A BIRD DOES NOT SING BECAUSE IT HAS AN ANSWER

IT SINGS BECAUSE IT HAS A SONG

-CHINESE PROVERB

This is my latest crazy quilt pouch. I am well on my way on another one, I am getting quicker with them and really enjoying the creative process. The one I am working on now is the last of the patches I have sewn together so I get to choose some new colours and textures for the next bunch. I am limited with my silk ribbon and wish I could dye my own to match the colours of the quilt pieces - maybe someday in the future. Still a problem having to buy them on-line from the U.S. with exchange and everything Canadians tend to get a bit ripped off I think. I wish I could buy it here in Vancouver.

PICTURE FROM THE INTERNET - Ladyslipper

I have searched the garden everywhere to find the Tender One who rounds the tiny buds to bursting beads along the branch, who shapes the lady slipper for a fairy foot in Easter woods, and colours baby-blue-eyes like the sky. I have hunted under rhubarb leaves, around the roots of cedar trees and even walked the paths at night by chance I might surprise some artisan at work beneath the stars.

But nothing, I find no one out there tending to the essences of the garden, deciding why the rose is red, the lily white or ordering the quiet round of seasons. The spirit of this earth and all her creatures lies within and not without, a holiness, a power and a mystery beyond our finest reasons.

Thelma Palmer

Connection with gardens, even small ones, even potted plants, can become windows to the inner life. The simple act of stopping and looking at the beauty around us can be prayer.

Patricia R Barrett

I spent about three hours at RubyDogs Art House yesterday chatting with Leanne and browsing. I found a really nice book called In This Garden, Explorations in Mixed-Media Visual Narrative by Angela Cartwright and Sarah Fishburn. It contains the artwork of ten different artists, lots of quotes and poems. It really is quite lovely.

I am close to finishing my next bag so hope to post it some time this week.

The kiss of the sun for pardon

The song of the birds for mirth

One is nearer God's heart in a garden

Than anywhere else on earth

Dorothy Gurney

1858 - 1932

Still working on my next faerie pouch. It's red, black, silver and white.

When we look into the heart of a flower, we see clouds, sunshine, minerals, time, the earth, and everything else in the cosmos in it. Without clouds, there could be no rain and there would be no flowers. THICH NHAT HANH.

Finally, I have finished my second crazy quilt faerie bag. It took me a long time but I learned a great deal. This is my first attempt at silk ribbon embroidery and I learned some new embroidery stitches and made my first dragonfly from scratch. I just love the dragonfly and had to rush out to buy some more organza ribbon to make more on other bags. (Click on images to enlarge).

The leaves on the maple trees by my patio are beautiful fall colours - reds, yellows, oranges. Some branches are almost bare. We are having the most amazing Indian Summer. Yesterday, I went to Dunderave again and sat listening to the waves crashing on the shore. The tide was going out this time.

When I came back to my own neighbourhood, I met a neighbour and he treated me to a latte'. We sat outside at seven o'clock in the evening because it was such a warm, beautiful evening.

I haven't done any crazy quilting because I have been working on the newsletter for the building. I have been studying the books and other peoples quilts. It seems I have to do this when I am starting something new until I get the images in my mind clearly and then I am away. I am excited and nervous about starting the silk ribbon embroidery just because it's new but will start within the next day or two.

MY FIRST CRAZY QUIILT BAG

I am setting out on a new journey - creating crazy quilts, embroidery and silk ribbon embroidery. I love texture and colour and am excited about creating bags - for now - and eventually other items that reflect the beauty in nature and gardens. I have chosen the name Secret Garden because I love the story - it suggests mystery and magic and things that are hidden but accessable when we find the key. It also suggests solitude and peace. It's a place of beauty and a place for children to play. I love the idea of a hidden key and the robin who shows the way to the key.

There is a theory that the artist part of ourselves is the child within that we need to reconnect with to relearn how to play. So my journey is to learn to play in my Secret Garden, unfolding the mystery of creating with fabric, lace, ribbon and embellishments.