turkey feathers

Tansy & Thyme

 
Here is a quick update today on the herb patch I planted a few summer's ago.  (First blogged back here.  You can see how much it's grown.)  All this attracts bees, which is great because our fenced-in vegetable patch grows right behind it. 

 
Yep.  Summer is in full swing around here.  A bit cooler than normal.  I don't mind that though, because it means I can spend more time outside without  wilting.   I'm just stolling along now . . .

 
Every year this clematis, 'Gypsy Queen', enthusiastically blooms and pulls the trellis down with it as it cascades down to the ground. She's so pretty we never have the heart to disturb her.  So there she stays, guarding the backdoor. 

 

Another climber clamouring for sunshine.  I can't believe the number of roses suddenly growing from such sad anemic-looking vines!

 
Turning, I notice a couple of unexpected visitors have dropped in--and my heart melts.

 

 

   
 

 

CONNECTICUT--Mt. Laurel

 
Today we have the second block for Mountain Laurel.  This flower was introduced back here, as it is also chosen for the state of Pennsylvania.  (There are a lot more details about it in that post.)  Both blocks are stitched in slightly different colors.  This one has more color shades in the flowers; the other has more contrast in the leaves.  I'm forever experimenting it seems--but I do like them equally well.  You can follow my examples, or choose the color combinations that appeal to you. 

Here's a little more about this beautiful flower.  The Mountain Laurel (Kalmia latifolia), has fragrant, pink and white blossoms that bloom in May and June along roadsides and in forests.  It is sometimes called, ivy bush, calico bush, spoonwood, and sheep laurel.  It is one of the most spectacular looking native American shrubs, although all parts of this plant are poisonous.  Because of its beauty alone, over 3,000 women urged the state legislature to adopt the mountain laurel as Connecticut's state flower, even though not everyone was fond of the idea.  But supportive lawmakers received sprigs of mountain laurel on their desks, and so it was adopted on April 17, 1907.

 

COLORS:  petals--light pink #761, and medium pink #768; buds--dark pink #899; flower centers--white; leaves #367; letters--smoke gray #645.

So, next we have block number 49--for Nebraska.  (Get ready for French Knots galore!)

Marionberries!

 
Under gray northwestern skies yesterday...we found Marionberries at the Red Barn Berry Farm just a few miles up the road.  Oh boy, did we find them, acres and acres of them! 

 
Lovely picking . . .and munching . . .the taste of sweet sunshine on the vine.

 
Back home. . . more munching--with cream and sugar. 

And the jam-making continues. . . 

 

WEST VIRGINIA--Rhododendron

 
Moving right along . . . on to block #47!  (Can you see the light at the end of the tunnel?)

Here we have another "Rhodie", this time for West Virginia.  'Rohodendron maximum' is very popular as a landscaping shrub because of its large size.  They are extremely common in West Virginia and throught the eastern and northwestern states, and can reach heights of 15 to 40 feet.  In fact, the name rhododendron means "rose tree".  The shrubs are members of the heath family and bloom in the spring with lovely fragrant flower clusters, that attract hummingbirds and butterflies. No wonder it was selected as the state flower after an exuberant recommendation by Governor George Atkinson in praise of its many attributes.  School children cast their votes in favor of it and 'Big Laurel' was approved by House Joint Resolution January 29, 1903.  Other names for it include 'great rhododendron', 'great laurel', and 'rosebay'. 

 

COLORS:  petals--light pink #3326 & dark pink #956; centers--yellow #307; leaves--light green #989 & dark green #987; letters--smoke gray #645.

Just a side-note about duplicate flower blocks:  If you piece the states in alphabetical order, the rhodies for Washington and West Virginia will be set side by side, so you may want to do them differently if that bothers you.  Truthfully, I didn't think about this at all, until I had them all laid out yesterday.  If you wanted too, you could do one pink and one purplish-pink, or something like that, to create some distinction.  Up to you. 

 One of our rhodies shocked us this spring with an amazing bloom!

Berry Bliss

It's JAM time again here in the northwest and in more ways than one.  I was out of town for several days visiting the high desert on the other side of the Cascade mountains--where it was much warmer than here in the valley which is back to a cold, gray drizzle.  At about this time yesterday, I was having lunch at the old rustic lodge overlooking Odell Lake and daydreaming.  So lovely!  I'll try and show a few pictures of our escapades later in the week.  But I'm home now and planning to go back out in search of fresh Marionberries first chance I get.  Here's the low-sugar jam recipe I'm using exclusively now--this one I absolutely love:

 

--Berry Jam--

4 cups mashed fresh ripe strawberries, blackberries, or Marionberries 

Juice of 1/2 lemon

1 cup xylitol 

2 tablespoons agar agar powder 

1.  Wash and hull strawberries; place them in a large heavy-bottom pot.  Crush berries with a potato masher.  Add lemon juice and sugar and mix together.  Heat to dissolve sugar.

2.  Sprinkle agar agar powder into liquid and boil rapidly for 3 full minutes, stirring constantly, to activate the gelling action. 

3.  Remove from heat and ladle jam into hot sterilized jars. (Always follow proper canning procedures.)

YIELDS: 3 to 4 eight-ounce jelly jars.

NOTES:   Agar Agar is an extract from marine red algae and is 100% natural.  How to use Agar Agar.  It comes in a powder form that's tasteless and odorless, and is available at various places online.  (Our local food co-op stocks it, so that's where I purchase mine.)  Jam will be loose, but will set up as it cools.  Since this is a low-sugar recipe, make sure your fruit is ripe, thus containing its own natural sugars.  Some strawberries from the super market, for instance, are picked green, and not sweet.  The ripe flesh of a strawberry should be RED.  Xylitol is an all natural sweetener, which I also purchase in bulk.  (It has many excellent health benefits--you can read more about that here.)  Recipe can be doubled if desired.

 The pantry shelves are filling up again! 

FLORIDA--Orange Blossom

 

Ooohhh...orange blossoms!  They always remind me of growing up in Orange County, California.  Back in the day, before "progress" and freeways, the area was known for its abundant citrus groves.  In fact, our home was surrounded by them and the fragrance in the spring was beyond amazing. That intoxicating perfume would permeate the air for weeks at a time.  Sadly though, the orange trees were all bulldozed down in the 1970's and replaced by huge concrete industrial buildings which still surround that old farm house today.  There's a children's book, The Little House, written and illustrated by Virginia Lee Burton in 1942, that I think tells the story perfectly.  But I digress...

Orange blossoms also perfume the air in Florida, where the climate contributes to a plethora of vegetation.  It was said to be named by the explorer Ponce de Leon in 1512, "La Florida", which is Spanish for flowery, as it was at the time covered with them.  When it came time to declare a state flower however, there were several choices in the running.  The fragrant gardenia and the delicate camellia among them.  But the orange blossom (citrus sinensis) was the favorite and was designated by Concurrent Resolution May 5, 1909 Legislature.   The flowers are white, but I used a pale yellow to help define them, and add a bit more color to the block, since white does not show up well on a white background.  Satin stitching, rather than using an outline stitch, also gives them a little more "presence".COLORS:  petals--cream #3823; centers--pale yellow #4080; leaves/stems--lime green #704; letters--smoke gray #645.  

I'll be back next week with a low-sugar jam recipe that I think you'll really love.

In the meantime. . . Stitch ON!

Gone Berry Picking

 
Yep.  It's that time again.  The long-awaited strawberries are ripe!  Berry season is short, so no time to dawdle.  This is the second batch we picked.  The first batch never seems to make it into the jam pot.  

I'm off to find some marionberries now...

NEVADA--Sage Brush

 

After such a busy weekend, we are kicking back into summer mode.  The sky is blue, the sun is shining, and it's warming up outside.  My little granddaughters will be here in about an hour, so I need to get this post up fast.

I do think it's time for another flower block, don't you?  OK then!  Today we have the lovely desert dweller (artemisia tridentata), that was designated the Nevada state flower in 1967. Sagebrush is a woody, gray-green shrub with small golden to white blossoms that have a strong scent.  The flowers appear in late summer and continue into fall.  Native Americans used the leaves for medicine and the bark was used for weaving mats.  It was also a food source for sheep and cattle to graze on during the winter.  

 

COLORS:  flowers--light orange #728; leaves & stems--gray-green #610; letters--smoke gray #645.

(Click on the pattern image--it should take you to the correct size for download from flickr.)  

One more thing, the QUILT DIAGRAMS are now available!  Go to the State Flower Quilt Project  page (link is also in the right side-bar) and scroll down to the bottom of the page where it says ***UPDATE 7/5/11*** and click on the link to open the PDF.  Choose the size and layout you want and print.  Use it to follow as a guide when you sew your blocks together.  Note: The sizes are given without borders unless otherwise stated. 

That's all for now.  Hope everybody has a great day!