Sunday, April 26, 2009

Back to the Mother Ship

My friend Joanne M. was down for the weekend. She's got a store in Huntsville called Gone Quilting and had set up a booth at the marvelous quilt show at the Royal Botanical Gardens. My sister-in-law Joanne P. and I decided to check it out. Couldn't believe it, but on Saturday there was a line-up (that moved quickly) to get in. An estimated 2400 quilt enthusiasts and gawkers made it through to see the exhibits, visit the vendors, and listen to speakers. If you're reading this today and are in the area - for just $6.00 or ($3.00 if you're a member of the RBG) - you can enjoy the talent of these wonderful quilters and meet some very pleasant folks as well.

This quilt is by Govri Hansen & Kirsten Johnston - a Jinny Beyer Kit.

A wall hanging by Ellen Collington.


Having done just a little bit of quilting - I can barely fathom the amount of work put into these works of art.I love the red & white quilts.

What fun!The only good squirrel is one that has been fastened in place on a piece of bedding.

Looking at all these dear little bugs and butterflies - made me anxious to go outside and check out the gardens.So to get away from the crowds at the main centre we went over to the rock garden for lunch and had a nice sandwich on the terrace overlooking the garden. It was 25C (77F) - a gift from the heavens. Every person who was able - and those who needed help we're being wheeled about - all of us trying to collect as many thermal units as we could. Knowing full well that cooler weather was on the way.

As you can see, the rock garden is still days away from being really colourful - and of course the water features need to be filled - but it was a great way to spend an afternoon.

One of my favourite trees - looks like he's being held together to maintain the feature around the pond. Is this not the perfect comb-over plant?Fosteriana Tulips - Easter Parade - very early - very cheerful.

Corylopsis veitchiana - don't see this in the trade - but very sweet little yellow flowers.

A very pretty Viburnum that I'll have to go back to check what it is.

And so it was back home for us - just before the storm and weather change. Ah well, it was nice while it lasted - and even nicer to know that there's lots more of that weather to come in the not too distant future.

6 comments:

Gail said...

Hi Barbara...The quilts are incredibly impressive! I love the butterflies and grasshopper! So right about the only good squirrel...!! I love the comb over grass! A lovely day...Wouldn't it be perfect if rain fell at night...so we could garden during the day! gail

Cathy S. said...

The quilts are gorgeous, and the tulips are pretty too. Looks like a
lot of fun.

Victoria Williams said...

Beautiful quilts. I can't imagine how much time they must take!

Barbarapc said...

Gail - Aren't they wonderful - and all those wee bugs were applique. Today is a splendid day - headed to almost 80F. If you find that secret to having it rain just at night - be sure to share!
Cathy - We really did have a great time & so fantastic to see so many people back at the gardens - everyone is looking for something to do with their family that doesn't cost anything. And, at the moment the gardens are all free.
Kim & Victoria - it must be an absolute labour of love. Interesting to see that many people will just do the piecing and then pass their quilt along to a professional to do the actual quilting - often by machine.

Jim/ArtofGardening said...

Funny you should do a post on quilts just now. I met my first professional quilter just a week and a half ago while on vacation. She's a friend of my wife's and another international flight attendant that lives in Alexandria Virgina. Her quilts have been exhibited and photographed for books (including one cover). Although I was familiar with quilts as art, my experience was with quilts as folk art. I had no idea it was a thriving artistic industry.

Gardenista said...

What a nice combination - quilts and botanical gardens. The Fosteriana tulips truly are cheerful. I'm glad you get to see some colors of spring where you are. I wish I could have gone to that show!