It's Not a Bird...

 Seven years ago I made a Welcome quilt for my side door.

This was it before it was quilted. The door faces North, so it wasn't going to get direct sunlight, but it does get a lot of reflected light. I knew it would fade eventually.

This is it now, seven years later. Eventually has arrived. I don't want to  make the same quilt again. The pink letters became brittle and broke, so they aren't on the wall on the front porch any longer, and of course, Millie has gone to the Rainbow Bridge. I want to make another quilt for the door, but what?

I made flowers like this for Violette's quilt, back in 2008.

OF COURSE they will be PINK! I'm not quite sure about a final design, so I will keep playing around.

I got my second booster shot over the weekend, and cleared through some of the paper junk in the office and brought it to the town's Shred & Drug Takeback event. Always nice to dispose of that stuff safely (and for free.)

I was cleaning the bathroom and looked over at where I store my earrings. I stopped wearing earrings when I worked from home from April 2020 to the summer of 2021, and haven't resumed wearing them because the holes in my ears closed up. WELL... What am I keeping them for?

I got rid of MOST of them, and kept the ones I really liked. I also cleaned out some of the necklaces. My neighborhood has a big yard sale every year, so I bagged the stuff I will try to sell and set it aside. It's a good motivation to go through my extra stuff.

In Place

Judy in Michigan wanted to know how I hung up the little Welcome banner. I used two of those Command hooks. The little banner has a sleeve, but I don't have a rod the right size. Until I get one, I'll use the binder clips and enjoy the banner.

Most of the shade garden plants are now in the ground. I've had some of these plants almost six weeks, so some are in rough shape. I'm hoping they'll perk up now they are in the ground. I'm going to have the landscape guy install the edging bricks, so I didn't plant the plants that go right up against the edge.

The grill got another workout for dinner last night. I was tired, so dinner was limited to grilled tofu (yes, you read that right), grilled asparagus and grilled corn.

Welcome!

In New England, where I live in the northeastern US, when you go to somebody's house, you go in by the side door.  The front door is used rarely, and only for special occasions.  So when you come to MY side door, this is what you see.  If you open the storm door (it becomes a screen door in the summer when the glass is removed and a screen fitted in its place, as above.)

Open the screen door, and you see my pink side door, and the Welcome banner, which, dear Meagan, is well protected from the elements.



For those of you wishing to see photographs of the shade garden, my apologies. I got sidetracked. I, um...

ah...

uh...

I didn't do it. I went out and bought the edging bricks, as I said I would do. Then I went back to the big box hardware store and bought a gas grill.

On the plus side, the steak, asparagus, red onion and potatoes I cooked on it for dinner last night were divine.

Welcome Banner

Chris offered to quilt the little Welcome banner, so I included it with the Blue Deco quilt when I sent it to her a few weeks ago. On Sunday she called me. "Did you plan where you put the sky fabric above the house?" she asked.

Well, yeah.

"I mean, did you cut the fabric to show off the swirls? You did that on purpose, didn't you?"

Yes, I told her. I thought that fabric represented the sky and the wind blowing around here when I was making the quilt.

"Because YOU KNOW," she laughed, "It's my job to ENHANCE what's already there with my quilting.  How can I ENHANCE something that's ALREADY PERFECT?"

It was my turn to laugh, "Well, I didn't mean to make your life difficult."

As it happens, Chris had several ideas, and started something and then ripped it out, and in the end, just did something simple.  It's fine with me, it's going on the outside door, for heaven's sake.  I told Chris that one of my blog readers worried the quilt would get damaged from exposure to the elements.

"Well, you'll just make ANOTHER one!" Chris replied, and we both laughed. She's right too. When this one wears out, I'll make another, different one.

In the meantime, I've added the binding and the hanging sleeve to the back. Now I have to hand sew the bottom edge of the hanging sleeve and figure out how to attach it to my door.

A Little House

Woo Hoo!  I like this. I love the color crayon walkway and the colored squares make me think of a flower garden.

Welcome House

 A couple of days ago, my pal Valerie suggested I add a mini "L" and "T" to my little house. As soon as I read her comment I knew I'd have to change my house. I wasn't comfortable with the amount of empty space or the size of the door in the original house.

I like this a lot better. It's not fussy-perfect, and it isn't intended to be.

The inner outline of the blue tape represents my size restriction for the finished welcome panel.

I'm not quite sure what to do to fill up the empty spaces yet, but I have lots of ideas, so I'm not worried. I have a plan for a colorful walkway, and I want a little tree or two.

What's really funny is that I've been watching "Tiny House Nation" while I've been making this panel. Coincidence?

Little House Welcome

I finished the WELCOME for the door panel, and got started on the house. I was thinking of a bright pink house, but something stopped me. My house is tan, and the door will be bright pink. If I was welcoming friends into my house, shouldn't the house on the panel resemble, at least a little bit, my own house?  So this house is light brown and the door is pink. And of course you can see Millie and I in the windows.

It's a start.

Charlotte, Your comment yesterday deserves a reply, but I don't have time right now to do it. I promise I shall address the issue in an upcoming post. Short answer: I blog to share what I am doing.

Welcome

This is the WELCOME for the little quilt I am planning for my side door. Letters do tend to grow, but I have more "wiggle room in the height of the panel than I do in the width. I am not quite sure about these colors and fabrics, but hey, I have to start somewhere.

As for the comments in yesterday's post, you guys sure are funny.

A Little Welcome - with an Update

Like the Artist Alphonse Mucha, I don't like empty space.

When I come home each day, I'm confronted with this homely space on my side door. When the weather warms up, I'll paint the door pink, like the letters in Monday's post, but the space will still be empty.

  I measured it, and thought about something quilted to put there. It would have to describe me and what I do. A little Welcome panel with a house and a tree would be just the ticket. There would be a cat in the window, of course, and maybe a lady at a sewing machine.  With one square at one inch, the letters would have to be petite, but I think it would be a lovely addition.

Update:

Megan, The door faces North, so it never gets any direct sun. The entryway is covered with an awning, so it never gets wet from rain or snow, and in New England we have an addtional "storm door" in the winter. In the summer, the window gets replaced with a screen, so the fresh air can come in, but the bugs stay out. The little quilt will be well protected and last a long time (until I get bored and decide to replace it.)

Kathy, by all means, steal away. As Picasso said, "Good artists copy, great artists steal."

Charlotte, the door is textured metal. Painting it would require special paints and more time and effort than I am willing to expend. Besides, I like having the option to change my mind.

Sharon, am I going to piece the letters? Is the sky blue? Is the Pope Catholic? They sure aren't going to be applique'd! LOL! Thanks for the laugh.