Back to Gardening, Back to Nature .... Back to Blogging

"SWEET POTATO PIE"

"HAPPY HARVEST"

The weather is warming up a little bit.  At least I feel that way since I seem to be wearing one less layer these days.  I have my raised bed boxes in place and filled with a layer of half decomposed leaves from from last Fall.  The next big step is to have several yards of garden mix dumped in my driveway to fill those boxes.  I'm not looking forward to the wheel barrel loads nearly as much as I'm looking forward to the summer harvest.

Anyway, I had so much fun making "Fresh Vegetables" last year, that I decided to make three individual pieces with the similar theme.  "Fresh Vegetables" has sold so I decided to replace them with these larger individual scenes.  I loved picking out all the fun fabrics.  Mixing checks, plaids, dots, and whatever other texture is in my famous stash gives me that creative rush.  Of course, it leaves my fabric shelves in a huge mess because no pile gets unturned.  Fortunately, there are plenty of rainy days in Oregon to be spent reorganizing.

These three pieces can be seen in a show titled "Back to Nature" at the Trinity Episcopal Cathedral at 147 NW 19th (at Everett), in Portland, Oregon.  The show will be open for viewing until April 27, 2011 and is a show put together by the members of High Fiber Diet art quilt group.

Enjoy the colors of these and enjoy the promise of spring weather and getting outside ... SOON!

"BLOOMIN' ONION"

Green Tomato Summer?

Well, it's been a weird August in my part of Oregon. First, we had a string of blazing, record-setting hot days. Now, we're having cool, cloudy mornings. I don't think I will get more than a handful of ripe tomatoes off my plants at this rate. Good thing the framer's markets are in full swing.

Here is an art quilt I made in early spring when I was anticipating the fresh tastes of summer. I call it Fresh Vegetables. It was made for a show titled Line Dance which required each piece to have a lime green line running through it. It is constructed using my most common method: raw edge applique. I will have more on this in future posts. I had fun picking out a wide variety of printed fabrics to make each vegetable have a unique personality.

Here is a detail of how I stitched some of the roots. The stitching is always fun for me because that is when the detail really gets added. I do this using free-motion stitching using either straight or zig zag stitches.

Here's another detail shot showing how the carrot tops were put in, again using free-motion stitching. Who says you can't have your vegetables and eat them too? I'll be able to enjoy these even in the cold of winter.