Central Texas Quilt Guild Show

We went to the CTQG show on Saturday at the Dell Diamond in Round Rock, TX.  It was a very nice show.  They had lots of beautiful quilts and the vendors were out in full force.  As far as I can tell, we all had a great time.

Rob will be uploading a video that does the show much more justice than I can in a still photos, but I thought I’d share a couple of fun quilts.

This quilt only got honorable mention, but I felt it deserved more.

Look at the quilting detail.

Doll house quilt.  This one was really, really cute.

Great Hawaiian style quilt by a lady that is also a member of the Austin guild.  Second place.  Way to go Rebecca!

This is what Sydney has asked for as her next bedspread.  I ‘spect that girl needs to go get her sewing machine out of the garage, eh?

Gotta love some hand quilting.

How about a little applique?

Oops, that last one might be upside down. 

Okay, so that was our Saturday.  That and watching and listening to the rain.  Yay, rain!  It was too wet to work in the yard, so I had to content myself with work in the sewing room.  More about that later.

My big purchase for the day was on the silent auction table and I was willing to pay the “buy it now” price.  It’s a kit and it came with two patterns.

I don’t know why I bought it.  It just appealed to me.  I’ve bought kits at the last two shows for some reason.  The variety and the colors were spot on for me, tho.  It came with two patterns.  The fabrics are not the original designer’s kit for either pattern, but they’re definitely something I think I can make work in either the patterns I bought or some other pattern.  For some reason, churn dash is in my head and I think these would make cute churn dash blocks.  We’ll see.  I’m in no hurry.  I have plenty of projects started.

Everybody be well.  Have a great Monday.  Lane

Picture day

Remember how exciting picture day was at school?  All dressed up and waiting.  Black plastic combs that you got to keep.  I have some awful school pictures.  But, I have some good ones, too. 

Today is picture day at Sydney’s school.

She very carefully picked out what she wanted to wear and I could not get a really good picture of her, no matter where we went or what we tried.

So, it’s a good thing that a professional is taking her picture today.

She and I had a falling out last night because I had a sick headache and asked for her help with the dishes and she was a real pain in the ass about it.  I ended up telling her I didn’t “need her damn help” and sending her away.  She made up for it by letting me read her article for the school paper.  It’s pretty good, even if she can’t spell worth a flip.  She’s taking it to the school library and loading it into software that has spellcheck.  I tried to find something on her computer with spellcheck and she got real antsy about me digging around.  Guess I’ll have to sit down with that puppy soon and find out what she’s hiding. 

Mable is better.  Her tail is injured in addition to the problems they solved at the emergency clinic on Sunday.  I worry that they may have injured her tail while they were working on her, but there’s nothing good going to come out of thinking like that.  The vet gave her some anti-inflammatories and she was doing remarkably better by the time we got home last night. 

That, or she’s pretending so nobody else will stick their finger up her bum.

I could understand that.

Anyway, here’s a picture of an iris that has been blooming in the garden this week.  Don’t know what it is.  I “liberated” it from the woods while we were on vacation.  It’s not the only thing I liberated, but it is the only one that has bloomed.

Everybody have a great Friday.  Still no word on the job.  One of my biggest beefs is people that can’t make decisions.

And, people that decide they don’t like things before they even try them, like Sam, I am from Green Eggs and Ham and Ted Cruz, senator from the state of “I am more special than you.”  I wonder if, when Ted decided to read that story during his “night of the living idiot”, he realized that Sam liked those green eggs and ham after he gave them a chance.

Lane

In need of medication

She panhandles on my way to work and has for years.  She’s not always there, leading me to believe that she’s not always homeless.  Or, that she’s getting some kind of relief and doesn’t always need money. 

She is an attractive woman.  Her hair is usually neat and clean and tied in a kerchief and usually, her nails look nice.  This says that she has a place to clean up and maybe someone looking after her part time.

But, she is so obviously in need of mental health assistance.  And, like so many others in our country, for one reason or another, she’s not getting it. 

At one time, she would have been rescued over and over in the optimistic hope that one day, with the right help and medication, she’d be able to take care of herself.  But, under today’s mental healthcare budget, most of the mentally ill get one or maybe two chances and if they can’t find a way to be self sufficient within those opportunities, and if there’s nobody to advocate for them, they get left behind.  And, so many of them end up on the streets.

Talking to themselves.  And, I don’t mean “I need to remember to pick up milk on the way home” talking to themselves.  More like debating; asking questions and answering them; discussing their important subjects.  She’ll walk up to the car and take money, but I can tell she has a real hard time separating herself from what is happening in her mind enough to say Thanks.  But, she always manages to get out a Thank you before the conversation with the unseen person begins again. 

It tears at my heart.  But, it has helped me to realize that there is only so much I can help as an individual.  I can continue to hand help through the car window and I can vote for people that feel like I do when it comes to what we spend our tax dollars on.  But, I can’t get her off the street.  I can’t take her in and change her life. 

And, I’m not sure I’m put here to actually change people’s lives anymore.  Remember those big conversations in college where we were going to change the world with the power of our convictions?  It didn’t work out that way for me.  So, I’ve found my little ways to help and I practice them with a wild abandon. 

(And, to the naysayers that complain that she buys cigarettes or booze, if I was in her place, I’d likely be smoking two at a time, alternating inhales with swigs of rotgut, just to ease the pain and get it over with quicker.  And, it is not my place to judge how those I choose to help decide to be helped.  It is only my place to help.  In case they need food.)

Rob is home this morning, getting to observe our normal morning routine.  He is taking the dog back to the vet.  She’s gotten better, but not better enough and seems not to be getting better than that, so it’s time for our regular doctor to give it a chance.

Still no word on the job.  Waiting.  Waiting.  Waiting.  The thing I probably do worst is waiting.

Be well.  Have a great Thursday.  Lane

Back in sweatshop mode

Well, the worrying and pampering are nearly over.  Mabel is feeling better.  We stopped the pain meds yesterday and while she does not want to, her  body is doing what it needs to and she’s becoming more her old, dunder-headed hound dog self. 

And, the house sighed in relief.

Even if it’s a dog, sickness in the house just puts things in a stand-by mode. 

I am sewing on Sydney’s coat again.  I kept going back and forth in my mind; heavy, light, heavy, light, windbreaker, winter coat, windbreaker, winter coat. 

And, a few thoughts came through.  First, wouldn’t it be nice to get her out of those sweatshirt hoodies?  I am so tired of that look.  Second, it’s Texas.  She’s going to get to wear a winter coat about three days that she doesn’t get to sleep in until the day warms up.  Third, things I convince her of just never seem to work out.  As Quiltermom said yesterday, if she doesn’t like it, it’s just going to hang in the closet.

Because I couldn’t make up my mind, I decided to try a test.  I took the outer layer and the inner layer and laid them across my arm this morning and went about my normal picking and straightening in the sewing room.  Weird how that picking and straightening has to be done every dad-gum day, huh?  Anyway, after a few minutes, my arm started to sweat and I decided that maybe just the two layers was going to be warm enough.

And, there you have it.  Unscientific experimentation answers a question.  I guess it’s not so unscientific because I had the other arm that was doing all the real work and was left as my uncovered test sample.  It did not break a sweat.  But before I could write an  unscientific paper about my findings, I’d need to repeat the experiment several times to see if I get the same result and I’m just not doing that.

So, I’m back to sewing her coat. 

 

Pockets and flaps and yokes.  All the decorative work and all the top stitching.  whooee.

Everybody have a great Wednesday.  The group of interviewers is supposed to meet today to decide which candidate gets the job.  I don’t know when I’ll hear, so still in a holding pattern on that.  And, trying not to be anxious. 

Be well.  Lane

Lost Momentum

Oh where, oh where did my momentum go? oh where, oh where could it be?

With it’s attention span so short and it’s project list so long, oh where, oh where could it be.

With this mournful face looking up at me, it’s hard to keep any incentive to do anything but sit in the floor and let her nuzzle me. 

I kind of lost my coat momentum when I had to stop to talk to Syd about weight.  The coat was not going to serve the purpose I intended.  It wasn’t going to be much more than a windbreaker and while that’s what she intended, I pointed out that she has a plethora of hoodies that serve the purpose of windbreakers and what she didn’t have was a real coat. 

The mission of convincing a rock to change it’s mind accomplished, I just couldn’t pick it up again, so it sits here, with the pockets on, reminding me that I really was trying to do this while my memory was still retaining all the tricks of how it went together.

But, instead, I started six more rows of my Texas Braid

And, then I got all OCD about this and making sure those borders were coming out the right size to lock together.

Noticing the trend?  Last week, feeling like I had to be on spot with everything, focused on a single project and working it to perfection.  This week, waiting and unable to do anything to influence the outcome, dashing about with no ability to focus at all; mind constantly flitting from project to project. 

Be well.  Have a great Tuesday.  Lane

Cool, crisp mornings.

On Friday, it did really rain.  We got in excess of 3 inches.  The lawn has greened up and the garden has stopped wilting and things are starting to set fall flowers. 

Mable is not feeling well.  She had to go to the emergency vet yesterday.  She is in a good bit of pain in her nether regions from a glandular impaction (see how delicately I can turn a phrase?).  She was in just a bit of pain for a couple of days, but it only affected her during a specific activity and she was her normal self the rest of the time.  But, yesterday, it began to escalate and Rob planned to take her to the regular vet this morning, but around 5pm, we decided she didn’t need to wait.  And, they solved the problem and put her on an antibiotic and a pain pill, so she’s got the look of a stoned teenager when she even bothers to raise her head to acknowledge that I’ve entered the room. 

But, I think she was still in better shape than poor Rob, who doesn’t do well when his baby is in pain.

Me?  I started Sydney’s coat.  She didn’t choose her outer shell fabric very well and I was so desperate to make something she’d wear that I let it happen.  And, now I’m trying to convince her to let me put a layer in between.  I think I’ve got her sold, so I’m not bringing it up again.  Not a word.  I’m just going to proceed.  I’ve learned that’s the best way with a teen; get something close to consensus and run with it.  Run fast.

I’m off to work.  Should be an interesting day.  Hopefully, my boss will stop asking if it’s time to start posting for my replacement, because I just don’t know.  He asked me that on Thursday.  Before the interviews were even over. 

I have really had about as much stimulation as I can handle.  I need a quiet and dark room for about four days. 

Everybody have a great Monday.  I’m enjoying the 60’s this morning because it’s going to be back in the low 90’s this afternoon.

Lane

The last coat post (my coat anyway)

It is finally finished.

And, the mile and a half of orange basting thread has been pulled out of it. 

It fits good.  And, it feels good.  The sleeves were such a good choice, with less bulk.  While the hood and the coat have an inner layer of batting for insulation, I didn’t include that layer in the sleeves, or waste the plaid fabric there.  I put a heavy green denim layer under the wool shell and lined them with polyester lining.

I also lined the pockets and the pocket flaps with that poly lining.

If I compare myself to a sweatshop employee that sews hundreds of toggles on garments all day and can execute them each perfectly, I didn’t do so good.  But, I’m happy.  They’ll do.  They are a precision nightmare because every time the needle pierces the leather(ette), it leaves a mark that doesn’t go away if you pick out the mistake.  The first four I put in with an open toed embroidery foot and got great seam allowance, but terrible stitch length.  I switched to my free motion quilting foot and, while it was a lot easier to sew them on, I got great stitch length and lousy seam allowance.  Eh, life is full of little tradeoffs.  And, did I say that I love my coat?

I feel like the inside deserves a photo, since that’s where most of the time went.

Not perfect, but certainly passable.  I’ve owned off the rack that was worse.  But, I’ve also owned off the rack that was better.

We went and got the fabric for Sydney’s coat yesterday.

She felt like the olive green with the black and white plaid lining was “too plain”, so I compromised and told her I’d buy one layer, but she had to pick one layer from what I already had.  She chose that khaki on the left, saying she thought it would be more versatile than the green.  And, she picked the blue and grey and khaki lining and I picked the sleeve lining.  BECAUSE. 

Anyway, I hope to get it cut out this afternoon.  I’d love to knock it out in a week, too.  I’m not finishing the seam allowances in hers.  I’m serging all the pieces and then bagging in the lining.  It cannot be any harder, and I believe it will be much easier.  I’ll let you know.

Couple of people commented on my interview process.  I agree that it was excessive.  So much so that I almost withdrew twice.  But, I stuck it out and whether I get the job or not, I plan to provide the feedback that the interview was more commensurate with a high level executive than a lowly project manager.

Anyway, it’s done now and the scraps are mostly picked up in the sewing room and I’m ready to move on to new things.

Everybody have a great Sunday.  Oops, I just saw another orange basting thread.  Dang!

Lane

I look awesome!

Okay, so Sydney said that while I was taking a picture of her, modeling my coat.

She really does look good in it, doesn’t she?

I’m making her one, soon after I finish mine, except I’m going to know what I’m doing when I make hers and hopefully, that will lead to fewer mistakes.  Hers is a lighter green denim and I’m trying to sell her on a black and white plaid lining.  She’s skeptical.  But, at least she’s willing to consider it…she hasn’t actually seen the fabric yet, so her mind is still open.

Anyway, I got the strip sewn down the back.

You can barely see it.  And, most of what you see is the straight white lines I drew in the back of the coat to keep that strip straight.  I’ll take a soft toothbrush to that and they’ll go away.

I also got the side seams in and I got one of them bound.  After the second one is bound, I can hem it. 

(that is not a rude gesture; just trying to keep the coat closed.  if sydney was still here, we’d re-shoot that. 

And, after that come the sleeves.  I am not looking forward to setting the sleeves in and then binding the seam allowances.  I am not, I am not, I am not.  They were hard enough to do in the muslin and I could really just hem it and stop and hire someone to put the sleeves in, right? 

No.  My obsessive/compulsive nature will not allow me to be defeated by these sleeves.  I can conquer all. 

Yesterday’s interviewer didn’t want to be interviewing me any more than I wanted to be interviewed, so we had a silent gentlemen’s agreement that allowed us to bounce through that in less than a half hour.  It was nice.  Real nice.

I found out that today is not an interview.  It’s a live test.  I tried to explain it to Sydney.  It’s like going to school, knowing you’re going to be given a test, and being taken to the gym and handed a test from a random class that you had no idea how to prepare for. 

Everybody have a great Friday.  I have a bee tomorrow and a half day off this afternoon.  It’s supposed to rain cats and dogs all day long.  It’s gonna be a good day as soon as I get this one little bit of unpleasantness finished with. 

Lane

He’s got a yellow streak down his back a mile wide

That used to be a phrase to say someone was a “big old fraidy cat.”

Okay, so my streak wasn’t yellow.  It was just faded along a fold line.

  

Unfortunately, that fold line ran down the center back of the coat.  It’s not too noticeable, which explains why I didn’t see it until the back was attached to the front.  Unfortunately, once I’d seen it, I couldn’t stop seeing it.  Every time I moved the coat, I’d see this streak. 

So, I decided to open up the yoke facing and insert a 1 1/2” strip (cut 2 1/2), appliqued down the center, just like the yoke facings are appliqued on.  I took out the side seams to make it easier to re-topstitch the yoke back on, over the strip.  Here is the strip pinned on and pushed under the yoke before I opened the whole yoke up.

It will take four topstitch lines to secure it.  I got three of them in this morning. 

Before this happened

So, I’m stopped until I can get to the store. 

The perfectionism that I’m pouring into this coat is supposed to be taking the strain off family time, but I’m still pretty anxious and excitable.  I think last night I was overbearing and at one point, Sydney just turned around and asked “what did I do to you tonight?” 

I’m trying to be really good.  I am.  But sometimes, I remember that she said she has to do chores because I am lazy when it isn’t appropriate for me to remember that. 

Everybody have a great Thursday.  Yesterday’s interview was harder than the day before.  It wasn’t the interviewer.  It was the questions she chose to ask.  The way we interview, you get topics and multiple questions to ask for each topic.  Some questions are easy, some are hard, and it’s up to the interviewer’s discretion to pick which one they ask.  I think she went through and circled all the hard ones.  I was exhausted after we finished.

And, I have another one today.

Lane

Opening up the hood

No, not the car, silly.  Why would I go there?  I’m sure I opened the hood on the car when I bought it, but since then, there’s been no reason for me to go there.  Not sure I even could without consulting the owner’s manual.

That’s pretty sad, huh? 

I opened up the hood on the coat, of course.  If you read my post yesterday, you know that just mentioning a problem in the hood meant I was going to have to solve it.  Turned out it was excessive seam allowance that was preventing the V seam from laying flat.  And, it was my first V seam.  (And, personally, I don’t much see the point.)

Anyway, I took out the seams that held down the facings, took out the previous seam binding, fixed the dimples and now, I’m putting it back together. 

Once the points were right, I put in a new piece of folded seam binding. 

This seam was trimmed to 3/8” so I didn’t trim it down to 1/4 like the other seams are.  I used a wider piece of binding, cut 2 1/2” instead of 2 1/4. 

And, it’s fitting perfectly, so that’s how the rest of the seams will be finished.

Won’t be long and I’ll be back where I started when I decided to take this apart. 

I’ve loved having this coat to obsess about.  While I was waiting for my interview to start yesterday, I worked in my mind and estimated the amount of work I’d have to take out and then how much time it would take me to put that back in and weighing that against what I thought I’d get out of it.  I decided what was an acceptable amount of work and that actually worked out this time.

The interview itself went fine.  We had a nice chat.  She asked me her questions.  I gave her good answers, giving her just the right amount of detail to accomplish what she needed from each question.  I’ve interviewed a lot of people and I know that helps me be a better interviewee. 

Okay, so everybody have a great Wednesday.  Lane

It’s all about the coat

Last night, I fixed one of the major problems I was having with my coat, so today, I’m feeling much more successful. 

As you can see, my seams are much better bound today.

Those actually look like they’re supposed to.  That is the back of the neck and the shoulder seams.  Now, if I had it to do again, I’d re-cut my seam binding wider and then I wouldn’t have to trim my seam allowances to a quarter inch to enclose them.  I’m going to do that on the arms and the sides but I had already trimmed my seam allowances to a quarter inch in these sections and you can’t grow that fabric back. 

When I started the coat, I laid out the two layers of fabric to baste them together and realized that wasn’t going to be what I wanted.  It would have been a great coat for Texas.  But, I have plenty of coats for Texas.  I needed a COAT; a Minnesota coat.  And, those two layers were not going to cut it.  So, I included a layer of cotton batting between them. 

I worried that this would be too heavy, but it has given the coat the most luxurious feel and weight.  I can’t describe how soft it is.  But, it’s not too heavy.  I’ve had a lot of angst from cutting the batting back to the seams without cutting the outer layer or underlining.  I’ve also been making sure it’s cut so that it doesn’t double layer in the front facings and the hems. 

I’m not going to include the batting layer in the sleeves.  In the sleeves, I’m going to underline the green wool with denim so that it will be more flexible than it would have been with the three layers.  I’ll like that better.  I hate a coat that makes me feel like I can’t bend my arms. 

Now that I’m this far along and things are going so well, I’m drawn back to my one weak point that I wish I’d tried again. 

I have this dimple where the upper and lower hood sections come together.  It’s right next to my cheek and while I can’t see it when the hood is on, I know it’s there.  I’ve pretty much figured out that it’s going to take some hand work to make that go away.

Today is my first interview for the new job.  The interviewer is a friend of mine and we’ve worked together for several years.  She has recently moved into the department I’m trying to get into.

Unfortunately, she’s the easy interview and they get harder and harder as we go.  Most are the managers of people I’ve worked with, argued with, and compromised with. 

Everyone keeps commenting on how relaxed I am.  I probably should be more nervous.  But, I’m not.  That’s the beauty of already having a job. 

Be well.  Lane

More work over the weekend

I messed up my blog posts, so some of you may have read what is coming next, but I don’t think that most people saw it, so I’m going to let it start today’s post. 

I got up Saturday morning and suddenly remembered that I had a UFO that I could take to bee, so that freed up the morning.  What else could I do but work on the Indian Orange Peel. 

It’s all together now.  Foibles, flaws and all.  One of her last instructions says:

stitch 1/8” from the edge of the quilt all the way around before removing the rest of the paper to stabilize it.  If you omit this step, something horrible will happen (sounds like a chain letter).

You can bet I didn’t leave that step out.

Next, I get to remove the paper.

Yowza!

This is going to be a good project for fall evenings, while I watch TV. 

Saturday was quilt bee and I took my Texas Braid, from Bonnie Hunter’s Adventure’s with Leaders and Enders.  That’s been one of those projects for years.  When I look for something to work on, I pull it out and sew a few strips on.  This morning, I realized I had 6 sets, almost complete. 

This is one of those quilts that calls for thousands of pieces and I cut until I was seriously tired of cutting and decided the quilt would be that big.  Well, I still have a boatload of strips cut, so this one is going to be bigger than I thought.  I won’t need those wide borders after all. 

After bee, I worked on the coat.  This project is a lot of work.  And, it’s going very well.

I have the hood attached.  I’m pretty proud of the pockets.

And, the topstitched yoke.

And, I’ve learned about as many ways not to attach a seam binding as Mr Edison learned how not to make a lightbulb.

So, I’m at a stand still while I go back and learn to do that better and then I can proceed.  I tried doing a binding like Peter Lappin did when he made the coat.  But, mine isn’t turning out as good as him.  I the hood, I had good luck doing a hand sewn finish, just like I would on a quilt.  So, my next try is going to be what I know; double fold binding, just like a quilt, sewn in by machine and then finished by hand.  I can already tell that’s going to be the best finish and the only reason I didn’t start there is “I thought it would take too much time” he whined.  But, now it’s just going to take more time to take some out and then sew it back down.  So, who really saved time there, bub?

Everybody have a great Monday.  I’m not ready for another work week.  I think I deserve this coming Friday off. 

Be well.  Lane

success!

It took me an hour this morning to set this weird shaped piece into the corner of the Indian Orange Peel quilt this morning. 

And, I don’t believe it’s because it’s Friday the 13th. 

I needed that weird shaped piece that joins the two sides and gives me the curve to mount the corner to.  I set one in the other day and it went in lickety split.  But, then I had to pick half of it out again and I haven’t tried to set it back in yet.  ‘ooh baby, can’t wait for that’, he said in a monotone.

Anyway, parts of this quilt were put together maybe 5 or 6 years ago.  I can’t even remember.  Mistakes were made.  When I set those bells back in the other day, mistakes were made.  But, you can’t fudge a curve on a curve that has to match a curve if there are any mistakes in any of it.  So, first thing I had to do was get  the ends of the border sections just right, with every seam allowance turned the correct way and no seam allowances caught under other seams. 

Then, I had to pin the new piece in, matching all the points, one seam at a time because it all has to be like, wadded up to get the concave curve to match correctly to the converse curve that has to be kept flat, first basting with long stitches and then (ripping and resewing and ripping and resewing…) when it’s right, coming back and resewing with smaller stitches. 

But, I’m taking it slow and keeping my frustration level at a minimum.  It’s only for fun after all.  And, if it’s not being fun, I’m starting to think that maybe it’s okay to just let it go.  I don’t have to conquer every hill.  (Except I’m not literally talking about letting this quilt go, Becky.  I swear!)

I heard back on the interview yesterday.  I’ve made it into the next round.  I’ll have a series of four, one hour interviews. 

When the recruiter told me about that, I was so overwhelmed that I almost withdrew.  Not sure what came over me.  But, it would fall closer to fear than anything else.  I even went into my boss’s office and talked to him about what I’d need to do to withdraw. 

But, I didn’t do anything other than that.  And, as time passed, the fear became more and more despairing.  Why go through all that effort if I wasn’t going to succeed. 

But, then I slept on it, and this morning, I woke up and didn’t even remember it and I took the dog on a walk and listened to music and I remembered.  And, Idina Mezel was singing Brave. And, by the time the dog and I got home, I realized there was only one thing to do. 

Crank up the music, close your eyes, and sing like a drag queen. 

I didn’t let anybody see me because I suspect this looks more like Ethyl Merman on stage, but it’s the best thing to overcome a fit of the low self-esteems.  Sometimes, you’ve just got to put it out there until you feel it inside and the crowd that cheers me on stage when my eyes are closed loves my performances.  So, I sang back up for Cher and Kristen Chenoweth and before you know it, I was singing the Butterfly Duet with Renee Fleming. 

Note that when you’re singing opera, it’s not a good time to see yourself naked, on the way to the shower.  Always wear a robe.  That kind of ended this morning’s mock stage performance.

And, that’s why it was so worth it to succeed when I put that piece into the Indian Orange Peel this morning.  Successes build on one another.  Sew, Sing, Smile, Parent, make breakfast.  What will come next?

I can give up any day, so there’s no pressure to do it today.  Maybe tomorrow.  We’ll have to see.  But, I don’t think I need to, today.

Lane

Garden color

Everybody knows I like color, right?  When men say “I don’t wear pink”, my reply is that pink is just a color and with all the other scary stuff out there to be afraid of, a color shouldn’t be scary.  They usually pretend they don’t know what I’m saying by saying “I’m not scared.”

Anyway, I often judge how well my garden is doing by color and whether I have every color of the rainbow represented.  Sometimes, it may not be much of a representation, but I want every color there, somewhere, all the time. 

Right now, we’re just coming out of the summer season and we’re getting some rain every couple of days (but no more storms, thank goodness) and the high temperatures have dropped below 100 on a consistent basis.  So, it’s a good time to evaluate the garden. 

I’ll let you decide how well I did.

Red.  Firecracker Fern

Orange.  Butterfly bush

Yellow.  Shrimp plant (I thought I’d killed this one, so I’m very proud of these blooms)

Green.  Green Rose.  Not sure what this really is, but I bought it as and take care of it as a rose.  And, it likes it.  Look closely for the three rose blooms

Blue.  Plumbago.  Nothing else to say.  It is practically invasive if you don’t dig and pull the extras.

Purple.  Fountain Grass, not sure of the cultivar.  I picked up one sprig off the sidewalk and now I have this.

That’s it for time today.  I spent my blogging time outside watering…yes, it takes a lot of work.  But, to me, it’s worth it. 

Lane