Flowers & Inspiration

As I mentioned in my last post the fair the dahlia exhibit was exquisite.  Seeing the shape of the petals I see how dahlia medallion quilt shapes came to be and why they are so much fun to piece and quilt.  It’s easy to see why quilters are inspired by dahlias.  This would be great pieced using a single color ombre for effect

After the fair we went to Red Hook to find The Village Fabric Shoppe.  Diana Louie is delightful, if you’re ever in the area stop in and say hi and get a little fabric or art quilt supplies. The shop is one of the most eclectic I’ve ever been in with a wide variety of fabric styles, thread and art quilt supplies.  In a back room she has vintage/antique quilt bits and pieces.  She’s also working on a red work pattern for the town of Red Hook historic sites based on a quilt she and a number of other folks worked on for a special celebration of the town.  I brought home Quilters Dream wool batting and Derwent Inktense Pencils.  I see a little play in October or November after things settle down a bit.

My sweetie and I then went on one of our rides with no destination in mind and we ended up in Hudson NY.  Our first stop on the way was at a farm stand in Red Hook – corn, apples and grape tomatoes came home with use.  The apples, Pink Pearl, are the best apples I’ve eaten in a very long time and we will be going back for more!

Hudston is just beautiful with a “red light district” past.  The town is going through a renaissance and keeping their old homes.  Taking a small detour to a historic sight, this light house just off the shore of Hudson.

And here is the beginning of the yesterdays sunset.  This time of day is always so inspiring the colors of the sky, the texture of the clouds, each one different and unique and infinitely different depending on where in the world the sun sets.

As we started heading home I stopped to take a couple of photos.  I love wrought iron and this captured my attention.  I am in awe of the craftsmanship and designs.  This same railing was on two houses, the first has plants on the stoop.  My sweetie insisted on getting both so I would be able to see the wrought iron clearly.  I have something in mind with this shot and will be stitching it out as soon as time permits.

A few blocks away we happened upon a couple of shops that have incredible window display.  The interlocked shapes of the wood remind me of shapes that we quilters can use while we’re quilting.  By overlapping shapes and/or color we can create some dynamic interest on the surface of our quilts.

Something along this line would be a great way to fill the back ground space on a busy quilt.  Superiors MonoPoly would a great way to add this kind of texture and detail to the negative (background) space on a quilt.

Happy Quilting!

Teri