another day dawns

So far today we have had one bout of rain and it looks like more on the way.  Oscar has already had one trip back into the house for a bit though when I opened the back door to call him in he was all snug in his dog house and out of the elements.  I was/am more worried about the lightning than him getting wet if I know he is out of the rain.  His preferred napping spot lately seems to be under the indented area of the kitchen where I can see he has been digging and carving himself out a little doggie sized hole.  Once we get to the "dog days of summer" and little rainfall he will quit that Glynda said.  That old red dirt gets packed hard and digging more difficult for man and beast.

I've heard some more rumbling and he is back in his crate with the door open, napping.  Skyler on the other hand, heard the thunder and has vacated the premises for a spot under the bed, I'm guessing.

Above, look how cute he looks all snuggled up in his crate.  This was about 3 in the morning yesterday.  I couldn't sleep----obviously!!---for about 3 hours though I finally went back to sleep sometime around 5-530 for a couple of hours.  Earlier in the evening he had drug his towel out into the kitchen like he didn't want it.  I tossed it back in and apparently he decided he needed it after all,  it makes a nice cover.

Other than a quick run into town to pick up my new glasses and walking Oscar a few times, I've been a home body today.  At my recent eye exam, my vision is still 20/20 in the right and 20/25 in the left but that's distance.  Closeup could be better. Dr. Kazi proved to me that I would see a bit better with corrective lenses for that.   My guess is that this is because it addresses my astigmatism and readers do not.   Besides, I am getting tired of taking my readers off and on.  Of course, that means I have to get used to wearing bifocals. Plus I don't think the readers were particularly attractive when everything I find seems to be that square shape.  Not a flattering look for everyone, I don't think.

My main objective today is trying to come to some decision about what to do with the border of the Storm at Seas wall hanging.  It has to have something as the body of the piece is fairly densely quilted.  Doing the majority of the piece was my yesterday task.   What do I want here that has an oceanic feel to it?  Or that I know I can do on the machine that is not too acute a twist or turn.  Braid and Corner?  Egg and Dart?  Something with diamonds or a wave like deal?  I dug out all my stencil collection excepting the ones for blocks or whole cloth pieces.

 Then it was a matter of sizing too.  I cut the borders to finish at 4 inches but you have to be careful that the design is not going to be cut off when you add the binding.  Some were rejected as I knew that they would be done more easily by hand rather than machine.  I don't have the luxury of that right now.  I also looked in  my Readers Digest "100 great quilting designs for hand or machine quilting" (Luise Roberts).  It is fun to look but nothing tripped my trigger.

I don't know how well you can see it but this one Scallops Border 2.5  SCO-196-2.5 from the Stencil Company was my choice as it has the feel of a simple cable but a soft wave-like form.

I dug out the Golden Threads Quilting Paper and cut off a section of it and then cut it into quarters so I could mark IT instead of the quilt and make sure it was going to fit the available border lengths.   The motif  from "tip to tip" was about 5 1/4 inches so I made little tick marks and then lined up the stencil accordingly.  The quilt is square and about 37 inches in size and will work with a little minor fudging at the corners mostly.  I used my Frixion pen and there are probably spots where I perforated the paper but that will iron out if anything marked through to the actual quilt.  I am pleased with how the border choice worked out but of course, I still need to sew through and pull off that tissue paper.

The fabric bit you see is what I used for the backing.  Rosa had it in the donation box and seemed pleased when I told her how perfect it worked out for my project.  I forgot to make the sleeve the other day when I sewed the binding.  DUH!  It is a wall hanging and will have to have one.  The variegated thread come today in a Connecting Threads order (I forgot fabric for binding for the guild challenge----where is my head lately???)  Anyway,  at one point my left handed quilting friend and others had written to CT asking them to bring back their variegated threads...... and they did!!    The Ocean Jewels shade should be perfect for my needs once I get a bobbin or two wound.  I'm waiting to see if the thunder is going to amount to anything before powering up the machine.

The other thing I have been on the hunt for was a couple of recipes I want to use for my picnic next week.  One I thought sure was in the guild newsletter and I looked through them all.  I still haven't settled on just where I am picnicking or if I am inviting to join me. The quilt isn't done so I can't really tell someone what day I am planning on going other than it has to be the 4 or 5th at the latest with my featured day a week from tomorrow.  YIKES!  Too many variables at this point.  Can't take Oscar to the duck pond, that's for sure but they have some nice picnic tables in the area. I am also not sure I want to listen to more than two miles of whimpering dog in the carrier.  No hard feelings, fella??

Better get back to quilting.  I AM on deadline!