October's Bright Blue Weather

Mrs. Bosely, my fourth grade teacher, was a big fan of choral reading. Choral reading, if you've never heard of it, is also known as "voice choir", where group members recite a poem, sometimes in unison, with movements and voice changes for effect. It was popular in the late 19th century as the entertainment of church and school functions. While it was the middle of the 20th century, large sections of western Pennsylvania had not yet been informed of that, so Mrs. Bosely continued to edify our young minds in this classic tradition. After learning a new poem, our grade would go around to the other classes in the school to perform it for them.

Our most popular piece was a poem from 1893 by Helen Hunt Jackson titled "October's Bright Blue Weather" Even if it is obviously a 19th century piece, it still is a good poem.

O SUNS and skies and clouds of June,
And flowers of June together,
Ye cannot rival for one hour
October's bright blue weather;

When loud the bumble-bee makes haste,
Belated, thriftless vagrant,
And Golden-Rod is dying fast,
And lanes with grapes are fragrant;

When Gentians roll their fringes tight
To save them for the morning,
And chestnuts fall from satin burrs
Without a sound of warning;

When on the ground red apples lie
In piles like jewels shining,
And redder still on old stone walls
Are leaves of woodbine twining;

When all the lovely wayside things
Their white-winged seeds are sowing,
And in the fields, still green and fair,
Late aftermaths are growing;

When springs run low, and on the brooks,
In idle golden freighting,
Bright leaves sink noiseless in the hush
Of woods, for winter waiting;

When comrades seek sweet country haunts,
By twos and twos together,
And count like misers, hour by hour,
October's bright blue weather.

O suns and skies and flowers of June,
Count all your boasts together,
Love loveth best of all the year
October's bright blue weather.

See? It is good, although I wonder how many fourth graders would recognize a gentian with the fringes rolled tight or a chestnut's satin burr now.

Still, just say "October's bright blue weather" and everyone will know what you are talking about: crisp, clear, sunny days and cool nights. Sweater weather. Dash and I were out at the studio house last week, wandering around the back yard, enjoying October's bright blue weather. I should have been quilting that quilt that's been under the machine for a few months now or waxing that piece of fabric I've been working on for two years now. I could have been cleaning the studio, which needs it badly, or cleaning my house, which needs it worse. I might have been typing monthly reports, working for world peace, or helping the homeless. But I wasn't. I was making a small dachshund very happy and enjoying myself in the process. Love loveth best of all, October's bright blue weather.

Things You Do While You Are Waiting For Bones To Mend

Toward the end of August, I broke my left knee cap while walking down the street, in broad daylight, stone cold sober, in flat shoes. You can bet I won't be pulling a stunt like THAT again.

I didn't do much for the first week or so except nap and contemplate this fresh evidence of my own mortality. When I did come back to life, internet browsing was the easiest thing to do.

This is the first thing that attracted my Vicodan-laced attention. I love antique copperplate toile fabric and have a modest collection of pieces that I've gathered here and there. My dream car has always been one that runs and is paid for, but I believe this Porsche was made just for me.


By the way, my birthday is coming up soon.

The next thing I did was catch up on the few blogs I follow. My favorite is my friend Stan's blog, These Things Too. There's probably a way to make that a hyperlink, but I don't know what it is, so go to the right hand side of the page and click on it there. Stan is funny and literate and his blog has great pictures now of inlaid guitars. I also enjoy Cheryl's Garden for the really nice botanical pictures. I've been in Cheryl's garden and have watched it take shape over my visits.

Chez Pez is one I found randomly clicking on Stan's blog. Apparently the author is currently enjoying the Austin music festival and I am permanently jealous that she saw Alejandro Escovedo.

For the textile tie-in, Dress-A-Day is a new one I found. Lots of lovely links to vintage clothing and, best of all, vintage dress patterns. The author is an avid dress wearer and posts pictures of some really interesting dresses. I fully support the idea of dress wearing and I think I own a dress or two, but never found them to be very practical in my day to day life. If it's knee length dress, I'm always yanking it down. If it's mid-calf or longer, all that fabric flapping around my legs annoys me. But go have a look, vintage stuff is lovely.

Real vintage clothing fun can be had at http://www.antiquedress.com (C'mon, I don't know how to make a hyperlink. I'm into textiles, not computers. Copy and paste.) I go there to admire the 1920's gowns. Look! This one is for me!

It would look great with this:


For those of you confused by these pictures and the above comments on dress wearing, please reference the earlier post about my obsession with high end art deco jewelry and remember my birthday is coming up.

Another fun site is the International Sewing Machine Collector's Society. Copy and paste this link: http://www.ismacs.net/home.html Go to the machine gallery. Here's a picture of the most expensive toy sewing machine ever auctioned.

Cute, eh? There were only four ever made, intended to be the ultimate toy for the rich child of 1892. It was sold at a London auction in 1995 for 8,000 pounds. If you like sewing machines, or even just machines, go there to look around. Sewing machines did not always have the familiar shape they have now.

Please do not feel you must break body parts to enjoy these sites!