more on flowers

Yesterday afternoon was bright and sunny, so I thought I'd snap a photo of the narcissus currently blooming in our yard. These are the first bright colors to pop up in winter. Pansies are the other source of color that see us through December and January.

I showed you "Queen of the Garden," a quilt immortalizing my spring favorite, the iris. That particular quilt, although loved by me, was not loved by quilt judges. It received numerous comments, some of which included "border does not relate to quilt," (I thought it did, they both remind me of stained glass), and "main design element gets lost in the background," (that was kind of the point: real iris blooms seem to float above the garden).

Those comments haunted me. I loved the quilt, yet obviously it was either lacking something or could have been improved. The quilt looks just like my garden, but others don't appreciate it the way I do. So I tried it again. This time, I replaced the iris with daffodils and tulips. I made the same background, only this time, I extended the Hunter Star design into the border.

The judges were right. Changing the border improved the quilt. This quilt is smaller, and is hand-quilted. If you are visiting Road to California this week, you might catch a glimpse of it.

"Sentries in the Garden"

2007

It took almost 6 years for me to absorb the judges' comments, rethink the design, make the top and quilt it, but it has been worth the wait. This quilt debuted at the 2007 Pennsylvania National Quilt Extravaganza in September, and this time the judges' comments made me smile. :) I am curious to read what the Road to CA judges have to say about it...I'll find out on Sunday.