French Hatbox

Is it just me or is this summer lasting a long time? It's still getting up into the low 90's here and I am sooo ready for cooler weather. Kids in the area went back to school last Tuesday, so that means summer should be over, right?

I got some gorgeous lovely soft fabric from the Fabric Square Shop: the French Hatbox collection by Free Spirit. Some of the colors match Pokey:

As I pieced Hope Strings Eternal I really noticed the lack of light fabric in my stash. For so many years I only bought darks and mediums. I'm really drawn to intense colors. To illustrate my point, here's a photo with a quilt I made in the late 1990's. This was totally my palette back then and I wouldn't buy any other colors except for holidays and those did NOT get mixed into regular stash.

A detour off-topic: Uh oh, a Lily/Pokey standoff. Lily usually gets the better of these matches - she's meaner, or maybe just more aggressive, as well as bigger.

Back to French Hatbox. These fabrics will add some lights into my stash, but still have some fun color. I love these big roses especially on the light green background.

These fabrics make me think of the watercolors that Carol Gillot features in her blog Paris Breakfasts. It would be so fun to get one of her paintings where she puts your pet in Paris. My cats have even lived there, so it would be fitting. Not that they ever got to leave the apartment.

Back on the topic of the fabrics: As much as I love them, I wouldn't use them all together in one quilt - that's way too matchy for me. My pet peeve is definitely quilts made from just one line of fabric. But I don't mind having a few fabrics in a scrappy quilt that are from the same line but in different colorways. I have a couple of friends who HATE it. Not me, as you can see from my current quilt in progress:

Have my color tastes changed. Those dark Amishy colors just don't look right in Florida, but these sure do.

I'm so excited Project Runway is back on. woohoo! There are a couple of contestants who are into old Hollywood glamor, so I'm hoping for good stuff from them. The judges definitely sent the right person home.

I really enjoyed the All Star Challenge. I like the designer who won, although I thought the clothes were ugly with the exception of the red carpet dress. I was happy that the designers I think are complete jerks didn't win.

I'm also watching Top Chef: Las Vegas. I've actually eaten at one of the restaurants: Zaytinya in Washington DC. I loved it because it was all mezze from the mediterranean region - just my style of food. Too bad the chef is such a sexist jerk.

Speaking of guys who don't think much of women, woohoo, Mad Men is back. I am so bored with seeing Don Draper's affairs. We know he's an unfaithful jerk, let's get on to something that moves the plot along please. I love the bits of the show that take place at the office - that's the dynamic that fascinates me. Go, Peggy, go!

I'm watching Warehouse 13, but it doesn't thrill me. It feels so been there, done that. We've got Mulder and Scully reborn, only without the charisma and wit. Instead it's just petty bickering. I wish the awesome CCH Pounder had a bigger role.