I brought this quilt to Quilt Group this week to show them and see what they thought... I have NEVER seen fabric do this before...
The quilt top got wet - with sea water and was left folded up for a bit of time... and the fabric printed itself - the exact design even (so not just bleeding, but copying of the design) onto the plain fabric. See? All homespuns and men's shirts (the men's shirts didn't print). I already sent it through the washing machine and set it out in the sun to dry.
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Quilt Group likes the effect and they wonder if I can duplicate the result on the "unprinted" white squares. They say - quilt it. I am thinking - replace the white squares and big white borders. The final border is 2 rows of pieced triangles.
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So - what do you think?
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NOT that I have any time for quilting right now. It is brush burning season and I am staying busy outside gathering up deadfall and burning brush. My old apple trees take a beating in the winter winds. I burn in a barrel - being near the water - even on a perfectly calm day, the wind kicks up when the tide changes. Nice and contained in the barrel! I am always amazed at the huge amount of brush a hot fire can burn in the course of one afternoon! Lots of my neighbors are burning their lawns, but that just makes me nervous.
It is a love/hate relationship - travelling. Roads take me away from what I love while at the same time bringing me to what I love. I enjoy driving on big, empty roads. But many trips are a bit too long and some days I will travel 12 hours non-stop. And sooner or later - these big empty roads lead to city traffic. I do love the cities though - love seeing the high rises, all the lanes of traffic, the roads going up and over and under each other. Just don't like the city traffic!
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I hate leaving. Hate it. I will delay and delay and delay if I am driving (can't do that with plane tickets though) - because usually I am pretty happy where I am. Then the truck is packed and I am out the door in a flurry of tears. Then I hit the road and am happy. And extra happy when I get to where I am going. Then I want to stay there and the same thing happens when I have to leave that place. If it were a perfect world, I would have all the people I love, all the things I enjoy about an area, everything - all in one place. I am sure many of you can relate - widespread loved ones, friends, families, missing regional things that are favorites (weather, scenery, birds calls, flowers, foods, etc.).
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On the road again. Except I don't like driving after dark all that much so I am snugly tucked in for the night at a hotel. Got to finish my History homework - tomorrow is another full day of travel.
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Oh - and in case you are worried - I just hold up my camera and push the button when I am driving. I do not know what the photo looks like until I look at it later. I thought this one came out nicely!
How can you not love a cat like our Coonie? Actually, we are his people. He found us. He was starving when he came along with his big, blocky head and skinny body - so weak that he could barely stand up, shaking on wobbly legs, to drink the little bits of warm milk and canned cat food we put out for him - just a little bit at a time to get him used to food again. I didn't think he would live. But he did live so then I told my son to name him - his name is Coonie. He has lived under my front porch ever since - it has been several years now!
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He is a wild cat, make no mistake about it. Mean! He bares his teeth and hisses at just about everyone. And what a great hunter he is - guarding our front porch from all sorts of animals like racoons and muskrats. There is a muskrat that lives in the ditch across the driveway and I have seen Coonie charge the muskrat - but the muskrat doesn't want to run away so they collide and go flying up in the air and then retreat in opposite directions. The boundary is drawn though - the porch belongs to Coonie and he isn't going to share!
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When I go outside in the morning to sit on my chair and have my early morning cup of coffee, Coonie is always there to greet me... with a hiss and a meow. He likes me and will let me pet him (always from the back so he won't lash out and scratch). Most of the time though he sits just far enough away so I can't reach him. If he hears my voice outside he meows and comes trotting over. When I walk over to the neighbors he follows along like a dog, sits up on her hill waiting for me and then walks back home with me. When I go away my friends report that they will see him sitting on the porch looking at the kitchen door, wondering why I don't come out, I suppose.
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I hate leaving him all winter in Canada, but what else can I do? He would not make a pet for anyone. If I brought him to Cape Cod he probably would be eaten by a coyote within a week. I arrange for people to feed him every week and he also goes next door to the neighbor - I bring her several LARGE bags of cat food before I leave for the winter. On the very coldest of Canadian nights, she can coax him inside and he bolts for her basement, but in several years, only a few times has he come inside. Some cats are like that - they are outdoor cats. My neighbor has one cat that was a wild cat and decided to move into the house. She has another cat that was an indoor cat and he decided to become an outdoor cat and no longer steps foot in the house. All I can say is that Coonie's life is now better than when he first found us. Look how big and strong he is now! All muscle.
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I was in Canada a few weeks ago checking on my place and took this photo of Coonie. He was happy to see me, in his own way, and I was happy to see him. Pretty soon I will be heading up there again for the summer and we will enjoy many early morning coffees on the porch together.
