducks, provenance unknown, that arrived at the park after the pond was constructed and filled. There are also some geese...not combative geese, thank heavens, possibly because the park is always dotted with walkers and runners and assorted other folks.

During the last several days, besides our little stroll last Tuesday, there were a few things finished off: a rosary with white perle Hail Mary beads and clear heart Our Father beads. An apron that had been originally sewn with its ties off center was repaired. Some more of the quilting on the Tech quilt has been done, too, in between days when the dining room table is used for actual, you know, eating.

Another rosary has been started, too: purple 20-gauge wire, purple lentil shaped beads for the Our Father beads, little purple perles for the spacers at the ends of the decades (useful if one adds the Fatima Prayer to the end of the decades) and assorted heathery colored glass beads for the Our
Father beads. It sits on the computer desk and I try to do a bead or two every time.

There is also some scrap-busting going on in the form of trivets or mug rug sets. Y'all may remember some color play a little while back which was developing ideas for these mug rug sets. The first one has turned itself into a trivet, oddly enough, but that's okay. It's still something that has a use and gets scraps out of the studio.

A glorious walk today

Hello, everyone.

This morning we got going and walked at Bentsen RGV State Park. At a moderate-slow pace, we strolled three to four miles: from the entrance to the hawk tower and then around the loop back to the entrance, with stops at various bird blinds and feeders.

If anyone is wondering about what can be seen now, the feeder stocking season has begun.

The chachalacas:

An entire flock gathered to eat the seeds. It's fun watching
their social interactions.

Taken at the feeders near the entrance.

And the green jays:

"You got something to say?"

Taken at the blind. They are not fooled by the blind, but they don't seem to care either. These are two of about four or five that were eating seeds. They were loaded with that typical jay-bird attitude.

We are so happy to be back onto a longer walk distance.