Challenging Paper Pieced Quilt

A month ago at a quilt guild meeting I found a new, up-opened pattern for a complicated paper-pieced quilt block (to be made 16 times for a wall size quilt. The block pattern was 10 inches square and each square had 24 pieces.  I love paper piecing. It's a challenge when it has far fewer than 10 pieces. Most of the month I worked with it. The first block color choices were all wrong. Then I made another four and decided those color choices were all wrong. So I turned to the seemingly unending collection of polka dots (some sort of hanky-panky goes on in the closet at night as the polka dots seem to multiply).
  Anyway I finally chose three colors of dots with sizes from very small to very large and made eight blocks. I did not have the stamina for more. When I put it together and added three borders (black, white and red -I didn't  have enough blue for a fourth border), I decided it has an early 20th century look -- somewhere near Piccasso-ish, not quite art deco. I am undecided whether I like it or not.  I can see other possibilities for the pattern but it was so complex I probably won't come back to it.

Generations--Stella's 7th birthday

Saturday was Stella's 7th birthday. We four generations met at Beth's coffee/tea shop in the lovely old Cape Cod village of Sandwich. Stella was in full princess array. She got "fluffy"gift as per her preference for girly things (with three brothers to compete with, she's holding down the feminist line).  Very rarely do I see family resemblances in photo but in this one taken by Cory (Stella's mom), I definitely see proportions of face/ eyes-nose -mouth. (click of photo to enlarge). Brunch was only the beginning of a day of parties for Stella. 

Poem lifting my description of this morning's dawn

I have been trying to add a photo and my Blogspot does not want to talk to my photo file this evening, but maybe a bit later ... I haven't had this problem before.  Anyway went my email poet friend, Arlene Corwin send me a note and wonderful poem this morning, I responded and told her that I was looking out my east-facing window at a wonderful fruit salad of colors as the sun rose.  She has since turned my comments into a fine poem and sent it to me just now.  Here it is:

 The Ultimate Advantage 

Lemon,orange, creamy peach reach

Apricot-ty harmony

As morning thrives and sun arrives

To make it’s first appearance,

Moving slowly upward in its dance.

(Of course we know it stands

                                              quite still).

Morning’s dawning lives each day,

Waiting for the sun to send a ray

Or two or three

To you and me,

The scenery

Spectacularly

Striking in its scale.

One wants to cheer and yell

Not knowing which to do,

So staggering the stirring view, 

(Even birds shape songs anew).

Radiant, magnificent

This lemon, orange, creamy peach

Which rising, teaches us each watchful day

To love the life we live.

 

 This photo is not my best or most orange/apricot/etc. but it's the the blog accepted..

I've been having serious disputes with computers lately and  simply give up easily.