Better than archival paper

This is a little different image of nature.  It is a quilt made from my photographs of flowers.  Yes, photographs that I printed on fabric using my inkjet printer.  The globes were created in photoshop using flowers.  My sister, Becki, thought of the idea.  She is my #1 fan, has always loved flowers, and is a quilter as well.

So, over the past 2 years we have been working on the quilt(s), coming up with the design, printing, sewing.  I sent hundreds of flower pictures to Becki so she could pick her favorites.  I picked mine and printed them all up.  Meanwhile, Becki was designing the quilts with paper photos, shopping for fabric (one even from her trip to Malaysia) and sewing, sewing, sewing everything together.  A professional quilter then did the detailed quilting.

She had mine and hers ready for a quilting show in Jacksonville, FL that took place in September.  Although she didn’t win a ribbon, she was a winner in my book, and I will always have my photo quilt to remember.

Thanks, Sis

Creative Expressions by two sisters: My quilt - ~70"x70"

Detail on my quilt

My quilt detail

Through my sister's eyes: Becki's quilt - ~90"x115"

Gossamer Wings

I usually think of dragonflies in terms of wetlands, or woodlands.  I see an occasional small one around our house, but had not previously seen one of this size.  Really golden.

I walked all around the red yucca on which it was feeding; it didn’t seem to mind me and my camera.

View from below.  I love the wings against the blue sky.

This really shows the detail of the wing structure.

Hanging on with all legs.

 

Hummin' along

Sometimes you don’t have to go very far to get some great photos – say, your own backyard?  There are usually lots of flowers, plants, birds lizards, etc. to provide interest.

This year we have a hummingbird that is a kick to watch.  We call her the “resident” as opposed to the “intruder”.  There is apparently a nest somewhere in the vicinity (alas not in one of our trees) where the resident lives.  She comes to feed on primarily our red yuccas.  The male doesn’t come around often; maybe he doesn’t like yucca juice.  But this female is very feisty, and chases off anyone who comes into her territory – including one bee!

Yesterday I placed a chair within about 6ft of the favorite feeding spot and proceded to snap.  Hummingbirds acclimate to people fairly quickly (I guess they know they’re faster than us), and she came right over to feed.  Here are some of the many photos I took.

This feisty mama even chased away a bee!  So territorial.

Hummingbirds do stop – quite a lot, actually.  R(est) & R(refuel) are necessary to keep those wings beating.

Just like people, dogs, cats and even hummingbirds just have to scratch sometimes.

 

Hummingbirds are most known for their ability to hover while sucking the nectar from flowers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After eating and resting, it’s time to once again take flight and find another flower.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finally a still moment of quiet to rest and preen and plan the next feeding.

Gardens of Holland

Holland is known for it’s flowers, and you can see a great display of them at Keukenhof Gardens in Amsterdam.  With only one afternoon in Amsterdam, tiptoeing through the tulips was relaxing and enjoyable.

Spring

Spring comes early in Arizona, beginning with flower blooms.  It all depends on the fall and winter rains, which can be very spotty.  Although we had some moisture this winter, it was spotty enough that the bloom isn’t expected to be great.  There will be some areas, but…

So, this video is of flowers that I’ve photographed over the past couple of years.  You can expand the video to full screen, but the resolution will not be as good.  Enjoy!

Music by Tim Mielak – Link at right