Not Made to Measure

Thought I would try something different for my quilting experience, and its become a mini quilt going to the Infant Center here in town for babies to wrap toys in. I tried and am not quite at the stage of quilting that is ok with this sort of piecing.

Its hard for me to hold onto my confidence at times when I do something new. There is no judging about this particular pattern and how it turned out other than if I like it. So many quilters tell me that they will not work on something they don't enjoy. I guess we all have so many different preferences that its ok to release and go onto something we do enjoy.

It was a pattern I found in the 12/12 issue of American Patchwork & Quilting. Its another example of scrap quilts. After I get the batting and back sandwiched, the plan is to quilt it diagonally in relatively close lines. It will hold up to a lot of washing in the center. I learned that they toss most washable things in at least weekly and more if a baby throws up on it.

It looks the way the pattern calls for it to turn out. Its a piece I will finish because its small. I wonder what I learned about myself while doing it. Right now, I just don't know. Maybe its about release and moving on.

The other thing I did was to bake one more kind of cookie. Chocolate and coffee make the very dark brown dough, with those Andes peppermint pieces, which is a very strong flavor to it. All the cookies are in containers now and will be packaged for shipping in the morning. The recipients of what I sent already have expressed their pleasure and look forward to getting more in the mail.

Also going out is the December Calendar block to my swap partner Rex in WI. 

Its going to stay at freezing temps through the week, so I've left a drip running in the last bathroom to keep the pipes from freezing. This is California, and the housing construction industry has yet to allow for such overnight chills. 

This last year, I put in a small pond in the west part of the gardens which is going to run through the winter. I laid the electrical wire underground through some PVC so the motor goes 24/7. Its enough to keep the small pond bubbling. 

It amazes me that the small birds come to bathe in it with snow covered rocks surrounding it. They blend in with the stone and so attempts to photograph them with my little Kodak are unfulfilling. I've been seeing some birds who rarely come this far south from Canada. There must be a shift in weather up there too.

Birds release and move on in their own ways as well as some humans. I see the different kinds of birds and how they share the resources.  The bigger birds swoop in with large wing spans that would seem to chase the smaller ones away. However, they--and these are the Mourning Doves, will roost on the roof next door and wait awhile. Their usual numbers are at 10-16, and I am still unable to count the smaller birds.

The expense of seed is going to be a part of my Winter season this year, and is quite worth it for all their presence gives me in return. I've taken to adding seed twice each day now. Nothing gets wasted by them as they feed off the floor of the porch when the tray empties.