Back from Hibernation

Oh, it's been a long winter. In my last post (four months ago! sorry readers), there was a photo of the house across the street with three small pear trees between us just as we were getting our first snow.

Here it was during one of the big snows this winter. The house is behind the big pine tree on the left.

Here it is now: the big pine tree fell over in a storm and now I can see the houses's front door.

Luckily for us, other than a lot of snow, we didn't lose any trees, although my arbor vitae hedge was damaged and is being replaced, but that's a story for another time.

The snow confused the dog, although it doesn't take much to do that.

 

The cat was happy to be inside, although she is as scary as ever.

As part of welcoming spring, last week I went with my friend Rayna Gillman to the Morris Museum to see Art Quilts: Contemporary Expressions from the Collection of John M. Walsh III.
 

At the train station, we met up with Benedict Caneill, Shirley Levine, Melanie Testa, and Patricia Gaignat (l to r) and they all managed to fit in the back of Rayna's car.
 

As we walked through the exhibit, we saw some old friends and made some new ones. And then we heard what sounded like a group tour. It turned out to be Jack Walsh giving a private talk to a cousin and some friends. After greeting us warmly, we joined his group and were delighted to hear his "stories behind the quilts". Rayna and I had seen some of the quilts several years ago at his house, but hadn't heard all the stories. And there are several new additions which are as fabulous as his previously collected pieces. Plus, by being near the close of the exhibit, we were able to see a couple quilts that hadn't arrived before the opening.

 

On the way out--continuing to dodge large crowds of boisterous school children--we stopped in the gift shop. I wanted to check out the display of Fiber Revolution's Art Concentrated pieces. Here they are: mine is on the left, second shelf from the top. You really can't see much, but it was a nice display.

After the exhibit, the six of us had a delicious lunch at an Indian restaurant. Yum, but no pictures.

So that's a quick snapshot of the last four months. I want to thank all of you who have continued to check this blog for updated postings. I promise to post more often in the future. And if you want to read more of my writing before the next post (you gluttons for punishment), check out the April/May issue of Fiberarts. My article "History in the Making" is about the wonderfully creative work of Diane Savona that is on exhibit at the Hermitage Museum in Ho-Ho-Kus, New Jersey.

Thanks for reading,

Rachel