Spring without Winter 02-25-12

It has been cold, but we've not had our share of February rain.  I love the sunshine, but don't like dealing with another drought year.  Hope "winter" comes soon. 

Meanwhile the wild oxalis on the hillside in the back of my property is fully in bloom.  The tree on the neighbor's slope is an orange which is also blooming - I step out the back door and the fragrance is wonderful.  At one time much of Orange County was orange groves and this time of year they all bloomed at once - the perfume was everywhere and awesome. 

Double Blocking 02-24-12

It is time for members of Surfside Quilters Guild to make blocks for a president's quilt for Joann Bishop who will go out of office in May.  I made my block a month ago, but it has disappeared somewhere in my house.  Sooooo, I have made a new block which is not quite finished.  But I'm posting it because it is what is the most important thing right now.

Sorry the picture is so poor - I took it just a few minutes ago, about 10:30pm.   I tried one with a flash, but it was so washed out I deleted it.

 
These little loops are the greenery in the window boxes.  There will be flowers in the empty spaces and maybe some flowers along the foundation.  Or maybe seashells?  Could also be a birdy in the tree! 

Wordless Wednesday - Flower 02-22-12

 



Let's make it "Wordy Wednesday" this time:  Magnolia is an ancient genus. Having evolved before bees appeared, the flowers developed to encourage pollination by beetles.

Monday Browsing 02-20-12

Some great videos, free from Superior Threads: http://www.superiorthreads.com/videos/

A day of glass:
http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=6Cf7IL_eZ38&vq=medium

Interesting promotional video for Corning glass products of tomorrow.  Beyond my ken!

For fans of P.D. James and Jane Austen, an interview with Ms. James about her book “Death Comes to Pemberley”, a sort of continuation of Pride & Prejudice.   http://vimeo.com/31252065

I enjoyed the book very much – it is about Elizabeth & Mr. Darcy after their marriage.

Pinterest is a way to collect images of things you like http://pinterest.com/about/    Here are two "boards" created by two different people (not me) that I enjoyed looking at.

http://pinterest.com/jmjholmboe/out-of-africa/

http://pinterest.com/ccloth/art-artquilts-modern-quilts/

From A-Word-A-Day http://www.wordsmith.org/ for the word “dilettante”
[sounds like home to me. Del]  "I long ago came to realize that I am a putterer, a grazer, a dilettante. I create the impression of getting a lot done by dabbling through my days: I read two pages of a book, write half a letter, paint a portion of the front porch, bake half a tin of muffins, teach a class, wash a window." Robert Klose; Confessions of a Dedicated Dilettante; The Christian Science Monitor (Boston, Massachusetts); May 10, 2004. http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0510/p18s02-hfes.html

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We had a bit of fun at the Surfside Quilters Guild meeting on Valentine's Day.  These four guys sing together all year, but on Valentine's Day they appeared and sang love songs just for us.  It was lovely!

Twelve inch square quilt from Belgium 02-19-12

Here is another of the Twelveby12 group gift quilts that didn't make it into the current exhibit at the Visions Art Museum in San Diego. 

"Promenade au bord de l'eau"  Francoise Jamart  2011  12" x 12" 

Hand-dyed cotton fabrics.  Machine pieced and quilted.

This quilt brings to my mind the hard-edge paintings of the early 60's when I was in my early twenties and became interested in visiting museums and galleries. "Being enlightened" was the term we used.  It was a term with a double meaning - both cerebral and sexual!  But I don't know if that was universal or just in my "in" crowd.  I mention it here because whenever I see "hard edge" I am suddenly in that previous life and wonder what has become of the people and the paintings of that time. 

Of course, the hard edge paintings didn't have the texture or dimension of this little quilt.  I especially like the "shadows' in the apricot fabric and I see farm ponds on the prarie, with the horizontal channel quilting representing furrows in fields of grain. 

I find the back equally interesting, especially since the artist has used different colored threads according to the fabric colors on the front.

 
The computer translator gives me, "Walk to jump in the water."  A boardwalk, perhaps?

02-10-12 Francoise advises the name translates as "Walk by the water".

Thank you, Francoise, for this thoughtful quilt.