Complain, complain....

I'm getting complaints from some people who shall remain nameless (you know who you are, Barb-my-sister) about not posting frequently enough, so here's a little something to silence the whining.

This block belongs to Arlene in Australia. We are in the Butterfly, Bee, and Beetle round robin together. She and I both chose all white and cream fabrics for our buggy blocks. On this block I didn't do all the work you're seeing here. That parade of beetles was done by Diane in Ontario; I love it and hope she'll do something similar on my block. I did the blue butterfly, which is done in the 3d fashion of stitching two printed butterfly images together and attaching them to the block with the stitching that forms the body (if you'd like a more detailed explanation than that, leave a comment and a way to contact you). I also made the ribbon pansy, the irises, and the little bees. The red of the pansy was pretty strong, so I repeated that shade around the block a bit, including adding blossoms to the vine that Diane's beetles are following. I attached the hand-dyed green lace to the seam on the right, and added some beads and "tulips" to it. Also did the leafy vertical seam with the pinkish berries. I'm having such fun with this RR. Sadly, just one more block for me and it'll be over. But then I'll get my own block home!

During the last hand embroidery class I taught, I was asked if I would teach a silk ribbon embroidery class, so I have that planned for May. This little bear will be my "advertiser". He'll get a silk ribbon decorated vest and be on display at the used book store where the class will be held. As you can see, it's a work in progress; the back of the vest is on the right, and both front halves on the left. This little bear is super soft. He was originally a zodiac bear, with "Pisces" written on the bottom of one foot and the fish symbol on the other. I covered over that with some ivory moire taffeta (same fabric as the vest). I liked the aqua color and knew I could match it in the embroidery.

My husband is an avid outdoorsman. He's a member of the Western Slope ATV club and these are pictures he took on their last outing to the Yellowcat area of eastern Utah. Here's a beautiful red rock arch....

...and a view of the Colorado River from up on a cliff. If you click on the picture to enlarge it, you can probably see the ranch there by the river. What a spot to live; remote, but beautiful....

....and a view of the La Salle mountains. We liked this shot so much we're using it for our desktop!