Things bike; Things Italia

And now the driveway is done...

Perhaps boring but quite exciting for us.

It took more than two weeks to complete. I was able to avoid most of the noise and the dust because I was in OHIO.


It is a wonderful, smooth ride up the hill.

Definitely worth it!

Emily Richardson at EBHQ

This is a WIP from cloth I painted in a workshop with Emily Richardson. She was the speaker for our June meeting at my guild, East Bay Heritage Quilters . The picture looks a little wonky. I got a new camera that I am trying to figure out. This is one of the first pictures. More soon if I ever figure it out.

I was first attracted to the layers of color in Richardson's work. I experience an exquisite ethereality in many of her pieces. We saw her work, Until the Day, last week in Athens, Ohio at Quilt National. It was so exciting that she was scheduled to speak and teach this week for our guild. Doing the EBHQ workshop afforded the opportunity for close inspection of her work. I was enchanted by the lines she creates both in her applique technique and her quilting line.

My friend Chris at Reap As You Sew posted some great pictures of cloth she made during a class. She also briefly describes the materials we used.

Planned Destruction

We share a long driveway with a neighbor. This is the view from our house looking down after we started the demolition in preparation for new paving.

Here's the pile of paving from the section from our house to the neighbor's house.

Troy gets to have all of the concrete in front of his garage.

And on his auxiliary parking pad. I hope the apple trees survive.

It was pretty noisey and exciting. We have our cars parked on the street as we will not be able to drive up or down for the duration.

It will take at least a week. Harrison is very excited (he's in grade 4). He was climbing all over the piles with his brother and his followers after the workers left.

Weird weather

We've been having unusual weather. It has been cool, cloudy, and rain has been predicted off and on. We've actually had some sprinkles--not enough to do any good but enough to get me to dash out to retrieve equipment that had been left out. We seldom get precipitation from May through September.

It seems as if it has been unseasonably cool. Since the beginning of June, we have recorded only 2 highs in the 70s (71 and 73). On several days it never got over 64. Our lows have consistently been in the mid-50s. The lettuce is doing fine. The tomatoes are growing.

I'm posting these pictures from April and May to remind myself that the garden went from an abundance of bloom to scraps. I need to work on that. A garden friend would always remark that Mother Nature makes the spring garden and we have to do the work for the rest of the year. I need to visit gardens after the spring flush. I need dahlias, sunflowers, and more lilies. I guess have been focusing on food crops of late.


What do you love that is in bloom in your garden now?

Oh, and we went to the beach

Rick really isn't that into sweet peas so he packed his bike for our Sebastopol trip. He biked down to Bodega Bay where I picked him up after I recovered from smelling the flowers.


It was a perfect day on the Sonoma coast--one beautiful beach after another.



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Sweet Peas

For several years I have wanted to visit the Enchanting Sweet Peas Open House. I have grown sweet peas off and on for twenty years and my love affair with their fragrance hasn't abated.




This event is a one day affair in Sebastopol, CA and in my imagination I would wander endlessly, intoxicated by both the scent and the sights. In fact, the garden is a small lot where Glenys Johnson shows plants grown from her seed. If you get there early you can buy seed only available there. You can see varieties that she is trialing, for which she might offer seed in the future. You might win a bouquet of freshly picked stems. You can also order seed to be shipped to you in the fall, but you can always do that on her website.




This year I went, I saw, I smelled, I ordered, and I took some pictures. I have no IDs for these pictures (although it looks like this one is Jayne Amanda) but I probably bought seed for some of them so my fantasies persist. Who knows, I might have some flowers of my own this time next year.

Here is what I bought:
Anniversary - rose-edged on pale pink
April in Paris - cream-edged with lilac
Blue Ripple - white with blue flecks
Oban Bay - silvery blue
Charlie's Angel - periwinkle blue
Percy Thrower - lilac flush on white
Sylvia Mary - sunset pink

My plan for the 2010 growing season: Soak overnight when seed arrives in October. Seeds should swell. Those that don't swell should be chipped. Plant in individual cells. Grow outdoors in flats, in a protected area that gets good light. Transplant about 5 weeks later. I have had wonderful results in the past growing the Knee-Hi's, sowing them directly. These Spencer hybrids grow tall and want something sturdy to grow on. I have a year to figure that out!

Here are my notes of what I liked on my walk-through: Albutt Blue, Blue Danube, Jayne Amanda, Anniversary, Blue Ripple, Oban Bay, Comet, Noel Sutton, Percy Thrower, Lilac Ripple, Gwendolyn, Southbourne, and April in Paris.

Sunday Pizza

I'm actually starting to make round pizzas! This is our all allium, all the time: green garlic, young leeks, and spring onions (plus some mushrooms, mozzarella fresca, tomato sauce, and fresh oregano).

Blogging, Clementine 1, and Birkat HaChama

Clementine 1

I have been avoiding reading the quiltart posts about whether or not blogging is still personally compelling. I have been questioning what to do with my blog. I initially started it in January 2005 because I couldn't figure out any other way to post comments on other blogs. Am I having fun? I love being able to look back and find recipes or planting dates but my inconsistency is frustrating.

I had thought that the blog would be a kind of journal for my interests but I struggle with writing. I struggle with all kinds of self-expression. I am posting this photo because there has been so little quilt content of late. This is a scan of a piece that is about 10" x 10".

Even so, this piece has been finished for months. I showed it at the G6 in January, I think. This was back when I had a temporary mania for needle felting but couldn't rationalize buying another machine.

I sketched out a series of additional clementine pieces and got stalled, again. The blog doesn't just write itself, nor does the work get done just wishing it would.

I missed the sunrise today because it was raining--wonderful rain that is soaking the soil. I am not Jewish but I am blessing the sun today and celebrating Birkat HaChama. According to the Talmud, today marks the completion of the 28 year solar cycle. Who will be around for 28 years from now on April 8 for the next Birkat HaChama? I am also celebrating spring and marking the Passover by making Rose Levy Beranbaum's Mediterranean matzoh (not exactly kosher with olive oil and rosemary) but delicious somewhat of a ritual.