It's finally here!
I celebrated by potting one of my favorite spring plants; pansies.
We rarely use our front door, so I position the pots where I can see them from inside the house ;)
I wish I had my own pussy willow bush but I was happy my garden center had them for $1. a stem.
I've been busy visiting guilds this spring and here are some houses we build at the Lake and Mountain Guild in SC.
This is a neat art installation I saw at the airport.
and this ceramic collage
I was home only a few days and had the challenge of making a Dominican Cake from my son, Andrew's Birthday.
The dulce 'de leche came out perfectly......on the second try.
The Italian Meringue came out perfectly on the first try!
Sadly the cake was both overdone, and underdone. I find scratch cakes difficult and I blame the failure on my old pans. It looked pretty though.
I had a Applique Design workshop in Cape May and here are a few photos.
Thank you to Susan and Helen for hosting me in their homes and for all the ladies who came out to see my recent programs. I love visiting guilds and making new friends. I'm bad about taking pictures because I'm so busy sharing and visiting.
A welcome sight after a long drive home - the new Tappan Zee Bridge at sunset.
Happy Spring
xo
I grew up in Irvington right down the road from the bridge. What a blast from the past lol.
ReplyDeleteYour pussy willow branch may well root and then you would have your own.
ReplyDeleteLove your pansies! We aren't quite ready to set ours outside yet, I'd have to shovel snow first! I love that ceramic collage in creepy sort of way. Looks like you had a great time with your applique class. I've been wanting to start a group called the "Happy Appliquers" but I can't seem to find enough local interest. Sheesh!
ReplyDeleteI bet your lectures and workshops are so fun! My first of the year is next week. Thankfully I won't have to travel in snow to get there!!
ReplyDeletePansies are such a sweet flower, but very short lived in my neck of the woods.
Your flowers are beautiful and celebrate Spring !
ReplyDeleteHow fun to meet ladies and have wonderful time with them, teaching your tips !!
The cake looks yummy and I loooove meringue !!
SO much creativity everywhere you look... art installations, flower pots, bridges, cakes, fabric neighbourhoods... so fun!
ReplyDeleteHA! That's funny..we'll be pulling up the pansies very soon. They're our 'winter' plant. So pretty thru the dismal winter and even after a freeze, their little heads pop up when the sun warms them a bit. They're about our only color in the winter here. I hate to see mine go. I find the ceramic collage lady a tad freaky and recall driving over the Tappen Zee years ago.
ReplyDeleteYour pansies look so cheerful. Your workshops sound/ look very fun :0) The cake looks delicious!!
ReplyDeleteAre the willow branches fresh cut or dried? If fresh cut you can just keep it moist, or even in water, and it will root. That is how I got my pussy willow--just a branch cut from a friend's bush, kept in water until roots sprouted. Then plant it and keep it moist until the roots are strong enough to sustain it when it gets hot and dry.
ReplyDeleteVery fun variety in the house blocks.
I like the dictionary "sculpture". The ceramic lady is fascinating.
Sounds like a complicated cake. Too bad it didn't meet your expectations.
I have only tried a couple of scratch cakes since going gluten free, but I have saved a few more recipes that I hope to try when I get up my courage.
That last vase in batik is beautiful--nice choice.
Love seeing your spring flowers! I can't wait to get some planted. Even if your cake did not turn out as you expected it is very pretty and I am sure your son really appreciated it. I do not bake very often any more and have mixed results when I do, out of practice I guess. I bet your workshops are fun. I really like the fabric in that last vase, it reminds me of a mosaic.
ReplyDeleteNo pansies on our porch yet, it snowed most of the day. Maybe next month. The applique workshop looks like fun, and I love that batik vase, so striking. I rarely have made cakes from scratch but have a copy of my mom's favorite cake recipe book. She baked wonderful cakes back in the day. Her specialty.
ReplyDeletePansies are so sweet. I hope to plant mine today. I love seeing what's going on in your workshops. Lots of fun for sure! That dictionary art is amazing and so is the ceramic piece with all those little figurines in the skirt. Too bad Andrew's cake didn't turn out the way you thought it would but it's the thought that counts :)
ReplyDeleteThe flowers look great! I use my red twig dogwood branches in the center of mine.
ReplyDeleteI have never had much success with making cake from scratch, they are always heavy!
Helen is the best, so glad you got to meet her! She loved having you!
Pansies are always such a pretty sign of spring. Great job on the Italian meringue. That can be a challenge. Glad you've been having fun sharing your quilts and techniques with a variety of groups. It's fun to see others get excited about the things you love
ReplyDeleteGood on you for trying the Dominican cake! My baking results are usually so-so, but I'm probably my own worst critic. I bet it tasted wonderful!
ReplyDeleteI usually plant pansies in the fall as they do well in our mild winter here in Oregon (and in Texas where we used to live). I need to get busy and get some flowers now that we are home from our trip to Kansas to visit DS#3 and family. The weather here is sunny for a change! How nice!
ReplyDeleteSweet pansies! I haven't tried them here in Florida but did have them in South Carolina. I am not a gardener.
ReplyDelete