Oranges in the garden

It's high time I got back to blogging. Life has kept me busy lately, and my blogging has had to wait. Well, I'm back. Although I have one or two more posts I'd like to do to finish off our Prague adventure, it's not going to happen today.
It seems like forever since I've been in my garden taking some photos so I did just that today. Right now there seems to be a good amount of color- orange being one... You know that orange is NOT my favourite color, but I do tolerate it in the garden! So  here is what you might see if you visited my garden today: lilies, nasturtiums, California poppies,   Red hot poker (Tritoma), coneflower (Echinacea) and butterfly weed (Asclepias).

Although it's not a fav color, orange does add some bright spots to the garden. Earlier in the summer, my brilliant orange poppies really add a pop, but they are long gone now. My last lilies are just finishing as are the Tritoma and the Asclepias. The biggest bloomer right now is the Echinacea - a combo of pink and orange- two colors I would never put together in a quilt, but Mother Nature does it so well in the Echinacea and in the Stargazer lily... She is indeed a master artist!!

Do you look to nature for color combinations for your quilts? I think many of us do, as it seems many quilters are also gardeners. And what better inspiration than nature?! Although we may struggle to put colors together in our studios, Mother Nature seems to do it effortlessly, and it always works! Pink and orange... nope, I couldn't do it. But she does it well...

The Stargazer Lily is one of my favs - I love its deep  rosy petals, but if I was holding the master paintbrush I would never have dipped into the orange to paint the anthers... Maybe I need to take an art course...?


So .. do you have lots of orange in your garden? What about pinks and oranges together?











 Look at this beautiful snapdragon below- the perfect combo of these two colors - pink and orange, all in one! Gorgeous!





 "Orange, a close relative of red, sparks more controversy than any other hue. There is usually strong positive or negative association to orange and true orange generally elicits a stronger “love it” or “hate it” response than other colors. Fun and flamboyant orange radiates warmth and energy. Interestingly, some tones of orange, such as terra cotta, peach, and rust have very broad appeal." ~ from www.sensationalcolor.com


 Since he is sort of orange-y too, I had to include this little fuzzy wuzzy guy...  Isn't he cute? I found him today on the Tritoma leaves.


Peace,
Linda

Is a caterpillar ticklish?
Well, it's always my belief
That he giggles, as he wiggles
Across a hairy leaf.
~ Monica Shannon

Who thinks up those names?

I think I have decided what I want to be in my next life.. a person who thinks up color names.... you know- those yummy sounding names that are given to the various shades on a paint colors strip - or the colors of hand-dyed threads.. I wonder what such a person is called? A color-ologist? Today I received my long-awaited order from Treenway Silks on Saltspring Island in B.C. I ordered their color sample cards, for their 100 hand-dyed solid colors. They are gorgeous! I admired each individual card which held 20 colors, stroked them, loved them... Then I started reading the color names.... Sun Dance, Salmonberry, Persimmon. Paprika. Pondicherry, Shelly Belly, Ballet Slippers.... thats just on the first card - the yellows, golds, oranges, rusts, etc. Listen to the Blue's names... Silk Pyjamas. Periwinkle, Love-in-a-mist, Persian Night, Winter Solstice, Mystery Harbour, Blueberry Haze, Ice Poppy, Dragonfly, Mermaid Tears....don't they all just sound yummy enough to eat?? Wouldn't that be a great job - thinking up these names? Wonder where I would apply?

Stitching with silk threads is often like sliding a hot knife through butter. My most favorite silk thread is Silk Buttonhole Twist - it is a fine, fairly tightly twisted thread and such a pleasure to stitch with. I love YLI silk buttonhole twist and am always on the look-out for it - it isn't easy to find around here. An alternative is the SBT from Treenway Silks - they dye their own 1oo solid colors and also a gorgeous range of hand-painted variegated threads - 74 in all, designed by Judith Baker Montano. What I like best about these threads is that the spacing between the color changes is short- when you are Crazy Quilting, and your seam is only 5" long, a thread that has 12" of one color before it changes, isn't going to give you much variation... Of course, all these colors are available in silk ribbon as well.

I have tried a few other silk threads - Silk Perle, Silk floss, Serica, and 8/2 Reeled Silk; of these the Buttonhole Twist wins hands down, for me... I guess I like the finer highly twisted thread. I find some of the heavier threads "wear" as you pull them through your fabrics over and over...

Anyway, what a pleasure to receive this package of vibrant color today! Just like a child getting that new box of 64 Crayolas - remember how exciting that used to be? For me, that was always the best present ever!

I also ordered 4 of their Web Specials- combos of Silk Ribbon for $3.00 each! The Web specials are always worth checking out! Find them at http://www.treenwaysilks.com/ under "What's New". These combos are made up of 3-5 colors., and you get 5-7 yds. in total. These ones are called, clockwise from top left, Squaring the Circle, Arcadia, Cataline and Lady Inger. The colors are luscious, as you can see, and the ribbon is of high quality.

There is a great deal of information on the Treenway website about silk in general, as well as info on their products. Check it out!!

I have always had a fascination with anything from the Orient -silk, kimonos, Geishas...this probably stems from the fact I had a Japanese penpal when I was young. She wrote such interesting letters and the envelopes were always covered with the most beautiful stamps. I still have every one of them! I've often wondered if I could ever track her down again- I still remember her name- Shizue Kakinuma. We wrote back and forth for about 4 years, and then sadly it petered out.. Is it any wonder that I love the movie Memoirs of a Geisha, and books such as Gail Tsukiyama's "Women of the Silk" and "The Language of Threads". These two novels tell the story of Pei, a young Chinese girl whose impoversihed family sells her to work in the silk mills of rural China. The author paints a moving, unforgettable portrait of strong women fighting to survive and make a life for themselves in difficult times. Both worthwhile reads..

Well, enough rambling for tonight...

Piece,

Linda

"Whatever you are, be a good one." Abraham Lincoln

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Green. What a beautiful color! What comes to mind when you think of green? Life? Rebirth? Nature? Many would say growth, strength, fertility, rain,vegetation.... my husband would say grass..he loves to mow! I must admit, I'd love to smell fresh-mown grass right now.... I'd much rather look at green, than white. Yes, I'm longing for green these days - guess it's time for a visit to the local Garden Center and Nursery for a little dose of spring green....

We know that "green" is caused by chlorophyll and photosynthesis and all that scientific stuff...as quilters we think of green as a secondary color on the color wheel, the "child" of Blue and Yellow. There are so many greens: emerald green, forest green, Kelly green, lime green, sage green, moss green, teal green, grey green, silver green, khaki green, olive green, apple green, sea green, seafoam green, pea green, grass green, mint green, jade green, spring green, chartreuse green, pine green... have I forgotten any? Are you familair with the Irish song "Forty Shades of Green"? (lyrics written by Johnny Cash, by the way!!) I'm sure there must be more than forty! If you've ever been to Ireland, you know of what I speak...

The abundance of green in the natural world around us leads us to associate green with feelings of calm and peace - it's a restful color. Green is not always an easy color to work with in a quilt, because it is easily influenced and changed by the colors around it. But if you take a close look at Mother Nature, you will see that she combines and incorporates all greens - yellow greens, greens and blue-greens, successfully and sensitively. I see that in gardening- and I'm learning to pay attention to the greens of the foliage as much as the flower colors. I can't wait to watch my Hostas unfurl their leaves in June, to see all those glorious greens - all cohabiting happily side by side!

Today "Green" is taking on a whole new meaning - besides being the color of life, rebirth and growth, with both Christian and Muslim significance as the color of immortality and the everlasting, negative connotations of jealousy, envy and inexperience, green is now the color of the environment. We are (finally!) becoming more aware of our carbon footprint, and the importance of the use of environmentally friendly products. It's about time! Go green!

Have you ever been to Ireland? I've been lucky enough to go twice. I have to say it is very high on my list of places I want to return to. It's definitely in the Top 3- in a tie with Switzerland and Greece. One cannot describe adequately with words, what Ireland is all about. It definitely is a magical place- one you have to experience for yourself. Sort of like the Grand Canyon- you just have to see it to believe it. The scenery, the people, the language, the music, the lushness of the southwest where you will see palm trees, the desolation of Connemara, Galway Bay at sunset, the Cliffs of Moher.... I love it all! And certainly when you are there, you are surrounded by GREEN...

I'm thinking about another Miniature, this one all in greens, with black as the background color. I'm waiting for inspiration, perhaps it will come today... here are some greens I've gathered, with the wonderful stripe(on the right) that I'd like to use in the border. Suggestions anyone?

So how are you spending this St. Patrick's Day? Are you making Irish Soda Bread, or cooking Corned Beef and Cabbage for supper? Why not relax tonight with a good Irish movie? Here are a few suggestions- My Left Foot, Ryan's Daughter, The Secret Life of Roan Inish (great kids' movie), In the Name of the Father, and Waking Ned Devine (good comedy).

I've rambled on long enough... I'd like to leave you with an Irish Curse in case you have the need to use it, and an Irish Drinking Toast just in case you lift a pint of Guinness today...

Irish Curse: May those who love us, love us. And those that don't love us, may God turn their hearts. And if He doesn't turn their hearts, may He turn their ankles so we'll know them by their limping.

Irish Drinking Toast: May your glass be ever full. May the roof over your head be always strong. And may you be in heaven half an hour before the devil knows you're dead.

Peace,

Linda Kelly O'Hubbard

"Experience is the name everyone gives to their mistakes". - Oscar Wilde