sparklythings

there hasn’t been a ton of stuff lately, but i am digging on these things:

Now I have the real thing…I was so ecstatic when my hydrangeas started blooming! These are all Endless Summers and right now they have flowers in a gaw-geous mix of green, blue and purple. In the last few weeks I’ve added a random lacecap (pink right now, I want to see how long it’ll take to change to blue!) and a few Blue Heavens to bring the total count up to 14 around the yard. They’re all pretty small right now, but in a few years I’m going to have the garden of my dreams!

Have been quilt shopping after a lifetime of nothing but comforters on my beds. Our cats recently destroyed my favorite set of flannel sheets  (in the most perfect purple and blue hydrangea print) and a comforter that I really, really liked. It was somewhat like a pickup wedding dress,  which I never thought looked good on people but makes for a nice, poofy texture on a bed. This is the closest thing I could find to our old one:from Target’s Simply Shabby Chic line.  I think it’s terribly cute but there’s so many things that make it a poor choice: it’s white, so of course it’ll become the cats’ favorite hangout, which was the original problem. It’s probably just a bit too girly for my husband’s tastes, and he’s such a good sport about letting me do what I want that i try not to push it too much. Most of all, it’s actually a duvet cover – and those things just frustrate the crap out of me. Jim and I actually spent a solid 20 minutes earlier this year trying to reassemble a hotel duvet and its cover with no joy. We’re two reasonably educated adults but that thing kicked our asses!

I realized the one advantage that duvet covers have over comforters is that covers can be dropped in the washing machine instead of dragged out to the dry cleaners like comforters have to be, thus reducing the cat wear and tear issue while at the same time reducing cost and effort on my part. I liked this equation very much, and thought that maybe a quilt might be what I need to replace the comforter.

clockwise from top left: lavender trellis,  catalina stripe, hydrangea blossom, melville

I was originally drawn to prints, both classic florals and modern patterns. Our bedroom is done in purple, blue and green (yes, like our wedding) so I thought any combination of those colors would be good. But that catalina stripe proves that all of them together in one quilt is a bit too much. Even the backup comforter that’s on the bed right now is driving me a batty, and it’s just a lavender-on-purple damask print that I got before damask prints became so ubiquitous. As tempting as that hydrangea quilt is – i’m just a sucker for hydrangeas – I think i’d be happier with a solid color.

dottie, kelly, cottage, maryland

Found myself  bookmarking lots of quilts with scalloped edges, because scallops make everything better. And how adorable is that dottie quilt paired with that old afghan!

Cyrus, brocade, cathedral windows

Also found myself bookmarking a few quilts in this pattern, thought i’m not entirely sure of the name. It looks like a small version of a double wedding ring, but this site suggests it may have had a number of different names through the years.  It’s cool to me because i see four-petaled flowers and diamonds in the pattern, and those are two of my most favorite things. If I had $1500 lying around i’d pick up that cathedral windows quilt in a heartbeat; it’s gorgeous and I think the price accurately reflects the time and effort needed to make such a beautiful piece.

With all that being said, I suspect this is the one I’ll end up buying. It’s also from Target so it’s affordable; it’s a nice shade of purple and has a modern floral pattern to it. Under no circumstances will I be buying this.  Twilight? Really? Come on.