The Amphibian Quilting Method

Borders on quilts are something I have not mastered. I admire quilts with nice, well thought out borders that add a grace note to the main design. I also like quilts with the simplest of bindings and mine generally fall in the latter cateogry. But the blue and while quilt I'm making needs a border -- largely because I don't have enough of the right colors to make five more blocks which is what's needed to make it a good size for my bed. So ... a border. I had a bright idea and decided to cut pieces and see if I could do the first segment. I measured carefully and cut carefully ... but when I had sewn pieces for one side I found the lighter pieces were not big enough. There's no way to fudge it; I have to cut new piecs -- fortunately I DO have enough of that fabric. But then came the Amphibian Quilting Method -- which I really should use a bit more often than I do ... the "rippit, rippit, rippit, rippit..." part. Sigh!

Let's turn to a somewhat happier subject. I've discovered Jane Hirshfield, a poet, and I'm reading her book, AFTER. The poem
"Pocket of Fog" begins --

In the yard next door,
a pocket of fog like a small herd of bison
swallows azaleas, koi pond, the red-and-gold koi.
...
The fog grazes here, then there,
all morning browsing the shallows,
leaving no footprint between my fate and the mountain's.

In the body of a much longer poem she quotes a haiku by Issa

Spider,
do not worry,
I keep house casually.

I just might make a small quilt with a spider and frame it and hang it in a prominent place for visitors to see.