December 2020

 Time marches on, "march" being a relative term for this time when one day zooms past like another. And "zoom" has taken on a new meaning when days drag by and we interact with friends remotely by Zoom and worship by Youtube. The pandemic and disruption of what we ordinarily experience really plays havoc with creativity.  

I enjoyed all the fall leaves in my yard and brought in lots of them to enjoy as a decoration or to put on cards to mail to friends. My sasanqua bush makes a carpet of soft pink on the ground every fall--a welcome sight after the riot of red, orange and yellow of the leaves covering the yard. 

Fall leaves from yard to bowl

Maidenhair Fern lives outside garage all year

Maidenhair Fern (inside garage for freezing weather)

Sasanqua bush drops a pink carpet

My persimmon tree rewards me with beautiful leaves but no fruit. Scenes from the tree often inspire artworks.

My activities have been curtailed during November and December because of hand surgery to correct carpal tunnel and to remove a ganglion cyst. But there are pleasures to enjoy--friends brought soup and treats and flowers. Nothing is better than homemade soup, and I discovered peppermint flavored hot chocolate!

Elizabeth appreciates flowers

A beautiful gift from a friend

Peppermint flavored hot chocolate!

Homemade soup

This 2020 year has been one we will never forget. Along with the hardships, we have become more aware of blessings. We all look forward to a better time with relief for those who are suffering.

All Three Sections of Cinque Terre

Since completing my section of the larger Cinque Terre picture, I have located pictures of the other two sections, made by Rita Warnock and Cathy Reininger, to show here. Each section is 23" wide x 52" high. We look forward to being able to display the three pieces together. Click to enlarge for details.

Reference Photo

Left Section by Martha Ginn

Center Section by Rita Warnock

Right Section by Cathy Reininger

Interesting Fabrics for Cinque Terre

Sometimes the most unlikely fabrics are just what are needed in fabric collage. This is the case in my hillside, olive groves, houses, trees, foliage, rocky cliffs, and water in my section of Cinque Terre. Overall size of the quilt is 23" x 52". Here is the full piece, which can be enlarged to see details.

Detail photos of some of the fabrics that became the greenery, villages, iron fencing, rocks, and foamy water in the quilt:

Crochet covered with dull green mesh

Cutting hand-sized pieces of greens

This organza piece was used in several places

Large rocks, tiny houses

The green/blue/yellow piece is drapery weight

Yellow, rust, brown, black found in animals

Cinque Terre

Cinque Terre is finished. The quilting is done and facing and sleeve added. My piece is 23" x 52" and can be considered as one-third of a larger piece. Here is a picture of the entire area we are depicting in our three sections. Mine is the far left. Rita Warnock's section is in the middle; Cathy Reininger's is the far right. I will locate pictures of their pieces and post them later.

Reference photo of entire scene

Still on design wall before finishing

 

Showing backing and sleeve

My wool pressing mat is so helpful

On My Design Wall

This is what I have been working on, and it is finally time for it to come off the design wall, onto the table for some finishing touches, then under the needle for quilting. It will finish to 23" x 52". The reference photo is from the area called Cinque Terre in Italy, a highly recognized tourist location.

On the design wall

Source photograph

It is necessary to view the piece on the wall to make design decisions, but then moving the work to the table makes doing some of the actual placement easier. Elizabeth is giving it a close inspection after I have moved pins out of her way.

Choosing a backing

More of the story later.

 

Leaf Gathering at End of October

 Beautiful leaves are so hard to resist when I walk in my neighborhood. It is amazing what a variety of trees there are.  Meanwhile, the cats thoroughly enjoy having the windows open so they can nap in the window sill. Tarbaby prefers the quilt up against the pillows. 

Rahrah and Elizabeth in windows, Tarbaby on bed.

What a surprise I found in my flowerbed! The zinnias I planted in the spring have grown waist high without any sign of blooms. But here in October some seem to be putting on flowers. 

Zinnias finally blooming in October

This leaf is quite unusual and I need to find out what kind of tree it is from. The veins are growing from center down to center again, instead of out toward the edge.

Front of leaves

Back of same leaves

Chinese Tallow leaves are among my favorites; sorry to learn that they are a non-native species and are harmful to our native trees. These are often called popcorn trees because of the white berries they produce that remind us of popcorn.

Front of Chinese Tallow leaves

Back of Chinese Tallow leaves