The Last Rose of Summer

The Last Rose of Summer by Thomas Moore

'Tis the last rose of summer

left blooming alone; 

All her lovely companions

are faded and gone.

No flower of her kindred,

No rosebud is nigh,

To reflect back her blushes,

To give sigh for sigh.

I'll not leave thee, thou lone one!

To pine on the stem;

Since the lovely are sleeping,

Go, sleep thou with them.

Thus kindly I scatter

Thy leaves o'er the bed,

Where thy mates of the garden

Lie scentless and dead.

Speechless

I know, hard to believe.

But really, the only thing I need to say about these pictures is that they were all taken within one tenth of a mile from where I'm sitting right now.  The first three were taken from inside my room.  Not a bad view for a basement.  The rest were taken along our street and around our yard.   Enjoy!

Going Green

But I'm not talking about being environmentally friendly.

Guess who's jealous:  Bernice!   She's the youngest machine I have, so she's a little immature.  She doesn't think it's fair that I introduced my readers to Kenny and The Diva and haven't mentioned her yet.   I guess she just doesn't get the age before beauty concept!  I better introduce her before she throws a fit.

Say hello to Bernice . . .

and her sidekick, Emma, the embroidery module.

Now, I'm not going to tell you much about them because let's face it, these days there's nothing too special about a computerized sewing machine with a few bells and whistles.  (Shhh . . . don't tell them I said that.)

But they do have a friend I'll tell you about.  His name is Jerry.  Jerry Rigged.

The Diva

Interesting!  I just looked up the word diva (oh how I enjoy looking up words) and I was surprised.
Raise your hand if that word has a negative connotation for you.  It does for me.  Yet, it wasn't until I went to the fourth site, after checking out Wikipedia, Dictionary.com and Merriam-Webster, that I found any reference to the downside of being a diva.  Of course we all know this term's deep connection with the world of opera.  And there are some classic examples of notoriously naughty divas:

How about Carlotta, from Phantom?

And if you expand to include SOAP operas, well . . . Erica Kane.

Enough said!

Okay, so where am I going with all of this?  Well, I needed a name for a newly acquired sewing machine.  Let me introduce you to her.

Flat Student - Guest Post

Hi!  I'm a Flat Student from McPherson, Kansas.  (If you've never heard of Flat Stanley you need to go here for a quick explanation.)

I've been sent to Mrs. Moraine in Washington State for a short visit.
The timing was great because she had a special Quilt Retreat weekend coming up.  But first, a couple of normal activities and then, after retreat, we'll do the "tourist" thing.
(Be prepared for a long post)

Retreat Report

Years ago, my sister took her quilting group for a retreat at our family cabin, located in the Cascade Mountains, near Leavenworth, WA.  They enjoyed it so much it became a biannual tradition.

Here are a few pictures from our most recent episode.

Leftovers

It's probably safe to assume that most people think of food when they hear that word; I would guess that it probably conjures up certain feelings as well.  And those feelings run the gamut.  You have those who would rather starve than eat leftovers.  Then you have those who are thinking how good their current meal will taste the next day.  There are those who save every single scrap and spoonful, and those (too many) who throw away enough to feed an army.

One of the first things I think of is Thanksgiving.   I love Thanksgiving leftovers!  The only problem I've ever had with them is finding room to store them.  (Or not having any because we ate at someone else's house.)

When it comes to quilting, leftovers can pose a challenge for some, and be a delight to others.  Just check out what Leah Day did with some incredibly small scraps.

After the BHS Raffle quilt I had Thanksgiving dinner kind of leftovers - in other words, lots.  So I decided to make a small quilt.