Emerald Forest

New spring energy is everywhere. As the days get warmer the green canopy grows denser day by day.  The Farmer's Market in the town square has begun with truck loads of potted flowers and starter vegetables. The weeds in the yard are overwhelming! It's time to adjust the wardrobe and the brain to adapt to this season of rampant lusciousness and labor.

The Emerald Forest Quilt has recently returned from the quilter. I could not resist taking it outside for a photograph since it blended so nicely with the fresh spring colors. I showed you this quilt a few months ago, when it was pinned in pieces to my work wall. It is another quilt made with Jan Kentz's Fussy Cutter Diamond Ruler, which suit my large Sunshine and Shadow prints perfectly.

Here is a detail of the quilting done by my friend, Audrey Esarey in Louisville, Kentucky. She used a clear top thread which doesn't compete for attention, but adds some nice texture and movement. It also helps to blend the kaleidoscopic elements together.

The turquoise bedroom as a natural fit for this quilt, because it feels like a tree house in all seasons.

This is also the happy season for weddings and graduations. Here are two wine/gift cozies that will dress up those bottles of bubbly for the celebrations. They were designed by my buddy, Melissa Peda of San Diego. You can find these designs in other fabrics at her inspiring Etsy shop.

I think the ribbons and buttons make the presentation fun and thoughtful. The hard-working hostess will feel that she is getting a present, too.

This is the next installment of my embroidery journal. Juanita, my Bernina embroidery trainer, coached me though the hooping and stitching process. So I am pushing buttons that have never be activated before on my 730. Now I can play and compose with the designs that she has digitized for me. I am having a blast! I know it is a baby step in the Big Picture, but it is a giant step for me. I really feel that digitized embroidery designs are going to expand my work in a monumental way!