8/25/14

Monday's Meanderings

It was a relaxing Monday morning for me. I sat watching the birds in the birdbath for the longest time. It's so much fun to watch them splashing around. We have a mister that runs full time. When we first put up our birdbath, the birds ignored it completely. When I mentioned this at our Backyard Bird Shop, they suggested adding the mister. They explained that birds must be able to see and hear the water to be attracted to it, and that the mister would make it more visible and audible. It worked like magic. The birds came in droves, and they were as excited as Smitty with catnip.


Even the hummingbirds enjoy flying into the shower from the mister.

So that was all well and good, but I pulled myself away. I had things to do, including making four more pints of salsa.


There are still enough tomatoes left to make more salsa or else some red tomato chutney. We both love this salsa so much that I am sorely tempted to make more of it. That will probably mean the end of the tomatoes. We ran out of salsa this spring, and so I'm feeling compelled to make more than I did last year. Better too much than not enough. Where salsa is concerned, that's my motto.

While I was waiting for that to cook down and to process, I was able to trace out my extra stitchery to take along on our trip. A few people asked about this pattern. This is the "Never Underestimate" hand embroidery pattern from Bobbie G. Designs. She has some very cute stuff on her website. 


My background piece is a Kona white, although it doesn't look white in this picture. I think it's the lighting in my sewing room that gives it that tinge of dinge.

So when the salsa was finished, and I'd done my tracing, I started on the "H" block for the Gardener's Journal quilt. The "H" block has these three stitcheries.


It went together fairly quickly.


Here's how it looks along with the rest of the quilt. You can see it in the upper right.


And now there are just two stitcheries left to piece together with the "I" block.


I think I'll have enought time to get that one finished and the blocks all sewn together before we leave on our trip. I was hoping to have the whole quilt top finished, but then I had second thoughts about the fabric I had selected for the narrow stop border. Look at the image below, and see what you think. (I'm soliciting your opinion here.)


The outer border will be from the blue floral. Originally, I was going to use that aqua fabric at the bottom of the narrow border. Now I'm thinking that it needs something brighter: either the turquoise at the top, or the royal blue in the middle. Which one do you like best? If I decide to use one of the darker fabrics, I can still use the lighter aqua on the back, and that will be very pretty. I would need to piece it together. I'm thinking the aqua and a scrappy stripe of the remaining scraps from the quilt would make a pretty back. (And I'm already plotting my entries in next year's Oregon State Fair. We're getting pretty bold around here, don't you think?)

I can order the Kona cottons online, and I usually do. There isn't enough time between now and Sunday, however, so I'll probably take a swatch along and see if I can find some along the way. Still, I'm wondering what you think. I'm still undecided about which one is the right one.

So that's my day. Tomorrow I'm meeting up with my friend Sue for lunch, and then she's going to accompany me to the fair. I'm excited to see all the quilts! That will take most of the day, I imagine, and so I'll probably can the rest of the tomatoes on Wednesday. The plums are still hard as little purple rocks. I'm really hoping they'll be ready before we leave. There is no rushing these things, I've learned.

15 comments:

Vroomans' Quilts said...

Love your new stitchery - and smack me, knew that name - I've done some of Bobbie's cross stitch patterns. You've made quite a dent in those toms. I'd stick with the salsa and do the chutneys with all that fruit that's coming. I like both of the blues - no help, I know.

Sher S. said...

I would pick the darker blue for the inner border, it just seems to set it off better for me. Love the look of your salsa.......yummy! Love the garden quilt, that one will be fabulous when complete. You do such beautiful work.

Teresa in Music City said...

I like the darker blue Barbara - it stops all the activity of the center, draws your attention and lets the eye rest for a minute, then allows the eye to move to the busy floral on the border. I don't believe the lighter aqua would separate the two areas enough. And the top blue is too much like the ones in the quilt - almost blends in and becomes part of the center instead of framing it. This is a great candidate for next year's State Fair!!!

Quilter Kathy said...

I like no inner border and the floral fabric right up to the blocks ;)

Quilting Babcia said...

I LOVE that new Singer sewing machine stitchery! Can't wait to see how you work that one up. Wish I were canning salsa, but it seems we're no longer homeowners and so finishing packing is utmost priority! Keep stitching my friend!

otterdaughter said...

From the picture, I'd say the turquoise at the top looks like it goes the best. It blends some of the patchwork and almost matches some of the flowers in the border and ties the whole thing together. The royal is okay, but that color just isn't represented in either the patchwork or the border fabric.

Siouxzq64@gmail.com said...

I like the turquoise or the dark blue the best.

Dana Gaffney said...

I like the turquoise, I think it's a little more subtle and plays well with all of the other blues without shouting.

Snoodles said...

I like the darker blue...just my humble opinion! Love the photo of the birdie enjoying the mister!

SJSM said...

Either the turquoise or the darker blue. The turquoise is more restive but still delineates the blocks. It flows back and forth. The dark blue has more POW and says this is the border, now look inside the quilt.

Me? I'd probably do the turquoise.

Quilt crazy said...

I like the turquoise best. Oregonquilter.blogspot.com

LethargicLass said...

I like either of the darker ones, but if pressed I would say the top one :)

quiltzyx said...

Mmmmm, you're right, better more salsa than less. There's no such thing as an EXTRA jar of salsa either, is there? I even use it sometimes over chicken in the crockpot. Yum.

I think I prefer the royal blue for the stop border, if you haven't made the decision already.

The gardener's stitchery quilt is looking wonderful!

Lyndsey said...

I like the turquoise best as it links the middle section and the borders. As it's a garden quilt the inner section needs to work as one with the lovely flower border.

Kate said...

I like the dark blue in the middle. Hope you were able to finish up the last section of the quilt.