Who turned off the sun?

After weeks of glorious, sunny weather with clear skies we now have clouds sitting on the hills, rain and wind - but we can always get colour from our fabric and our photos, so here's a twilight shot at Castlepoint Lighthouse taken by my son recently.

Here's my Courthouse Steps top.  This was made when I started quilting again - or at least piecing - after my husband died, I did a Chinese Coins and then a log cabin variation around a nine patch that turned out to be not a square but I love the result.  While I was piecing that one I worked out my next pattern - do you do that? - I remembered a tin of 3.5" squares which I turned into scrappy quarter square triangles and then used them as the centre for the block.

I got a bit carried away with the piecing and on checking the number of blocks I decided to join some after the first 'round' to give the top a bit of life.

Here are some more pincushions - not quite sure why I had the desire to collect these - didn't William Morris make the observation -"Have nothing in your house that you don't think is beautiful or know to be useful"? well, I really can't say these are beautiful and only marginally useful.........

Colourful perhaps and sort of quaint - and then there's the swan -

Nice enough to have around the sewing room I think.

I mentioned that I was auditioning borders for a blue/green/yellow strippy quilt - I was having great difficulty making up my mind, so put it away for a while.  My stitching friends gave their opinions and I still wasn't sure -

I had cut the strips, again a la jelly roll tops, then had to add more - I must work out the math of doing this type if I'm going to cut my own strips from yardage etc.  and here are the two possible borders -

I tried them on the design wall

You can see there are modern and vintage fabrics, all of which I like, but it just didn't sing to me!

Then I had a brainwave! and here's what I shall do

Turn the piece so the strips are horizontal, cut the whole thing in half and use the fabric on the left!  I sincerely hope those wobbles at the bottom are just the way it's hanging!

Thanks for stopping by and remember, "The surest way to be late is to have plenty of time." Leo Kennedy which is a truth I prove all the time!

June