At summer's end

It's the day after Labor Day, and the weather here is gorgeous! On the Central Coast in California, September, October, and often November are glorious, with warm, sunny days and mild, cool evenings. Gone is the fog of summer, the wind of spring, and the rain of winter, and while everyone else is hauling out their sweaters and boots, we find lightweight clothes in fall colors, and enjoy taking our pumpkin lattes to the beach! I know there are some who complain about the heat, but it's not hot like SoCal, or like the midwest, and it doesn't last very long; usually the really warm days only last three or four days at a time.

Yesterday we enjoyed church on the beach, on a beautiful, warm day. And we were joined by long-time friends visiting from other ends of California. Don't you love friendships that are so solid, time and distance don't matter?

With Dave and Lynne Sweeton,
and Dave and Dorrie Myers

I also managed to finish this little quilt before August ended. I love the imaginary constellations pictured on the dark blue and aqua fabrics: fox, snake charmer, horse, dolphin...

Constellation Fabrics by Lizzie House
Kona solids

I quilted it on my home sewing machine, and quilted different patterns in different areas of the quilt. Cross-hatching on the outer border, meanders on the dark blue square, straight lines on the aqua and the center star, petals on the black triangles, and a scroll pattern in the light yellow.

The back...

It was a relief to actually watch the washable marker disappear from the marked quilting lines when I washed the quilt, but anxiety-provoking when I saw how the quilt shrunk up unevenly in the differently quilted areas! While it was damp, I blocked it: I spread it out on the floor and pinned it in place to dry. Now it's nice and flat and square!

Labyrinth pattern by Debby Maddy

I'm linking up with Lily's Quilts to celebrate my finished quilt.

I'd love to hear from you! Leave me a comment, and tell me what I should name this little quilt!