The Dog Days of August...(Updated)

(Updated to show my finished quilt)

I feel like so many of you....ready for some cooler autumn weather. Whew......it is not even nice to sit on the deck in the shade anymore. But afternoon and evening dips in the pool still feel wonderfull. And some evenings, they include an adult beverage.

Needless to say zip, zilch, nada is being done to make progress on my yard work project of clearing the back tree line.   I am having a good time perusing the internet for shade loving and non-invasive plantings. Ivy, sticker vines and honeysuckle are still too close in recent memory to ever consider anything invasive. I am a little more knowledgeable about gardens then I was 40 years ago and now I have time to really plan one and not just see something, like it, plant it only for find it might not have been the right choice!  I am making a list noting the flowering seasons, the height, the width, the maintenance (cut back in fall, etc.), shade tolerance and more to try to decided what to plant that will give me color and variety from March to November with little to no maintenance. 

For stitching, once I frogged all I had to undo on Ornaments ala Round, I put that piece in timeout for a week.   Since I deactivated my Facebook account, I fell behind on the blackwork SAL so I reactivated my account and printed the last 13 weeks of the SAL.   Some of these motifs are quick and easy, some not so much.  Usually I can knock one of these out in a morning.

Finally my fabric arrived for the quilt back.  The color is a little richer than it looked on the internet but that is to be expected.  I have this thing for quilt backs. I like there to be something unexpected when you lift the corner and find a backing you would not expect.  No match-matchy Garanimals for me.  Well you got that with this one for sure. Even though the colors are secondary complementary colors on the color wheel, I was not too sure.   The more I am working with the combination, the more I like it.   

I took the scrapes from the front and made random four inch squares to incorporate somehow on the back.  That created the dilemma of how to incorporate them.  I had a light bulb moment when I was tossing the squares around the countertop to arrange them......and I thought, that’s it!   Add them as if you were experimenting with a layout.    I am happy with the quilt for two reasons.  First is it a finish. More importantly I purchased the pattern and fabric when I was in Georgia working on clearing up my brother's belongings after his passed away a couple of years ago.  One afternoon my sister  and I took a break and we went on an explore and came across a wonderful quilt shop.  A Scarlet Thread.  Of course we shopped and this is where I bought the pattern and fabric. I will always think of my brother when I use this quilt.  

I am working on hand sewing the binding on now.   This is my favorite part of quilting.   It is rewarding and stress-free.  Next favorite part will be washing and drying it to have it get that crinkled vintage look.

And I finished and washed and dried after I posted earlier today.....

Look at that intersection!  Wahoo!

There's a peak at the contrasting back.

Time to move from the basket of shame and to the completed column.

And I have a new start.   But I can totally justify it.   Of course  I can.    I was itching to start something new but knew that I shouldn't and then the eureka moment!   I have a Christmas stocking I HAVE to get done for my grand-daughter's first Christmas.   See, I had no choice.  This is the second Shepherd's Bush stocking I have done.  I kitted this up yesterday using 18 count fabric and perle cotton it will stitch up super fast.  

My goal is for the rest of August is to get caught up on the blackwork SAL, finish the quilt binding, finish Ornaments ala Round and make significant progress on the stocking before my Coming to America SAL starts in September.   Wish me luck!

Thanks for stopping by, stay safe and keep on stitching.