November – My Favorite Month

November – My Favorite Month

November – My Favorite Month

So I have a lot to catch up on with you, huh? November is my favorite month, partly because there seems to be a bit more reflective time. But I didn’t mean to leave October so forlorn here on the blog.

To catch you up a bit – Here’s what went down in October >>

• The first week, I spent a lot of time sewing and cleaning in the studio, as usual, just trying to keep up!
• The second week was my 29th wedding anniversary – Linda and I spent an incredibly beautiful mid week weekend on Lopez Island. If you haven’t heard of it, you must visit when you come to Washington State. It is in the San Juan Islands between British Columbia and Washington. Native Northwesterners call them the Banana Belt of the area, as they  typically get very nice weather all year round.
• The third week, was basically spent trying to get a bunch of yard work stuff done, cleaning my mother in law’s gutters (and some of mine) getting things put away for winter etc.
• The fourth and a half week 🙂 was spent dreading, having, and recuperating from a hernia surgery that has kept me from lifting anything more than 14-20 pounds since. (I think I can start lifting things again just before Christmas)  I was pretty drugged up on Pain Meds. It was pretty hard to do much of anything very sensibly.

So now Moving on into November…..

But I really wanted to talk about November in this post. Last year, I had a very hard time in November because my late brother Ty’s birthday was the Friday after Thanksgiving and last year the date (the 24th) fell on a Friday again – I have the roughest times those years. This year his birthday is on a Saturday, and I don’t feel as lost as did last year. I still miss him, but I can handle it better.

The thing I have really, really been enjoying the most this November is the landscape. The leaves are mostly gone, and there’s a certain beautiful mournfulness to the air. It hasn’t been getting bitter cold yet and the winds and rain have not yet engulfed us fully as they will more into winter. These are the last beautiful days of Autumn in our hemisphere and I am searching for music with oboes and hammered dulcimers layered into it to enhance the landscape. I also really love Thanksgiving because it is generally still under merchandised and lacking the onslaught of marketing that is hitting us for Christmas.  Plus, even though things aren’t perfect, we do have a lot to be thankful for!

And now that Thanksgiving is here today. I had meant to get this post up two weeks ago, but you know I have been on Instagram more than here. I have been super nostalgic this season. Expect to see some of my vintage quilts pop up here in the next few posts and be ready to hear me ramble on about sentimental memories, etc. The holidays tend to bring a lot of memories to the forefront of my mind. Do they do that for you?

Today’s Pix…..

…are from photo shoots I have been taking to get patterns ready for you to Buy and Make! All of these quilts are done up in my Tie One On line for Banyan Batiks.

Took this shot of new pattern coming Dot Code – Creamy Version while I was visiting my Mother in Law. This version of the quilt was also in Modern Patchwork NovDec 2018 issue published as Half Moon Rising.

And I captured this fun shot of Dot Code – Chunky Version while we were on Lopez Island.  Pattern should be available by the End of December (next month).

This is Looking Good  –  also shot near Lopez Village on Lopez Island.  The Pattern is forthcoming.  I am way behind on this one. Aiming for February now.

Another view of Looking Good at a different spot on Lopez Island.

Here is a small fall version of my Stoneybrek pattern that I really had aimed at getting done this year. Alas it won’t be ready now until next February.

That’s it for today.

Be sure to check out my Instagram feed for a Thanksgiving/Fire sale I have going on – Sale is 20% off of my patterns and goes to the 27th. All proceeds from Sales in the shop through the end of November will go to victims of the Paradise Camp Fire.

Keep Sewing, Keep Happy,

Scott