What a difference 24 hours can make! Yesterday at this time, I was looking out into a torrential downpour. The water was gushing down the rocks across the street and making tiny waterfalls as is flooded our street.

Today, though the sun is not shining, and we may have severe weather tonight, I have been with the camera enjoying the peonies!

This quilt was completed earlier and delivered to my daughter when I visited a few weeks ago.

This is a rainy Saturday before Easter! I have just put the ruffle on this second crib quilt for the twin granddaughters! This second one is vertical in orientation, the first was horizontal.

Both have large, "wagon wheel" type appliqued flowers and contemporary fabrics!

Here is another view of the same quilt, before the ruffle

The little darlings should arrive at the end of June. So these will be ready for them!

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As soon as our rainy weather clears, we are to have a large old dying elm tree cut down from our front yard. Here, one branch is trying to grow and leafing out, near a little bird house which is stuck in the tree. [The bird house is permanent now, squeezed by the large branches!]

As far as I can tell, no birds are living in it.

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A plan for Easter brunch....because aspargus is in season and we love it!


The recipe is here !

Enjoy! Have a lovely Easter whatever you do!

My "homework" from the art class with Jane LaFazio.......

It is a small book, made from an 18"x12" piece of Lutradur and folded to make these pages.

Here it stands near a vase of greenery, and I am loving how the light shines through the pages!

I have filled it with a few quotes and lore about butterflies. For more about it, see my "Arty Collages and Dolls" blog .

NOTE: I just want to say, that I did not make those run-on paragraphs in the post below....I had them spaced and doing well....then Blogger took out all my spacing....Hmmm.

I am so happy! My trillium has returned again this spring! Here it is in the hostas at the base of a statue of St. Francis! You see, I thought it had been accidentally destroyed early last summer by an "over-zealous" weeder who shall remain nameless!

To me, this is my own little "Easter lily" this year!

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I think that it's the little things, the little moments that make our lives authentic! So, I was recently delighted to be able to attend a lecture at our local library. The speaker was escorted in with bagpipes and wearing a kilt! He is one of my favorite writers, Alexander McCall Smith! His topic was "The Very Small Things of Life" which he writes about beautifully in his several detective series. His characters are known for sitting and having peaceful discussions over cups of tea (bush tea in the "#1 Ladies Detective Agency" series, set in Botswana), and though he says his publishers have sometimes suggested it, his books will NOT be having car chases or other such escapades. McCall Smith is a world respected expert on medical ethics and he was in our university town as a speaker for the law school on that subject. He was truly delightful and funny! If you haven't read any of his books, give them a try!

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In my small world, I have recently enjoyed making a hand carded linoleum block stamp for a little bird....who knows what adventures she will come across in my collages and art quilts!?!

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Another small delight didn't start out that way!---It started with my yearly physical exam. Not delightful but necessary. Requiring the shedding of my clothes and donning a loose fitting garment. Afterward, having dressed, gone down the elevator, across the parking lot and driving home, I realized I was wearing only one of my favorite small gold hoop earrings. Oh, no! So I called the Dr.'s office and they checked the dressing room. Yes, they had an earring! I drove back up there. No, it was a different earring...oh well. Walking back out to my car, I remembered that as I had walked out a few hours earlier something had brushed my hand. I had looked around then and decided that it was a pine straw blown down by the wind. Now, remembering that, I decided to look down at the pavement as I crossed to the car. As soon as I cast my I eyes down, I saw the shining golden earring! The lost was found, and undamaged! Persevering paid off! **********************************************************************

Lastly, the delight of finding just the thing you had been wishing for.... I love floaty cool skirts for summer weather. [and I have a bit of an "inner hippie!"]

Yesterday when our houseguests took us out to breakfast in our funky college town, the bakery we chose was next to a little boutique. Hanging in front, spinning in the breeze was a great skirt.....

of course I came back for it later and am enjoying many things about it...light, colorful recycled silk patchwork. Goes with everything!

New patchwork skirt can be found here.

I'm just home from a trip to visit my grandkids on part of their Spring Break....a beautiful time of year! The pollen was really heavy, so they washed my car!!!

They had a new soft-serve ice cream machine to enjoy....and the "almost 12-year-old granddaughter" became a master at making it!

Her little brother was a master at eating it...in his own style of course!!!

My granddaughter was busy with her friends and her cell phone, but the grandson was good at shadowing me...he is also a master at stopping up toilets with too much toilet paper and locking bathroom doors when no one is in there....oh the fun and challenges of early childhood!

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It was a good trip, a long drive with lots of wisteria and dogwoods to see....

this fabulous arbor of wisteria was a Crowley's Ridge rest stop on the Interstate in Arkansas.

And once I reached my own front yard, I was rewarded with a much anticipated sight....

remember these "Main Performance" daffodil bulbs given to me by my friend, Paula?

They are blooming...large and bold and bright yellow with just a hint of orange around the "trumpet". I hope they come back bigger and bettter each spring!

Now back to making those quilts for the twins to be born in June...2 little girls in the family I just visited.

[My son and DIL are having their first in late August. We will be told the apparent gender of that baby in a couple of weeks....]

Looking forward to a great summer here!

I added color to the daffodil in my art journal....trying to capture some of those creams and yellows in the different varieties! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This art collage is from a class I am taking at Joggles.com taught by Jane La Fazio. Fun!

Yesterday, I managed to add the hand stitching and beading to this layered collage. [Reminds me of the Bullseye quilts I have made!] (click on the photo to see more embellishment detail...and loose threads!)

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Finally, here is the newest crib quilt top, in process, for one of the 3 grandbabies we are expecting this summer. I love the perky "wagon wheel" flowers. [From Applique Outside the Lines by Piece O' Cake quilters].

Off to get more art supplies now.....(with a coupon, of course!)

A package!

It's from Japan, ordered from KimonoBoy website.

Besides the indigo pieces we have a lovely origami type packing slip and a packet of lovely green tea! Delightful!

The indigo is from old Japanese textiles, cleaned and ready to re-purpose. It is already cut into 8 " squares. Most are solids in various shades and textures. Linen or cotton or hemp or a blend. It is hard to know. Real treasures to me!

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Our guild's quilt show is coming up. I am loaning this quilt for a booth displaying "scrapbook" quilts.

I made it month-by-month in the year 2000. It is a real look at who and where we were then!

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We are making progress with the Mixed Medium collage class I am taking. Today we started using our machines and stitching on the canvases. Fun! [Soon, I will post more in my Arty Collage blog--see sidebar]

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More art in process....pencil sketches of daffodils. and some more now in ink, waiting to be painted with watercolor..whew! So much to do!!!

It must be spring......

a few days ago I found radishes with leaves attached. SO cute! I had to paint them before using them in a salad!

Take a trip around the yard on this the second day of SPRING!

Wild violets and

the ever present dandelion....how I wish these were "in fashion". They are a valuable little plant. We don't spray our lawn with chemicals, so we are blessed with lots of these!

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I've been out cleaning garden beds, but the allergies make it not too much fun!

For relief, I come inside and work on my collage class.

I have never been to Japan, but I am so sorry about the horrible time they are having now.
They seem to be a people with much inner strength and resolve. I think they have a philosophy of accepting things as they are......and seeing the inner beauty.

Very difficult at the moment!

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Whenever I think of Japan, I think of their unique art and aesthetic sense. For generations they utilized indigo fabrics in their every day life. Now these are being collected and some are for sale on-line. [Just Google "Japanese indigo fabric"]

This is an antique boro, a futon cover which has been mended many times. [Wonderfully "wabi-sabi"!] Rather like our patchwork quilts, especially those from Gees Bend, Alabama.

Below is a stack of vintage indigo pieces. I have ordered these, for backgrounds in primitive applique and stitchery and possibly for wonderful pillows and a table runner.

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This iron skillet holds a delicious meal! The recipe is for Apricot Glazed Chicken Thighs from "Delicious Living" magazine and website.