The Sunday when the clocks go back in the fall is the worst day of the year for me. It signals a long, dark, dreary winter. I know that in a few short weeks I’ll be sitting at work while I watch it get dark outside. I hate it. I love the light in the evenings and get resentful when it’s taken away from me.
Oregon has voted to keep Daylight Saving Time all year long. A lot of states have voted the same way. We’ve been waiting for years for Congress to approve the change. I have no idea while we’ve all had to wait so long. I heard on the radio yesterday that they are considering leaving it on DST all year long… for the entire nation. I VOTE YES!!!
Today has seemed like a crazy long day. Even my dogs found it exhausting. They were out cold at 7 pm!!!
I got up early this morning to play pickleball and was on the court at 9 am. At first it was just me and one older gentleman so we set up a net and started some practice. Within about 20 minutes there were four of us. And by the time we finished our third game we had eight people so it was game on with two courts hopping. The weather was perfect. The courts started out a little damp, but the skies were dry and the sun even came out around 11:30. I wore long athletic pants and a short sleeve T-shirt and it was perfect.
I took my boys with me so when I finished playing I threw the frisbee for them in the park. Of course, they totally enjoyed themselves.
Once we got home I did a little housework since I have a very special visitor coming tomorrow evening… EARNEST!!! I’m really looking forward to having him around for a few days.
It poured this afternoon and rained through the evening. Now that it’s getting close to 11 pm I can hear the rain outside. It’s really raining hard right now… so hard that Rico is a little concerned about it. It’s been a damned wet day and will be a damned wet week.
After dinner I decided to hit my sewing room for a little mindless creativity.
Several weeks ago I ordered some ground walnut shells online because I thought, for some reason, that I needed to make some pin cushions.
Why did I buy two packages? Because that’s just the way I roll! I don’t do anything half way!
So I thought I’d use up a few more Australian Aboriginal fabric scraps and whip up a wonky log cabin block for the pin cushion. I started with pulling out the scraps that were mostly strips of different widths.
I measured a pin cushion a friend made for me a few years ago and decided that 4.5 inches would be a good size. So I cut a piece of fusible batting to 4.5 inches square and fused it to a scrap piece of batik from my scrap bin. I wanted this thickness and the batik so that the pins would have a tendency to stay in place when pushed into the finished cushion.
Then I started with a 1.5 inch square of fabric and built out from there.
Here’s a tutorial I did for a wonky log cabin block that will give you a view of how I made this little block.
This one is on a muslin foundation but it works the same way with the batting.
Here’s the first few pieces. I did keep the iron close to me so I could press every few rows without getting up.
I kept adding strips until all the edges of the batting and batik were covered.
Next I squared it up to 4.5 inches.
Next, I cut a piece of a scrap to 4.5 inches square and fused a piece of non-woven interfacing to the back.
Then I sewed around all four edges with the right sides together and left a small opening.
I’m pretty sure that turning this thing right side out was the most difficult part of the entire project!
Once I had that task done I pushed out the corners carefully, pressed it and then filled it with the crushed walnut shells using a kitchen funnel. It went In really easily.
Then I sewed the opening closed by hand and it was done!
Look! It holds pins!
The fusible interfacing on the back makes it a little more substantial and stable.
I’ll probably make more of these even though I have no idea what I’ll do with them. I might need two for holiday gifts and I’ll keep one for myself.
Have a short work week coming up since Friday is Veterans Day. I like a short work week!
agilejack 
Interesting about the time change. I don’t mind it too much as I enjoy hunkering down, lighting the fire and getting cosy!
I’ve had Covid so am way behind on my foodbank gift making.. pincushions are a great idea; super fast to put together and lovely to look at. Thanks for the tip.
Enjoy your week, despite the dark.
Lindy x
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Thanks for the tutorial. I’ll be trying that wonky block pincushion.
I agree about DST. As a collaborative pianist, I frequently have evening rehearsals in NE Ohio and NW PA. I hate having to drive both to and from them in the dark. Last night was the first readthru for a Christmas show I’m doing. On the drive home, a car a few cars ahead of me hit a deer. When I got home, I realized I had deer innards on my windshield!! Yuk. And poor 🦌.
I vote YES!
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I love your use of color. Just a hint, it is cheaper to buy crushed walnut shells at a pet store. They are used to line reptile cages, I believe.
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Cute pin cushion! Great way to use up small scraps other than the color wash quilt.
DST, SDT- I hate the change, just stick with one. Always messed with working night shift from charting to working 13+ hours when the clocks go back. As I get older it is harder to adjust.
Glad you got some pickle ball in! Spent my time finishing quilt-as-you-go placemats from scraps, hemming napkins, organinzing scraps and fat quarters, preping for the switch back to clothing sewing.
Enjoy the short work week!
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It sure would be nice to not have a time change anymore! Really throws me off. I bought some walnut shells too, need to get started on the stuffed owls 🦉 I saw on Pinterest 🤣! Yay, Ernie!😻🥰
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I love all the aboriginal fabrics would you share a good source? I love scraps so maybe a place that sells them? I’ll go way back in your blog see if you mention where you buy…
Totally agree yesterday is the longest day of the year… curse it every time!!!
Gotta love a short work week…. Enjoy!
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At least with the “fall back” time change we get to sleep in. Unfortunately, my dogs do not get the bulletin and so we have a conversation at 5 am every year at this time. They are not convinced. They want breakfast. I too will be very glad when we ditch the time change, and stick with the fall clock going forward. That, I am told, is the best for us given mysterious quirks of human biology. The dogs would approve!
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They work nicely as a paper weight on top of a stack of papers too.
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You know, between the clouds and the showers, yesterday was a beautiful day. We had white puffy clouds, bright blue skies and that low angle sunlight that only we who live in the Pacific Northwest understand.
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Absolutely loving your pin cushion…I, too, enjoy making them, and I’ve found that it is ever so much easier to piece my backing, leaving an intentional seam in the middle somewhere. Turning is indeed the worst part, and no matter what, that “hole” that I leave always shows even with my finest tiny stitches. I leave my “hole” in the middle of the back, and I press my seam to one side. That way, once filled with shells, I can overlap that space and hand stitch it easily and securely. My 4 edges all look nice and even without a gap. I also intentionally do not stitch sharp corners…instead stopping, making a couple of small stitches at about 45 degrees, and then going to the next side…don’t know what it is, but I get crisper, nicer corners this way compared to actually stitching a crisp 90 degree turn.
Anyhow, I so enjoy your blog, your projects, your critters, and your take on life….thank you for your willingness to share it all.
And just as an aside, I have a friend who keeps a large bowl of pin cushions at the ready, both for decor and for quick gifts for guests or to grab and take on the run when visiting someone who would enjoy one.
Love, brenda
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You are always so productive! My friend uses shells to make her pillows.
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