Of grandsons and jeans and hurricanes

Just dumped on the table, there doesn't seem to be much sewing, but he had five pairs!

 

Our grandson Lane, came for a visit last Friday. You know what they say, "They only come when they want something"? Well, it's sort of true. He gave me a hug, after informing me that he needed some jeans hemmed. Sure. Not a problem.

Let's see, clean and thread the machine, put in a new, extra-heavy duty universal needle (twice), replace the rotary cutter blade or at the very least sharpen it, spend 45 minutes cutting and sewing new jeans. He's a working man now, so he needs to dress a little better than he did for hanging around the house. Every change seems to affect me somehow.

I'm kidding, of course. Having them over is a joy. Not that I spent much time with him or Adam or Rory. They were all outside helping Richard set up the greenhouse. A project started out for me, but Richard can't do anything in a normal fashion. We need, at most, a 10 X 10 space. The old greenhouse has an 18' width, so okay 10 X 18. Of course, my country boy is making it 18' X 20'. Almost four times larger than my original request. I'll let him figure out the heat/water and whatever else it may need.

Why a greenhouse? Mornings are dipping to 45 degrees. Afternoons can be a warm as 80 degrees. I learned last year that succulents and other pretty plants can't take extreme changes in temperature. And those babies were expensive. All I had to do was put the idea of a hothouse in hubby's head. Don't you know he ran with it. I love that man!

In other news, we had a little, tiny catastrophe here. A tree fell during one of the hurricanes. (There have been so many, but I think it was Delta.) That it fell was not a problem. No, the real problem was that it fell on top of several of my favorite pots! The plants survived. The pots did not. So I have no choice but to replant them in a container of some fashion. Then off they will go to the new/old greenhouse. New because it was just put up. Old because the metal ribs are about the only thing left from when we owned the nursery. The country boy saved the metal ribs, so here we are with a fancy greenhouse, lots of plants, and no pots.

Works in Progress...

 Hi everyone! I am extremely excited. There are so many new things happening all at once that I'm not sure which way to turn. But in a good way, you know? 

For one, there's my booth at Griffin's Antiques and Main St. Market. It's sort of an antiques store, flea market, artist market and cafe all rolled into one huge building. There are almost 70 booths, and the items range into just about anything. One booth is called SWAG. Two young girls who make and sell swags. That's it. Swag decorations of all shapes and sizes and fabrics. It's crazy. And that's only one example. 

My booth has my quilted art, some door hangers, and some painted sky pieces with Biblical quotes on them. As soon as there's room, I'll add charcuterie boards and one-of-a-kind, handmade Christmas ornaments. 

Back to my overly busy life: my un-, This World So Fierce, 6 available in ebook format at Amazon beginning tomorrow. You can find it easily if you search amazon.com for "this world so fierce marcotte." Adding my name to the end really helps to bring it to the top. Otherwise, every book with world or fierce in the title will be above your search.

And then there's this website that I've been trying to build. I'm not certain about whether I can do it myself, but I have to try. If you feel like visiting and letting me know what you think, I'd love your input. You can find it at http://www.marymarcotte.com. Really, I need all the help and suggestions I can get.

Days seem to be a hot commodity. Appointments, family, and commitments seem to be vying for full days. I mean, sure, I can give a few hours, but the entire day? I do not like scheduling something for a whole day. It's like blocking out the sun. I wake up from the fog and it's night. The day is gone. 

Anyway, here we are. I was supposed to be explaining something about this blog and the new website. Since the website is taking so long to put together, I think I'll continue to blog here once or twice a week, skipping the Pinterest posts. Let's face it, I can't visit Pinterest. Those rabbit holes are deep and wide. Falling in may mean not waking up from the fog.

So until the next time...

Sunday Quilt Inspiration: B O O K S

 

Since I've broken the news of my forthcoming book, A World So Fierce, I thought I'd take a look at the quilts that represent books. 

There are many bookshelf quilts. I knew that going in, but wow! I didn't expect to find so many more since the last time I pinned some to the "books" section of "heart, quilts." 

There are  over 150 pins on this board alone. I imagine there are a few duplicates, since it's difficult to remember them as I go along. 

Have you made or considered making a quilt with books? What other objects would you add on the shelves? Have an inspired week of quilting!

Baton Rouge before the storm

I needed to drop off some quilts to a CFAL member in Baton Rouge for an upcoming show. We knew that Hurricane Delta would be coming ashore on Friday and we had plans to be in Jackson, MS. So we combined the two plans and hit the road running: drop off quilts in BR, then beat it to Jackson. 

We were to spend the night and go to the Mississippi Museum of Art. Then race back to Evergreen ahead of the storm. Baton Rouge happened. Jackson did not. 

We felt that we needed to be home to prepare for the storm and make sure family members were safe. 

While we were in the BR Garden District, we couldn't help noticing the beautiful homes, the ancient oaks, and the pleasant atmosphere. 

I had to have pictures to share with you, so Rich drove slowly and put up with me. (He really is a doll.)

We didn't even attempt to drive around and look, I simply took pictures as we navigated our way to Downtown BR. There is a sculpture on the levee that I wanted to experience for the first time with Richard. 

Experience is the correct word here, because you do more than just look at the sculpture. We had fun looking at things, and ourselves, from the sculpture's perspective. But there's more.

The Visit Baton Rouge website states, "most impressive is its ability to interact with the surroundings. Appropriately named Sing The River, the sculpture is connected to sensors in the mighty Mississippi River and plays music that corresponds with the rise and fall of the water." 

 

We talked about bringing the great-grandies to see the sculpture and go to the children's museum. I think they have been already, but at two and three, they would have fun again. 

Our little outing was entirely "on-the-fly" since we decided as we were driving into BR that we would not go on to Jackson. We didn't even touch the suitcases and electronics packed in the backseat until we returned home. No matter, we enjoyed each other's company and did much more than this. But this post is long enough already, so that will wait for another day. Thanks for visiting! Leave comments, you know I love it when you do!

Sunday Quilt Inspiration: leaves of three, let me be...

 Has anyone ever told you that phrase in a effort to keep you out of poison ivy or poison sumac or poison oak? Yes, I know of three vines to which I am highly allergic. 

I watch for the leaves, but I also know where they are most likely to thrive and know the itching difference. Yes, it's possible to tell. Poison ivy blisters and will release a clear liquid that will spread the itching. It's pretty miserable.

Poison oak itches more and feels like it gets deeper into your tissues. There are no obvious blisters but the skin tears easily. Thankfully, it doesn't last as long as the other two. 

Poison sumac is a mean one. It itches the least, but the itching lasts for about three weeks. 

Since I'm all into this already, I'll tell you what I do for treating all of them. If I discover that I've been exposed, I wash my hands, arms, feet and legs with soap and water immediately, using plain water if that's all that's available. I want to get as much of the plant oil off of me as possible. Once I get home, I shower in cool water using a scrub specifically formulated for this and follow up with an anti-itch cream. The picture above shows the particular ones I like.

I keep both at home or in the camper, but it's necessary to use both a couple of times a day, so a trip to any pharmacy is generally part of the treatment. Calamine lotion? It smells like childhood, so it gives physiological help, but that's about it.

 Whew, that was a lot of information to get here--to quilts with leaves (of any number).

 Prayers that you survived Hurricane Delta safely and without too much damage. We were very lucky and had only a few limbs to pick up in the wooded area near our house. That's where the poison ivy lives, so you now know where I got this idea. If you're allergic to leaves of three, how do you treat it? Any idea that may shorten the misery is welcome. Have a wonderful week, everyone.