Pinwheel Star

 

Elias Howe was born in Massachusetts in 1819. He was apprenticed at a textile factory, and later worked as a mechanic with carding machinery. For years he wrestled with the idea of a machine that could relieve tailors and seamstresses of the drudgery of hand stitching. One night, he dreamed he was about to be executed by primitive tribe for his inability to invent the sewing machine. The “savages” came at him with spears – spears with piercings near their tips. His dream led to the invention of the lockstitch sewing machine, which uses a needle pierced near the tip. In 1851, Elias received a patent for another invention, which he called the “Automatic, Continuous Clothing Closure.” The popularity of the sewing machine kept Elias so busy, he never really marketed his other invention, which you’ve probably already used at least twice today. Today is National Zipper Day, something you may want to remember next time you zip up.

Cheerful Churn Dash

 

While planning my entry for the 2015 State Fair Quilt Challenge, I bought a fat quarter bundle in jewel tones to compliment the bold, bright challenge fabric. The leftovers became a bed quilt when my grandson graduated from his crib. In 2016, my challenge quilt showed off orange prints from several different fabric lines. The scraps became pumpkins in four autumn quilts. In 2017, I used 5” squares imported from Japan; there were no leftovers at all. I cannibalized two different quilt kits in 2018. I have fun plans for the Lori Holt 30’s prints I used in 2019. The red, grey and blue scraps from my 2020/2021 entry became a full-size quilt for my son's brother-in-law. I bought another fat quarter bundle to make last year’s quilt, but didn’t end up using any of it. These black, pink and green prints will make a fun queen-sized sampler quilt. What’ll I do with this year’s leftovers? I have no idea.  

Thirty Log Cabins

 

If she’d been born only a generation or two earlier, Katherine Johnson probably wouldn’t have been taught to read or write, much less to multiply and divide. Even in the 1920’s in Greenbriar County, West Virginia, African Americans like Katherine could only receive an eighth-grade education. When she was ten years old, her family moved to Institute, West Virginia so Katherine and her three siblings could continue learning. She finished high school at age fourteen. Katherine graduated summa cum laude from West Virginia State College (a historically black school) with degrees in mathematics and French, at eighteen. Katherine began working for NASA in 1952, in a pool of African American female mathematicians. In 1961, she calculated the trajectory of man’s first trip into space. She helped the crew of Apollo 13 find their way home. Her work was so consistent when NASA began to use computers, they had Katherine double-check their results for accuracy. 

Moab

 

Hope is the thing with feathers

That perches in the soul,

And sings the tune without the words,

And never stops at all,

 

And sweetest in the gale is heard;

And sore must be the storm

That could abash the little bird

That kept so many warm.

 

I've heard it in the chillest land,

And on the strangest sea;

Yet, never, in extremity,

It asked a crumb of me.

 

by Emily Dickinson (1830-1886)

Twenty-five Log Cabins

 

It probably happens a few times every year. A kid – maybe it’s my imagination, but it seems like it’s usually a boy – is fascinated with the arcade claw machine. He decides there’s an easier way to get the toy he wants, and he crawls through the door meant to dispense said toy. Then he discovers getting into the machine is easier than getting back out, and someone has to call the fire department. The average age of the kids rescued from claw machines is probably between three and five. Last week an event in North Carolina proved you don’t have to be a preschooler to be really stupid. A thirteen-year-old was discovered inside a Cosmic XL Bonus Game in Carowinds, trying to steal a plush toy. He’s been banned from returning to the amusement park for a year. But his family and friends will NEVER let him forget this.

Five Inch Sawtooth Star

 

“Followers of Jesus Christ minister one to another, rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep, remember the poor and the needy, the sick and the afflicted. Let His name be known through our ministry. We may tire physically. But in His service, we do not weary in well-doing. We diligently do our best, do not run faster than we have strength, but trust, as the Apostle Paul teaches, that God loveth a cheerful giver. God enriches everything to all bountifulness. They which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. Wherever we are, let us reach out and care as our Savior would, especially to those whom we are privileged by love and assignment to minister. In so doing, may we draw closer to Jesus Christ and each other, becoming more like Him and the followers of Jesus Christ He would have us each be.” – Elder Gerrit W. Gong

Sixteen Log Cabins

 

Spring came late this year, but it’s here now. My crocuses are spent, and there are pear and cherry buds EVERYWHERE. Before you know it, there will be nests full of hungry birdlings. What should you do if you find a lost baby bird? That depends. If the “baby” has feathers, it isn’t lost, and it’s no baby. It’s a fledgling learning to fly. Mom and Dad are nearby, watching and feeding until it’s airborne. If it’s naked, pick it up and return it to the nest. Don’t worry. Most birds don’t have a good sense of smell. Your help won’t cause them to reject their baby. If you can’t find the nest, put Junior on a tree branch. It will holler until help arrives. Don’t try to feed it. Don’t take it home. If it’s a duckling or gosling, don’t put it in the water. Unless it’s stuck down a storm drain, it’s better off where it is.