Gone fishing 

  
On a recent Monday, Logan and I strolled down to the water hazard on the golf course to catch fish. Reputedly, there are trophy size bass to be had but all we possessed for catching fish was a repurposed butterfly net. Happily, it was more than adequate for scooping up the teeming gambusia affinis which inhabit the shallows.

Incidentally, we also encountered a Great Blue Heron. 

So on any given Monday, if you can’t reach us, we may just be gone fishing!

Bocce beautification project

  
This is the view from my kitchen window. It’s a lot of unrelieved green and gravel and the roots of the shrubbery are so thick there is no planting anything under it, so I decided to add a little interest with pots. This project started last spring with bulbs. Ranunculus foliage is irresistible to whatever pests are lurking in those Cherry Laurels and the bulbs were mowed down as soon as they popped up. Next up: bacopa plants. They were not eaten alive, but neither did they thrive. Round 3: our one remaining helpful local nursery man says “I know just what you need.” And he may be right! Poppies, violas and Carex grass. That sparkle of white is just what I wanted. It makes me happy to look out and see this view.

Shirt tales

Butterick 6026
This shirt pattern by Katherine Tilton is my new favorite pattern. I made this version first, earlier this summer. Loved it, wore it once, washed it with a new dress that bled dye in the wash and only this and another linen top picked up the red dye. I have since used Synthopol to get most of the offending dye out but it will never be the same crisp white and green that it was the day I finished it. Sigh. It’s been a long time since something bled out in the wash and colored everything pink. I’d forgotten that could happen.

B6026-2b

Here’s the next version of this pattern. Ms. Tilton very kindly drafted a second front and back to use with the sleeves. This is a drafting detail most patterns skip and it makes all the difference. The sleeveless version has a lovely design line over the shoulder that is not too revealing, but neither is it too wide. It looks like a sleeveless top that was meant to be sleeveless, not a shirt without it’s sleeves.

Butterick 6026. Fits like a dream, goes together easily, a winner in every category if you love a nice shirt with some feminine detailing.