The Bees' Secret

Today was the deadline for entering our local quilt show. I only remembered this late in the afternoon, and as a result I had to scurry around to get photos of the quilts I wanted to enter and fill out the form so I could deliver them to one of the sponsoring guild's meetings tonight. Last year I managed to miss the deadline entirely, distracted as I was by a massive work thing...so I was determined to put a few things in it this year.

Which brings me to this quilt, which I've not shown here before. It's one of the ones I'm entering, so it's a new photo. Last year, our guild's challenge was to make a quilt inspired by or illustrating a book. I'd just read "The Secret Life of Bees" by Sue Monk Kidd... a truly wonderful, thought-provoking, and charming book. I did this with a freezer paper applique type method and rubber stamped the bees...it was a fun project that stretched me as I'd not done anything like it before. I love the irregular shape of it.

I had a marvelous time today, working all day planting new plants in the front yard. I added two plants which will hopefully grow up and hide an expanse of fence: a lilac hibiscus that has the most mesmerizing, spiral-unfolding flowers...and a bright pink climbing rose bush called "social climber." And I planted a tiny, red-leafed japanese maple at the corner of the house... I love japanese maples, and they're SO expensive. This was the largest one I could justify buying, so it's pretty small...but still elegant. Our soil is clay, studded with rocks and nails and concrete bits from the not-so-tidy construction crew when they built the house, so digging is downright nasty. I can't even tell you how many trowels I've bent. But I'm persevering and our formerly bare, new, blank yard is starting to look almost lush with flowers and shrubs.