Quilting and flowers

showing the zig zag edge over the side of sleigh bed

showing the zig zag edge on the blue pillows at the top of the bed

My English paper pieced rose star quilt is making good progress this week I finally got the last roses connected with the winged hexagon bits that go between and attached them all together to arrive at a finished size of about 86x84 inches. I went out to visit mom and see about getting it put with a backing and batting and getting it professionally basted together so I can hand quilt it more easily. I was not quoted a very good price for that work so I most likely will do it myself. As I have been working I decided to give it a decorative edge of points on the two sides that works out to be part of the design. You can see one edge is completed and the other side is soon to be done to match. Top and bottom or sides will be straight with maybe a border of a few inches added to give it more length for tucking and turning to keep dirty hands off the important parts. It was really difficult to choose but my conservative nature won in the shop when I was choosing the backing. I decided to back it with the same printed white muslin fabric that is between the colorful rose stars. I almost regret not being bolder and going with a red and white Jacobean line print I found but it was what my gut was telling me to do at the moment, use the white... it said. I took time to photograph some of the threads that were pulled out from a section as I removed the basting stitches used to hold the paper parts in place while assembling all the pieces. What a nest of thread it is and it's only about a third of the quilt that these came from to make this pile of threads which balled up is as big as both of my fists side by side.

pile of basting threads from the paper pieces of a third of the quilt after removing them and the paper. 

Now I am home getting ready to finish up the last of the zig zag edge on the other side of the Rose Star quilt. It has been a long haul from Jan. 15th when I began making rose stars in the challenge. It was a small block quilt group on Flickr.com set up with a simple tutorial by Clare who goes by the Nome De Plume Selfsewn. She is the blogger who started the group for us to share photos in the "Rose-Star block party" on Flickr. I am very happy that I kept going making rose stars beyond the challenge number of six making 54 which is just large enough to fit our queen sized sleigh bed top. It's going to be fun finishing it off over the remaining months of this year. At least I hope it won't take much longer than a year to complete the quilt even with quilting by hand. It could be that I need two years to finish but I hope not. 

quilt with zig zag at top and bottom on the bed 

quilt top with straight top and bottom.

The next thing we did was stop at the Merrifield Garden Center in Gainesville to see what we could find. I was hoping to find a dark purple 'Nicky' summer phlox but they didn't have a single one. Some others that were pretty but not that dark and rich in color. Mom got excited about some of the day-lilies that were still in bloom this late in the summer. She went out and picked one called Vanilla Fluff which is a big 6 inch doubled flower that smells of vanilla and the one she selected had three flowers open. So we brought it home and I planted it strait away. Another flowering plant in the green house caught her eye from half way across the nursery and we went to see it. Crossandra's orange flowers were pretty spectacular so she said she would like one of these to go home too. We packed it up and went back to Manassas. I sketched it at her recommendation this morning before I came home to DC.

Vanilla Fluff big day lily blooms

Vanilla Fluff daylilies

crossandra in the rose pot Manassas 

sketch of crossandra 

orange lilies

greeting me as I go out the front this time of year an armload of orange double common day lilies.

orange is back

An incomplete sketch of some new multi-colored zinnias cried out to be sketched before they are planted in the garden.

This morning's sketch of the 'Chesapeake Crab Legs' day lily

 Thursday morning 'Royal Trumpeter' gives up it's first blossom for me. I bought it two years ago. Magnificent! 

Traditional multi-petaled day lily grows and shows it can really stand out . 

Orange 'Tropicana' tea rose bloomed in late May

Nasturtiums in flame  orange 

Turk's Cap lily was spectacular in May

Tiny pale and sort of orange day lily are still trying to get a foot hold in the big bed 

True orange nasturtiums go all summer

Uncle Herb's wild red/orange day lilies keep coming back strong

new used stuff

old red day lily rescued from the back yard last fall. 

Morning sketch of the red day lily. 

I went last week to visit Mom in Manassas for a couple days and since she had been away for a few weeks and my car was in the shop for a few more it's been a long time coming. I was excited to see how she was and how the garden was doing in Manassas since it went unattended for a long spell when she was out of town.  Things looked good but a few were lost due to a few extremely hot days unseasonal for May. The fun thing to see was the old red day lily that I found last summer and potted up was happy and blooming. I used it as a subject for my sketch that morning on the porch. I love the shape of the petals of these exotic day lilies.
Keith and I have been on a diet recently and we have done well with getting to our goals.
I found that about half way to my goal that many of my clothes are so baggy now that I feel kind of uncomfortable going out in them. So this visit to Manassas where there are at least four second hand stores that sell used items to raise money for charity was the perfect place to shop for some interim britches at a bargin price. We set out first to the local Good Will and found some great pale yellow Columbia brand bermuda shorts just the right size for the interim.  I also spotted a set of little pressed glass bowls with handles and a cut glass design I liked but left behind, after all I had two days to think about if I really liked them enough to bring them home. It happens they do a 20% discount on Tuesdays so I got my shorts for cheaper than usual.
Then we swung by a new place where Mom found a soft black leather purse that seemed to be new for about $4 but not much else. Wednesday is discount day at the Salvation Army stores where they give a 25% discount all day on everything. So we headed up there and I found a couple pairs of light colored kaki pants and Mom noticed a lovely unfinished wooden bowl set for tossing and serving salads. I have been dreaming about having one for years. It is because of the years I lived with Harry and George, they had a big v shaped wooden bowl, it was made without shellac or urethane coating the wood but I didn't realize this was such a hard thing to buy inexpensively. They last for centuries so it makes sense people hang on to them when they get one seasoned with olive oils.

 I tried them out yesterday and they are perfect. Just what I had wanted for our summer salad tossing with lemon herb dressings. Being on a diet, our food and the presentation have been much more important to me than usual. We have lots of cool dishes and food tastes even better if it is put together in some pleasing way on a nice old bowl or plate.
Funny thing I guess but it really makes my meal feel more delicious somehow. I was hunting also for used 15 pound dumb bells to do bicep curls at these thrift stores. I saw only one set of 5 pounders which is too light for me now. Thursday morning we went downtown Manassas to the farmers market where we saw potter Jason Alexander buying farm fresh eggs and chicken. He paid my beard a complement " Frederick, I love the beard, it is really working the artist look". I got a chicken on his recommendation and brought it home to roast with lemon, tarragon and garlic. At the Prince William Pink Ladies Thrift Store by the farmer's market was my last stop to look for used dumb bells, they had none but I found a nice Columbia swim suit and a beautiful green linen shirt in just the right sizes. Now I was ready to go home after we went to the sporting goods store and to buy new 15 pound dumb bells but they work just fine and were on special too. Car gassed up with discount gas from Giant Food bonus points at Shell where I saved 50¢ a gallon. Then I thought oh those pressed glass bowls just will not stop haunting me I better stop and see if they are still available. Said good by to Mom and thanked her for a fun visit then swung by the Good Will shop and there they were 5 for 99¢ each. I took them all and have been enjoying making fat and sugar free pudding and jello in them ever since I got them home.

I like the way that textured glass feels in my hands. 

Keith says they remind him of the bowls his great grandmother used to serve him home canned stewed tomatoes in for a snack as a kid. He thinks she got them from the detergent box or cereal during the depression.

firestorm

first blossom caught me by surprise, I was not expecting such a dramatic flower

the colors and the shape won me over instantly

close up of the odd petals in the second blossom

the second firestorm had an extra pair of distorted petals, more red throughout

third and last firestorm at the edge of day light and shadow

firestorm in the sun

firestorm in the shade

This is the last of about 3 or 4 blossoms on one of the new daylily I bought in the spring at the National Arboretum's annual plant sale. Named "Firestorm" it is a dramatic shape and the colors are exciting. Not orange but in some ways the precursor with yellow and orange-red mixing on the petals. I particularly like the way the two types of petals have distinctive shapes and color to distinguish them. The narrow yellow recurved petals form long S-curves contrasting the twisting wide petals which have a center yellow rib surrounded by the red glow and yellow edges at the outer half of the curling petals. The stamen and anther are golden ending in reddish tips. All in all, a handsome daylily but sadly the last blossom on my new plant this year. The good news is that in the pot there are two clusters of leaves meaning next year this daylily might have two stems of buds that open twice as many flowers in July.

botanical gardens

the gardeners sometimes talk on cell phones while they work

odd relative of the Yucca a native "rattlesnake master" plant caught my eye in bloom

mourning dove and sparrows were bathing together in a stream

"Dan Mahony" was kind of pink

even orange day lily has a new twist at the botanical gardens

"Wayside King Royale" was one of my favorites in the shade the yellow throat seemed to glow

water features always make the gardens more restful and invite birds and people to enjoy the cooling green... note the closeness of federal offices in the background

white day lily shows all sorts of colors when the background is dark

very tall coneflowers related to black-eyed Susan

no name on this lovely lacy patch of day lilies but most were labeled clearly

"Dominic" is the name of this dark velvet lily

looks like a thisle but it's the more elegant cardoon

regale trumpet lilies and white perennial sweet peas

this spidery day lily called "red ribbons" was a favorite

a nearly all black bee on the tall verbena was very odd looking

this bumble bee was crawling all over the edges of this group of day lilies like it was covered in honey or opium he seemed to be experiencing some sort of overload

the first day lily that caught my eye was this one that looks a lot like one I have only this is greener in the throat and the petals are a little wider and more substantial.

view over the gardens looking back at the Smithsonian's Museum of the American Indians sandstone curves.

Yesterday I had a date to meet with an old friend who happened to be in town for a national research meeting. On my way down to pick her up and whisk her off to the flower gardens on the national mall she called and said she was not going to be able to get away. I was crushed a little after getting up early and rushing around to be ready for a 9 AM call but I made the most of the effort and kept going. I went right down to the national mall and promptly found parking. Paid my meter and took off with my camera and found lots of beautiful new day lily and other fine sites. The National Botanical gardens run by Smithsonian Institution has a natives garden and roses and a bunch of flowering plants that make it well worth a visit. Perfect sunny weather to be outside I really enjoyed my visit. I spent the rest of the day downloading and editing the photos and scanning sketches which I am still editing. I wanted to show you these images as soon as I could. I hope to see my friend another time and take her to the most beautiful place I know, away from the noise of the city, right smack in the middle of Washington DC.