August Exhibit and NICU covers

If I thought July zoomed by, that's even more true with August. It's nearly midnight on the 31st, and here goes.

It was such a pleasure having the Southern Fiber Artists' exhibit of Quilts Across Mississippi in the Downey Gallery at University Baptist Church for the whole month. The exhibit was unbelievable impressive and well-received.

I discovered an interesting new chocolate and coffee shop through an OLLI class. The owners are from Nicaragua and come from a long line of farmers. It's called Mulukakao. 

I finished a puzzle on my table--music theme with only 500 pieces, but strange and unusual shapes. 

Pine Belt Quilters have been working on Giraffe isolette covers for Forrest General's NICU. We keep altering the home made pattern hoping for a better fit (to keep the light out). The 3-yards required were layered, long-arm quilted, washed and dried (for shrinkage) before cutting out the pattern pieces. It seemed easier to cut out from the gray (lining) side than the colorful side. Each of the six pieces was serged and then assembled.

October Persimmons

 People in the Northeast have beautiful hillsides of autumn scenes as the hardwoods change from greens to gold, yellow, rust, maroon, orange, and I enjoy seeing these amazing pictures. Here in the pine belt, we are surrounded by huge pine trees that manage to remain green while shedding rust-colored needles in an almost solid carpet over my yard and driveway. Japanese persimmons ripen in a neighbor's yard; my tree makes beautiful leaves but no persimmons. 

Leaves on my persimmon tree

Persimmons shared by neighbor

A leaky refrigerator has eaten up huge blocks of time lately. Disconnecting the icemaker, deep cleaning underneath, and turning off the water line were temporary fixes. Shopping for my preferred features in my size requirements and learning about "supply chain issues" helped me decide I could fall in love with different features. Getting the old one moved out just before the new one arrived was tricky. 

Creating this fabric collage of a solid white cat was an enjoyable challenge. I used colored stitches to show shadows and define her shape. Nearly all cats have pink ears and nose, but white fur can't be just white. A variety of fabrics from satin to cotton helped bring her to life.

Here are a few in-progress photos during decision-making along the way. 

The MQA Gathering in Columbus was a great time getting to connect with with longtime friends. We got to display our Southern Fiber Artists Intense Color Challenge and tell the group about this project. We agreed on the benefit of studying value using Joen Wolfrom's Three-in=One Color Tool.

 My Elizabeth and Rahrah tried to get my attention while I was working on some NICU isolette covers. 

What a treat it was to get a visit from two cousins I haven't seen since they were in grade school. They traveled from Florida to Texas and came through Hattiesburg to see Linda and me. 

April and Springtime

Azaleas before heavy rains

I'm glad I took pictures of the blooming azaleas because these frequent and heavy rains have really beat them down and shortened their flowering season.

My croton is still alive but very straggly, so I bought a new plant and could not resist this hydrangea while waiting for my bed of them to bloom. The wisteria put on a brief but beautiful show.

New pots of croton and hydrangea

Wisteria

I'm pleased that all three slices of the Cinque Terre fabric collage got to be seen together at the Gulf States Quilting Association (GSQA) show April 8-9, where it won a second place ribbon in the Art-Landscape category. My section is on the left, then pieces by Rita Warnock and Cathy Reininger.

Cinque Terre at GSQA show

Working a 500-piece puzzle of the same scene was so much fun and not nearly the challenge of interpreting it in fabric. I also have a 1,000-piece puzzle that I might try after so much study of this famous photo.

Elizabeth helping 

Cinque Terre 500-piece puzzle

Music has filled my life with joy as we rehearsed and then sang a concert of 25 years of Meistersingers favorites this month. I'm looking forward to preparing the Brahms Requiem for a June 12 concert. More music enjoyment was provided by Marlene Gentile at her senior violin recital and the string quartets and quintets at USM's string honors competition. 

Marlene Gentile and Dario Martin

Alejandro Junco, Marlene Gentile, Ana Sofia Suarez, Franco Galetto

Sewing lately has consisted of making NICU isolette covers with the help of Linda Ginn, Barbara Hartley, and Linda Hudson. When I could not get either of my machines to remember how to make buttonholes to fit over the pegs, Jackie Watkins came to my rescue.