Spontaneous Fun

I didn't plan to see the girls yesterday, but it worked out nicely.  We video chatted, and they told me they had been to Costco with  Dad and got HUGE hot dogs, of which I got to see a little more than I wanted.

I got to see the new space where yet another tooth used to be.  Those teeth are coming out pretty fast now.

Some old containers of slime were revisited and enjoyed.

And it got a little silly, as usual, but fun.

I texted Emily and told her I wanted to take the quilt tops over to see if we needed to add the border or not, and that was such a fun visit.  We picked out a backing, Michael Miller Fairy Frolic Pixie Dust.  Name sounds about right.  :)

I didn't think about it having enough purple for it to work, but the girls love it so much.  I think it will be perfect.

There was another cute fabric with crowns on it that I showed them, and Graysen especially loved it, but we thought that might be too busy considering how much the front has going on.  I might order just a little bit to piece a row into the backing.  It's Sandra Clemons Applause and is really cute.

There are a lot of sweet prints in this line.  I might order some fat quarters for masks since the girls will be needing a lot for school.

Now my next step is to figure out how much of the backing fabric to order and go ahead and get that coming and get the batting this week while it's on sale.

We decided to add about 3 more inches of the contrasting border, and I'll probably bind it in the same fabric.  But that crown fabric might work for a binding.  Or the design might get lost in a binding.  We'll see.

We're just excited that I've gotten past my quilter's block and am moving forward.  The girls couldn't stop looking at all the dresses and designs, and I think they're going to enjoy it.  In fact, Katherine wrapped herself up in one of them and said she wanted to keep it.  Now.

I went back on the blog and found where I first started it, and I'm ashamed to say this was planned three years ago.  No excuse for waiting this long.

Michael Miller "Dream and a Wish"

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I'll face the task of actually quilting it when I get there.  I'd love to have it professionally quilted, but it's not in the budget right now.  I know it will be hard, but I want to stitch the borders and sashing down and then put a design in each of the blocks, either with free motion or hand quilting.  I've had the thought of letting them draw simple designs themselves and letting me hand stitch around them.  Again - we'll see!

Emily reluctantly asked if I would take a look at this old, old favorite.  She was hesitant to let me take it home because she was afraid she wouldn't get it back, and she NEEDS it.  Every day.

I've repaired it before, and I'm still not sure what's making the stitching fail in some places.  This is probably one of the first quilts I made, and the fabric is good.  It was a class I took in Montgomery, and I think I had good supervision.  Maybe the thread was not up to par.  I doubt I knew about good versus bad thread, but I feel like I would have been guided to use good.

I just don't know, but it is bothersome.  

It's not frayed at all, and she says she washes it gently and doesn't take it out in the sun.  It's just turning loose in spots.  I wonder if I used too long a stitch in places, like a basting stitch.  It looks normal.

It was such a fun quilt to make that I want to make her another one, but she wants only this one with these unlikely fabrics.  We're both surprised she liked the "old lady" fabrics when she was so young, but she has loved them and says it's like an old T-shirt from high school - soft and comforting.

I'm going to do my best.  I think I'm going to try a decorative stitch on my machine, maybe a feather stitch.  If it's pretty, I'll just do it over all the seams and maybe give it a few more years' life.  It was a stitch-as-you go project, each seam stitched straight to the batting, so it would be impossible to repair otherwise, I think.  I'm up for the challenge right now, so we'll see.

On the way downstairs, I was shown the Lego table.  Graysen said, "We're really into Legos right now."  Such a grownup.

We sat out back for a bit, and Emily and I finally got to have a conversation.  We had to talk fast and remember quickly, because we don't get this many opportunities.  She had to run pick up some restaurant gift cards for a co-worker who has a new baby, so I offered to water the garden for her.  On a whim, I asked if the girls wanted to walk down with me, and it make my heart feel so good to see how excited they got about it.

I didn't take any pictures, but they rode their scooters, and I watered.  It had gotten really dry in just a couple of days, and I'm afraid my balcony tomato is not going to make it.  It has quite a few tomatoes on it, but the leaves are all curled.  Sad.  Graysen spent her time circling the gardens on the little road around the fence - fast.  She was sometimes on one scooter and sometimes on two, using Katherine's like skis.  I got a little nervous when she went out of sight at each end, but I'm trying hard to relax with them.  Katherine spent her whole time picking blackberries and making a small pool of water from the hose.  And talking and talking.  Sweet girl.

They're such good conversationalists now, and I can't get enough of how Katherine will say, "It's blackberry-picking season, you know."  And how they still call thorns "storms" and restaurants "rester-nauts."  I wish time could stand still. Well, it kind of is standing still right now, but they're growing too fast in spite of it.