Going With the Grain

Good morning, my friends. It’s been a mildly hectic week, and so I’ve given myself permission to skip a day or two of blogging. It occurs to me that whether I blog or not has to do with whether I get to do any sewing. If I’m not sewing, the rest of the day is pretty ho-hum…a lot of busy work standing between me and my sewing. 

Yesterday’s busy work happened to include a pedicure. It was good to take a spa break, even if it was for just an hour. As I’ve mentioned before, this particular spa has the most beautiful gardens. Even if you’re not a guest at the hotel, it’s worth stopping by just to stroll the grounds. It’s going to be in beautiful fall colors soon. Yesterday I noticed this potted lantana. 

And these bright red begonias.

This is Crapemyrtle. It was growing all around the parking lot.

I had one other errand to run, but I was home around 1:00 p.m. My morning to-do’s were already to-done, and so I had some time to knock off one of the items from today’s to-do’s. The jumbo zip-lock bags I ordered came the day before, and so I tried my idea of stripping off the kernels inside a huge bag. And, hey…that was the ticket…some might say it was the shiznit. I was able to denude 11 ears of corn in less than 10 minutes. I got a stray kernel here and there, but mostly, it all went into the bag. This is a 3-1/2 gallon zip-lock bag, and those are the kernels of 11 ears of corn.

When I was finished, I scooped them out of the bag with my one-cup measuring cup into two-cup portions for freezing. 

Okay, and then I had time to sew. The rest of the afternoon was devoted to top-stitching the Amber Waves of Grain block from the day before.

Smitty helped me with that.

When it was finished, it looked like this. Those little hay bales were a little tedious.

Here are all the blocks I have for “Where the Cows Come Home.” There are five more blocks for this project.

Starting today, the rubber is really going to hit the road insofar as our trip preparations are concerned. I need to make some lists, do some cooking and baking, pack the food, pack my clothes, and all the rest between now and D-Day on Monday. I’m still hoping to get in some sewing time. Next up will be to make the fourth block for Across the Wide Missouri. This block is devoted to Dr. Bethenia Owens-Adair.

This one hits close to home because she lived much of her life in Oregon. This is the photograph of her from the pattern book. You can read more about her on her Oregon Encyclopedia page.

Here’s another photograph of her.

And what a remarkable woman. I encourage you to read her story. She was, essentially, a mail-order bride, in that her marriage was arranged when her parents answered an ad. The man she married turned out to be abusive, shiftless and lazy, and they were divorced after four years of marriage and the birth of one son.. 

She was an industrious woman at a time when there really wasn’t much help for women in her circumstances. She had the help of family and eventually was able to put herself through medical school. She became the first woman doctor in the state of Oregon. She held some controversial viewpoints. Like so many historical figures, she was a woman of her time, and time has a way of changing attitudes. When I read about women like this, it brings home to me that I’ve lived a fortunate life. Sometimes I wonder how I would have managed under similar circumstances.

Okay, and so all of that to say that I’d dearly love to get started on her block. These are the blocks I have for this quilt so far.

Sewing time is going to be hard to come by, I’m afraid. I’ll blog if I have anything to tell you. If not, you can expect to hear from me again no later than Tuesday. By then, we’ll be in Olympia, Washington. Be ready, my friends. The bus leaves on Monday morning.