Wattle it be?

Today we celebrate Wattle Day, a day on which we pay homage to our floral emblem.

Our wattle is already getting ready to flower next year.  Those bright green shoots are new growth from which next year's blooms will sprout; each year it seems to get healthier and heathier.....and more beautiful.

I've been stripping!

The one inch wide strips for Autumn Rhapsody's peeper border are now cut, joined and trimmed to length.  They still need to be folded in half lengthwise and pressed; the little flashes of different colours will be more interesting than a single colour would have been.

One inch strips are slightly fiddly-diddly to cut, as I found out when cutting the sashing strips for my house quilt.  Wider strips are easier.

This gorgeous fabric was bought at the closing-down sale when the owners of a local quilt shop retired a few years ago.  First I bought half a metre (this was a while before the sale) which was cut for some the blocks in Autumn Rhapsody, then the rest of the bolt was later purchased.  There is more than enough fabric for a border and binding; it will also be used for some of the backing, which will have to be pieced as there isn't enough of this fabric on its own.  The narrower fabric at the bottom will be the inner border - it has twice been rejected for other borders on this quilt, but will make a suitable one inch wide buffer between the medley of background fabrics and the richer leaf border.  I hope.  

There is a large piece of this interesting fabric bought on our first trip to Toronto to visit our wandering son, and not yet used.  It will be pieced with the leaf fabric above, for the back.

The shadowy background leaves are metallic and will, I suspect, eventually rub off, but the printed leaves and writing will stay.  

Stitches have been sewn by hand and machine.  Words have been read.  Songs were sung and notes plinked, our fussy uke player is mellowing; perhaps the fact that I put her in charge of a particular song which needs a bit of work has focused her musical energies.  We hunted and we gathered, my daily physio exercises were done, and that was some of my week.  How was everyone else's?

Here I was thinking that all my medical scans, x-rays and tests were all done, but no....tomorrow there is a bone test to be undergone.  I had one last year - folk in my age group can have a free test every two years but it seems that a fracture can ring alarm bells, so a month ago at my regular quarterly checkup my doctor sent me away with a referral for a bone test.  If it's not covered as a free test I'm not doing it, I said....no problem, she said, in that case next year will do.....I popped into the testing place on Friday and found out that, because of my recent fracture, it will indeed be covered.  So tomorrow morning off I go again, for yet another of the tests that I thought were all finished.

Oh well.  Hopefully this test will, indeed, be the last one for a while.

Continuing with Conduct in an artist's studio:

"Do not ask the artist his prices unless you really intend to become a purchaser; and in this case it is best to attentively observe his works, make your choice, and trust the negotiation to a third person or to a written correspondence with the artist after the visit is concluded.  You may express your desire for the work and obtain the refusal of it from the artist.  If you desire to conclude the bargain at once you may ask his price, and if he names a higher price than you wish to give, you may say as much and mention the sum you are willing to pay, when it will be optional with the artist to maintain his first price or accept your offer."

I don't care how much anyone offers me.....Autumn Rhapsody will not be for sale.  I intend to enjoy it myself.

Enjoy your days!

Jennifer