November Color Your World - Brown

November and brown -- they do seem to go hand in hand, right?  As the leaves begin to wear out their fall color and fall from the trees, they leave brown on the land and, with nothing but branches left, the view upwards is also brown.  Brown is our earth and in the fall, it brings forth so many delightful foods for us to enjoy.  It brings hunting season for many and, again, brown plays a role.  The many deer, elk, ducks, etc. that are harvested each year wear this color proudly.  I feel a warmth from brown that many do not.  They see it as ugly, but I find the comfort in the rich hues and shades.  Perhaps it all stems from being a redhead.  With that, let's move into brown and all that it does indeed have to offer.  Further down the post is the monthly project AND your BINGO card for November.  Time to get started and don't forget that cuppa.

Brown is the color of stability and reliability.  Brown is dependable and comforting.  It is a great counselor and friend full of wisdom.  You can count on its help if you need an honest opinion, support and protection.  It stabilizes us, helps us stay grounded and inspires us to appreciate the simple things in life.  As always, some negative comes along as well in that some view it as boring, dull, and timid.

In The Secret Lives of Color, Kassia St. Clair doesn't exactly build up the color.  Throughout history, it was regarded as "lower-class."  It wasn't even truly considered a color as it is not a hue, but a shade and is created by mixing other colors until one has "mud."  It wasn't until it was discovered to have military use, that it even gained in popularity.  Now, one sees it EVERYWHERE, thanks in part to Khaki, which we will learn more about through the month.

When you think of companies that have embraced brown, you will go right back to the top of this post and see why we find it stable and dependable.  Think Hershey's, JP Morgan, and UPS for just a few.  The good old brown package of M&M's will still likely bring a smile to your face as you remember moments of childhood joy.  For me, just going outside, once can grounded with the color as it abounds.  Think sandy beach and try not to go ahhhh.

Even this picture has a sense of beauty and majesty in it.

Nature fill us with brown splendor all the time --- from the foods we eat -

To jewels we wear - 

To the sky above.  Just take a moment to look for it and perhaps you'll find a new appreciation towards this oh so very natural color.

Now, for this month's table runner we will experiment with some simple paper-piecing for those who are not crazy comfortable with this process.  Yes, my hand is in the air.  

The table runner is called Acorn Toss and here is your LINK.  Even before selecting my fabrics, I print out the pieces and tape them together so that I can cut them apart.  Sounds funny, but it is what it is.

Now to pick the fabrics.  I'm going with just a few - different shades of brown.

Taking a few minutes, I make notes to figure out the sizes I need to cut to cover the areas on the paper.  If these help you - well, alrighty then, if not --- go with your own method.  PLEASE ignore the yellow note -- it pertains to something else and just happened to get in the picture.  The upper right are my tan cuts.  Upper section of lower left is the fabric above the tan.  Lower section of lower left is the brown on top of the stack above and the lower right is the print.

Cuts are made.

Starting with the easy parts --- let's get going.

Finally, all the parts are together and I'm ready to assemble.

Cute little acorns.  These went together sooooo nicely.

Borders on.

Sandwiched - 

I opt to just do a simple quilting outside each acorn.  That's it.

Once it was quilted and trimmed, this is ALL that I had left.  Whew, cut that one close.

Binding is on!

Looks nice and I'm ready for November.  

Well now --- we've come to this month's BINGO card.  Have you achieved a blackout yet?  I've been adding charms to retreat tags for those who have.  Only 2 months left and then it's TA-DONE.  Enjoy November!!!