Goodbye Summer!

Last week, when it was still summer, I went to the NC Arboretum with my visitors.  I couldn't resist taking some pictures of the late summer flowers and foliage.  Since there are quite a few photos in this post, I will keep my comments to a minimum.

As you can see, it was a partially sunny day and the leaves are still mostly green.  The water features were all operating in spite of the dry spell we have been having.  The air temperature was a delightful mid-70's.

Now the photos...

 Many of the large containers around the fountain had these beautiful trumpet flowers.

Lots of shades of fuchsia and bright pinky salmon.

 One interesting flower in the Garden of Promise was the fall crocus.  They are rather gangly with little foliage, but their delicate petals catch the sun nicely.

 Shades of white and green in the flowers and foliage.

 I thought the purple pea pods were a lovely end to this annual plant.

 This hoya was in blossom in the green house.  It reminds me of the hoya I still have that has survived  from a cutting taken from my grandmother's home in Minnesota, probably 50 or more years ago.  My hoya's foliage thrives with neglect, but it has been a long time since it has blossomed.  I remember it trailing many feet long around the picture window in the dining room of my first house (40 years ago).  Apparently it loved that exposure.  When it blossoms the flowers are really sickeningly sweet and moisture drips from them, so I really don't miss that.  But it was a treat to see one in bloom.  The leaves are thick and shiny, so it does make a pretty houseplant.

 Pretty soon we will be appreciating the pansies that tend to survive our rather mild winter.

This week we said goodbye to a wonderful Summer and hello to what we hope will be a wonderful Fall.

Just a few miscellaneous things...

Russ took on the responsibility for organizing his golf group's annual end-of-the-season dinner party that will happen later this month.  One of the fellows thought it would be nice for the wives of the players to have a little favor at their place setting.  Of course, no money was really budgeted for this, but Russ did collect a few dollars from the guys to cover some incidental costs relating to the banquet and to buy "thank you" gifts for some of the men who organized some special tournaments and travel events this year.  

So, of course, I offered to come up with something (not too pricey) for the wives who would be attending.  

I made these cute little boxes.  They are like small Chinese take out boxes.  I happened to have a template for them in my file... and more remarkably, I was able to find it!  I had the colored card stock on hand.  I purchased the zinnia toppers and I decorated each with a complimentary colored "pearl."  Inside each are four Lindt truffles.  I think they are kind of cute and who doesn't like chocolate?

Each year our quilt guild vice president announces a special project.  This year she asked for guild members to make 500 placemat/napkins for "Meals on Wheels."  I guess the idea is that at holiday time, each MOW recipient would get a placemat and napkin to keep.  

To be honest, I wasn't really enthusiastic about this project and kind of dragged my feet.  But then I remembered some orphan blocks that I had purchased with some fabric scraps at an estate sale.  How hard would it be to turn them into placemats?  

So here they are... two placemats.

And then I was delighted to find two napkins at the Hospice Thrift Store a couple weeks ago and I was able to just machine appliqué a little decoration to match the placemats.

Since I was feeling in the "guild projects mood," I also made a president's block.  It is the tradition in our guild to gift the outgoing president with a block of her choice that she can then make into a quilt to remind her of her year of leadership.  Last year's president requested a patriotic themed block, 9 1/2 inches.  So here is my block...

I hope it's not to insultingly simple!

And finally, I know that I have mentioned the Shindig quilt in this blog.  Along with two friends... we call ourselves the Mountain Jam Circle... our collaborative has been making a quilt that is raffled off to help support the local Folk Heritage Committee which provides the free outdoor "Shindig on the Green" concerts all summer.  

This photo shows my friend Alice and I holding up the quilt at the first Shindig this summer.

I'm happy to report that the quilt brought in $1300 for the Folk Heritage Committee!