Feeling a little restless this morning - just found out that Cesar Millan (The Dog Whisperer) will be coming to my sister's town. She works at Elm Street Books and I think that they are hosting this event. What's the problem, you ask? Well, it's too bloody early to call over to Connecticut to plead for request tickets! I luv him. MUST. SEE. HIM. IN. PERSON. . . have questions!
Guess what season has arrived at Cloudwalk?
It's my favorite for so many reasons!
This may be the only cinderella pumpkin that you will ever see nestled in a korean boxwood. It seems happy, the shrub? Not so much.
I let the red basil flower and now I cannot pull it up, as the honeybees are so exuberantly gathering their energy drinks! When they have finished, the seed heads will become a source of nourishment throughout the fall for the birds. These are the only reasons that I don't dismiss this pest entirely. If you have ever grown it ANYWHERE in your garden, you know it will return. Forever. Profusely!
A Mara turning up in the herb garden? They are everywhere! And I don't mean JUST in my garden. Please go over and see the one that Renee has just completed at Renee Knits Too. She used the Madelinetosh yarn, which is on my wish list. Hers is an icy grey dream and I want it! Is it too early to send wishes to Santa?
Have been going through old photos and journals and books of poetry. It's a very sentimental journey and one that I highly recommend taking at least once a year or so. Mine is a reminder of the importance of the arts in my life. A few lines and a photo of the college days, in the studio...
'out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and right doing, there is a field. I'll meet you there.'
-Rumi
Musquee de Provence, Long Island Cheese, Lumina, Rouge Vif d'Etampes, Atlantic Giant, Connecticut Field, Jack Be Little, Winter Luxury Pie, Kumi Kumi, Yokohama, Futtsu, Paw Paw .... the names are every bit as fascinating as the pumpkins and gourds that I adore. It's a long love affair, I assure you, and one that never fades. Ask the Can-Do-Guy about the year that I 'encouraged' him to roto-till half of the property to plant pumpkins! Or about the time that I brought the last 'cinderella pumpkin' of the season in to grace the Thanksgiving table and it stayed on through April - never even hinting at rot or softening! (we really MUST turn the thermostat up this winter!)
Pumpkins make me happy. I love their dependable and robust growing habits - how they trail all around the garden, visiting the rhubarb, making their way over to see the cabbages ... the way their leaf foliage stands at attention and holds the pose up until frost ... the unexpected pleasure of their orange skins, or the ghostly white luminas, shimmering under a harvest moon.
No small wonder that when I first laid eyes on this Moda fabric, I squeaked with happiness! I held onto these panels for a long time. Last year I started pulling my favorite fabrics for Chinese Coins and somehow the coins and the panels came together.
Some favorite reading with the favorite quilt ...
And because I NEED for you to understand what a truly exemplary machine quilter Linda Hibbert Silver Linings Originals is - I give you the flip side of this piece ...
Choosing which side to show is always a problem.