when the world
goes mad
become wildly kind
to everyone
everyone
everyone
my love,
~ you can’t control
much
but you control how
you treat others
in these breaking news
heartbreaking times
when nothing feels
certain
let your raw kindness
be a certainty
allow your compassion
to become a North Star
stamped up in
the sky for
others to follow
back home
~ john roedel
(art by Jungsuk Lee)
“This constant lying is not aimed at making the people believe a lie, but at ensuring that no one believes anything anymore. A people that can no longer distinguish between truth and lies cannot distinguish between right and wrong.
And such a people, deprived of the power to think and judge, is, without knowing and willing it, completely subjected to the rule of lies. With such a people, you can do whatever you want.”
– Hannah Arendt (14 October 1906 – 4 December 1975) German historian and philosopher
“174 years ago there was a huge storm in northern Scotland, and it uncovered something strange.
From beneath the soil emerged a perfectly preserved village older than the Pyramids, and it even had furniture.” “Of particular interest because so many daily use items from furniture to utensils to cookware survived.”
How much of our history is hidden beneath our feet?
I met a traveller from an antique land
Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed:
And on the pedestal these words appear:
“My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!”
No thing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.
— Percy Shelley, “Ozymandias”
“You are holding a cup of coffee when someone comes along and bumps into you or shakes your arm, making you spill your coffee everywhere.
Why did you spill the coffee?
“Because someone bumped into me!!!”
Wrong answer.
You spilled the coffee because there was coffee in your cup.
Had there been tea in the cup, you would have spilled tea.
Whatever is inside the cup is what will spill out.
Therefore, when life comes along and shakes you (which WILL happen), whatever is inside you will come out. It’s easy to fake it, until you get rattled.
So we have to ask ourselves… “what’s in my cup?”
When life gets tough, what spills over?
Joy, gratitude, peace and humility?
Anger, bitterness, victim mentality and quitting tendencies?
Life provides the cup, YOU choose how to fill it.
Today let’s work towards filling our cups with gratitude, forgiveness, joy, words of affirmation, resilience, positivity; and kindness, gentleness and love for others.”
“Do not disregard evil, saying, “It will not come unto me.” By the falling of drops, even a water jar is filled; likewise the fool, gathering little by little, fills himself with evil.
Do not disregard merit, saying, “It will not come unto me.’ By the falling of drops, even a water jar is filled, likewise the wise man, gathering little by little, fills himself with good.”
– from the Dhammapada (Sacred book of Buddhism)
How to self bind a quilt
This is the easiest way I know to bind a quilt.
No faffing about with bias tape or wondering what color to use as a frame for the quilt top. All you see is the quilt.
This is what it looks like completed.
Lay out your quilt sandwich like this –
quilt top right side down
backing, right side up
batting
You can also do this in reverse, with the batting on top if you like. Just make certain that the quilt top and back are right sides together.
I use canned vegetables to hold the layers as I lay out the pieces.
Pin thoroughly. I use curved quilting pins.
Sew all around the edges, leaving a gap at the bottom for turning. I usually make it about 18 inches long. Backstitch the beginning and end of where you leave the turning gap. I find using a walking foot at this point is very helpful.
Here is a photo of the turning gap. Note how the layers are arranged. I often use muslin for the backing so I don’t have to think about what to use. Plus, there is no “right” or “wrong” side to it.
Lay the quilt on the floor and trim around the edges of the quilt about ½ inch. Be certain to trim the corners at an angle.
Remove the quilting pins.
Turn the quilt inside out, and use your finger or a tool (like a knitting needle) to turn the corners all the way out. You can finger-press the seams to make them flatter.
Lay the quilt back down on the floor and repin it with quilting pins.
Fold in the turning gap. Use clips to hold the turning gap closed. Sew it closed.
Quilt however you like.
I suggest you first try this out with some scrap pieces to learn how to do this.
I’m learning how to do the L7 quilt block. It is like Fence Rail (also known as Rail Fence) but there are only 2 strips, not 3 or more.
Making quilts doesn’t have to be hard. I’m trying to show you easy fun things that still count.
There are precut collections of fabric that make life easier for beginning quilters. One example is sometimes known as “jelly roll” or “roly-poly”. Different companies use different names. They are 2.5 inch by the width of the fabric (WOF). This is usually around 44 to 45 inches.
You need 32 strips to make this blanket – half blue, half yellow. Or use whatever combination of colors you like. Having a dark/light combination looks nice.
Here’s the basic idea –
Sew 2 jelly roll strips (2.5 x 40 inch) together. Press. Cut into 4.5 inch blocks. (Each strip set makes 9) Assemble into 4-patches that make the shapes of an L and a 7. Sew together. Repeat. You can get different effects with different colors, or go all scrappy.
Here’s a little more detail –
I’m all about short-cuts, but there are some things you shouldn’t skimp on. Ironing is one of them, and so is cutting off the selvedges.
Take 2 strips and sew them together. Choose one dark and one light.
Press open.
Yeah, I hate ironing too. Just do it. It will look better if you press your fabric after every seam. And your blocks will fit together better. Put on a good audiobook and get going on your ironing and soon it will be done.
Your life will be easier if you use a rotary cutter. The brand doesn’t matter – get one that fits your hand and is comfortable to use. Make sure you can replace the blades on it too. You’ll also need a quilting ruler and a rotary mat so you don’t damage your floor or table.
Trim off the selvedge ends. They don’t have the same texture as the rest of the fabric, so it will make it look better if you do this.
When sewn together, the two strips end up to be 4.5 inches high. To make a square, cut the strip sets (the two sewn together) into 4.5 inch units. You will get 9 squares out of each strip set.
You can save a step by not moving the fabric for the second cut, and use the 1/2 inch already cut on the right as your edge.
Assemble into 4 patches, making them look like an L for the top two and a 7 for the bottom two.
I had a variety of blues and yellows, so I had to make a decision on the layout. These are the 4 patches laid out in an ombre pattern.
Here is the final quilt. I call it “Fireflies at twilight”. It is 46 inches square.
You can use the same concept to make quilts without using precuts. I cut the center strips (the wood) into 2 inch wide, while the larger colorful pieces are 4 inches wide to make this Autumn leaves and twigs L7
It is about 40 inches square. All made from fabric from @smartartandcraftsupplies (including the backing). Finished on 6/30/23
Here is what the basic block looks like –
Lent is a scam. It isn’t in the Bible.
It was made up by the Church to make you feel guilty for being human.
If you want to give up something for Lent, try one of these:
Guilt. Fear. Judgment. Hate.
Or you can take something on – volunteer, meditate, learn a new skill.
But don’t fall into the “penance” trap. The Hebrew word that was translated as “repentance” actually means “to return”. You aren’t supposed to feel bad for doing something wrong. You are simply supposed to stop doing it and start doing the right thing.
Imagine if you were driving to another city and halfway there you realized you were on the wrong road. The healthy response is to get to the correct road as soon as possible. An unhealthy response would be to sit on the side of the road and beat yourself up for being on the wrong road.
It happens – we are human and we make mistakes. Maybe someone gave you bad instructions? Maybe a road sign was missing? Don’t worry about blame – just get on the right road as soon as you realize you are headed the wrong way.
Don’t waste any time on punishment. Just start over.
How to make a ‘zine.
Write something smallish that you want to share with people.
Put it into a Word document and make the font size at least 36 points.
Print it, but set your printer to “8 pages per sheet” so it will put the entire thing on one page, thus reducing the original to ‘zine size.
Cut all the pieces and put your 8 tiny pages in order.
Take another sheet of paper and a glue stick and glue the tiny pages onto the blank page in the correct order
(To find out what that is, make an “origami pamphlet” and number the pages. Unfold so you can see the orientation of each page).
Copy that finished sheet, and/or scan and upload it. Distribute.
betsybeadhead 
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