Fall Is Here, Tree Cutting

 After the long hot, dry summer, the cool mornings are a welcome change. It's been an exciting month with dreamatic changes in the look of my property, and mornings on the front porch have been enjoyable. My trees and those next door had me almost hidden from view until you were right in front of my house. A large maple had been dropping dead limbs dangerously close to the house. Tom Dayon with Dayon Tree Service worked three days cutting trees, raising the canopy, grinding stumps, hauling away debris. The process was captivating to watch, and the crew were skilled using the backhoes, cranes, and other machinery. Needless to say, it was entertaining to watch. 

Before, view from street

Before, view from street approaching house

Before, view from street

Before, closer view (house is in left side of picture)

Before, closer view

In front yard

View from street

Taking down Swamp Maple

This tree kept dropping limbs near house

Hauling debris

After, view from street approaching house

After, from street

After, from street

After, view from porch

Cat news--Elizabeth and Rahrah have recovered from their serious UTI health issues and are doing well, approaching their 10th birthday next month. The scratchng post has become a scratching log and both are putting it to occasional use, not as popular as Elizabeth's cat tree now that she feels like climbing again. The orange mama cat is settling in and stealing my heart with her talking and rolling on the garage floor for petting. She joins me on the front porch some mornings. I must give her a proper name soon. 

I love kids' art and got permission from my young friend Elizabeth Rigney to use her drawing I had saved that her mom (Bethany Rigney) had posted a few years ago. Here is Ellee's Gruffalo in the Jungle.

In progress; Ellee's drawing in background

Ellee's Gruffalo in the Jungle

I enjoyed seeing friends at the MQA Fall Gathering in Biloxi one weekend, followed by a Betty Press class on iPhone Pictures back in Hattiesburg at Singing River Art Studio. Betty shared a wealth of information about the iPhone. The next weekend was our quarterly Southern Fiber Artists meeting in Madison. Jackie Watkins again hosted in her home, and Charlotte Timmons shared instructions and tips on fabric collage.  

Last week I tried a first-time decorating of a sugar skull for a Day of the Dead display. Hector Boldo and Jacqueline Gonzalez Wooton hosted a display and silent auction at Main Street Gallery to raise funds for the newly formed LatinX Art Association. I cut out and applied fabric leaves to my skull. Twenty skulls were on display, and the variety of techniques used was amazing! Here are some pictures. Sorry I can't give credit to the artists who decorated them. Enlarge to see details.

Poster inviting artists to decorate skulls

Painting a sugar skull was definitely a first for me. I've been gathering fall leaves and making art using these--an activity with which I'm much more comfortable. 

4x6 leaf pictures with mats

September is Done

How welcome that first day of fall was! We're having some mornings that are cool enough for coffee on the front porch. 

Elizabeth, My Almost Perfect Cat gave me a real scare with a UTI for several days and spent a week at the kitty hospital. She is home again and happily climbing to the top of her cat tree as well as watching for the orange outside cat through the window. Rahrah is spending a little time on her new scratching post--when it is on its side.

Elizabeth on her cat tree after two weeks

She growls at the orange outside cat

Rahrah trying out her scratching post with a little catnip enticement

On the quilting front, I finished quilting a donation quilt featuring duck hunting scenes. 

Then I finished four small exchange pieces for my Southern Fiber Artists group. These are 8" x 10".  I was running late for June, July, August, and September, so it feels good to catch up.

A real leaf, preserve with gel medium

Leaf printing 

Stitching added to this crab

Weaving technique with horses

February, Cat Tree Success

After the Quiltfolk photoshoot excitement it seems I've just been content to watch the rain and foggy days creep by.  I did finish a small Hidden Nine Patch quilt that Linda and I had been working on  lately. She cut the pieces and sewed the blocks; I sashed and bordered; she quilted; and I added the binding. It will be donated through our guild, Pine Belt Quilters. 

The cat tree is getting more attention with a little exploring every day. It has become a good squirrel watching shelf. Elizabeth really fills up a shelf with no room to spare. 

My Southern Fiber Artists group met in Hattiesburg last weekend and we firmed up plans for our exhibit at the Columbus Arts Council gallery in Columbus, MS, during the month of April. We will have our Intense Color Project pieces on display along with other artwork we want to show. Julia Graber will speak at the opening night April 6, and Jackie Watkins will conduct a class on Saturday, April 15. 

I was surprised to find a few flowers on my walk today. Since our temps have ranged into the 70s some days, the azaleas are beginning to bloom. This large bush drops its blooms to make an interesting pathway. The Burford Holly bushes are full of red berries.

Cinque Terre Wins Another Ribbon

Cinque Terre triptych had some good news from the Smoky Mountain Quilt show in Knoxville, Tennessee, last week, where it won a third-place ribbon in the Alternative Techniques category. We love opportunities for the three 24" x 52" sections to be displayed together. The picture below is from the Gulf States Quilting Association show in April earlier this year.

By Martha Ginn, Rita Warnock, and Cathy Reininger

A special treat this week was getting to visit with dear friend Ana Maria Diaz Herrera, a talented viola player who returned from two years at the Julliard Institute in China and is on her way to Rutgers University in New Jersey to pursue her doctorate. 

Lunch with Ana Maia at the Salad Station

Despite Elizabeth's passion for eating thread, I was able to finish several art quilts recently. Some of my Southern Fiber Artist group makes 8x10 pieces to exchange with each other on a rotating monthly basis. Here are pieces I made for Julia Graber, Jackie Watkins, and Karen Arzamendi.

Climate Change for Julia Graber

Leaves for Karen Arzamendi

Lime and Leaves for Jackie Watkins

Elizabeth reaching for the thread

"I'll just lean up against the machine."