A Day to Celebrate

It's been a good Independence day and I'm feeling very grateful for all my freedoms. Karl, Ashley, Frank & I did a bit of outside work this morning and then enjoyed swimming and lunch of hamburgers and watermelon. My favorite part was home grown tomatoes courtesy of the vacationing neighbors.

After lunch, Ashley & I worked on her dress while the guys watched tv and napped. Design changes and pattern weirdness mean we need another session so maybe I'll take my machine to Ft. Worth. Ashley usually comes up this way but I do need to run a few errands next week. I have a wonderful supplier of silk swatches who called that there's a bag set aside for me. I'd like to find something to wear to the baby showers but won't fret too much on that one as I usually run out of patience shopping for clothes; my taste and budget are not a good match. Funny that I do better sewing for others than for myself.

The silk swatches will be added to a collection I've been pulling together for a long simmering idea. I want a quilt hang over our bed with simple shapes and modern colors. I'll dye some of the fabrics. Lu did a beautiful one some years ago of layered circles with raw edges. Most recently I've been inspired by Malka Dubrawsky.

Ashley and I met her in Austin when she gave us directions from one fabric store to another. When she came into the second store we started talking and exchanged cards. Ashley knew her work from Etsy and I'd seen her pillow on the cover of the most recent Stitch. Later it clicked that she had the cover & an article in Dec./Jan. 09 Quilting Arts. She's a lovely lady and amazingly prolific artist.

I'm taking a break before I get back to the big project. Ashley and Frank went home to Ft. Worth with plans to ride their bikes on the Trinity Trail to see the big fireworks display this evening. Maybe K&I will drive into Denton and catch the show there. We saw some last night in Roanoke. We went down to Babe's, a local favorite for fried chicken and home cooking. I'm hoping we sweated off a few calories waiting outside about 30 minutes to get a table. Between dinner and fireworks we drove around looking at new mega mansion developments. Ashley caught the shots of the sunset and fireworks and I'm seeing see stitching inspiration in the colors and explosive patterns.