saturday’s surprise

8 November, 2008
quilts, scraps

A glorious day …

The rosy red of pink ladies, nestled in the bowl.

The lush green of the neighbour’s grass clippings, feeding insatiable guinea hippos.

The creamy orange of scurrying gekkos, smooching and winking at me from the ceiling.

The rich blue of a morning sky, with its sly “you just wait for tonight’s storm” smirk.

The cheerful stripes of the “I’ve been shopping with my cousin Hannah”  badges, pinned to Abigail’s waistcoat.

But what’s hovering behind the pretty colours …

A mad tea party, that’s what!

And Alice of course …

a dainty girl …

hobnobbing with flamingos no less.

And me, ready to fall asleep.

It’s all my mother’s fault of course.  There I was, quietly sitting in bed, cup of tea on the bedside table, sashiko on my lap, husband and child out at Saturday morning activity.  The table was neatly arranged with a bundle of bunting, Japanese fabric neatly cut and order, all awaiting a calm and methodical day of sewing.

And instead, my mother insisted I accompany her to the quilters’ store to choose some Christmassy fabric for the girls at school - they’re making tomtens.  And what do I find, as I’m about to leave, almost empty-handed - just 3 packets of beads, a long tail of rickrack and the backing for my Mary Engelbreit quilt - a richly illustrated fabric, squashed behind a bevy of boyish cars and planes and trains fabrics.  I knew from a distance, with just a glance at less than 2 inches worth of fabric, it was Alice.  An Alice I’d never seen before, but HAD to HAVE!

And now the chairs are piled with scraps, the table’s a ghastly mess, and there was a dreadful photo of an afternoon’s perfectly contented piecing - but I deleted it!  When I have sunlight and time - maybe tomorrow, probably Monday, I’ll take Alice’s Adventures outside and take a NICE photo - trust me - the colours are so very happy! :-)

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