Jacket Sewing - 3

Here's a look at everyone hard at work and focused on their tasks.








Nancy Crouch has created more design elements, including some seminole piecing, and is working on how the pieces will be placed.

We all liked the jacket she wore, which she originally had made for a party.

Priscilla has completed the back of her jacket, using the orange Chinese flower collar. To its left, you can see the front pieces starting to take shape, including some of her seminole piecing.









And Beth has her jacket all assembled and has started working on the lining, using a beautiful lavendar silk charmeuse. Priscilla is sure it will be a bit slippery, but Beth always goes for silk linings.

We agree that it has lovely orange accents, but we're not sure it qualifies as an "orange" jacket!!

Jacket Sewing - 2

Barb Seils worked on a bog coat and got some help from Priscilla. She used a piece of linen\rayon that she dyed last year.












Beth and Nancy Crouch were being very productive and didn't notice the camera.













Nancy Hicks joined us and worked on two reversible bog coats. She's participating in the Memorial Art Gallery's Clothesline show/sale in September and plans to offer several of her jackets for sale.







Beth has the fronts of her jacket well under way and the start of the sleeves. It looks, though, like her "orange" jacket is morphing into a green jacket!!

Jacket Sewing - 1

A group of us got together for a few days of jacket sewing.

Nancy Crouch joined us, driving over an hour from her home in Montour Falls. She decided on some beautiful tiger fabric as her focus point for the back of her jacket.












Beth heard that some of us were going to try to make "orange" jackets again. (It seems that on previous attempts, our orange jackets turned out to be mostly black!)
She brought this centerpiece for the back of her jacket that she had made previously with very small stack-and-whack hexagons. She added more orange and was well on her way to a really orange jacket.








Marcia brought out a Chinese flower collar that she got from Priscilla that is to be the jacket back's focal point since it has lots of yellow-orange-reds. A little green and lots of blue are planned to complete it.







Priscilla auditioned two of her Chinese flower collars and decided on the one on the left -- I think because it's definitely the deepest orange!

Sewing Days

Priscilla finished the blocks for her newest quilt.
















Her plan was to cut it into three pieces, that when re-assembled, would again form a rectangle, only the blocks would be on point.

The new shape didn't quite make a rectangle, so there will be a bit more trimming to come.











In preparation for the up-coming Genesee Valley Quilt Club's quilt show, Nancy Hicks brought the quilts on loan from SAQA-NY's Trunk Show. We worked on the layout of the 35 quilts and printed the artist statements, so we'll be well prepared to hang them next week.

It's a terrific collection, with lots of great work.



Here's a closer view of three of the quilts. The one in the middle was done by our own Priscilla.

Quilt News

This quilt and the next one pictured below were juried into the "Quiltscapes at the Whistler" exhibit, which will be held this summer during the month of August.

The exhibit is hosted by the Whistler House Museum of Art in Lowell, MA, and is part of the Lowell Quilt Festival - A Citywide Celebration of Quilts to be held August 6 - 9.

The title of the quilt is "Night & Day", and it was completed in 2006. It is 61" X 53".







This quilt is the most recent in the jet trails series -- Jet Trails #8, completed this spring. It is 47" X 47".

And other quilt news is the completion of the newest quilt, titled "Purple Sunset."

It was quilted on the longarm machine, using invisible thread. Straight lines were drawn using a ruler as a guide.

Detail of quilting lines.

The quilt is 50" X 27".

Summer Flowers - 4

Some indoor plants were repotted also as their outdoor cousins were planted. We have two Christmas cactus plants that have long brightened up our home, but had crowded their pots. We replanted them in larger vessels with fertilizer-enriched potting soil.









Our oval beds near the barn are readied with lots of flowers grown both for their colorful display and their drying qualities. Bill even got to dig some holes as his usual job of driving the tractor wasn't needed on this job.








Marcia waters in the new plants. Raised beds show off their flowers, but tend to dry out quickly and need frequent watering.

We planted larkspurs, strawflowers, statice, globe amaranth, and alyssum.






Curved hoops are covered with netting and pieces of wood are used to secure the edges from invasion by the usual plant-eating suspects.

Inspector Suki is not happy as she likes to hide in the growing plants and wait for an appropriate target to wander by.

Summer Flowers - 3

We decided to plant some of our herbs in containers and leave them on the porch deck this year. They suffer attacks from rabbits and woodchucks when placed in the garden. The dill, basil, thyme, and rosemary hopefully will be safer under our watchful eye (and in the patrol path of Inspector Suki. We'll see...


The bargain geraniums, asperagas ferns, and some purple basil fill the large box, and a couple of ceramic pots. They are exposed to full sunlight and rainwater and tend to prosper in this location.








Colorful impatiens line one corner of our garage driveway. These are also covered with netting to discourage the critters while they are getting started.







A spike plant and more geraniums (remember our bargain purchase...) fill another flower box. We may add a climbing plant or two to take advantage of the lattice work on this unit.

Summer Flowers - 2

Various bags of potting soil are assembled for the job of planting flowers in the deck's flower boxes. Each year we tend to overbuy bags of potting soil, as stored supplies in the barn are somehow missed when we plan the year's needs. Maybe next year we'll get it right...







A bucket-load of our garden soil is a welcome addition to the task. The old tractor is helpful no matter how it is used.










Ipod in ears, wrap-around sunglasses intact, "Thoroughly Modern Marcia" handles the placement of individual plants into larger containers.







For the first time, we noticed tadpoles in our deck pond. They won't last long as there are 10 - 12 goldfish who will help in nature's population control.

Summer Flowers - 1

Each year we use Memorial Day weekend as a signal to shop for our summer gardens. As we age (gracefully, of course!), we vow to cut back on our purchases, and then immediately go back on our pledge. Maybe next year.... :-)








We shopped at a couple of stores, the big box Lowes and a long-time local nursery. We bought most of our plants at the nearby greeenhouse, trying to support local merchants where possible. Their offerings were more expensive, but of excellent quality.







We never thought that "Buy 12, get one free" worked as a marketing ploy. However, as you can see, with geraniums, it was irresistable















Our wonderful 40-year old lilac tree sends forth beautiful clumps of blossoms. This pictured color always seems to personify the name of the shrub and calls forth the image from memory when one reads or hears the word Lilac.

Spring Gardens - 4

Another variety of viburnum provides a 10-foot high, 60-foot long hedge that forms a perimeter for the tea garden and separates the space in front of the equipment barn. It requires minimal care and seems to be doing well.









The profuse blooms are very fragrant. We don't remember which of the some 200 varieties of this plant was chosen for this job 20 years ago. Heck -- it's hard enough to remember what we had for breakfast yesterday!!








The azalea continues to open. Of all the spring plants, the delicate structure and subtle smell of these flowers are the most evocative of southern culture and charm (which makes one want to head for a shaded porch and a tall cool drink!).