What a pretty lavender purple this hibiscus blossom is! I spotted this in a neighbor's yard while I went for my late afternoon walk yesterday.
We are home again. Kevin and I both were happy to sleep in our own beds! August 4th to Sept 1st is a long trip by anyone's standards, eh? :) I think we drove somewhere in the neighborhood of 3000 miles, all told - plus or minus some driving 'around town' where we visited. Whew! My trusty Jeep needs to go get it's scheduled servicing now. :)
I visited a lot of people and places so will record them here over several posts so my hands don't cramp up from typing. This is Labor Day weekend and I've been lazing about (aside from a grocery shopping trip with my brother yesterday) for most of it - sewing some, reading some, napping some. General laziness and contentment!
The highway department has apparently decided that it is time for our area to get new curbs and road gutters as they are chopping them up. Looks like an archaeology dig to me:
See all the black powdered asphalt - contrasts with the red clay soil (this part of MD was once sea bottom and very silt-y).
If you click to look at a bigger version of this picture, you might be able to see the layers of previous asphalt in that vertical cut.
Yes, some of the leaves are falling off the trees already, even though nothing is turning, yet (and probably won't for another month or so). We had a lot of rain in the spring and early summer and not much lately. Apparently some of our trees are not enjoying that - most are vastly green and flourishing, though.
Let's see ... last time I wrote we were in Kansas visiting museums and family. We moved on from there to Lincoln, Nebraska to visit with my sister, Dodi, who is now living with her third child's family - my niece Stephanie, her husband Christian and my great-nephew Isaiah.
Lincoln is a pretty nice town, from what I can see. The local ecology is very, very flat prairie - wide skies, minimal trees (especially compared to here in Maryland), and grasslands galore. The city itself bustles. The University of Nebraska is there - I enjoy college towns for their varied population and rich environment, myself. Steph and Christian live on the side of town near the airport (Christian is an air traffic controller by profession, assigned to Lincoln) which is fairly newly built up and filled with mostly young families.
Isaiah is now in third? fourth? grade (my terrible memory!) - school started while we were there. He was very spiffy in his suit for the first day of class!
What did we do while we were there? The weather was incredibly hot - effective temps in the low 100s - every day so mostly we did indoor things like miniature golf:
The theme of the place was Jurassic Park. :)
I loved the theme and the group had a blast - even Kevin. :)
Steph and I went shopping at Ten Thousand Villages - a place I love to support. I bought a few gifts there but won't share them here until I have given them. :) Steph and her mother, my sister Doris, visited the International Quilt Museum one afternoon with great pleasure.
I enjoyed all the exhibits! Quilts from the Miami Valley of Ohio was a gallery filled with Baltimore album style works made by members of a single community from the western-most area of Ohio during the mid-1800s. It was fun to see repeated motifs (passed around among friends?) in the quilts:
The eagle motif (that particular design), the kitten, the house and several other patchwork patterns were seen in many if not almost all the quilts from this area/time. It amused me to see the 'jigsaw puzzle' setting used to construct the quilts, too. Charming! :)
There was an interesting display of native costumes from the northern India/Pakistan region - all hand made in miniature sizes - created by one determined seamstress:
This is only one display window of MANY in the exhibit. The handwork and materials used were exquisite. Apparently the court garments from this era were heavily influenced by Persian styles.
There was a multi-gallery exhibit of middle eastern applique and quilted wall hangings and rugs, most for use in tents, showing a long tradition of workmanship. Here are a few of the many photos I took:
This last photo is of a multi-layered door hanging.
I was very taken by the different styles of each layer.
There was a huge exhibit titled Layered and Stitch: 50 years of Innovative Art I was so pleased to recognize about three quarters of the works/artists there from my own experience and knowledge of quilt making recent history. :) Some of my favorites:
This piece by Jane Burch Cochran of Rabbit Patch, KY pleased
me no end. She's one of my favorite quilt artists.
This woman's art astonishes me! I've read about her work before but this is the first I've seen in person. All that white is artfully arranged cheesecloth!
Maria Schell is a 'modern' quilt maker whose work I admire.
Those patterned/striped are -sewn-, not commercially printed.
The central area of bright red/orange in this quilt is not fabric but embroidery
on counted thread (probably congress cloth from the appearance). Gorgeous!
I also had a chance to visit my favorite quilt shop in Lincoln with my niece while I was there:
Whenever I go to Lincoln I have to include a visit to this shop. Great collection of (mostly) modern fabrics - but including a careful selection of antique repros and gorgeous batiks. The owner is a sweet-tempered, friendly woman who never fails to chat. Well worth a stop!
On the whole, besides the joy of seeing family, Lincoln is a fun place to visit on any quilt maker's agenda.
:) Linda
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