Studio visitors

Priscilla and I were joined by Liz from Fayetteville and Genie and Lynn from Marcellus.

Liz and Genie started by doing a little shopping from Prsicilla's stash of saris from India.










Lynn was putting a binding on this lovely quilt that she made for her grandson.

Liz showed us this embroidered piece that she received from a friend who recently returned from a trip to Africa.

Liz just finished this block exchange quilt that she did with members of her guild. 

Taking advantage of our proximity to Rochester, Liz made a trip to the art supply store and bought these beautiful pastels.

Another snapper

This is another snapping turtle, laying eggs in the hard ground where the front lawn ends and close to the road.  We don't usually see these turtles very far away from their pond.  And while we weren't surprised to find eggs in the garden, it doesn't seem these will have a good chance of survival.













This was a good weekend to work in the vegetable garden.   We have the tomatoes, peppers, basil, dill, peas, spinach, onions, carrots, squashes and gourds planted. 

The existing red raspberry bushes are filling out nicely.
















We started some new red raspberry plants last year, and they're doing well too.  The rhubarb plants at the end of the row are filling out, and we've taste-tested some in rhubarb pies -- Yum!

Studio Visitors

 It was a busy day at the studio -- lots of machine stitching and lots of hand sewing going on....







Pat was finishing up some of her  pieces that she has made for the weekly challenge that Jeanne Simpson set up -- www.quilt2012.blogspot.com
















Nancy showed us the signature quilt she has finished as a wedding present.

Linda showed us some of the work she did in a recent workshop on deconstructed screen printing, along with this quilt that she finished recently.

More snapping turtle sightings

After finding the nest of turtle eggs in the perennial garden yesterday, it was quite a surprise to spot this mother turtle in our back yard tonight.










We've had much larger snapping turtles make nests in the vegetable garden after the ground had been tilled.  But this poor turtle had been working hard to dig a nest in the lawn.

After Bill relocated her to back gardens, I was able to see that she had created a pretty good-sized nest.

















We can see three large eggs, but didn't want to disturb them to see if there were more underneath.   We covered the nest, and will have to wait a couple of months to see if the babies make it.

In the perennial garden

Purple clematis














Jack Frost with its cute tiny blue flowers



















Friends Monica and Anne came to help with all the weeding in the perennial beds.











In the process of spading around the plants, we unearthed a clump of baby snapping turtles. 

Monica named this one "Fred" and took him home with her since he's not even 2 inches long.

 

And a couple more pictures of some of the flowers, including the clematis vine.












These iris used to be where the studio was built, and they don't seem to mind their new site.

Sewing Day

Priscilla and Beth came to the studio one day last week.

Beth showed us this top that she just completed from a 2-day class with Jan Krentz that was sponsored by our Genesee Valley Quilt Club.












Beth selected several new small mola pieces from those that Priscilla just brought back from Panama.  As you can see, Suki was on hand to help Beth and to collect a little tummy rubbing too.

Beth is thinking of making another top and using the molas in the main quilt and in an added border.  The colors she chose for her top sure coordinate with the molas.













Here are some of Priscilla's new molas.












Beth made some more progress on her newest Serendipity quilt.  She "repurposed" the main blocks from another top that she had started, and is adding the white triangles with the stars.

Spring flowers

I've had these pictures ready to post for awhile.

Even though the flowers are gone now, I wanted to show you my favorites from our daffodil garden. 

The gold one with the bright orange is at the top of my favorites list.










And these small white ones with gold centers (usually 3 flowers on a stem) are a close second.
 
















This is the azalea bush in front of the house.

And this is Suki on guard duty watching the many frogs we have in the pond this year. 

SAQA Virtual Gallery

 "Purple Sunset"

The Studio Art Quilt Associates web site offers on-line galleries, and this month's mini-gallery, titled "Matrix", includes my quilt, Purple Sunset.

MJ Russell, the guest curator for this month's gallery, states that "My left brain loves order, grids and structure, and many of these pieces initially called me from this perspective. Yet my right brain loves it when the matrix begins to slip, becoming slightly askew . . . so I was delighted to discover other images that dissolved into mystery and intrigue from a less structured base."
Link to Gallery - "Matrix"



List of selected artists:
Alicia Merrett
Aryana Londir
Beth Carney
Carol Ann Waugh
Catherine Beard
Charlotte Yde
Cher Cartwright
Cindy Grisdela
Denise Linet
Dianne Vottero Dockery
Elisabeth Nacenta de la Croix
Eszter Bornemisza
Floris Flam
Janet Kurjan
Janet Twinn
Jean Wells Keenan
Judith Plotner
Kevan Lunney
Marcia DeCamp
Meiny Vermaas-van der Heide
Mirjam Pet-Jacobs
Misik Kim
Norma Schlager
Phil D. Jones
Rosemary Hoffenberg
Shoko Hatano
Susan Webb Lee
Yvonne Porcella

Whirlpool and Icicles

Two more quilts that I finished recently are being shown for the first time at the Wayne County Coucil for the Arts in Newark, NY.



This is Whirlpool in its late stages of being sewn together.














And this is Whirlpool after it was quilted..

(44h X 43w)












The Icicles quilt started as two pieces, and I was planning to finish them as a diptych.















Here's the other half after it was quilted.
















And this is the finished quilt.  After I quilted both pieces, I decided to put it together as one piece.

(47h X 82w)

RoundAbout

RoundAbout is the name of a quilt I finished recently and is being shown for the first time in my exhibit at the Wayne County. 

It went through a few iterations before settling into its final form, which is in the last photo.