Sunflowers Everywhere

"Summertime and the living is easy, fish are jumping and the cotton is high"(lyrics from the song "Summertime" from Porky and Bess)".... and I am enjoying slowing down to a "dull roar" as my mother would have said to us, when we were children. The last days before summer vacation starts are always filled with the hectic preparations of trying to stop and start all at once.

At the end of the school year,one of the things that I like to do is find little things to say thank you to my colleagues for all their hard work and support. Using some glass beads, combined with stones,silver or crystal I completed six or so bracelets. Do you like to play with other medium to create things?

I enjoy playing in other things besides fabric sometimes- it is a nice break from the larger time commitment involved in quilting. I love wearing baubles and beads myself- a legacy from my beloved grandmother who always wore a strand of beads about her neck. Just call me Magpie- the girl who loves sparkly things!!!

Some very nice things happened to me at year's end. One of my students gave me this spectacular bouquet of roses- They were a most delicious yellow color with corally red tips. There were 2 dozen of them combined with babies breath. While they are beginning to look a bit droopy now 10 days later, they have filled our home with a lovely scent and a splendid splash of color.

A friend found me a new to me dress that was made by favorite summer dress company called Good Earth clothing. Unfortunately they are no long in business, but my friend chanced to find one in a second hand sale that is the right size for me. It is turquoise and has sunflowers all over it - it is indeed the perfect summer dress. I was thrilled with her find and thoughtful gesture.
It is not a party dress - more like a sun dress made of cotton and rayon- very flowing like a summer flower child . My husband found the small local store and bought me my first Good Earth dress about 10 years ago. I own a number of their dresses and live in them all summer long- no one is seeing my tree trunk legs!!!:-)

Do you like bags? Totes? My educational assistant K., is a wonderful seamstress. She designs purses and bags using recycled upholstery fabrics. As a year end gift, she created a bag for me, that has a wonderful double wedding ring motif on the flap. It also has a golden feather on it- at our school we award golden feathers to students who demonstrate four character assets- honesty, integrity, respect and humility. Thank you for this beautiful treasure, MS.K!
The lovely lady,D. who gave me the beautiful dress, also gave me a book by Patricia McKissack called "Stitching and Pullin". It is a wonderful set of vignettes in a picture book format about the women of Gee Bend and their quilting stories.

Do you love children's picture books? There are many picture books out there to explore and enjoy. Some titles you might want take a peek at include: "The Quiltmaker's Gift" and "The Quiltmaker's Journey" and "The Keeping Quilt" by Patricia Polacco." Another one is called "Oma's Quilt" by Paulette Bourgeois.

When you read ,do you choose fictional stories that have quilts in them? Some you may want to check out are the Earlene Fowler books that are the Benni Harper mysteries.Or How about Helen Kelley's collections of columns(She was a columnist from Quilters Newsletter magazine that passed away last fall. One of her books is entitled " The Joy of Quilting"?
Do you love to laugh- if so, you must read Lisa Boyer's books- one of my favorites is called "That Dorky Homemade Look"- Quilt Lessons from a Parallel Universe!!

What is a post without a photo of a quilt- though it was a near miss this time."Field of Sunflowers" is a disappearing Nine Patch quilt that I gave to a friend,E. who is having some health concerns just now. My hope is that she will find the bright colors warm her and brighten her days. Quilts are like big hugs, you know!

Last night I began to have serious problems with my own laptop computer( the black screen of death and no power- Aargh!!!!) so now I am using Bruce`s. It is a pain not to have access to my photos and addresses- I guess it is a sign that I am suppose to get other things done besides reading and writing blogs.VBG
We will see if they have to wipe my hard drive on my computer - if they do it will be a larger problem as it will be harder to find quilt photos to show you... We do still have photos on the camera chip but it will take time to reorganize them or scan ones that or not on the chip. It is a good reminder to me that I need to have a second copy on other storage devices.

I have completed the "Trip Around the World "quilt and will show you it next time.
My plan for this coming week is to begin a star quilt and have lunch with a couple of good friends.. and a visit to start cleaning in the basement...
Isn't summer time grand???

A belated Happy 4th of July to all my American friends- I hope it was spent enjoying good food and good times with family and friends..

Warmest regards,
Anna