Flashback Friday – Harvest 1992

I’m dreaming of a garden harvest for this year. Back in 1992 we built a “ziggurat-style” planter. We followed the directions in a Sunset garden book. It was simple – three wooden boxes stacked up with a trellis sticking out of the top. The old photo on the right (below) shows our construction. You can click on the picture to enlarge it.
We harvested lots of vegetables from this small planter in 1992. The old photo below is just one day’s haul, plus a pie made from blackberries picked from another spot in our yard.

We had better head for the lumber yard soon and get started on a new ziggurat for this year.

Big birthday month

Eat the View

I thought this was really clever. My husband hasn't started on our garden yet, but he talks about it a lot.

Spring and a blog award

Vicky Davis made these pretty cherry blossoms from fabric. They are so appropriate right now.

Blog awards confuse me sometimes. It is flattering to get an award of any kind. I received this Sisterhood Award a few days ago.

Tanya gave the award to me but she forgot to let me know.

The award seems to be for blogs you find warm and pleasant. I’ll post the rules here (below) in case you want to pass it on to deserving blogs on your list.

In the meantime, here are a few of the blogs I think show great Attitude and/or Gratitude


Front Porch Indiana

Life at Blackbear Cabin

Sophie Junction

The Quilter

Pieceful Afternoon

Based on a True Story

Getting Stitched on the Farm

Del Quilts

Taniwa

Cat in the Batt

The Sisterhood award rules are as follows:
1. Put the logo on your blog or post
2. Nominate at least 10 blogs which show great Attitude and/or Gratitude!
3. Be sure to link to your nominees within your post.
4. Let them know that they have received this award by commenting on their blog.
5. Share the love and link to the person from whom you received your award.

He started it

This is my grandson Spencer. He is 16 years old today. I have to credit all my quilting adventures to him. I made my first quilt to welcome his arrival in the world in 1993. To see the whole quilt click here.

Happy birthday Spencer and thanks for the inspiration.

Green day

The green fabric in my stash looks so tempting today.
Perhaps it is because it is St. Patrick’s Day, or perhaps because spring green is bursting out all over. The willow tree out my window is getting its new leaves.

Blackie the cat found a new place to nap in the sun today.

I’ll have to clean the ironing board before I can start work, but he looks so comfortable.

View from our landing

I went out on the front landing tonight and saw the San Joaquin Yacht Club barge’s lights through the trees.
It looked so pretty. The SJYC is headquartered in an old 1920s river boat called the Sutter. In the olden days she used to haul freight from San Francisco up to the Delta. Her working life ended in the 1950s after roads and trucks replaced the river runs. For some daylight pictures of the old Sutter and the refurbished yacht club click here.

We are not yacht club members but we get to enjoy a glimpse of the old barge, docked nearby, when the trees are bare.

Miscellanea

This picture hangs in my sewing room. It is called “Trees in Spain” by Madeline Thresh. I think she painted it in the 1960s. I loved it when I first saw it in her studio. She gave it to us and we had it hanging in the house for several years. One day she dropped by and took the painting back and “fixed” it. I didn’t like her changes, but she thought it looked better.

Elements in it might make an interesting quilt.

On the heart quilt project, I think I have found the solution. They tessellate almost the way I want them to. No "Y" seams either.

Copyright 2009 Christine Thresh

Flashback Friday -- Still watching over me

Raggedy Ann, Andy, and Beloved Belinda have been watching over me almost all my life.

Of all the dolls I’ve had, these three have stayed with me all these years. They were made for me by a woman in Syracuse, New York. I always called Beloved “Belinda” even though her book name was Belindy. I don’t know why I insisted on this.

Kyra Hicks had a most interesting post about dolls today on her blog, Black Threads. It inspired me to reminisce about my personal doll family.

My mother had a small doll which she passed down to me. The poor little thing is worse for wear and must have been loved dearly by my mother. Her dress is sewn on to her so I can’t get it off to give it a wash.

The Raggedy family dolls have had their clothes washed many times and that’s why they are faded. I’ve lost Belinda’s apron and her headscarf. I should make her new ones someday when I have nothing else to do.

Out the window

I give up. I’m throwing these out the window.

Putting these hearts together was just too hard. If I can’t do it easily, then I can’t create a pattern that would sell. The idea was good. Now, I’m back to the drawing board (QuiltPro) to come up with something that will work.

Copyright Christine Thresh 2009

An old friend sent me these flowers today (by e-mail). Aren’t they pretty?

The caption read,
“There comes a point in your life when you realize:
Who matters,
Who never did,
Who won't anymore...
And who always will..
So, don't worry about people from your past,
There's a reason why they didn't make it to your future..
Give these flowers to everyone you don't want to lose in 2009,
Including me, if you so choose.”

Special place

California is getting soaked with rain this week, but not right here.

We’ve got blue sky overhead. It’s raining all around us – the Bay Area, up in Sacramento, the Sierra (snow). California needs rain and is welcoming this storm.
The governor just declared a drought emergency because we’ve had three years of low rainfall. It has been so strange here. We’ve had sprinkles, but no heavy downpours on the island. We are living in a special patch of sunshine.