Sunday, August 22, 2010

Re-discovery!

I had a list for myself today.
  • Bake banana bread with those bananas that are starting to attract fruit flies
  • Read a book on the porch with a cup of coffee and a yummy snack
  • Sweep all the floors to see how many dust puppies we can make with all the hair my dog has shed since the last time I swept
  • Mop the floors to see what color they truly are
  • Wash clothes since the sun is shining and the @$*!#@% dryer is on the fritz again
  • Watch some TV or a movie
  • Make some progress on my great-grandmother's quilt

I did everything except watch TV. Six out of seven isn't bad, now, is it? I'm feeling pretty darned good about myself!


About the book, it was Rumor of Bones by Beverly Connor, and I really enjoyed it. It is the first of a series about an archaeologist who finds herself solving mysteries, new and old. Apparently there are 5 books in the series, and I'll be going to the library tomorrow to see if they have any more of them. It seems Beverly Connor also has another series of 9 books with another female anthropologist protagonist. I imagine I'll be checking those out eventually, too. I love finding new series to fall in love with!

And while I was on the porch reading, Donald was building a house
and Jason was working on his summer workbook
(Yeah, school starts tomorrow. I TOLD him to work on it a little every day this summer, but did he listen to me? NO! Instead, the last three days have found him poring over this book for HOURS. I feel for him, but I'm not above saying "I told you so!" I did let him eat some of the fresh-from-the-oven banana bread, though.)

For those of you who are unfamiliar with my Great-Grandmother's quilt, here's what it looked like in May 2009. The story of this quilt was in my first entry for this blog in June 2009.
It was falling to pieces, with holes big enough to fit my torso through.
Even though much of it was un-useable, I told my mom I would try to resurrect it. So, I've been cutting the pieces down to 2" squares where possible, and putting them back together. Some are solid blocks, some are HST. All are extremely fragile and faded and lightweight and uber-stretchy. I love all the neat fabrics and the concept behind this project, but I ran out of steam a while back, partially because I was making blocks with no idea how to set them together.

Well, today changed all that. I had and idea and tried it out and I LOVE IT! My interest in this project has been renewed! What do you think?

And as you can see on the top of the photo, my next color word is YELLOW. A couple years ago, I realized that yellow is beautiful, a very under-appreciated color. Have you re-discovered a color, one that you once passed by but now can't get enough of?

15 comments:

Auntie Em said...

I think it's great that you made a list that included some fun things on it. I only list the chores. I'm going to take a lesson from you.
I LOVE the idea you have for your G-Grandmother's quilt!

Moneik said...

I love how you've set the quilt. It looks great. You were very productive today!

Becky said...

Great idea for ggma's quilt!! As for the color...the only one I dislike is orange....I OD on it when I was in 8th grade and I haven't been able to recover. The burnt orange quilt I made for my friend was as close as I could make myself go....and wouldn't have even done that if orange hadn't been her favorite color! Have a great week! Hugs, Becky

Shay said...

Another fan of great grandma's quilt idea here too. Love that you crossed everything off your list. TV was kind of an optional extra so it doesnt matter whether you did that or not.

I hope your first day back at work isnt too painful.

Stray Stitches (Linda G) said...

Love the work you are doing on the great grandma's quilt! I'm going to look into the Rumor of Bones - like I need another book to add to my wish list - oh well.

Barb H said...

The antique quilt looks great! Back to work today? That can be hard after being on vacation but the up-side is, you have a job to return to, right?

Char said...

Thanks for the heads up on the book. My daughter who is an avid reader has decided on Anthropology and Archaeology as her major when she heads off to college next fall. I'm sure she will be interested in these books.
I love what you are doing with the quilt. Isn't it wonderful to have a quilt made by a family member?

Amy said...

I like how it is turning out.

Anonymous said...

I love the quilt! I have my grandmother's in many pieces that I need to find the gumption to finish also. You have given me inspiration!

Judi said...

You had another productive day today. I love the start of yellow. To use colors I don't love I buy some coordinating fat quarter collections and use them in projects. I can now look at yellow and orange fabrics and come up with ideas. Your Grandmothers redo is looking great.

Em said...

That has got to feel wonderful all that getting done!!!! I discovered periwinkle for the first time today- what a fun color for you to write!!!!

The Cozy Quilter said...

The reworking of your great grandmother's quilt is a wonderful tribute to her. I love the setting you are using. You accomplished a lot on your last day before heading back to work after vacation. I am looking forward to seeing the rest of the colours and what you are going to do with them. Is there a plan yet for them?

Annette said...

I love what you are doing with your grandmother's quilt. Super idea! And I do LOVE yellow too. Thanks for the hint on the books, I'll have to check them out.

bernie said...

You are doing a beautiful job on your grandmother's quilt. It is a treasure. As for your list, woman! I got tired and had to take a nap just reading all you plan to accomplish in one day.:) I make lists too (only I make them because I forget everything) and I usually lose the list too. Your color blocks are a neat idea. I love all the new colors in fabrics, recently the turquoise and red combinations have caught my eye. Bernie

Chris said...

Hello~I love your idea to re-work your great grandmother's quilt. You could also use some color with it, rather than only muslin - maybe yellow? - just a thought. I have a quilt from my grandmother that is tattered, never thought about reworking it, just repairing it -now you've got me thinking! My latest color discovery is orange - used to hate it, but now I love it, especially when combined with other colors. Happy quilting, and hope your boys have a great year in school!