Sedum.2

See yesterday's posting for details.

Sedum.1

Years ago, I added this perennial, Sedum, to my planter. I'm not certain of the name. It may be Sedum Gold Mound but I think that plant grows into a rounded tuft. Maybe this is a Sedum Stonecrop Angelina. I do remember the name "Stonecrop" from the tag when I purchased the plant but I thought it also had "Gold" or "Carpet" in its name. The planter already had some other rock garden type plants including Hen and Chicks which have survived to this day but are quite small this summer.

The Sedum has been especially enjoyable this cool and cloudy summer. (According to my electric bill, the average daily temperature for June was 59°.) My deck has a southern exposure and no shade at all. Usually, the Sedum blooms for a day or two and then dries up for the season or at least the flowers go away and I'm left with the green part of the plant which eventually dries out and dies for the season -- and then returns the next year. With all the cool temperatures and cloudy days, the little yellow star-shaped flowers have lasted for several weeks!

Making Lemonade

Plein Air Class
I've been gearing up for a 3-day plein air painting class for several weeks: scheduled time off from work, gathered my supplies, and daydreamed about painting. When I arrived on Tuesday, no one was there. The class was cancelled because it did not fill. Apparently, when I registered online the computer was not working -- it did take my money, however. You have to wonder if the reason the class "did not fill" is because the computer was not working.

.

Lemonade

I decided since I had all that free time, I could do some "gardening" on my deck, so I headed to my local nursery. It's been many years since I've had anything on the deck other than my sole planter with rock garden perennials (hen and chicks, sedum). A few weeks ago I added a coreopsis. This was new -- heading into oranges. On Tuesday, I added some vivid zinnias, one of my mom's favorites. They always remind me of her. They remind me of India, too, because of their colors. I also bought a Bidens Golden Star. (Who knew? They named a flower for our vice president! LOL!)

.

The S-Word

Today, the sun finally came out. This has been the most autumnal summer on record (my record). I know, saying the S-word is going to jinx us all. O well. Knowing that this might not last, I snapped a few pictures.

Dear Jane Progress

.

.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.
.
At Last
Today, I learned how to make this image on IrfanView! Woohoo! I've wanted to do this for months and months and could not figure it out. Today, my computer guy was here working on some more mundane things and he figured this out for me. Yeah, Rastech! For a closer look, click on the photo.

Bottom Row
The blocks on the bottom row are blocks that have been replaced because the colors were too light, too dark, or just plain wrong. Over time, more blocks will be added to that row. Lesson learned: plan ahead carefully before starting a quilt. Only problem is that I did not know I was making a quilt. I thought I was just trying a few blocks as I had not yet realized I'd been bitten by the Dear Jane bug.

Passing Through

112 blocks; 66% done (not counting blocks I want to re-do)

Two Dear Jane blocks in two days! Woohoo! This one, K5 - Passing Through, came together pretty quickly; it only has 14 pieces. Now that it's done, I'm not sure what is "passing through." On Jane's block, it's clearly the diamonds, but with this fabric choice, it could be the diamonds, or it could be the flowers.

Drafting and Fabrics
I redrafted this block to more closely match Jane's construction by changing how the diamonds are set into the ivory fabric. The fabric for the diamonds is a Kaffe Fassett ikat. Ikat is an amazing fabric. The pattern is printed onto the yarns before they are woven!

I don't know who designed the fabric with the flowers. If you do, please drop me a comment. It is so beautiful. It's really designed for a much larger application. After cutting out the flowers, I'm left with a large field of lime green fabric -- with delicate ivory tracings running through it (click on photo if you cannot see the ivory lines). Oh well. It's still yummy stuff.

Next?
I'm in the midst of working on the largest ring of this Trip Round the World color arrangement. That means I'm working in green, green, and green. I may take a break and work on another color by making one of the blocks that I plan to replace. When I started the blocks, I had no intention of making a Dear Jane quilt, so I did not bother with planning out colors and careful fabric selections. On the other hand, I have some rather challenging blocks ahead of me in this green ring; they have lots of tiny pieces. It might be nice to get them out of the way.

Starburst

111 blocks
As I started to work on my latest Dear Jane block, F12-Starburst, I was wondering about the use of the Maltese Cross. Today I finally read up on its history and its numerous uses. From Wikipedia, I learned about its first use as a symbol in the 11th century and the origin of its name from its association with the Knights of Malta and the Mediterranean island of Malta. This link explains why some think the Maltese Cross was used by Hitler, how the Iron Cross differs from the Maltese Cross, and much much more.

As I completed the block, it dawned on me that Jane Stickle never heard of Hitler -- or the new one and two Euro coins (which have Maltese crosses on their backs). In fact, it's possible that Jane had her own association with the Maltese Cross. Today, I made up an association of my own -- fireworks -- as I thought of the many firecrackers will be fired this evening.

Life Cycle of a Blossom

I love peonies so much that even as they die, I find them beautiful. First they seem to lose their color as their petals become more and more translucent. It seems they are taking on water which dilutes their color (this is not science, it's my imagination). Next, they begin to dry out and their color becomes intense -- more intense than when they first opened. This blossom is in the midst of that transition. At the same time, the yellow tassels are turning brown. See my two previous posts for shots of this peony blossom as it first opened.