Yesterday afternoon the rain changed to big, fluffy flakes, which settled on the water on top of the frozen ground. Many of our neighbors have problems with water in their basements, but we are very fortunate that we do not.
When the sun rose this morning, it made diamonds on the trees on the orchard. Enlarge these pictures for the effect.
We're wondering if we should have built an ark. The rain has been coming all week long. It was supposed to be a huge snowstorm - perhaps in the mountains? Every day the forecast is for snow - or rain. Usually, the rain just soaks into the ground, but our lots are pretty soggy and squishy. No piles of snow, with the possibility of taking beautiful snowy pictures - just brown soggy ground. The weather never ceases to surprise us. I do worry that the bulbs will wake up just in time to have a relapse when the weather turns bitter cold again.
The tools for hand quilting are very simple - thread, needles, thumb and finger thimbles, and a rubbery gripper to pull a recalcitrant needle through.
I actually began appliqueing these sunbonnet girls in 1995. I finally pieced them together into a quilt top during the years we were going to Arizona for the winter. A trip to Utah Quilt Fest in 1996 with Louise and Cheryl resulted in purchasing this small rectangular quilting frame, and I completed about half the quilt during the winters in AZ. Then the quilt got put away. This is the year that I promised myself I would finish up old UFOs. That will take some doing, since I think there are probably at least six in an unfinished stage, with another 5 or so that just aren't quilted. Hand quilting goes slowly for me - perhaps because I don't do enough of it. I have one quilt that I made in Tumwater that took me 2 1/2 years to quilt. It was on a frame that could be put at a horizontal position, so that you could show the part of the quilt you were working on, but the actual frame takes up very little room. Thank goodness for professional quilters who get most of my quilting jobs so that I can go on beyond the present. Sometimes, if the quilt is not too large, I will machine quilt it myself. Any time that a quilt gets finished, bound and labeled, it is a Hallelujah moment! How long will it take me to finish this one? I'd rather not say.
Ron brought this pot of flowers home on our anniversary, and they are still absolutely gorgeous. They brighten up these dull, cold days. The rhodies and azaleas (oh, and hydrangeas, also) are the flowering plants that I miss from our Washington garden. This plant has been so beautiful. Reminds us that there are brighter days ahead.
Japanese Balloon Flower, which I have never ever seen. Does it exist?
Beloved morning glory (s) - Oops, is this basket tipsy? At this stage of the game, I'm not worrying about that.
Bell Flowers. Never seen these, either.
A Red rose. More fun than the first one. The blocks are finished - they are not perfect, and the quilt will be less than perfect, but it was a joy to make, with some inherent problems. I'll finish it and go on to the next fun project. Something to look forward to in the New Year.
