OUTTA THE HOUSE!!! Really!

Last week I ran into technical difficulties posting to my blog.  Today things look like they may actually work as planned, so here goes.

Last Wednesday I brought my little house quilt to The Alliance for American Quilts.  The AAQ has a small quilt contest each year and this is the third year I will be a part of it.  The theme for this year is "Home Is Where the Quilt Is."  Each of the small quilts had to be a specified size and the five-sided shape of a house.  To give you an idea of size, I believe that the bottom width is 14 inches and top to bottom it is 19 inches.

 I don't know why, but as soon as I heard the theme, I thought "baseball."  The shape of "home" plate, home run, it just seemed to fit. 

So here is the small quilt I came up with which I call "OUTTA THE PARK!!!"

I hope it suggests to you the thrill of watching your favorite batter crack the ball so hard it flies "outta the park!"
The quilts will be displayed as a group at several major quilt shows through the summer and then in the fall they are auctioned off on Ebay with AAQ getting the proceeds to further their goals which include documenting quilts and their makers.  My little quilt will automatically be included in the quilt index they maintain.
Here's a shot of the back of the quilt.  I was delighted to find a nice coordinating baseball print to cover up the back.

 And here are a couple of detail shots.
I embellished the quilt with some painting... the line of red spectators are painted on rather than appliqued.  Then I used some seed beads and sequins to jazz it up.

 The lettering and the baseball are made of felt.

If you would like more information about the contest or about AAQ, visit their website: www.allianceforamericanquilts.org.

Outta the House!

Buckeye in Bloom!

The forecast is kind of "iffy" for the next couple of days and I noticed that some pink blossoms were already dotting the lawn, so I figured I had better get out there and document the buckeye in bloom!

We planted this tree in May of 2008 and so far it seems like a great choice for our little front yard.

I tend to forget how pretty and intricate the blossoms are... kind of a salmony pink with a yellow center and forming quite spectacular spikes against the shiny green leaves.

I thought I better include a couple of shots that showed the azaleas, because they are pretty spectacular right now, too!
And finally, here's the little guy when he came to us in May 2008. See how much he's grown?! I think he likes living here, too!