November 25, 2012

Sunset at Scarborough

Today we went to the Portland Art Museum and they had a special exhibit of Winslow Homer's work.  The museum is in the process of restoring Homer's studio which is located at Prout's Neck in nearby Scarborough.  Inspired by our new knowledge about Winslow Homer, we decided we would drive to Prout's Neck and it was just our luck to arrive there at sunset.  So I thought I would share a few pictures.  The sky was magnificent!
 So much color tonight!  (Not really "tonight," as sunset happens just a little after 4 PM!) The colorful sky predicts that we will have good weather for our travels tomorrow as we head back to North Carolina after a very nice Thanksgiving holiday.
 Here's Maggie and Dave posing in front of the sunset.


November 17, 2012

Super Saturday!

Today IS Saturday, and with the brilliant sunshine streaming into the window to my left, I guess I would have to say it was a super Saturday, but that is not the reason for the title of this post.

Super Saturday is the name of an enrichment program for 8 to 13 year-olds that is held at the local branch of our college.  Our quilt guild teaches a three level program called "Quilt in a Shoe Box" for the six Saturdays of the program in the fall and in the spring.  We just completed the fall session last week and I was able to volunteer for four of the six sessions working with the level three students who were all doing the Moda "School Block Challenge."  Each of the four girls I worked with got three pieces of Moda fabrics, a primarily black piece with orange dots, a two-toned purple print, and a green, white, orange print.  Their challenge was to design and make a 16 inch quilt square that included all of the fabrics.  There were some other criteria, including that the work had to be 100% their own, they had to use some machine and hand sewing skills, and so on.  The squares, if completed, would be entered into a competition and exhibit at the National Quilt Museum in Paducah, KY.
"Staring into Space" was created by BR who is a 7th grader.  In her entry statement she says she was inspired by her own cat at home who likes to stare out the window.  She added a little fiber fill to add dimension to the cat and the man in the moon before appliqueing them to the background.  I really like the tassel she added to the man in the moon's blue night cap!
 EM, an 8th grader, was immediately drawn to the Double Wedding Ring because she wanted "an ambitious project that would allow me free reign with color."  In the process of making this block she learned about paper piecing.  She also became more familiar with her own sewing machine which was a gift from her mother and grandmother.
 AL#1 is 7th grader and she wanted to combine two four patches with two cat faces, so she created "Cats in Bow ties."  She prefers machine work to hand work, but did the cat face embroidery at home where her own cat tried to chew on her embroidery floss!  The purple ribbons she tied and sewed below each cat face inspired the name for her block.
AL#2 is a 5th grader and sister to AL#1.  She drew a rather complicated lion face using the black fabric as the mane.  She remembered making prairie points for her project last year and made modified prairie points for the ears which actually flop forward slightly when the block is held up.  She enjoyed embroidering whiskers and adding "3D" eyes made of stacked buttons.  She calls this block "Serious Lion."

I enjoyed working with these very motivated young women and I probably learned more than they did!


November 10, 2012

IT'S BEGINNING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE...

For the last few years, the unofficial start to the holiday season for us has been a visit to the annual open house at Van Wingerden International, Inc., the huge propagation nursery greenhouses that are located in Mills River, NC.  They supply plants that are sold in many of the big box stores year round. In early November, many of the plants they have in their acres of greenhouses are poinsettias, ready to be shipped to the market place.  It's not all poinsettias, though.  Here are some hibiscus in bloom.  They are a favorite of mine, so I was delighted to see them in bloom in a variety of colors.
 This year it seemed like most of the poinsettias were traditional reds like this one that was in a dish garden pot.
 You can see why the layout of color appeals to the quilter in me!
 I usually try to find a picture that I can use for a screen saver during the winter.  Usually I pick a deeper color of poinsettia, but maybe this year, I will use this pale version.  It's white with just a tinge of pink.  What do you think?
 Here's another shot that shows the densely placed pots arranged by color or variety.  The greenhouses are enormous and we commented that it seems like every time we go to this open house we have spectacular weather.  Today was sunny and 72 degrees... pretty darn nice weather for November!  And great light for showing off all these brilliant blossoms!
 Here I am amid a background of red and white plants.
 And here's another colorful shot... of begonias in every imaginable hue.