Red Admiral Visitors

Red Admiral Butterfly

Earlier today, when I was outdoors doing my day job, I saw hundreds, maybe thousands of a very quick and pretty butterfly. I was intrigued, but went on about my day. I was wishing I could carry my good camera with me at work, but that would not be practical, or wise.

So this afternoon, as I was out working in my back yard, weeding and trimming and such, I saw more of these butterflies. Wow. I ran inside to get my camera, and managed to capture a few good shots.  They seemed to like the wooden retaining walls we have, probably resting in the sun before continuing on their crazy flight. Isn't it pretty?

A quick search on the www revealed that they are Red Admirals, latin name Vanessa Atalanta, common to much of North America.  It seems they overwinter in Texas, and migrate north in the spring. Here's how I see it. I think they are very early, maybe 3 or 4 weeks, largely because of the warm winter we've had. But I also think the huge stormy weather the US has had this weekend might have played a part. The butterflies may have been migrating faster towards better weather, because they would instinctively know that surviving a tornado wouldn't be possible. Do you think that's a reasonable assumption?

In any case, they were a real treat to see, and an even bigger treat to capture with my camera.  You may be wondering what all this has to do with quilting and quilt blogging. I'll explain that. I have a keen interest in nature and photography, and I'm usually snapping photos all over the place.  Also, it is my intention to use my nature photos as inspiration for my quilting. . . . someday.  Lately, my energy has been elsewhere. Re-negotiating my mortgage, a mean and nasty cold that won't let go, and a new more difficult job at work have all conspired to keep me from much quilting. But I can't go for very long and my quilt/blood levels get low, so I'll be back at it soon.

After a bit of a lull, there are three quilt shows in Southern Ontario this weekend coming up, with many more coming after that. So I'll be blogging about all that. And I have a trip to Halifax for Quilt Canada at the end of May coming up, too, so I'll have my fill of quilting.

First Frost

All those wonderful oak and maple trees here in Southern Ontario produce famously beautiful fall colours, followed closely by the big rake-up. You know those big paper bags for garden trimmings? People talk in terms of how many they fill for their leaves! One neighbour filled 18, and is still raking! Having grown up on the prairies, this is still a novelty to me, even after 25 years in Ontario.

I have learned the leaves make an excellent mulch on the garden beds, so I trim all the hostas and other perennials, then rake all the leaves overtop. In the spring, all the plants come up through the leaves, and the leaves decompose nicely underneath.

Anyway, we had our first frost Sunday night, though the leaves have been falling for a couple of weeks now. This is late for a first frost. But what it means is some last minute cleanup in the garden. It's usually all wrapped up by Thanksgiving, but this year's late frost has kept things going a bit longer.

So a few days of garden work, and only a few minutes here and there for quilting.

If All Else Fails. . .

My faithful, trusty 30 year old Pfaff is out of commission. Unbelievable! I feel pretty lost when I can't access my sewing machine. I have backup machines, but they just aren't as good as my Pfaff. One of my friends at work was no longer using their machine, so she gave it to me. Just gave it to me, because she thought I'd use it more. What a treat. It's better than my other backup one, so I'm using it for a couple of weeks. One of these days, I'll have to buy a new one.

We've also had a sick kitty cat here, so we've been looking after her, poor girl. She's made another comeback, so she's good for another while. On top of that, a traffic ticket, and a few appliances have broken down recently. We're wondering where we picked up this bad karma. And wondering how we can turn this around into better luck. All somewhat discouraging.

So I thought the best thing to do under the circumstances is to start a new quilt! One aspect of my stash collecting has been a tiny black print on white background. Mostly white, with only a little black, so it still reads about 95% towards white. I'll cut these into blocks, and then applique bright coloured flowers on top. Maybe add some green leaves, maybe a vine and leaf border. This should keep me busy at least until my machine gets repaired, or perhaps for the next couple of summers. I like to sit outside summer evenings and do some handsewing, but so far this summer, I haven't had a project to work on. This one might get me going in the right direction.

Quilt Festival in St. Jacobs

I spent Saturday at the Waterloo County and Area Quilt Festival. The only venues left for me were in St. Jacobs, where I love going anyway. And what a treat. I saw so many wonderful quilts.

Featured within a grouping of local quilters was a fabulous display of very well made and beautiful quilts by Dorothy Sittler of Elmira. Inspiring and creative quilted vests and jackets by Sandra Thomas were also featured. Helen Hughes of Guelph was in attendance with a good selection of her fibre art quilts.

And of course, I had to visit Reichard's quilt store right in St. Jacobs, and the merchant mall. I picked up a few, ok a lot, of fat quarters, books, and coloured bits of trims to use in my photo landscape quilts.

A big push in the garden on the weekend has done wonders for the garden and little for my sewing. The garden is pretty well all taken care of at the moment, so I'll be able to resume sewing. The list is getting longer, though. I bought a few summer clothes that need alterations. And after seeing Sandra Thomas's work, I am inspired to make some quilt vests for myself. How does that happen?!

The Tax Man Cometh

So I haven't been quilting much recently, because my whole being is preoccupied with getting my taxes done. This is a very big deal with me, and involves much sorting and recording of bits of paper spread here and there about the house. There is much catching up to do in this regard!
After several intense sessions, I'm happy to say I've made significant progress. I'm motivated to get it done mostly by my desire to have it off my plate so I can get to some serious quilting.