Another Finish

I have been finishing quilt tops at an unprecedented rate during these days of social distancing! Here's the latest. I originally prepared all the blocks to take with me on a trip to the northeast in early April. Of course that trip was cancelled, so I just stitched it together on my machine. And now it is in my stack of tops to be quilted when I once again have access to a long arm machine.

I've also been spending a lot of time outdoors, enjoying springtime's bounty of wildflowers in central Texas. Most of the year this cholla cactus is notable only for its spines, but when it blooms it puts on quite a show.

Once the bluebonnets have faded, the most prolific flowers are Indian blankets, also known as fire wheels.

They can turn an entire field into a sea of bright orange.

There are also many flowers which you have to look harder to find, such as this little cactus,

and this American basket flower.

I hope everyone is healthy and able to get outdoors to enjoy the springtime.

The Really Colorful Side of Copenhagen

Several months ago my post about Copenhagen focused on the traditional side of the city, covering churches, museums and parks. Today I'll share with you the less traditional but even more colorful part of Copenhagen, Freetown Christiana.

Stretched out along a set of 17th century ramparts on the eastern side of Copenhagen, Christiana was established as a commune in 1971 when squatters took over abandoned military barracks. It is now home to about 1000 people, and judging by the crowds, one of Copenhagen's greatest tourist attractions.

It operates by its own rules,

and actively discourages use of hard drugs.

It was formerly well known for marijuana dealers along Pusher Street, but they have since moved away or indoors.

These days visitors to Pusher Street are more likely to be in search of coffee and a snack or shopping for souvenirs such as t-shirts and hand-crafted jewelry.

It is still a freewheeling place, filled with exuberant and colorful artwork.

It seems that any surface is fair game to be embellished in some way.

And lots of things have been creatively repurposed, such as these boots turned planters.

Ingenuity extends to homes, many of which are clearly do-it-yourselfers.

No wonder that the largest store specializes in lumber and building materials!

I was left wondering what the insides of the old barracks look like and what sorts of safety upgrades have been installed.

As I mentioned in my first post about Copenhagen, I named my most recent quilt "Sunny Days in Copenhagen" because it's bright colors remind me of the sunny and color-filled days I spent in that city. Here it is, finally quilted and bound. Not quite as free-spirited as Christiana, but certainly just as colorful.

I quilted it on my long arm machine, using computer guided quilting for the motifs on the white sections and a ruler for the nine patches.

It is a seven and a half feet square, so fits nicely on a queen size bed.

Villahermosa, Mexico: Olmec Carvings, Cute Critters and Candy Colors

Tagging along on a trip to a petroleum engineering conference that my husband attended last week brought me to Villahermosa, Mexico. With something over half a million residents, Villahermosa is the largest city in the state of Tabasco, as well as its capital and hub of regional oil and gas activity.

We visited the Parque Museo La Venta, an open air museum displaying dozens of ancient Olmec carvings dating from 700 to 400 BC that were moved from their original site in the 1950s to make way for an oil refinery.

According to Wikipedia, the Olmecs were the first people in the Americas to settle in towns and cities, the first to build monumental architecture, and the first to develop a sophisticated style of stone sculpture. Carved from a single block of basalt, this triumphal altar is typical in depicting a person emerging from a cave at the base.

The Olmecs made good use of basalt's natural forms, as in this tomb constructed from basalt columns.

Similarly, they carved colossal heads from round basalt boulders.

In addition to these carvings, the museum has a small zoo with regional wildlife specimens, including spider monkeys,

jaguars, which are stunningly beautiful, though sad to see in cages,

and crocodiles.

Even better than the caged animals, were the couple dozen coatis we found amid Olmec carvings. Coatis, or coatimundis, are related to raccoons are are about as bold as raccoons. They weren't bothered in the least by us getting close enough to take photos. 

In the space of fifteen minutes we saw a whole range of behaviors, from playing and fighting 

to sleeping 

and grooming.

We walked around the central part of Villahermosa for a good part of the day, simply enjoying the colonial era architecture in the historical district,

and the appealing candy colored scenes to be found on nearly every street.

The local history museum is notable for its vibrant blue tile exterior.

Maybe I found the blue so appealing because I happen to be currently working on two different blue quilts. During this trip I stitched together a big stack of four patch blocks using blues from my scrap bin. It's going to be a pretty simple quilt so I hope to finish it shortly.

And now that I've been home for a few days I've had a chance to finish quilting another piece so visit again soon to see a completed quilt!

A Happy Quilt and a Happy New Year in Jackson Hole

We had a terrific family get together for New Year's, with my sister and her family joining my crew in Jackson Hole. We were blessed with brilliant days, perfect for enjoying winter sports, taking in amazing views, and spotting wildlife.

On an absolutely freezing afternoon we drove up to Colter Bay to ski along the Hermitage Point trail.

Note Eva's Nordic style sweater, the one she knit over last year's Christmas break.

Apparently the cold was too much for most skiers -- we had the place and all the spectacular views to ourselves.

Mount Moran

Wildlife spotting was especially easy this year. With relatively sparse snow cover in the valley, part of the elk herd hung around open fields and neighborhoods instead of going into the National Elk Refuge as usual. On several consecutive mornings we awoke to find hundreds of elk surrounding the house. 

It was fun to watch the youngsters scampering and kicking up their heels.

I finished this quilt just in time to present to my sister for the home she recently moved into.

With its bright colors and happy prints it was great fun to work on. I custom quilted it on my long arm machine with a bold flower design that is appropriate for my sister's 1960s-era home.

Wishing everyone all the best in 2018, whether you are snuggling under a quilt at home or kicking up your heels somewhere around the globe!