Finish, and Start

About 18 months ago, I planted a Princess plant. I enjoy its blooms so much, I planted another.

Over the winter, the first plant got very leggy, and I could see it needed to be cut back. Info on the internet said to prune in March, so even though it was in full bloom I pruned it (yikes!) putting the cut stems in a vase to at least enjoy for a few days longer. 

This is what the plant looks like now. Was I too aggressive in my pruning? I sure hope it comes back because the window behind it is where I sit in my sewing room aqua chair to look out - admire the Princess plants and Bismarck palm, and watch people, pets, golf carts, and cars pass by. 

Two days ago, this is what the Bismarck palm looks like. Pedestrians passing by frequently stop to remark on it. It's so big (I'd guess about 25'-30' tall) and healthy! Each frond is wider than the expanse of both my arms spread apart.

I wanted to enter the latest Curated Quilts quarterly mini-challenge, requiring a specified color palette, and the themes "stripes" and "balance." Since I know how to make Maria Shell-type ribbons, and I like making circle shapes, I combined the two, piecing ribbons first, cutting circles from them, and machine appliquéing circles to a dove gray background (I'm trying to figure out why evening photos taken with my Canon camera appear pink, when I have LED full-spectrum daylight lights in the room.) 

Ick! All I could see was Easter eggs. After posting this picture to Instagram a comment was, “I suddenly have the desire to play croquet!” 😂

Remembering several quilters who have suggested if you don’t like a piece, chop it up, I decided to do just that. But I first printed the photo onto paper, and cut up the paper before cutting into fabric. This looks a little better, though another comment on Instagram is that it looks like Easter eggs. Sigh.

Dance Around, 14" X 14"

I've missed having a kawandi to hand stitch. So, thinking through possible ways to make a different Siddi-style kawandi, I decided to try making a round one. This is a 17½" diameter circle drawn onto backing fabric using a Dritz "Quilter's See-Through Drafting Ruler.” Batting is Quilter's Dream Request cut with scissors.

Typically when making a kawandi, fabric pieces are torn and folded along a straight edge. Because I needed to be a little more precise, I free-hand rotary cut a gentle curve along one side, and a tapered angle along another side. Then I pressed with an iron and pinned, pinned, pinned. In traditional kawandi, pins aren't used. 

I've stitched around it several times now, and I like how it’s looking.

The urgency to complete this "Modern Scrap Challenge" is mounting, as the Central Florida MQG due date for our quilts is April 17. I completed the 71" X 80" quilt top Monday afternoon.

By bedtime it was pin-basted, ready for some stabilizing machine quilting before I switch to big stitch hand quilting. 

For backing, I chose a stashed white, tone-on-tone wideback that wasn't quite long enough. I pieced a print and inserted a 6" strip to get the dimensions needed. Quilting commences soon!

Book Recommendations

Bear Town by Fredrik Backman evoked mixed reactions in me. This story is about a backwoods town that lives for ice hockey. The story revolves around the hockey club's general manager Peter, his wife Keira, 15 year-old daughter Mia, and 12 year-old son Leo. The junior hockey team, led by 17 year-old captain Kevin, is about to enter the semi-finals. An unexpected incident occurs that changes everything. Everyone from the bar owner to the grocery store owner has an opinion and a stake in the outcome, and they’re definitely not in agreement. 

I felt "gray" while reading this book because it was disturbing... while being thought-provoking. The author excels at story-telling, and the story is compelling - he achieved what an author should achieve - but the combination of hockey (a sport that doesn’t interest me) and the underlying message of sports “heros” getting away with things that shouldn’t be gotten away with, was illuminated so frankly that it saddened me to know about this dark side of team sports. Fredrik Backman deserves a 5.0 for the telling of this story, but for my enjoyment of it, I gave it a lower score. 

Linda's score: 3.8/5.0

The Good Wife by Eleanor Porter is a tale of laypeople and stewards, lords and ladies, and a little bit of magic. Martha is wife to a groomsman, Jacob. When he leaves on a two-month trip, Martha is left behind. As a former healer who escaped the gallows after being declared a witch (apparently this story was in the first book The Wheelright's Daughter, that I did not read), she heals the wound of the local steward and finds herself running from his advances. When Jacob doesn't come home, she sets off on a journey to find him, becoming a different person, meeting others on her travels, and relentlessly looking for Jacob. 

While the characters seem to be God-fearing people, they also believe in myths, legend, and charms. Also, I felt frustrated because I kept wanting to speak for Martha who didn't say the things I thought she should.

Linda's score: 3.0/5.0

Dan continues to outdo himself at pizza-making. Each one becomes "the best ever made." He has perfected his pizza crust, mixing the dough from scratch in the morning, refrigerating it, and later shaping it for baking. This pizza was heavy on pepperoni and cheese - yum! - but we were good, and ate salads first. 

Linda