Can you tell me what this is?

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I will post a photo of the full shot tomorrow morning.

Orange Zinnia with fuchsia center.

Bernina of America sponsored a Bernina Fashion Show at the Spring Internatonal Quilt Market.  I took photographs of 3 of the gorgeous entries, although they were all spectacular.

This entry. titled The Many, Many Tears I’ve Shed, was created by Virgie Fisher of Yukon, OK.

Audrey Durnan of Claremont, CA, created the blue Silk Road Caravanserai which has a coordinating  hooded cloak.

This fashion, The Warrior Goddess…Guardian of Lost Treasure, was created by Janet Brooks of Rio Rancho, NM.

It was a busy show, so unfortunately, I did not get back to take additional pictures of the gorgeous fashions. 

Please check back for more from Quilt Market.  And one more piece of eye candy, a close up (although a little out of focus) of one of the beautiful rhododendron blooms that were outside the convention center.

International Quilt Market is always a beautiful trade show, full of eye candy with all the beautiful colors of quilts and fabrics.  It was an exciting event for me as Meow, Meow, my new cat fabric collection debuted with Quilting Treasures.

I also created several projects for Quilting Treasures’ booth using Meow Meow.  I’m in the center with Donna (left) and Jodi (right) from Quilting Treasures.  The two quilted projects shown in front are a Meow Meow Cat Carrier (with a fluffy white “stuffed” cat), and a Meow Meow Table Runner.  Free instructions for making the table runner as well as a quilt will be on the Quilting Treasures website for downloading soon.  I will post a link when it it up.

Two other quilted projects that I designed with Meow Meow cat fabrics are a Chair Back Cover and a Tote Bag.

Quilt Market was held in Portland, OR in mid-May, during an unexpected heatwave with temperatures in the 90′s.  Since I live in the South with high temperatures, I was looking forward to the cooler days in Portland.  Oh well, at least it didn’t rain.

Portland was really beautiful with all the flowers blooming.  Even though Portland is known for roses, I think it should be noted for rhododendrons as they were huge and blooming everywhere.  They were gorgeous and gave additional eye candy for Quilt Market.

After Quilt Market as I took a vacation to Seattle and an Alaskan cruise.  Please check back for lots more from Quilt Market as well as some photos of unbelievable scenic views from Alaska and Mt Ranier.

Now that its pretty dreary looking outside with no leaves on the trees, I think back to the beautiful fall we had.  This fall was such a surprise because we are in a severe drought area. I thought, after a summer with no rain, that the leaves would turn brown immediately and bypass the colors. I also thought it would be an early fall, with the leaves dropping quickly. But, it turned out to be completely the opposite.  We had one of the most beautiful falls that I’ve ever seen. And, it was much later than normal. While we were driving out of town for Thanksgiving, I was so in awe of all the beautiful colors, from deep reds, bright yellows and wonderful oranges.  I almost had whiplash from turning my head so much to look at all the gorgeous colors. I had to stop several times to take pictures and wanted to share these with you. 

This last picture is a closeup of Crepe Myrtle leaves that were quite colorful.

Although it is Christmas with all the colors of Christmas everywhere, I still think of the fall colors when I look at the bare trees.

I love flowers.  But I am also in a part of the country that is having a prolonged heat wave – with temps over 100 daily for almost 2 weeks and counting.  To add to that, we are in a severe drought area.  We’ve had very little rain this summer and none in the past 3 weeks. As a result, we are in a tight restricted use of water.

Cock’s Comb plants grow in front of my house each year from seeds from the prior year. Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately because of the water shortage, most of the small plants were accidentally killed with week killer this spring.  I love the Cock’s Comb plants because of their gorgeous colors and the size of the blooms.  The blooms last all summer and just keep growing, getting bigger and bigger.  Last year, I had one that was 12″ wide.  They also dry extremely well and keep their color   

With the water shortage, keeping my flowers alive and blooming takes being creative. I conserve water inside the house and use for watering the plants. We have bowls in sinks to catch the water that is running.  Its amazing how much water is used just to wash hands or while waiting for it to heat up.

Another favorite flower of mine is the Hibiscus.  They are just so pretty with so many large colorful blooms.  I just wish the blooms lasted more than a day. Unfortunately, it gets too cold in the winter here for Hibuscus, so they have to be planted in pots brought in when it gets cold.

Recently while plant shopping, I found some “vintage” Hibiscus. The blooms reach up to 8 or 9 inches across.  I have plenty of buds, but didn’t have any blooms today while I was taking pictures.  They are amazing in their size and beauty.

I didn’t plant many flowers this spring due to lengthy cold spring. Even though I miss them, I guess its a good thing due to the watering restrictions. I don’t wash my hands enough to keep several flower beds watered!