SOME THINGS I SAW ON MY WALK THIS MORNING

I took a walk in the 5 Points neighborhood of Asheville this morning with my friends Alice and Cheryl.

July means an exuberance of summer flowers, so I found myself taking a few pictures of some of the interesting things I saw along the way.

I had hoped these photos would automatically post in the order the photos were taken, as it is a bit of a pain to move or remove and replace them. But since you didn't take the walk with us, it probably doesn't matter to you in which order they appear!

There were lots of cone flowers and rudbeckia to be seen.

This toilet was randomly sitting by the curb. Not sure if it was coming or going, as it looks to be in pretty good shape. Maybe it's meant as a convenient resting spot along the way, or perhaps it's awaiting being filled with interesting plantings? (I didn't lift the lid to look!)

I loved the rusted brown and aqua color combination on this sewer cover... nice artwork on it, too. 

A magnificent sunflower... also a beautiful color!

The hydrangeas at Alice's house are giving a spectacular show!

In a public area, a pollination garden has been planted and is nurtured by volunteers who planted it and water it by hand. Imagine in a couple of years how this will fill out and attract important pollinators! Neighborhood environmental love in action!

 This section of stone wall is behind the Harris Teeter parking lot...

and midway along the wall is this decorative mosaic!

Some vibrant morning glories!

Green berries soon to become blueberries!

Gotta love the daisies!

Big and little in the same color combination.

 Some delicate pink and green in the hydrangea blossom.

Cheerful yellowness!

It was a little hot and humid for our walk, but certainly a treat for the senses! The stop at the coffee shop for some iced hibiscus tea was most refreshing! Thanks for the treat, Cheryl. And thanks for the idea, Alice.

Pillows for the Twins!

How can it be possible? Anja and Ronan are turning 3 in just a few days!

When they visited a couple weeks ago, I noticed that their mother allowed them to have pillows in the Pack and Plays they slept in. (They will need different sleeping arrangements next time they visit, but were still very accepting of the P & P this time.)

Coincidentally, I also noticed that a local store sold "Children's size" pillows.

So, I bought a couple and then went fabric shopping to make some pillowcases to fit these pillows that are about 2/3 the size of standard pillows.

I adapted a great pillowcase pattern I used earlier this year when some of us from our bee made pillowcases for homeless kids in the area. I may have done a blog posting about that, but if I didn't, I should have. Another bit of evidence that I'm not too serious a blogger is that I should insert the link to the pattern right here... but instead I will just suggest that you google "burrito pillowcase tutorial" if you are interested and I'm sure you will find it easily.

The neat thing about this method for sewing pillowcases is that all the raw edge seams are finished like French seams, so it makes a very neat, professional looking pillowcase.

The only thing cuter than 3 year old twins is the stinking cute fabrics to choose from. Originally I had planned to make two for each pillow, but then I thought I ought to pick up a piece of sale fabric to try out my modifications, and then of course, I needed to make yet another so there would be an even number.

The first pair feature an ocean scene for Ronan... they live by the ocean and love to spend time on the beach.

 Anja's features little birds, because nearly from birth she was nicknamed "Bird."

Then there were two color ways of this cute print with bees and lady bugs. Twins "need" to have some things that are sort of "matchy-matchy." Right?

And finally, Thomas the Train for Ronan...

and some owls for Bird, who for a long time has been fond of "who whos" and I think she will especially like the pink owls!

Just one more picture:

Now I'm not sure if they will really be allowed to use the pillows in bed or if they will even choose to sleep on them, but they will certainly enjoy removing the pillowcases and filling them with assorted toys! 

And I enjoyed making them, which is really the goal of any sewing project.

Morris Hexathon

A couple of months ago, I started following along with Barbara Brackman's most recent challenge.
(barbarabrakman.blogspot.com/2016/04morris-hexathon-introduction.html)

Barbara is a quilt historian and fabric designer and she takes her inspiration in this challenge from architecture and architectural elements that were present in Robert Morris' (1834-1896) England. Robert Morris's name is strongly associated with the British Arts and Crafts movement and among other things he designed textiles in that era, the later part of the 19th century.

Barbara has a current Moda fabric line called "Morris Earthly Paradise" and no doubt she hopes to lure people to use her fabrics for this challenge in which she provides a weekly pattern for 26 consecutive weeks. The patterns are for variations of a 4 inch hexagon... the 4 inch dimension is the measurement of one of the six exterior faces of the hexagon. In actuality, the finished hexagons measure approximately 6.5 inches wide by 8 inches high.

Since I had a nice stash of batik fabrics, I decided that I would use those for my hexies.  (Many of you realize that not only are batiks beautiful, but they don't have a right or a wrong side, which is another plus, as far as I'm concerned.)

I've done quite a bit of work with hexagons measuring 3/4 inch and 1 inch using the hand-piecing method called English Paper Piecing (EPP), but the larger size of these hexies meant that I could sew many of them with my machine. Barbara provides the pattern, but it is up to each individual to figure out their own technique for putting the pieces together.

The first challenge I faced was figuring out how to lift the pattern from her blog and place it on a blank "page" and then resize it to the correct size. The photo above shows a successfully printed pattern.

I decided that instead of printing on card stock, as I might if I were doing EPP, I would copy the pattern onto freezer paper. I then number and cut out all the pieces and iron each template to the wrong side of the appropriate piece of fabric. I then cut each shape out, adding 1/4 inch seam allowances.

So far, I have only EPPed one of the blocks, the rest I have managed to do a fairly acceptable job constructing them on my sewing machine.

Can you guess the one I sewed by hand?

That's right, the one I rotated and put in the upper left in this photo.

Here are some other photos...

I think I am getting better at those "Y" seams, but the biggest challenge I have faced so far are those blocks like the one on the lower left that have all the points converging at the center. I'm left with a lump of points underneath that don't settle into a nice flat swirl.

I'm not really sure what I will do with my 26+ completed hexies. That will be another challenge. I'm sure Barbara will suggest some patterns, in fact I think on that introduction she shows some examples of quilts with hexagons placed in concentric circles. Right now I'm envisioning setting them with a neutral batik background, perhaps in "stripes" to form a table runner. But I have 20 weeks to go, so I could change my mind many times before I'm done! Right now I'm just enjoying the fun of making a new variation every week.

50 Shades of Green

Usually when I walk at Fletcher Park, I'm drawn to the bridge that spans Cane Creek.

From there you can see the creek from both directions. Sometimes the water level is low and clear and you can see the rocky bottom of the stream.

Today the water was high and moving swiftly, stirred up, I guess, from recent rain, though we live only a few miles from Fletcher Park and I can't remember a rain storm in many days. I think it's deceiving, though, because sometimes a dark cloud forms and drops a huge amount of rain quickly, when just a short distance away the sky is blue and filled with fluffier white clouds. 

But here are views in both directions today.

 This morning the sky was blue with just a few clouds in the distance. As I write this in early afternoon, I can hear some distant thunder, so some of those rogue rain storms are likely not too far away.

What I especially noticed today was the abundant new foliage on all of the plants along the trail. Everything was verdant with that "almost jungle" feeling that happens in the late spring when everything has returned to life and is practically growing right in front of your eyes.

Many of the new leaves had striations of lighter color than the more mature leaves on the same plant and I was glad I had my iPhone camera with me to capture some of the beautiful shades.

So here is what I saw:

 Even this tree had a crown of gold with greens leaves below. I know from the photo it sort of looks like the sun is just creating those light spots and shadows, but the tree really had gold leaves on top and green leaves below.

I was glad I took that walk this morning. Not only was it a bit of physical exercise, but it was a treat to the senses, as well!

Today I think green is my favorite color!