Friday, July 21, 2006

MY SORT OF GARDEN...

I can't consider it a real garden -- no digging involved. I'm a bit past the kind of garden work I used to do but still want to grow a few veggies and herbs so I have taken to a simple form of container gardening. I buy bags of the potting soil with the fertilizer already in it, poke drainage holes on one side and cut planting holes on the other.









This year's 'garden' consists of four bags along the fence, one for each tomato plant plus space in front for some lettuce, basil and two cucumbers. I've only harvested some lettuce and a little basil so far, but the plants are growing like weeds with lots of promising blossoms and even a few small tomatoes and cukes.









Oh yeah -- the framework -- that is part of a folding scaffold that was originally bought to use as an elevated platform for my husband to video show jumping from. There is another section in case the plants take off like Jack's beanstalk! I'm using those one piece velcro-like bands that the supermarkets wrap around lettuces and other green leafy veggies to secure the plants to the support of this beautifully sturdy sort of trellis. I've been saving them for ages, sure that they would come in handy someday...














Then there is the 'surprise' garden -- volunteer squash plants in my compost pile. These are so vigorous that I'm wondering where they will stop. There are (I think) only three plants but they have filled the enclosure and seem to be looking for new worlds to conquer...

I wonder if in a couple of months I will be suffering from

SEPTEMBER COMPLAINT

A garden is an iffy thing
As you must surely know --
You plant the seeds and then you hope
That some at least will grow.
I don't know which is worse to bear,
Plants that won't grow for all of your care
Or the ones that don't know when to stop
And provide you with an exuberant crop:
Pole beans in great clusters,
Zucchini of monstrous size,
Tomatoes in such numbers
You won't believe your eyes!
This bounteous yields is lovely
(So much at such a low cost!)
But I'm tired of picking and preserving --
Oh! Where is my friend Jack Frost?

Tuesday, July 18, 2006

ANOTHER QUILT SHOW

But this one was a lot smaller than VQF. The quilting ladies of the local Congregational church had their fourth show on Saturday and this year I got to it.

The quilts were hung in the church itself and were almost all traditional patterns with both bed-sized quilts and wallhangings plus small things like pillows. I took photos of those that I particularly liked, a couple of which were antique quilts and very lovely.



Christmas is coming!

















Bargello Heart - June McCormack

















Christmas Rose - June McCormack

















Attic windows - Bobbie Randall
















Resting Butterfly/Butterfly in Flight - Marion Legrandeau















Kathy's Quilt - A group effort but some did not follow the directions...

















Stars and Bows - Antique by Helen McCausland


















Lone Star -- Another antique by Helen McCausland












The quilt show was only the beginning -- DH and I had lunch downtown, then took a look at the sidewalk art show. I had a quick trip to the library and after that we sat in on a discussion about earlier days in Springfield and the many changes that have taken place within the past 60-65 years while enjoying some delicious strawberry shortcake. After that (since it was still early in the afternoon) we drove out of town and explored some of the back roads. Some are uninhabited with nothing but trees and an occasional abandoned stone wall to be seen. On others there are very attractive homes and even still some working farms. Cows and llamas... Haying has been difficult this year because of all the rain we have had, so it seems to be getting done in fits and starts, depending on the weather.

DH thought of going out and about again on Sunday but I told him that one such day was enough for me for a while so we didn't.

Friday, July 07, 2006

TRADITIONAL PATTERNS AND VARIATIONS THEREON FROM THE VERMONT QUILT FESTIVAL


This is the final installment of the photos I took at the Vermont Quilt Festival this year. Enjoy!

Freedom isn't Free - Erma J. Hastings



















Red Threads - With a Little Help from My Friends - Beverly MacGown
This is almost a charm quilt as far as the red fabrics are concerned.














Nine Patches and Star Flowers - Maureen Blanchard (detail)













Hiatus - Rachel Pearlstein








Reproduction Star Quilt - Elaine G. Hart


















Butterfly Mountain - Mara Novak








3D Pocket - Joan Bomhower
















TimeAs Weak As Water - Carol Anne Grotrian
GRAPHIC QUILTS FROM VQF

Color Tangle - Jan Snelling McTaggart















Mirage - Genevieve Villedary
(only a section -- someone stpped in front of me just as I shot! I thought the pattern was interesting though.)















Convergence of Forms - Rose Orr














Swirling and Whirling - Phyllis Bowdish
















Colors of the Morning - Jeannie Cleveland
PICTORIAL QUILTS FROM VQF



Sunrise/Sunset - Johanna Challis











Sunrise over Goblin's Glen - Cricket Lamicka










Words Remembered: The Diary of Susie A. Pearsall, 1869 -1875 - Mary Wilber Wirchansky
I regret not photographing the back of this quilt which had copies of various writings. I didn't even look at them closely enough to say what they were -- from the diary itself or newspaper articles or letters? I just don't know!
Guess I was too intrigued by the front...











Starry Night - Christine Fries
Yep -- it's the Van Gogh painting translated into a quilt.













Cliff's Quilt - Eliza Greenhoe-Bergh











Moulin Rouge - Carol Goddu
One can almost hear the can-can music!

Thursday, July 06, 2006

FLORA FROM THE VERMONT QUILT FESTIVAL


The Garden - Nancy C. Henry













Green Man II - Ann Nottingham Kelsall















Bountiful Baskets - Frances Abell Brand
This whole quilt is beautifully stencilled and elegantly hand-quilted.
















Gardening in Winter - Joanne MacNevin













East-West Fusion - Alexandra Nickerson
Artful combination of piecing and raw edge applique
















Nature's Fireworks - Sally Terry Hard to decide which side is prettier!

























A Tree in All Its Splendor - Claire Costello



















Foliage tour - Claudia D. Shover















Polka Dots and posies - Connie Farris Harrington
If there were an award for the most cheerful quilt this one would be a contender.
MINIATURE QUILTS FROM VQF



George Siciliano does it again! His 'Small Medium at Large' is not only a beautiful example of color sense but has his usual meticulous piecing and the bonus of a joke to explain the title:
'The story goes...that a man who was only 4' 5'' tall used to tell fortunes and predict the future. He was arrested and sent to jail fro fraud. He escapes from jail and the headline in the newspaper the next day was "Small Medium at Large"







Artwork in the Sky - Beth Girard

















Purple Passion - Katherine Ferris Nicholson














Full autumn - Pamela Druhen (I know it's a repeat, but it also belongs with the minis)












Addie Pearl - Paulette Martel (another repeat)















Ginshanada - Marie Karickhoff
























There and Back Again - Teri Barile

Wednesday, July 05, 2006

MORE VQF, THE ANIMAL QUILTS THIS TIME


Sweet Cedi - Marion Perrault


Catnip, etc. - Deborah T. Keiner

Tigitha #3 -Elizabeth Chamberlain Habich


Addie Pearl - Paulette Martel