Flowers, Friends, and Fabric



July Bouquet

 Aren't daylilies wonderful?  The fact that individual flowers last only a day doesn't bother me when the colors or so vivid and they usually have many buds.  But if you do as I did and get pollen all over your shirt when you are gathering these beauties, just be sure to treat the stain right away!  I'm still working on a tablecloth which I allowed to sit overnight untreated.  The price one pays for beauty in one's home!

Yesterday we welcomed Len and Betty, friends from Virginia, as they made a quick stop on their trip from Lynchburg to the Adirondacks.  David and Len worked together at the Education Department and David was their best man (I missed their wedding because there was one the same day in my family).  Their visit was all too brief, but it really was good to see them again.  A visit such as this one brings back a legion of memories, and the reconnection after such a long time is so welcome.  Christmas cards really aren't enough, but that tenuous thread keeps us together during all those years we are busy building careers and nurturing young families.  It seems that once one retires, many connections made in the first flush of adulthood can be picked up again.  See, there are many advantages to arriving at this time of life!

Earlier in the day yesterday, I was able to cut out and sew parts of the quilt top and lay them out on the design draft.  Now, the draft is in black and white (I didn't bother to use color this time) and putting the colored shapes I sewed on top makes the design come alive.  When I create a design, I can see it in color in my mind's eye, but it still surprises me when I see the reality and find that yes, it works.  I must admit it doesn't always happen; sometimes colors that are technically all right together (think color theory) don't convey the feeling I'm aiming for.  Other times, I simply have made a mistake in value (how light or dark a color is), or the pattern on a fabric is too busy (distracting), or I didn't take into account a neighboring piece of fabric.  With each quilt, the problems I encounter are different, but I always learn something with every mistake.  I just wish I could remember all those lessons!   

Today I have to lay out the background and figure out how to use the fabric to its best advantage.  It will have to be pieced because what I have isn't wide enough for the size of my design.  Why didn't I make the design smaller?  Quilt blocks are generally sewn in standard sizes.  Think of all those little pieces in a single block and then imagine the math necessary to change a 6" block (one of the standard sizes) into a 7" block (non-standard), then try to imagine me doing that math.  Makes your head hurt, doesn't it?  Anyway, my design size was chosen to accommodate the traditional blocks I want to use with it.  So the background will simply have to be pieced. 

Wish me luck and good luck with whatever you are doing today, too!