The Girl with the Cute Picnic Quilt at the Fireworks Display

Yes indeed, my lovely readers, I did it! When I showed you my finished top last week, and said that my goal was to sit on it at the fireworks this year, I hadn't yet realized that I only had a week left. How on earth did June sneak by so quickly?

Blessedly, I function well under pressure, so the very next morning I set to work, pinning the top to an old sheet and forcing myself to sit at my sewing machine with beautiful weather outside.

I quilted it with very basic horizontal seams every third row. No lining, no fancy scrolls or patterns. Not even a grid. I want this quilt to hold together, but its main function is to be on the ground with feet and bodies on top. Not going to drive myself crazy over such a creation!

The binding fabric was among the fabrics and sewing notions that I inherited from my paternal Grandmother a few years ago. I think she would approve of my choice to use it for my little portable family gathering place. I machine stitched it to the front, then pressed, mitered, pinned, and hand-stitched the back.

Would you believe that the hand-stitching was my absolute favorite part of the entire quilt? Of course you would.

Come fireworks time, Picnic Quilt in hand, we headed into town to the designated field for viewing the display.

With new construction going on at the high school, where the fireworks are usually displayed, we were told via advertising that the display would begin at dusk, with the fireworks being launched from behind the cinema.

Positioning ourselves along the back edge of the field and biding our time, we looked forward to the pretty display, with the crescent moon, treeline, and even the neon lights of the cinema in the foreground.

I was excited about the photographic potential for the evening.

Right at dusk, a certain little person, who shall remain nameless, suddenly had to go potty. Really? Are you sure? Nodding of head and dancing of feet. So off she and I go, headed to the store across the street, and just as soon as our feet hit the asphalt, the fireworks began. Muttering threats that this had better not be a false alarm, and when we get to the bathroom, she had better not clam up, we trot there, wait patiently for her to get up the nerve to go in a public bathroom, then head back to our blanket.

And what to our wondering eyes did appear? Lovely fireworks being launched. Not from behind the theater, but from behind the mini-storage to our backs.

Mmmm-Hm.

Apparently there was a large shuffling and rotating of chairs when they started, as everyone had to reposition themselves to actually SEE the fireworks without breaking their necks.

I had to walk several yards away from my family to get these photos of entire explosions...



An evening to remember, for sure.