The Best Intentions in Plaid

Due to internet interruption of the DSL server, the connection has been down for four days. Meanwhile, I keep making notes and editing pictures. Please excuse any overlaps; I cannot remember what I have said, or did not say.

notes from May 6 . . . . .
The one-dish, almost vegetarian supper is almost ready. I missed Cinco de Mayo last night and so the leftover Italian sausage is being added to a pasta-bean dish with a can of tomatoes, Edamane and Cannellini beans. OK, it’s only semi-healthy but we have had a broth bowl and a big salad this week and tonight I need something easy.

What’s up. PLAIDS! I had this idea.

The road to hell is paved with good ideas and even better intentions. So goes my ideas, this one to isolate as many all-cotton, woven, bright-colored plaids, varied scales of plaid repeats and do something “Spectacular.” Spectacular what- is the question.
Deciding between a patchwork long skirt (remember hostess skirts?), or a quilt, or a quilted jacket, or a wall hanging. What else could I do with plaid patches? The notion of a Caribbean-schemed patches in a quilted jacket seems ridiculous. Who wears quilted anything in the Caribbean? Why do I need a long skirt - we hardly never entertain at home.

The one result so far is pure serendipity. The hem of a jewel-tone plaid sun dress, evidently too long, had a fused hem that could not be undone. So I cut off the fused band, folded it over and stitched a cord of the entire length. Then knotted it in the middle, wrapped the double-cord around a purple straw hat. Perfect hat band in perfect colors for a chic summer accessory. Is that brilliant, or what?

Why is this notion about plaids so compelling for me? Last month the DOQ guild speaker [Heather Williams, Ph.D, UNC faculty] displayed a quilt made from scraps of strip and plaid men's shirt fabrics - lovely but I did that already. Using blue and white shirt fabrics, I made a red-white-blue log cabin variation for my nephew Austin several years back. Not going there again. But I have these great, colorful plaids and short of a muu-muu, I need a brilliant idea. The search is going great - so far ten plaids are on the table and I am still looking. Meantime I begin digging through the ‘stash’ for some long-lost items and find lots of ‘stuff’ long forgotten.

One such find is a wide-width linen remainder in a muted blue-green, just gray enough to be a great wardrobe mixer. The plan? See page 58 of the latest edition of Threads Magazine (#137, July, 2008), showing a short jacket made from five rectangles. So simple it’s stupid, but I always say that. Tomorrow’s shopping is for thread to match and a few other notions needed to finish the last steps of the “Bib” project. If this sounds really scattered, it is.
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