Can I talk without pictures? Nope

T'was another perfect Spring day and a good one to do some outdoor dyeing, even though it was just barely warm enough. The sun was sure to warm up the day by the time I got everything set up. I needed some long panels for a new piece and had six ready to dye, three indoors and three on the deck.

I cut the fabric in half lengthwise making it 6 feet by 22" and placed three layers on the table to soak up the dyes which would be quite watery, since they would be pastel, thus diluted. This took only five or ten minutes and I was so pleased with the look that I thought I would have a coffee break on the deck, and bask a little in the morning sun.

Only minutes later, I returned to see the sky darkening above. O NO!

I felt the big fat raindrops almost immediately and scrambled to drag the table back into the kitchen. Phew! That was close.

On to plan B.

I mentioned being re-inspired to quilt the rest of the Frieda/NancyCrow quilt on my wall, so taking that down meant putting up something in its place. I have tons of rolled up quilts that need an airing every so often so these babies entered the scene.

And what a better time to start pinning up my inspiration wall? I have so many things that have been tucked away just waiting for this moment. Whaddya think Emily and Frieda?
I even have a few of my own drawings up there. I tossed out a bunch of "why am I saving this?" stuff and still have more to pin, but really, this is enough.

I pick up postcards at every art show that has them and buy cool blank cards at IKEA which has stuff from Europe.

Delighted with me new wall, which is what I see when I look up from the sewing table, I returned to the big quilting project.

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While I never mark my designs, sometimes I make contained spaces to stitch between, especially when there is a large blank area with no defined design to fill. I use a sliver of soap which disappears with a spritz of water and the hot iron.

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The soap lines might still be visible in that black area. I figured I would do the borders and call this more or less done, and bind (arrghh) it and start using it soon. Now that we are using the downstairs (our Summer Home) more, it gets chilly and I need a quilt with no pins in it, more than a completely quilted quilt. I can always go back and quilt everything else. This is my longest continuing project...ever. Not counting knitting.