I know that many families spend part of the Labor Day weekend doing repairs to their home, and seeing to those things that need to be done before the house is closed up for the winter. Because Dear Husband is a sailor, we tend to put those activities off until later in October. That means that Labor Day is mine to do with as I please.
This year, it has pleased me to play with fabric. I have a wall hanging that had a design flaw. There are four baskets in the center, and stars in the corners. One of the stars was made from the same fabric pattern, but in a color that wasn’t used in the rest of the quilt. Duh…..a beginner’s error. I should have known better. It’s bugged me since I finished the top.
Last night, I got out my trusty seam ripper, took off the outer border, and removed the star that didn’t fit with the rest of the design. I was surprised at how little time it took me to take it apart.
What was even more surprising was how little time it took me to stitch the replacement in place. I’ve trimmed the lightest border back to one and a half inch, and I’m going to sew the original red border back in place.
Cop Car is one of four people who would understand all this babble. I could have said to you….”I played with fabric. I had a great time!” But, it seemed that it needed a little more explanation.
Tomorrow, I hope to add borders to two other wall hangings, cut out blocks for a quilt Elegante Mother is working on, and perhaps cut the borders for another of her quilts.
I’ve been pondering for about six years how to finish a quilt I started for one of my nieces. If I don’t get this quilt finished soon, she’ll be able to use it for her children! So, that’s rising to the top of my “Must Do!’ stack. And, I need a morning to finish a quilt I started for my granddaughter.
Maybe it’s a good thing that weeds don’t grow during the winter. I need all the time I can get to finish these projects!

…a rather LARGE bug, lying on its back in my mudroom. I don’t think it’s doing the backstroke. I think it’s dead. What I wonder is, did it come in on my clothes this morning when I came in from weeding and pruning, or did it come into the house in the bag of sweet corn I bought yesterday? I suppose it could have come in on my son’s clothing when he returned from the Renaissance Faire yesterday. I really don’t know how it came to be in my house.
I think it’s a praying mantis, and it looks a lot like the one in the picture at the top of the page on the link. It’s about six inches long.
I’m leaving it for Dear Husband to see when he returns from sailing tomorrow.