Reflections on a Summer Winding Down

On Monday my summer ends and I head back to the classroom. My big dreams of getting gobs of quilting done this summer have fallen way too short, but I can't say that I am looking back on this summer as one that was disappointing or anything. We had a lot of good things happen, some very sad things, too, and mostly just your basic real-life stuff.

I have had this week to myself for the most part, as Kevin and Emma went back to school on Monday. This has sort of been my week to do stuff just for me, which basically turned into working on quilting projects that have simmered on the back burner all summer long.

My desire for several months - since January, at least - has been to make 'Broken Dishes' with Kaffe Fassett fabrics, featured in his book Kaleidoscope of Quilts. I have at last begun serious work on 'Broken Dishes.' I have admired this quilt since first seeing it featured in quilt magazines in an ad for thread. What a dream to gaze at! For many months now I have been acquiring KF fabrics, both from real stores and on-line stores. My collection has become quite the stash (a sub-stash of an overall major stash!). Besides making a trial block in June, I have done little more than study the quilt pictures in the book. This week, I have begun cutting and marking the squares for the small interior blocks. Here are a few pictures of my KF stash along with my current progress on 'Broken Dishes. Aren't his colors absolutely electrifying? The affect these fabrics have on me is incredible. For a gal who has preferred reproduction prints and traditional patterns, this sudden craze I have for Kaffe Fassett fabric is quite out of the ordinary!