The Money Tree 09-11-10

Two Day Lilies - just so you have something pretty to look at!

I have posted about Amy Rosenthal in the past. This is another of her social experiments that surprised her and certainly surprised me. Not at all what I thought would happen.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsN8FUV9nS4&feature=player_embedded

Check her website for more of her 'events'. She is an interesting person and very enterprising.
http://www.whoisamy.com/

Some of you might be interested in Virginia Speigel's post about one of her patrons who collects art quilts. http://www.virginiaspiegel.com/blog/archives/5331

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Turtles 09-10-10

When Corky and I walk in his neighborhood part of our route takes us along the walk that goes behind the houses along the water. It is interesting to see the 'decorations' in the very small backyards. They range from nothing to amazing collections of tchotchkes, geegaws and doodads - mostly water related. Some have wonderful flowers and some have spas/hot tubs. Most have a gas grill and outdoor furniture. The walkway is about 45 inches below the level of the houses, so the yards are almost at eye level for me.

This yard houses a family of turtles. The baby is a recent addition.

On the other side of the door are two 'bachelor' turtles who are unadorned; the larger fellow is prepared to be a spitting turtle fountain.

It looks like the bottoms are a commercially cast material, but the tops must be added by someone with access to lots of river pebbles.

Wordless Wednesday on Thursday 09-09-10

Oh,NO, not again!

Yes, AGAIN. My new Dell laptop is blank tonight. I don't know when I can have it up and running again. Meanwhile I will try using the old Dell (lovely old friend) which is up and running and the screen has light! Of course, the external monitor is also working, so I have two views of what I am typing. Gosh, aren't I lucky.

Hope to have it all straight again soon. Del

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"Free Hugs" 09-06-10

This might be too serious for some of you and I can understand that - there was a time it was too serious for me.

Linda Minton ( http://fiberreflections.blogspot.com ) posted on her blog a video of some young people in Italy carrying around signs offering free hugs. I've seen it before and perhaps you have also. It makes me cry.

http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=hN8CKwdosjE

It reminds me of a childless quilting lady I became friends with some years ago. She once told me that she didn't really want to make quilts, but she loved being around quilters because they were so quick to hug everyone. She went on to say that one thing she had never realized about being a widow was that nobody would ever touch her again. Except for medical personnel. Sad, eh? She is gone and I have been a childless widow for twenty years - I now know that she was right.

In the past most people lived in small communities and knew what was going on in each other's lives and, regardless of the jokes about nosey neighbors, there was an advantage - people looked out for each other and gave hugs when hugs were needed. In our very busy lives we (and our sorrows) are frequently anonymous and our problems not something to be discussed. I hope you will watch the "Free Hugs" video and start a campaign of giving out free hugs. Everyone needs them.

Now I am off my soap box for another year or so!

"Angel's Trumpet" by Judy House 09-05-10

"Angel's Trumpet" 33"W x 42"L Judy House 2003

Machine raw-edge applique, Machine quilted.

Brugmansia, the plant that many of us know as "Angel's Trumpet" comes in many colors and some flowers even have a fragrance. I've always thought that they look more like angel's skirts than trumpets, but the trumpet name has been around forever. Some day, when I have taken enough pictures of both the flowers and quilts inspired by the plant/flowers, I will make an angel's trumpet quilt.

This one was made by Judy House of Virginia who succumbed to cancer in 2005. I met Judy at Empty Spools classes at Asilomar, she was a long-time friend of Mary Leakey, who I also met at Empty Spools. Judy taught contemporary quilt making techniques and had a large following of friends and students. She fought the cancer for years and bemoaned the fact that the waiting areas of hospitals were so drab - she spent many hours there when she went for chemotherapy. She organized a project to put quilts on the walls at Walter Reed Hospital - inviting 37 quilt artists to create a quilt based on a plant or animal that has shown promise as a cancer fighting drug. You can see these quilts at: http://healingquiltsinmedicine.org/ and read more of Judy's story.

Mary's Flowers 09-04-10

Mary always has flowers in her deck boxes and I always enjoy them, but never find the time to plant any flower boxes for my house. Mary was bemoaning the sparsity of the flowers at the end of the summer - here are lobelia, English Daisy (bellis perennis) and the last few little dried stalks of sweet alyssum.

They look much more lush against the green of the great view across the valley.

I had a giggle at this darling blooming cactus - the flower is glued on. It is a clever sales idea - I wonder how long the glue will last.