Contemplating Direction

I went to another quilt show this weekend. At this one, they had raffle baskets, which is something I had never seen before. Each "basket" was themed and filled with items associated with the theme. Since there was quite a bit of interest, I suspect it is a good fundraiser for them. You can see more about their show and philanthropic work at their website: Pride of the Prairie Quilters.

To my surprise, I won one of the baskets. The theme was gardens and these are some of the things included.

Earlier in the week, I had the pleasure of seeing John Flynn present his trunk show at the local guild to which I belong. You can find out more about his work at Flynn Quilt Frame Company. His dry humor reminded me of one of my brothers, which made the presentation even more enjoyable. In addition, his quilts are impressive and inspirational.

I am finding it especially good to have the opportunity to view so many different kinds of quilts and styles. The Salt Creek Guild show always has a lot of art quilts. The Pride of the Prairie show seemed more focused on traditional quilts, with a lot of emphasis on reproduction fabrics. John Flynn's quilts, though traditional patterns, often have a twist to them that makes them just a little different.

Altogether, between the quilt shows, guild show & tell, trunk shows, and raffles, I am looking more closely at my own preferences in quilts and art, which I am sure will translate into new directions for my own artwork. Another thing that is affecting my direction is the weather and my concern for the environment. Though I live in what is called "Zone 5" by gardeners, we have been experiencing the warmth of May instead of the chill of late winter or early spring. Our daffodils are beginning to come up and our lilac bushes are beginning to bud. (By my recollections, this puts them about a month ahead of schedule.) I am caught by the fear that the weather will suddenly turn and freeze the young plants, we are in for more extreme weather (as in the tornadoes that devastated the country in the last couple of weeks), or that we will experience an extremely hot year. It also brings to mind questions about how we humans are influencing the weather and what can be done to reverse the damage we have done. All of this, no doubt, will continue to have an impact on my work.

I wish you good weather, enjoyable work, peace, and all good.

Out on a Limb

I found I couldn't post my sketches for the Sketchbook Challenge this month. They all deal with patterns I am developing, so I'm not ready to show them to the world. It is my move "out on a limb," and taking chances. I can give you a little glimpse of some possible fabrics for the prototypes, though I apologize for the quality of the photo. It doesn't do the fabrics justice.

On a sadder note, the tragedies of this last week across the southern states have me considering how I best can help those who have been affected. Some of the possibilities include  The American Red Cross, the Salvation Army and Feeding America. Most of the housing down there does not provide the type of shelter needed for protection from the monster tornado that hit Tuscaloosa. In addition, at least two of the other tornadoes have been classified as F5's, the worst on the scale, with winds of 200+ mph. I hope you will consider how you might be able to help, too.

Finally, I want to share an astounding sighting I had last weekend in my yard. It appears that a bird has built a nest under a pile of branches my husband stacked next to our crab apple tree. I heard a bird making a fuss and looked out the window to see a hawk attempting to figure out how to get to the nest. It was quite a spectacular sight.

I wish you good weather, interesting challenges, and the beauty of nature.