153

(click on any of the smaller pictures for a larger view)

a song to listen to:

I unwrapped my oil spill quilt yesterday

(read more about The Oil Spill Quilt)

it was a sunny day 

(unusual for here)

the fabric was soaked through

but as I unfolded and unfolded again,

it appeared to be o.k.

the underside of it has the worst damage

but the front has only a few spots and considerable fading

it really is quite small in reality

my dog standing guard

drying in the sun

and a heart

what will I be doing with it next?

I need to back it and bat it

then make it suitable for hanging

it was making me sad

now, it makes me happy

and about the oil spill?
only time will tell.
unfortunately.

one week to go

this is my oil spill quilt from last fall

I put it out to winter over in the weathering chair for 153 days

(November 19th to April 20th)

the oil spill was 153 days long

it seemed right to me to subject my precious quilt to the whims of nature 

for the same amount of time that precious nature was subjected to the whims of an oil spill

it's really very logical to me

it was very clean to start with

this is what it looks like today:

oh, and The Sweet Husband planted White Bleeding Heart all in a row next to my weathering chair

I don't think he knows how much that means to me

For the story, as I know it so far, please visit the tab at the top of the page "Oil Spill Quilt"

scattered heart

a mosaic of heather blossoms

a minute later, swept away by the wind

*

photographed on top of my gulf spill quilt, which is enduring 153 days of nature

(read more about it HERE)

tea and company

my kitchen table has been taken over by a puzzle

(Not really ... It's on a plywood board and can be moved.)

but it's like the elephant in the room

it's the last thing on my list of things to do

... so I won't.

Oh look, there's a sweet doggie ......

he says, "please come outside with me"

"o.k., sweet doggie, let's go outside, even though it's soggy soggy wet out there."

Featured in today's post:

my grandmother's tea cup (Lennox "The Orchard")

Cobalt Blue English Teapot

Constant Comment Tea (delicious)

daughter's jigsaw puzzle in progress

Bouvier des Flanders (Theodore)

The Quilt (quite quite soaked)

* * *

for more very special tea,

please visit the tea on tuesday blogs listed in my sidebar

tea on tuesday

(gloomy)

we're having a typical "low light day" today

(in western washington)

but that is easily fixed in iPhoto

(sunny)

see how good lighting can make anything look better?

and actually, once you get outside the diffused light is almost magic

(the quilt)

it wraps around and between and underneath things

... just like the misty rain ...

(looking up)

the weathering quilt is very wet today

I'm staying warm and cozy indoors

today's tea is Good Earth Original

spicy and delicious

(sorry about the santa mug .... the onslaught is just beginning)

* * *

for more tea on tuesday,

please visit the blogs listed in my sidebar (under the tea mug)

gulf oil spill quilt

my quilt top is done
it's a bit of a crazy quilt
(in more ways than one)
It is completely hand stitched.
I used photo transfers of my gulf spill watercolors,
tea stained muslin and tea bag paper.
I've been working on it since the end of September.
Doing the slow sew.

shown above are the shells:

sea star, cold water coral, lightning whelk

junonia, eastern oyster and horse conch

*

these are the birds:

red knot, snowy plover

roseate spoonbill, seaside sparrow and brown pelican

*

and these are:
the title, the loggerhead sea turtle, west indies manatee
ornate chorus frog, bottlenose dolphin and kemp's ridley sea turtle

now it's on to the next phase:

153 days outdoors,

carefully wrapped,

tied to sticks,

and left to the whims of nature (and "la nina") in my weathering chair.

I will give photographic updates

and plan to unwrap it on April 20th (the one year anniversary of the explosion).

I shall see at that time if there is anything left to work with.

If so, I'll batt and quilt the thing.

If not, well, I don't know.

Trusting it will come back nicely stained and weathered,

but not completely ruined.

Do you remember why 153 days is significant?

It's not a test, just curious.

stitches in time

....the gulf spill quilt....

stitching inspired by my visits to:

ihannah