Monday, July 4, 2011

Satisfied.



The fall runner is finished and ready to mail.
Although there was some advice to un-sew and add more rows of leaves, and I did seriously consider that option, I am not unhappy with the way it turned out.


It would have been possible to do the un-sewing but there was no guarantee that the added leaves would look better since this is a pattern where the arrangement can not be decided by just two, or in this case, three rows but especially when repeating fabrics as I would have to have done. My quilt group liked the result and I am sure my darling daughter will say she loves it, as she has the first two.


One interesting thing that happened makes me wonder if this change of plans was really a mistake. As I came to quilt the end pieces, I found the space was just right to quilt the words from Ecclesiastes, "To every thing there is a season, (and) a time for every purpose under heaven.." As I finished quilting the phrase and added the binding I felt that maybe what I had thought to be a mistake was just an opportunity for something else if only I could keep my mind tuned to higher things than always being in control.


My number three daughter states this would also be a good runner idea in shades of green. At this point I am wondering how my sister managed to make a whole quilt using this pattern. Although I had stated I would never do this pattern again, never is a LOOOOOONG time!






The flowers on the Mother-in-law's tongue, (or any of the other names this plant goes by as certainly my own mother-in-law was the kindest most loving mother one might wish for) have begun to open. Green on green is not so flashy but they are lacy and charming. They also look like they are sweating in the Tokyo heat.




One more plant has blessed us with a flower. When we lived in Suginami Ward, my neighbor across the street had a huge prickly pear cactus on his front porch and every year it was covered with blooms. At one point I asked Morishita-san if, when he was pruning that cactus, he might give me a piece to root. Better than that, one day before we moved, he turned up at my door carrying a pot and plant he had already rooted. I now have several offspring of that plant. (I can't seem to throw away the pieces that accidentally get broken off) The plant sits up on my balcony all year but since this winter was particularly cold, I brought it inside for a few months. It still gets to freezing many nights but it seemed a bit happier than the year before. Now, for the first time, I have been rewarded with this lovely flower. Friday I shall return to my old neighborhood and I plan to take a picture to my friend and thank him again.









10 comments:

  1. I think your fall runner is just gorgeous and I am inclined to think like you - the "mistake" was just an opportunity to look at things differently.

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  2. Julie you are so wise to see what you thought might be a mistake as what it really was - a calling to think on the seasons of life. God often plants seeds like this and it's up to us to see them and nurture them. I think the runner is perfect like this and if it were me I'd much rather have one with that verse quilted on it (my favorite verse by the way, or maybe my second favorite verse since I keep going back and forth) than to have an extra two or three rows of leaves. blessings, marlene

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  3. Your runner is gorgeous and I agree that the "mistake" was a golden opportunity. Isn't it amazing how things turn out sometimes and yet we just need to slow down and listen!

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  4. The runner turned out beautiful! I love it! Thank you for posting the photo of the snake plant's flower...what a beautiful, lacey flower. Love the yellow cactus flower, too. I definitely don't have a "green thumb", and could cause a silk plant to die, but appreciate the ability (with God's help) of others.

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  5. Nice leaves - love the colours :-)

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  6. See, I knew you'd figure out what to do and you did a wonderful job. I love the verse you added.

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  7. The runner worked out. Of course it would in your hands. Doesn't that cactus flower look amazing.

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  8. Love the beautiful runner, Julie. The composition of the color is just nice.
    About the name of the plant you've mentioned there, it's exactly the same with what we call here in Indonesia, 'lidah mertua'. It means mother in-law's tongue. I wondering what maket it called such a name...

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  9. Your runner turned out lovely! Tessellating blocks are a challenge! The blue boarder is just the right color for a fall sky.

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  10. I love it when a "mistake" turns out to add so much to a finish!

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