Earlier in my quilting life I made a star with similar fabrics. While they had somewhat different shades, they were uniform in print and value, which meant there was no diversity. But that did not seem important as I stood at the cutting table chopping away.

Hours later at the sewing machine I started assembling the diamonds, and laid the partial star down to look at it. 

Disappointing. The lack of variation made all the small pieces blend together. It looked like a casserole. 

I just bought a new book, one that promises to help me learn how to make photographs into quilts. The section on color reminded me of that loser star. The author went into detail about the power of sharp contrast to give a project impact. Her pictures were proof enough. She went to the trouble to make the same quilt twice, one with and one without. One was eye popping. The other was bland. 

Benjamin had a great week. He sang around the house, and played the Guess that Song game with the twins.  The therapist said he did a terrific job working at the thrift store. 

"We couldn't keep up with him giving him things to sort. You know that scene from I Love Lucy where she is wrapping chocolates? It was like that."

Benjamin's well being is nice enough all by itself. But in juxtaposition to the eye poking drama of a few weeks ago, the joy is sweeter than chocolate.