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I can't take credit for this inexpensive idea - one of my sewing customers asked me to make something similar for her. Her tablecloth was a better quality than mine, and there was enough left to make napkins for her.
I got a plastic flannel-backed tablecloth at Target, I think it was $2.00. I cut it down to fit this little porch table, then made pillows with the left-overs. I figure that at the end of the season these pillows will probably be done for, at which time I can rescue the pillow forms from inside and they can live for another day and another project.
In the meantime, I have a pretty porch that makes me happy whenever I go out the back door.
The porch furniture goes way back to Fremont, Ohio, days. Everyone in the neighborhood bought it from the local furniture store. They probably still have it, too. Sarah was a baby when we got it, so it's forty years old. I want to get it painted, just not sure how to go about it. If anyone has ideas, let me know. I think that once it was sandblasted and repainted at an auto body shop.
Steph and I took the kids on a short trip to COSI in Columbus, since all of a sudden there were no baseball/softball games or practices. That place is kid heaven, and it's reciprocal with the Cincinnati Museum Centers.
I tried to get a picture of Aaron and the gears with his tongue in, but it just wasn't happening.
Steph rode the unicycle, something she'd wanted to do since she was a kid afraid to try it.
A successful do-over.
Nora declared herself afraid of heights and said she'd do it in a few years. Aaron had no such fears and rode twice. Both times he had to be rescued with the hook, which is handled by someone on the floor below who pulls the rider back in when their momentum just stops. He didn't in the least consider this a failure and would have loved to have done it again.
On this Wednesday night, the Wombats had their second tournament loss (but they had two wins.)
Just so you know, Nora isn't crying over the loss in the picture above, this was last night when she was waiting to scout tonight's opponent.
And the Falcons had a win and medal presentation. The medals had the player's names on the back, very nice touch. Aaron got in the car and said, "I never thought Aaron Lockhart would get a medal."
The end of a baseball/softball season always seems sad to me, whether it's kid baseball or professional. The grands would both be happy to play on.
On the way home, Aaron and I listened to the Reds game and he asked how the new pitcher knew when to come in. How fun to tell him that there is a telephone in the bullpen.
It's the last week of the season for baseball/softball games, unless there are rain reschedules. Last night Steph and Mike went with the Nora's Wombats and I went with Aaron's Falcons. (That's Aaron at third base.) Both teams won, which made for a nice evening. The Wombats are paying in a tournament, and the weather doesn't look good for tonight. Thunderstorms right at game time.
Last night on the way home I asked Aaron what made the difference, why for the past couple of games he's turned into a hitter. He said, "I decided to watch the ball." Can it really be that easy for a six-year-old?
This morning I dug out the spirea bushes beside the back porch. They were probably 50 years old and were no longer pretty bushes, plus they required a lot of trimming maintenance. They were also probably planted too close to the porch, which made for strange shapes.
So, now I have a shade garden, just a little morning sun. I've planted a fern and baby's breath and moved a hosta which wasn't at all sun-happy. Now for some impatiens and lots of Miracle Grow. I've been concentrating on the front yard for the past few years and I'm pretty excited to see what I can do in the back yard.
It was so much fun to embroider these Anita Goodesign Hawaiian Quilt blocks. I used little scraps of hand dyed fabric for most of the applique. The design collection has four different sizes of each pattern. I sent the collection back to work along with this wallhanging, but it seems as if there are maybe twelve different patterns.
The quilting within the blocks is part of the design, and the borders were quilted with the walking foot. Every once in awhile there is a design collection that I just love embroidering, and this was certainly one of those. Cutting around the appliques is a bit fussy, but not bad, and everything else moves along quickly. I used the 150 x 150 hoop, but it would be very striking in the large size, using all the patterns. It's a great chance to use bright solids.
Yesterday morning, early, I walked on the Purple People Bridge and thought about the Summer Solstice. There are planters on the bridge, often planted with the usual planter suspects, but this time a group had planted a mix of ornamentals and edibles.
There were tomatoes, kale, corn, herbs, and more. I was especially intrigued because this is how I like to plant my beds at home, a mix of this and that.
One planter had this charming lady added to the mix. Her sunglass lens was actually a mirror. I know that in a couple of weeks those planters will look even more impressive, totally exuberant. I'll be back.
We had some other plans yesterday, but the kids really wanted to go swimming, and that's what we did. It was the perfect day for it, rain in the forecast, and the city pool wasn't at all crowded. Aaron went off the diving board for the first time, very confident and pleased with himself. The kids got in lots of swimming and several dives before the first thunder rumbled and everyone had to get out of the pool.
My neighbor brought me a chocolate birthday cake and there was dinner at Steph's house when the kids and I got home from The Lego Movie. Phone singing from Sarah and Winnie. A very nice day.
A bummer end, though, when the Reds blew a huge lead and lost 14 - 9. And when I found out that Winnie's birthday was Wednesday when I thought it was tomorrow. And the bridesmaid dress I altered didn't fit at all, totally too small now, and I hadn't changed it much. What did I do? I brought it home and took it back to the original seams and we'll try again.
Today is the summer solstice, which I love. This calls for a celebration all over again.
