Listen! the wind is rising,
and the air is wild with leaves.
We have had our summer evenings,
now for October eves!
~Humbert Wolfe
Finally! Some rain in southeast Texas. The whole area is exceptional - the highest/worst level of drought. A few weeks ago some rain fell east and west of us. It was hard not to be envious but the entire western Gulf needs moisture desperately. And, a cold front came through that dropped our temperatures {briefly} to the upper 70s {25 C for you logical people.} Still wearing shorts and sandals; typical for Houston.
Quilting
Before they are completely out of style, I'd like my own quilted jacket. Although it's unisex, I don't want to use the same pattern as my son. That makes it harder because I have to fit a new pattern. Also, raglan sleeves are the easiest to make with all these layers.
Nevertheless I struggled on, fitting a shawl collar pattern. Again, the pattern was much larger than needed and I sized it down a couple of times. This might not be your result, especially if you live somewhere colder and wear a sweater or jacket under your coat.
The entire time I was fitting the muslin, I also considered the fabric. Should it be a quilt block or random pieces? What colors do I usually wear? I decided to use this medium blue as a background but wanted browns and greens also. Something nice and quiet. And... it's not working. I think the prints aren't right but neither are the colors. I actually made about eight attempts before giving up.
Next I decided to use solids. Here I've pulled every solid in my stash and winnowed it to these colors. There's not enough so a shopping trip is planned for next week.
Reading
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| The Data Detective by Tim Harford |
British economic journalist Tim Harford's latest book discusses how we can all better understand statistics. While it's easy to dismiss all statistics {or at least those we don't like} as false, they are often "the only way of grasping much of what is going on around us." Dismissing these numbers out of hand can be as deadly as mindlessly believing them. This book present ten suggestions to improve our understanding - including "searching your feelings", considering who is missing, thinking about the presentation, and demanding transparency of the data. An informative and interesting book we all should read.
Tim's podcast Cautionary Tales has weekly discussions.