Watching water

I studied water at St. Joseph Peninsula State Park last week. And light. I learned that all colors are there. Not just blue.
Here's my notebook with silk for water, maybe. But I've decided not. Yes, silk is in love with light– as water is. Cotton is not translucent. But.

All parts of the quilt have to go together. I just can't see the writing in the same piece as gathered or pleated silk. And my beach is a dune of words.

I go to bed thinking like this.

Takes time to get it right

OK, I know this is not right. I've been experimenting with making a beach scene. The words are the beach. The hand-dyed blue-green is the water … not good.

Learning to Dye

It was like Christmas morning, when you can't wait to discover what Santa left. I had to rush out to the shed to see how the cotton in my dyepot had colored up overnight. I followed Pat Kumicich's directions, loving it that my hands turned turquoise and gold. You'll believe me when I say the photos don't do the color justice.

Rose Cake

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I don't really like roses – it's the thorns! – but I fell in love with rose ice cream at a Greek ice cream shop in Savannah. It's pink, with elusive flavor. Then I tasted iced tea with rose syrup in New Orleans, & found a similar version here in Tallahassee. (The one in New Orleans had a handful of pistachios in the drink too.) Then I found a small blue jar of Rose Flower Water* in the refrigerator. I have no idea how long it's been there, but it's still effective in this recipe for rose syrup from Epicurious. They say put it on fruit, which I've done, deliciously. This time it's on Mom's sponge cake. I used more sugar –1 1/2 cups. Just pierce the cake with fork tines while it's still warm, & pour the syrup over.

*I think I got the Rose Flower Water in a drug store; I have faint memories... but you can find it at specialty groceries like Fresh Market, & probably at Mideastern shops as well.

• Rose Water Syrup
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• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 cinnamon stick, broken in half
• 1 teaspoon rose water

Boil water with sugar over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Add cinnamon stick. Turn heat up to medium-high & boil until you have about 1 cup. Stir in rose water. I keep the syrup in the refrigerator in an old mayonnaise jar.

Read More http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Fresh-Fruit-with-Rose-Water-Syrup-5878#ixzz0ztpfmjAo

Painting fabric

Cotton & silk, paint & ink – all look fine if they're turquoise. My fingernails too – they're turquoise today. I've been experimenting with bits of fabric, & so far I've found that I like ink & silk. Ink, I've since read, does not change the "hand" of fabric, while paint stiffens. And silk just lusts after color; cotton accepts nicely.

Night Owls

I love my night owls. They're 19" x 24 1/2"

French Roses quilting bee

Our quilting group is making "French Roses" for the silent auction at this year's quilt show Oct. 28-Jan. 23. Seven or eight of us did the cutting in two hours. We sat around our dining room table & it was fun. I forgot that I hate the cutting part. The next week we sewed together. Here it is, ready for backing & quilting.

T-shirt quilt

Yesterday Sandy said she couldn't wait to see this quilt I made to celebrate Jeffrey's graduation. She just had to open the box. (It arrived just after Jeffrey had left for college. Oh well...) Her excitement makes me glad I created his special present. It's a simple, cozy quilt – 16 squares, each one 14" x 14," all soft T-shirt cotton, backed with sweatshirt fabric. Arranging them was fun, thinking of Jeffrey and the life experiences the shirts represent. He was an outstanding high school student, & I'm sure he'll be the same in college. Warm, too, in those Michigan winters.