Pretty Spring Quilt

Finished quilting Marge's beautiful top.  It is rendered in springlike colors of white, green, and purple, with a luscious border of roses.

It looks like windowpanes, especially pictured just below my windowpanes!

She wanted an overall design, so I did leaves and flowers in a yellow-green Signature thread called "Pear Green."  Marge was almost as pleased with the back  as the top.

I had a lot of trouble with the tension on this project.  Sometimes that just happens, but this one might have been caused by a perfect storm of tone-on-tone backing that was not pre-washed, tightly woven white cotton on the front, a somewhat scratchy batting, and perhaps that color of thread.  Places on the back looked like they were "flat-lining."  In other words, the bobbin thread was just kind of lying there, not pulled in to the center of the quilt by the top thread.

Lots of picking and re-sewing later, it turned out pretty nice.

Here are some more  photos from yesterday's walk.  Wouldn't this quilt look great on display by any of these spring landscapes? 

Dogwood and Azalea Time

It's still March, but our Southern Spring is in full bloom.  There is just nothing prettier than the combination of dogwood and azalea...especially when combined with graceful architecture such as in historic Wake Forest, North Carolina.  What a difference a day makes...beautiful sunshine and blue skies.

The campus of Southeastern Baptist Seminary is looking lovely.

It used to be Wake Forest College, back in the day when Arnold Palmer played golf for the Demon Deacons.

If you are not into pastel shades, azaleas also come in brilliant reds.

This lush green lawn with the dogwood trees and azaleas makes me think of the landscaping at The Masters golf tournament in North Augusta, South Carolina.  That is coming up on April 5.

My own personal back yard is looking inviting.  But, I've got things to do!

Rainy Weekend

Well, my team (NC State) came very close, but lost to Kansas Friday night.  That's okay...after six years of not even making it to the tournament, we are happy to have been in the Sweet Sixteen!  The Pack is Back!

Yesterday was totally gloomy and rainy.  Finally the rain let up a bit, and we hit the greenway.  Even Kasey did not want to set a paw in this muddy mess of water cascading over the rocks.

The sun came out while we were walking.  Beautiful!

I stopped in Raleigh at The Teach Me Store on Friday.  My grandson's birthday is coming up soon, and I love the selection of challenging books, puzzles, and toys at that store.  What a fun surprise to visit the restroom in the store and find happy, childlike artwork painted on the walls!

Speaking of artwork, I took another class with Steve Filarsky of Art Student Academy last week.  This time we painted pears on a windowsill.  Here is the collage photo from the class.  There were three home-school children in the class along with another adult and myself.

Here is a close-up of my painting.

I would like to work on this a bit more.  Meantime, I need to get out and pull some weeds.  The ground should be nice and soft after all that rain yesterday!

I've Been Working...

I have almost finished quilting the large quilt that Marge brought me last week.  Just have some fixing up to do.  It's a pretty spring combination of lavender, yellow-green, purple, and white.  Here is a peep.

It has been hot this week.  Kasey has enjoyed plunging into the creeks on our walks along the greenway.  Of course, she also enjoys it in the middle of winter.

We are excitedly waiting for our team, North Carolina State, to play tonight in the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Basketball tournament.  We have to play Kansas.  If we manage to beat them, we will play our arch-rival, North Carolina.  It is fun to be a part of March Madness!  Go State!

Spring Has Sprung

For the past two mornings, we have had thunderstorms, followed by warm sunny days.  The cherry trees along our driveway started blossoming while we were in Asheville last weekend  They look rather brilliant against the dark sky.

I like to walk on the greenway nearby after a big change in the weather, so I loaded up the dog while it was still misting a bit, and headed for the greenway on the other side of Rogers Road.  The center of the traffic rotary on Marshall Farm Road is looking very spring-like and pretty.

I knew that volunteers had planted daffodil bulbs along the greenway last fall, but had not seen them yet because I have been avoiding the sounds of the earth-moving equipment and logging station on Rogers Road.  But, today I thought they might not be working due to the rain.  Wrong.

But the daffodils look great in big clumps along both the paved and wooden walkways.

I was on the lookout for deer who might be out and about after the rain.  Sure enough, I saw a "white flag" heading to the thicker woods within minutes.  I thought that would be it, until I spotted this doe and fawn on the other side of the greenway a few minutes later.

Can you see them?  They stood and posed for us while I took about ten pictures.  Kasey is very good about freezing in place when we encounter deer so they don't get spooked.

These appeared to be a doe and her fawn, sort of nuzzling each other in a Disney moment.   I just love encounters like these!

There was a lot of water cascading over the rocks, and I let Kasey go in for a dip despite just having been groomed on Sunday.  As soon as the sun came out, it really got warm and she had her fur coat on, after all.

The dogwood are starting to open up.  Usually it is mid-April when the dogwood trees and azaleas are in their glory, but we are really ahead of the game this spring.

Yesterday was my husband's real birthday.  We went out for dinner at The Melting Pot, a fondue restaurant, with Dave and Emily.  But I had to have at least a little birthday cake for him at home. (Courtesy of the local Harris-Teeter Grocery store.)  We will enjoy that tonight.

I have a beautiful big customer quilt to start on today, so I better get to work.  Pictures tomorrow, maybe!

More Artsy Quilts

Back to the Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival photos...


The first is from a special exhibit titled Consequences, by the Textile Artists of Virginia.


Gauntlet, by Judy Loope



The eagle's face seems to be flying out of the quilt in dramatic fashion.

The next one is quite different than any quilt I have seen before.  The dark marks represent the imprints of her sons' ears on her body while she was holding and nurturing them.



Imprinted (My Baby Sons' Ears)



Here is another undersea scene, humorously named No Maintenance Aquarium IV, by Marjan Kluepfel





No Maintenance Aquarium IV, by Marjan Kluepfel




 

As I mentioned in a previous post, uniquely-shaped quilts are quite eye-catching.  This one has is mounted impressively.  It has many embellishments, including what appears to be a miniature dress form, floral branches, and ballet shoes.

Within...Dimensions, Catherine Etter

I thought the next one was a lovely piece.



Beach Blues, by Eileen Williams



I was very attracted by a Canine Companion who was working the show.  Such a well-behaved, patient dog, who looks a lot like my Kasey.  Much better trained, however!

There was a huge selection of vendors at the show, and their tables were mixed in with the quilt exhibits.  I waited until the last hour or so before our departure, and then gave in to the delights of shopping for fibers and fabrics.

It was a great quilt show and trade show, as well.  Highly recommend!