Designing Quilts With Charlene

My good friend Charlene came in yesterday from Lafayette bringing with her 5 more boxes and a trash bag full of my fabrics. I am once again overwhelmed.  For both what she and Paula did for me after the flood and for the amount of fabric I have!

At the guild meeting raffle table, Charlene won a very expensive adjustable clear sewing extension table for her machine and I won 5 lousy tote bag patterns!  I really lusted after that table!  Like everyone else in the meeting, she is one lucky winner!

Charlene and I spent this morning putting the design together for the first of two baby quilts.  Twins.  Boy and girl.  Two quilts!

I knew from the start I wanted triangles, modern, easy and alike.  And a grey background on both.  I thought I would start by designing the first one with the boy fabrics and just replicate the same for the girl.  I forget the names. She may have told me but I have forgotten.

I started by cutting out some equilateral triangles (ETs) from paper and tossing them around the 40 x 40 space.  Charlene helped me refine the design and lay the color arrangements.  Once we had something we liked I pit together the largest ETs.

I forgot to account for the size differences in the grey backgrounds, so back to the drawing board for some quick fixes.

I got one section pit together when Frank asked if I wanted to see how high the river was along the downtown levee.  Yeah, buddy!

Lunch at my favorite-- Bistro Byronz although the diet wouldn't permit their homemade potato chips and four cheeses melted to perfection-- but I digress.

today

April 2017

The water was high, but not as high as it was in 2011.  If I ever get my photos back I will compare them for you.  I did have one from a month or so ago. 

This is the USS Kidd and the downtown pier where the river boats tie up.

And the Mississippi River Bridge.  I love bridges!

And the Belle of Baton Rouge Riverboat Casino!  Louisiana law says no casino can be built on land.  But it allows for any number of them to be floating on various rivers and tribal lands.  We have two riverboats here in Baton Rouge.

BONUS!!!  LUMCON was having a meet the fleet day and we toured the boats and talked to the scientists.  OMG...... I am getting so old, most of the scientists were 20-something girls!

It was interesting. Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium.  LUMCON.  The largest research fleet and personnel in the US.  They were heading out for a month long research tour in the Gulf of Mexico.  Several experiments were laid out, and they had an underwater oceanographic research vessel they were showing off.

kA group of school kids were doing a tour as well, a researcher asked one if he would ike to do this when he grew up.  Yes,  he replied.  Well, the researcher said, study your math!  No, he replied, I hate math and won't do any of it.

So sad, I guess he stays on welfare!

 A very interesting and unexpected afternoon.