Road to California

Spent and exhausting day at  Road to California Quilt show.Was raining all day, but had good time seeing and being with fun friends.  Saw some nice quilts and couple of the winners were really unique. My friend and I had a quilt in a special exhibit of and "Iris Garden".  They were positioned together and the entire exhibit was big and beautiful - we had a good spot in a hall where everyone walks.  I have a quilt in the Route 66 exhibit which was at the entrance of the show floor - really impressive.  I did Oatman, AZ with a quilt depicting Prospectors on their way to the mining fields with burros that are today still there and roam the town with visitors.  My Estuary in Oregon quilt was also on exhibit with the Faifield Create American Calendar Contest.  It will be with them for a year of displaying.

Got some great fabric from Tapestery Quilt Studio - my favorite dyeing place and see her only once a year at Road.  Now time to get going on some new creative quilts.

More birds

I have been having so much fun photographing spring birds.  A friend told me to hang a sock of nyger food on my tree and it would attract a variety of finches.  We found one at Walmart and the birds have been having a frenzy over it.  It took a couple of days for them to discover it and then it was covered with birds. Within 2 days they had devoured it all!   I set my camera on a tripod in the kitchen window (so I am shooting through glass) and snapped over 200 photos to get some good shots of the birds.  They flutter so fast that I just took different times of the day, for lighting, zoomed in on the sock, and took continuous shots and got several really nice one.  This is my favorite one.  Have some more seed and sock and will put it up later in the season for more photographing - a good way to learn your camera and play with settings.  Enjoy spring!

Today I am going to my monthly sketching/painting class and we are doing birds.  Will take several of these photos to sketch from.