Sarah Lynn's Nature's Splendor: Hummingbirds, Table Runners -- and the Dress Fits!

The ruby-throated hummingbirds are having fussing, feuding free-for-alls over the feeder every day... but aren’t they pretty? I have watched as they smack into each other on the fly, wings clashing, or hit their fellow hummers as they are trying to drink from the feeder, ka-smack!

I’ve seen one land on another’s back, stabbing him with his built-on sword, and then taking him right down to the ground. I saw one take another down onto the porch and then just sit on him, pinning him down with his sharp little claws, and poking him with his beak if he wiggled. The one on the bottom – would he be called an ‘underbird’? – just lay there looking helpless, until he finally decided he’d had enough, and scrambled and flapped until both birds wound up skidding right off the edge of the porch and into the bushes! I cringed, because Tiger sometimes uses that very spot for his naps. But after a few moments, both hummers came buzzing back up again, seemingly none the worse for wear, vicious little flying jewels that they are.

They patrol... they dive-bomb... they try hard to keep any other little hummers from feasting at ‘their’ food source, whether the feeder or the hostas – and they’re equipped with daggers, right on the fronts of their heads. Then they finally wear out from all the exertion and have to refuel... so they call temporary truces, and all feed at the same time. Then back to business it is – one gets enough sugar in his system, takes wing, and stabs his fellow hummer right on the back of the head. Hummer #2 tries to fly – but the more aggressive one hangs on and actually ‘rides’ him for a short distance. Silly things; there’s plenty of nectar for them all, but they certainly don’t want to share.

There’s an alien head in this picture. See it?

Here are more photos of hummingbirds, ladybugs, and our trip to Grand Island last Monday.

Wednesday as I ate breakfast, there were half a dozen little ruby-throated hummingbirds buzzing around just outside my window. One hovered and tilted its head this way and that, sizing up a praying mantis on the screen. And then, all of a sudden, a huge flock of swallows came swooping wildly through the front yard. Some were barn swallows... I couldn’t tell what the others were. Bank swallows? Or maybe purple martins? Wow, it was a traffic jam out there!! I’ll betcha they made serious inroads on the mosquitos.

And then, of all things, a swallow dive-bombed a hummingbird. I’ve never seen that happen before. Good grief, it was wild out there.

That afternoon, I took some suits to the cleaners (including the suit Larry will wear to the wedding – and nobody has yet given me an award for remembering) (maybe I have to remember to pick them up, first)... mailed a letter... got a couple of covered-button kits at Hobby Lobby... and dropped off some things at the Goodwill, and then, since it wasn’t quite time to pick up grandkids at school, wandered through the store. Anytime you take something to the Goodwill, you should go inside and find something to replace it, right? Right??

I found a double-handled wicker basket with birdhouses hand-painted on the lid – and whoever did the painting had skilled fingers indeed. I got it for Joanna for Christmas, as she loves birds almost as much as I do, I think. I’ll put the bag I’m making for her inside it – and that’ll be her gift from Grandpa and Grandma.

I stopped at the school to pick up little Jackson kids. Josiah, age 6, got in the Jeep, all full of News and Views... then Ethan, the oldest at 12, climbed in. Josiah paused his commentary long enough to ask him with all sincerity, “How did yo’ schoo’day go, Ethan?” :-D

I had just enough time before church to get the satin buttons all covered. After we got home, I put in the zipper and finished Robin’s dress, except for adding another set of chiffon sleeves, necessary because they are too sheer. Ugh, that won’t be a picnic. I knew I needed to double that fabric, but I forgot. The little girls’ dresses are done except for the zippers, which hadn’t come yet. They look too wide at the neck. (The dresses, not the girls.) Joanna’s is maybe too long. (Her dress, not her neck.)

The invisible zipper isn’t really invisible – and if I move the foot over another micro-millimeter, the zipper won’t zip. I wonder if the true Bernina invisible zipper foot (as opposed to this generic one) works better? Maybe ironing will help.

I envision people staring at that narrow glimmer of zipper tape that shows as the girls walk down the aisle, whispering to someone beside them, “Wow, whoever sewed that invisible zipper was certainly a rank amateur. Pathetic. Tsk.” (shaking heads)

I think I shall become a painter after the wedding sewing is done, since people can’t criticize your work, no matter how violently you throw paint at the canvas. Or if they do, you can put your nose elegantly in the air and act like they’re too ignorant for words.

“Hmmph.” (in an exalted British accent)

Sewing done for the night, I paid some bills and then posted some buggy photos: Insects and a Little Gray Cat. Here’s a katydid up close. Looks like someone did some freehand quilting on him, doesn’t it?

Then I hunted through my Pinterest board of table toppers and runners. Just look at all these pretty things: Table Runners & Toppers

Finding a design I liked that wouldn’t take too long to make, I pulled up EQ7, found a similar pattern, and then drew in the extra ins and outs on a printout, using pencil and eraser. Lots of eraser.

Thursday, I was ready to start cutting. Hmmm... I needed fabric for a light-colored background. My smallish stash is always low on lights. At least I only have three or four bins to look in, when I’m hunting for quilting cottons. Now, if I want odd polyester satins... single knits... polyester wools... polycotton... well, then I have 6-10 large bins to look through. One of these days, I’ll use that stuff up.

((...pondering...))

Giant backyard tents for each set of grandchildren?

Haha! My chillen’d nevah fo’give me.

I finally settled on yellow, since that’s one of Sarah Kay’s kitchen colors. The accent colors would be blue.

Hester sent me a picture that one of her coworkers took of the Mosaic Lighthouse quilt at the Nebraska State Fair. Too bad they always have to overlap all the quilts. All those extra crystals I put on that thing were hidden behind the next quilt!

A friend whom I evidently hadn’t told of the fair results, asked, “Did you win? Are you rich? Famous?”

I replied, “Nope and nope and nope! I got nary the palest ribbon for my ingenious masterpieces. These things happen. People mistake genius for normality quite often. We geniuses learn to live with it.”

My sewing got interrupted by a huge five-spotted hawk moth on the window needing his picture taken... and then by a bowl of fresh raspberries with berry smoothie poured over them.

Then I scurried back to the sewing room. “And since I’m tired of worrying over whether things fit,” I told a friend, “I’m going to make this table runner exactly the way I wanna make it. If it doesn’t fit the table... let them adjust the table to fit the runner! So there.”

By bedtime, I had the central section done, and Friday I sewed the borders onto it. It’s ready to be quilted – but first I need to finish quilting the Buoyant Blossoms quilt that’s on my quilting frame. I’m hoping, if I work day and night, I can get that quilt done so that I can quilt the table runner with the HQ16, instead of with the Bernina. It’s more contemporary than my tastes usually run, but I’m hoping it will match her kitchen. I’ll spice it up with the quilting.

Here is a tiny jumping spider: He was only half the size of my littlest fingernail, but what he lacked in size, he made up for in courage. As my lens got closer, he stood up on his back four legs, raised his four front legs, and prepared to duke it out.

Late Friday night (or, more accurately, early Saturday morning), I finished quilting the third row of the Buoyant Blossoms quilt, other than a few details in the outer border. It would’ve required rethreading the quilting machine, and I just couldn’t work up the ooomph for it.

More photos here and here.

I spent the entire day quilting Saturday, and managed to complete another row, making it allllmost to the halfway point. If I’d just do a big ol’ meander over the whole works, I’d be done in half an hour! But... you can get a meander on a cheap quilt from Wal-Mart. And... this is Sarah Lynn's Quilting.

I imagine you’ve all heard of Hillary Clinton’s partial collapse at the 9-11 Commemorative Ceremonies in New York City yesterday? If so, then you probably know that she lost a shoe during the episode, and someone had to go back for it. Well, I found this in the comment section under one article:

This just in from Brian Williams: “We have an update for you on the #hillaryhealthscare. Moments ago we talked to Ms. Clinton and she said, ‘I only threw a shoe. I’M FINE.’” :-D

Larry went for a bike ride last night, as usual – but on his older mountain bike, as the new one had a flat tire. He wasn’t surprised, because the last time he was riding, he hit a bad bump, hard. That’s the hazards of riding at night. Friday night he rode about 30 miles, and averaged over 20 mph – and the ride includes some fairly steep hills. Last night, he only averaged about 15.5 mph. The Schwinn mountain bike is a whole lot heavier than the Cannondale road bike.

The dishes are washed, the last load of clothes are folded and put away, and the clean sheets are back on the bed. Robin came and tried on her bridesmaid dress – and it fits! It fits perfectly, and looks so elegant. Even the crinoline petticoat fits, though we’ll have to put a layer of something over it, as the ruffled fabric is stiff, and can be seen through the satin skirt.

I’m so relieved it fits! And the bow hangs fine – much better on the girl than on the hanger. I’m glad I didn’t gunk it all up with starch or hairspray, trying to make it stiffer.

The hummingbird feeder has fresh nectar in it... and the little hummingbirds are buzzing around, sipping and patrolling and squabbling like anything. There are baby finches, newly fledged, begging from their parents at the feeders on the back deck.

I’ve just made a fresh pot of San Marco’s Café L’Orange coffee from fresh-ground beans. And here’s a fact: while I love orange-blossom tea, I’m not particularly fond of orange coffee. But... I have to try it to find out, right? It’s not ... bad. It’s just that there are so many other coffees that are, ... swoonworthy! (Should be a word, and would be a word, had Noah Webster ever tried Cameron’s Hazelnut Butter Crème coffee [providing he was fond of coffee, that is].)

Tomorrow the fuel pump for the Jeep will arrive, and then Larry will have the bad job of dropping the fuel tank and installing it. Nasty, that the company put it there – doubtless as an incentive to get people to bring their vehicle to the dealership for service, instead of doing it themselves. In checking around online, Larry saw that people had plenty to say about that – and they didn’t say it nicely, either.

Oh! I heard thunder... pulled up AccuWeather – and discovered it’s snowing in Yellowstone and west of Casper, Wyoming! There’s snow in the mountains of Montana and Idaho, too. And there’s a big, bad thunderstorm approaching from the southwest.