Creative Life Sampler

If you're not into gardens, or there's just so much sun you can tolerate, there are plenty of indoor galleries to visit at our destination spot. After all we're talking about The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens. ( https://huntington.org/ ) The gallery exhibits cover a wide range of art movements, styles, and periods. (In fact this would be a great place to study millinery designs for women's hats. LOL)  This vast collection is not exclusively one of painting.  Many art forms and disciplines are represented. And it's really interesting to have divergent styles to compare and contrast in one visit. We happily stumbled on the American Art Galleries. Walking into this room felt like coming home, with it's nod to American quilts and textiles.   This yarn sewn rug attributed to Hannah Rosina Maynard Phillips stood out to me. Loved the rich colors and the intricate floral design.  Contrast Hannah's piece with this one by artist Cai Guo-Qiang a...

  There is so much to visually take in when you're surrounded by the natural beauty at The Huntington! Whether you soak in the vibrant colors and incredible textures of the many floral species, . . .  Or you pull back to absorb the magnificent collective textures created in the various themed gardens like the bamboo forest: or the cactus garden: There are also subtle color palettes created in garden displays that include a variety of plants: And then there are the man made textures that are thoughtfully scattered throughout the gardens: Plenty of inspiration for, say, quilt textures, and color choices; even shapes and design elements to borrow for future projects.

I suppose everybody has a list of places or activities they would like to see or do "some time," in the future. The Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens was on my list for over a decade.( https://huntington.org/ )  Located northeast of LA in San Marino, it could be a lengthy drive for us, depending on LA traffic. In this area sometimes you make a mental calculation: will time spent doing an activity outweigh the amount of time you spend in the car? It requires a certain frame of mind to jump that hurdle.   A recent trip to check out The Huntington proved the effort was well worth it!    One could easily spend the entire day just wandering around on the grounds of the Huntington.  There is so much to see. The Botanical Gardens include a conservatory, a Chinese and a Japanese garden, and several other themed gardens. This is a most enjoyable way to "get your steps in." But one should also take the time to slow down and take a closer look at th...

 Now that this crib quilt has been gifted to friends of our family, I can share it with everybody. This is the classic snowball quilt pattern which I've attempted to modernize a bit by dropping out some of the pattern and mixing up the lights and darks. The mom-to-be chose earth tones for the expected baby boy. Fortunately, I had this cozy flannel in my stash which served as the inspiration for this quilt. I think the very best thing about giving a quilt as a baby shower gift is when you get back a picture of the baby on it. That feeling could only be surpassed many years later if you have the privilege of seeing it in tatters because it was well loved through the years! Looking forward to welcoming this new little friend into the world.