Peaceful stroll through Bloedel Reserve

"Nature can live without man,

but man cannot live without nature." 

     -- Prentice Bloedel

Earlier this week I spent a relaxing three hours strolling with some friends through the gardens of Bloedel Reserve on Bainbridge Island. There were no crowds, the weather was perfect and spring was in full bloom!

Dwarfed by rhododendrens!

The reserve, a former home of Prentice and Virginia Bloedel, is full of peaceful settings and special spots -- moss covered benches, a magical birch grove, a Japanese garden, beautifully sculpted masses of flowers.

The Bloedel home is now open for tours and events.

Prentice Bloedel was colorblind, so he was more interested in different textures and shades than he was in colorful flowers. He also didn't use signs or labels on the plants because he found them distracting.

The bright pink candelabra primroses, below, were one of Virginia Bloedel's favorite flowers.
 

As we sauntered along the soft fir bark paths, our eyes feasted on delicate spring blooms and lovely vistas. It was nice not to be distracted with reading material from signage, but luckily my companions knew the names of most of the plants and filled me in. Of course, I don't remember most of them so you won't be reading about them here.
 

My camera battery died before we reached the Japanese garden and moss garden, so I'll have to go back. Darn! Hope you enjoyed this little peek into a beautiful day.

Have a colorful day

Port Townsend to Whidbey Island to Bellingham

I took the ferry from Port Townsend to Whidbey Island over the weekend on my way to visit the daughter in Bellingham. Clouds and sun battled all day, with rain winning out toward the end of the trip. These first few photos are from the Port Townsend ferry dock and on the boat.

This next photo shows Whidbey Island from the ferry.

Next photos show the view from the Knead and Feed bakery (where "Practical Magic" was filmed) in Coupeville on Whidbey ...

  and this building down the street in Coupeville.

Finally, a new bunny in Bellingham! I went with my daughter to take her bunny, Bailey, on a "bunny date" and we came back with this very sweet friend for her. We hope they fall in love.

Have a colorful day

Happy Early Earth Day

The other morning I awoke to a world shrouded in fog, so I went back to bed for a bit. When I got up again a great performance of sunbeams and dancing mists was underway.

 
The fog had lifted enough to see this boat, but the island across the water was still obscured.

Within minutes, the fog began to glide away and the island trees were quickly revealed.

 
The sun burned off the gray and turned the watery world behind our house blue again.

Soon everything sparkled in a fresh, new day.

 

Happy Earth Day!

Have a colorful day

Sew Day color

Today's Sew Day started with a sunny breakfast on Linda P.'s back deck ... delicious eggs, fruit and cinnamon rolls. Yum. The weather was glorious!

After breakfast, we shared show and tell, always one of my favorite parts of the day. Nancy showed these cute wool appliques.

Linda J. showed a very colorful quilt that she made from a Karla Alexander pattern ...

... and some project bags.

Then it was down to working and talking.

 

Linda P. made bright hexies:

Linda J. pieced a scrappy quilt top:

Nancy embroidered a winter scene:

I can't publish Carolynn's gorgeous wool applique because it's from a block of the month and photos on blogs are prohibited by the teacher. I sewed down the binding on my wonky log cabin, but I didn't get a photo.

This last photo is the fabric we exchanged for this year's challenge blocks. We gave fat quarters to each other and we'll use them to make 8-inch blocks to return to the person who gave us the fabric later this year. 

Have a colorful day

Wonky cabins and birds

I quilted the latest wonky log cabins today, in long sweeping lines like the wind using gold thread.
 

 
I still have to do the binding, but I took a break to work on the birds. I'm adding more embellishment to all 30 of them and saving the eyes for last.

To see what other fiber artists have been up to this week, hop over to Nina Marie's Off the Wall Friday at http://ninamariesayre.blogspot.com/2016/04/conneaut-quilt-exhibit-off-wall-friday.html

Speaking of hopping, over the weekend my daughter brought my furry grandchild Bailey to visit. She's so adorable and cuddly. I miss her already, and they just left last night.

Have a colorful day

Home to a softer palette

I've finally unpacked, grocery shopped and settled back in at home in the Pacific Northwest, world of water and mountains. That's mighty Mt. Rainier looming on the horizon, about 40 miles away.

The colors are so different here than in Sedona. Here we have pale blues, greens, whites and grey ... a softer palette.

I walked along the rocky beach this morning and photographed water scenes. A Great Blue Heron, seagulls, ducks, boats. A Bald Eagle landed in a tree above me, but I was too slow to get a picture.

Even the flowers are in softer hues.

 

 A stack of faded chairs waited for visitors.

Have a colorful day