Which color?

I can't decide which color to use in the alternate blocks of this Lady in the Lake variation. At first, I thought this gold/cream/blue tweedy checked print fabric was the right one to alternate with the gold and blue paisley, since the Carrie Nelson uses a brown tweedy print in her pattern. I searched everywhere and couldn't find a print like hers. FYI, her alternate solid blocks are gold paisley too: But then I tried this dark blue:

And then a slightly more muted blue with a bit more cream in the print:

which I like but I don't have enough of it. If I want to use it I'll have to get online and find more.

ARGH! I can't decide. I'm going to try another navy blue with a smaller cream print that I have on order from Thousands of Bolts. I needed dark blues anyway, so I ordered three yards in case it works for this quilt.

What do you think? Husband likes the middle one. I like the color too but the print is a bit too aggressive beside that busy paisley.

So close.......

That's the first of my Roma tomatoes, which I was watching in anticipation of spaghetti sauce to come, until today I found it on the ground with a large bite taken out of it. Rabbit, chipmunk or squirrel? Who knows - the only thing that matters is that it wasn't me enjoying this tomato!

"Carrie-ing" on

Another Carrie Nelson design: This one is called Scarlet Begonia. I just love Carrie Nelson's stuff. Of course, I enlarged it - 85 blocks now, to make it 94" square, which is the new standard size for us. I had the red fabric (Regency Collection III by Judie Rothermel) and I had bought a fat quarter bundle of Barbara Brackman Civil War repro which worked very nicely with it. Still haven't decided on the backing and binding.

I would like to find a blue/red stripe for the binding but haven't seen anything that would work in the meager offerings at my local Hancock's and Joann's. I don't like the selections in either store. Joann's fabrics are usually too bright and modern for my tastes, and Hancock's are just all over the map - all over except for the styles I like, it seems. I went out yesterday looking for shirtings because I had used up most of mine in this quilt and couldn't find a thing in either store. When I asked for shirtings at Joann's the lady led me to a table of tropical shirt prints - you know, parrots and tiki huts and such. Ahhhh, no.

Both local quilt shops are now gone - one closed and the other was blown away by the April tornadoes. I could drive about 25 miles up the interstate to another town with a quilt shop but haven't tried it yet. Perhaps this week I'll take a look when I go out to do other errands. It's time for another food donation to the local food bank and I want to buy several box fans to donate to the Salvation Army, which distributes them every summer to low income households without air conditioning.

It's difficult for us to understand how anyone could live in this town without the A/C. I know people do, but I feel very sorry for them when we get in one of these heat spells. Husband says that the summer heat actually makes him ill, and it's true. When our heat pump broke several years ago during a 100 degree stint, we had to buy a window A/C for the bedroom and he stayed in there for five days until the new unit was installed. If he tried to go out into the rest of the (very hot) house for any length of time it got him, but good. He's one of those people who don't perspire and his internal temperature just goes up and up until he's sick. Or, as his sister has done several times, keels over in a dead faint. I think I remember her saying that happened at an outdoor estate sale one summer, and at King's Island once.

I'm getting so much sewing done because it's been in the high 90's and I can't stand to step outside, so I sew all day. After dinner I run out and water everything; I might lose some of my new shrubs but I'm trying to preserve them. It takes a lot of water with this kind of temps and red clay soil. Hang on, azaleas, it will be fall someday. In the meantime, the tomatoes are growing - they are the only thing on the place that likes heat.

Well, Molly probably would like it a bit warmer inside - she sleeps under the quilt at night. A cat is never warm enough.

It's upgrade time

I'm steeling myself for an upcoming internet blackout. My husband has ordered parts to upgrade his hot-rod desktop computer, and in about a week when they arrive, he will dismantle the beast and put in all the new parts.

And then nothing will work.

Please understand, this is NOT a slam against my husband. He knows more about computers than I will ever imagine I could, and he's a retired electrical engineer who's been messing with these boxes since - well, since they've existed. He builds his own computers. But when you upgrade, it's ALWAYS SOMETHING.

We've been through this before. It never goes as smoothly as you think it should and he always has to cope with irritating unexplained problems. He always solves them, but it's a hassle. Please don't ask me the details - I don't ask, and I don't want to know. Around the mid-90's, I gave up my complimentary subscription of InfoWeek at work and never again tried to keep up with the fast moving computer industry. If anything goes wrong with the laptop, I walk into his office and say "Oh, honey?"

He's also moving his desktop to Windows 7, so that adds a little extra fillip of mystery to the process. He told me I should also upgrade my Vista platform so all three computers would be on the same operating system, but I'm frankly terrified to try that. Will everything I run work on the new Windows version? Who knows?

I even cringe when I download updates. I'm a strong proponent of "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." In fact, don't even touch it.

He wanted "bright"

My husband likes bright colors a lot more than I do. I veer toward the muted, dusty range of hues. But this quilt is for him. The fabric collection is "Java" by Deb Strain. The pattern is "True Blue" by Carrie Nelson, with a modified border by me. It may not be Kaffe Fassett bright, but it's a stretch for me. Now that I've completed all 100 blocks, I'm taking a break to work on some applique for a while.

Toronto's "Slut Walk"

Have you read the news story about this? Briefly, as a result of public reaction to a comment by a member of the Toronto police, organizers staged a demonstration at a local park which culminated with a march to the Toronto Police Headquarters on April 3. Here is the remark that set off all the furor:

In January, Toronto Police Const. Michael Sanguinetti told a personal security class at York University that "women should avoid dressing like sluts in order not to be victimized." Sanguinetti apoligized for this comments, but his apology failed to satisfy walk organizer Sonya Barnett. "It was evident that if you're going to have a representative of the police force come out and say that then that kind of idea must be still running rampant within the force itself and that retraining really needs to happen to change that mentality," she said. A statement on the event's website says: "Toronto Police have perpetuated the myth and stereotype of the slut, and in doing so have failed us."

Well!

I would like to know the context in which the remark was made, but no one is reporting that. Was he talking about walking alone at night? Going out to bars? Was it a general comment about personal actions? I may be a little old fashioned about this, but I think understanding what the constable meant involves analyzing his remark with respect to what other comments framed the statement. Let's hear the whole paragraph, so to speak, not the sound bite. It also becomes relevant to know to whom he was speaking. Consider the audience and context of the remark.

Don't get me wrong. This is NOT "blame the victim". Rape is about power, and far too many rapes happen. If your attacker breaks in your house, if someone grabs you while you're on your way home, if someone whom you trusted turns on you, what could you have done to prevent that?

But let's talk about other situations. Imagine that you're out clubbing and drinking with your girlfriends, or meeting someone on a blind date. Personal safety experts give all sorts of advice to young women in those situations. Don't let your drink out of your sight, for fear that it will be spiked. Don't go into a secluded area with a stranger. Go out in pairs and keep together for safety. Meet strangers at a location away from your home. All good ideas. But consider this scenario:

You're set up on a blind date with a friend of a friend. "You'll like him," you're told. For safety's sake, you make arrangements to meet at a local watering hole, where you're a regular. You dress what you consider attractively for the occasion, to make a good impression. Maybe for you that means a shorter skirt than usual, or a lower neckline, or tighter clothes, or (God forbid), low rise pants that let a bit of your undies peak out the top. I'm thinking about the clothes store next to my hairdresser's shop which has window displays for what they call "clubwear". Let's just say that this isn't what you wear to work!

You walk through the door and he sees you for the first time. He doesn't know a thing about you at this point, only what his eyes tell him. And depending on what he sees, what he may be thinking, if he's a certain sort of person, is "Jackpot!" A few drinks later, you're both somewhat impaired in the thinking process, and he starts to wonder if his first impression is going to pay off. This could get ugly.

Rewind that and redress yourself in a little more conservative, more modest attire. You don't have to look like Marion the Librarian, for goodness sake, just don't put everything right out there. If you say "But no one will pay any attention to me!" I have to ask if people attracted to that sort of display are who you really want to meet. (Old fogey alert! But I AM an old fogey, so I get to say what I please.) Was this what the policeman was talking about? We don't know because we aren't told.

There were picket signs on the march which proclaimed "My short skirt has nothing to do with you". I always hope that people aren't that ingenuous, but I'm always disappointed. Here's a news flash: everything we do, say or wear affects how we are perceived by others. Do you want to control the message, or have the message control you?

PS: I expect rabid comments to this post. So be it.

Are you still making quilts?

That's what someone dear to me just said this evening (names are withheld to protect feelings all round). I mentioned that I have been working on bindings for several days because I let my completed unbound quilts stack up this spring and had several to finish. "Are you still making quilts?" Like, "How many quilts do you need?" "Where are you putting all of them?" Or, maybe, "Don't you have other things to do?"

Ouch. I hastened to explain that one was for my niece, one was for my husband's couch in his den, and another was a larger quilt for our bed. As if I had to justify making quilts. And I was upset for feeling like I had to justify what I do.

Maybe I'm reading too much into what was said. Maybe it was just a passing comment. But it was still an ouch.