Purple and Green

The picture is a bit dark, but not very.  I found this lovely quilt top in one of those wonderful boxes from Joanne.  Full of deep purples and bright greens, triangles and circles.  Some baby and mama are going to be really happy.  The backing is a dark purple print that pretty much reads as dark purple.

The symmetry/asymmetry of it makes me smile and really love this quilt.  I'm sure there is a story.  Joanne?

Once I get a baby quilt finished, I hang it on the metal shelves in the office area with large quilt clips and spend some time enjoying it myself.  Since baby quilt group is Monday, I won't have long to enjoy this one.  The group will be going to lunch early so everyone can get home in time for the eclipse.

The dog and I are doing fine.  Four short walks and three tie-downs in the back yard each day.  Today we went to the top of the hill to the park, lots of sniffing there.  I'm sure there were plenty of deer watching from the brush.

Sigh.  The Reds' Joey Votto didn't tie Ted Williams record of getting on base twice for 21 games in a row.  Votto made it to 20, still in the record book.

Visitor

It's that time of year again, and one of my grand dogs is staying at my house for a week.  It's a bit different this year, she has a leg sprain or a torn ACL, either way she is limited in the number of walks she takes.  She is not happy about this.

But, for the most part, she is cheery.  A few treats, one of which has a pill for her leg.  A few bites of salmon.  A full water bowl.  Time in the back yard.

Tuesday Morning

Gentle rain throughout the morning yesterday.  How wonderful.  Perhaps my squash and pumpkins will get a little growth spurt.  To go with the weeding they got this weekend.

My "job" yesterday was to hem a knit sleeveless overdress with side openings, very simple and elegant.  I am happy with how it turned out.  I want one more look at it in a bit.  It's black and I want to be sure I didn't miss anything, the stitches tend to bury in this kind of knit  I always try to do this kind of sewing early in the morning when my mind is fresh.

I missed saying Happy Birthday to my former co-worker yesterday.  I mean, I said it to her on facebook, and I'll be sending her a card, late,  but still, there is just something about smiling and singing over a cake, as we did for years.

As the summer goes on, my energy level is waning.  I think it's the same every summer.  I would think that summer would be my happy production time, but it doesn't seem to be that way.  I'm finding it very hard to stay motivated.

I looked up how much added sugar is ok and found that the recommended amount is only six grams.  Six!  Have you looked at a nutritional label?  Six grams hardly covers the pesky incidental sugar in bread or crackers or salad dressing.  Or half a cookie, maybe.

Maybe . . .

When looking through my studio a few days ago, I noticed this box of sweet blue and pink fabrics, with an accompanying pattern.  From a quilt shop that has been out of business for several years.  A quilt shop that I loved to visit.

I realized that I have since met the pattern writer.  She is incredible at heirloom applique and intricate work.  There is a lovely border.  I noticed that I had paper pieced the blocks, realizing that had I tried piecing it would not have had a good result.  The middle square is about 1 1/4".

About twelve or so years later, I still would not have a good result from piecing those little triangles, so I'm thinking about drawing out more paper piecing blocks.  There were only 13 blocks in the original pattern, alternating with the white print blocks, and I'm realizing that the resulting quilt was very small.  I'd like it a bit bigger.  Plus, there are all those pretty fabrics.

Recently I have been thinking of making more quilts with actual patterns, as opposed to improvisational or art quilts.  Paper piecing isn't what I was considering, but I like these little precise blocks.

Maybe . . .