The Joy of Gardening

...all of the berries are ripening at the same time...

or so it seems.

two rows of bramble - about thirty feet of berries

and that's not counting the strawberries

so I had this idea for some 'breakfast pies' of mixed berries wrapped in pie crust

to the garden I went

but look what I found!!!

spring.

gardening will bring you many pleasures

and lots of inspiration for your quilting

I'm thinking eggs, chickens, little birdies

happiest days

beginagain

2010

natalie

Spring.

There is something to be said for Spring.

It is that 'out of nothing, out of the hard barren land, from weathered woods

comes sheer beauty'.

As quilters, I think we do the same.

Out of nothing.

Comes creativity. Inspiration.  Friendship.  Giving.

Love.

Do your part to 'spread the spring'.

BeginAgain

2010

natalie.

color and design...

Spring.

or

Snow?

BeginAgain

2010

natalie.

California Spring

It really is spring in California.

Buddy and I took our first camp trip this weekend, and if you follow beyondthereef on facebook as a fan, you'll realize it was his very first camp trip.

When you live "in the city", getting out into the hills is a real treat.  

For just a few hours of driving, you are rewarded with a whole new set of flowers, scrub, birds, and people.  It's really a treat.  I would suggest being a tourist in your own state, if you have a chance.

For Buddy, it meant a tent, eating in the tent, watching prairie dogs and birds and squirrels and all sorts of things he could never ever catch.

For me, it is a whole new file of flowers and blooms to applique.

And while they may not be tropical, or Hawaiian, the shapes and the structure will lend themselves beautifully to that Hawaiian fabric.

Finally.

I thot you'd like to see some of Buddy's camping pics.

And last but not least, I hope you can see it...

Buddy and a Prairie Dog

(I think.  Or maybe a really small gopher?  Look just 'lower of center' and above the clump of dirt to the right of Buddy's right elbow)

Good dog, Buddy.

BeginAgain.

2010

Looking in; Looking out (a new perspective)

...did you notice? it's starting to 'spring'...We all spend so much time looking in.
Wondering. Thinking. Figuring.
Hoping.

We all spend so much time trying to better ourselves.
Trying to figure it all out and get it right.

Be right.
Be better.

Looking inward.
Looking in.
Looking.
In my living room, I have four lounge chairs around a large round low table.
All around the table - looking in.

The other day, it was so nice out,
and I noticed the sun was streaming through the wall of windows in the living room...
I grabbed the chair closest to the window wall and I turned the whole dang thing around.
There it was - - one chair out of the whole group - - facing out...looking out.
I sat down, put my feet up on the windowsill, and drank in the view.
...a whole new view.
...a whole new perspective.
...not from looking in, but by looking OUT.

I say we all start the next day by NOT looking inward, by NOT concentrating on ourselves.
But by looking out.
If you're working on a project right now, turn it upside down.
If you're on the road, take a highway that will get you there but that isn't your regular path.
(Jill - "always go a different way")
If you're always in the garden, come into the house.
If you're always in the house, go for a walk.
If you always applique, rotary cut a bunch of squares and spend an afternoon piecing a quilt top for charity.
If you have been spending all of your time and energy on yourself, or trying to discover something about yourself, stop.
Turn your chair around.



thanks for thinking of
b e y o n d t h e r e e f

natalie.

sparkle & shine
2009

www.beyondthereefpatterns.com