The Hum of Bees
Author Elizabeth Lawrence said “The hum of bees is the voice of the garden.” This quote embodies for me the importance of bees in our natural world. They pollinate about 80% of our crops and are therefore crucial to our food security. I admire their highly organized social structure
Emerge
I love to take my camera on short walkabouts around our property. We are in a woodsy area, and near a large pasture where there are horses, cows, donkeys and sometimes goats. We also have many sandhill cranes strutting about. I’ve gathered wonderful images of plants, trees, weeds and
California Buckeye
Here’s my completed quilt for our Ecosystem prompt: California Buckeye. It’s one of the native plants around my house that has evolved perfectly for its ecosystem. If you want to read more about Aesculus californica, see my post here. Like my previous quilts, I created the image in Photoshop using
Life in the City
One of my joys as a child was watching ants. Whether just in the garden going about their frantic activity or in ant farms where I must admit, I was never very successful and they usually turned into ant cemeteries. I thought I would base my Ecosystem quilt on
International Handcraft
The Silk Road wound across the Middle East, India, China and Korea. It brought craft techniques that evolved into the unique crafts of Japan. I always seek out simple crafts during my own travels. It is a pleasure to buy souvenirs from each country and they help me keep memories
Mi Consuegra
Her name is Graciela, a beautiful name, but everyone calls her Chela. When my daughter married her son she became my “consuegra” and I became hers. It is lovely that the Spanish language has a word for our relationship. It is beautiful that our families — hers in Ecuador, and
We
I thought the prompt “International” corresponds well to the group “Cloth in Common” that I belong to. It’s never easy for artists from various countries to create group like this, post to blog and exhibit works in special places. I think our members have maintained this group with mutual trust and friendship .
Indigo? Really?
Okay, the title is Indigo. Why, you ask? When I received the prompt International. A whole bunch of things went through my mind. Then I thought of indigo. Indigo dye was used all over the world. That’s international. I also have some indigo fabric pieces I bought in Africa years
Where’s my Gate
I travel a lot! Too much some would say! I spend a lot of time in airports and they are always enormous. Why are my departure gates always the most furtherest away? Recently on a trip I went through 6 airports and sometimes with limited time between connections.
Come Fly with Me
In my previous blog post about the prompt International, I mentioned that I learned of our prompt while traveling from New Zealand back to Anchorage, Alaska. At the time I was sitting in the first row of First Class on Alaska Airlines. (Being a frequent flyer has its
Postcards from China
I have been making little (5×7″) travel quilts for the last couple of years, reflecting the places I have visited. I take materials with me, and stitch by hand as I go. When I issued the “International” prompt I knew that I was about to head to China. I