Starved for Color

This winter we've had distinctly inhospitable weather here at the North Carolina coast. It doesn't happen many years but two weeks ago I slogged out into the front yard, stuck a yardstick in the snow, and measured nine inches! Now, the snow melted quickly but honestly, this winter has been brutal. For someone who thinks a fleece vest ought to be outer wear, I cannot wait for spring. It should be here now. Today.


 An upshot of the cold weather is that there is nothing blooming in the yard. The paperwhites of Christmas have sensibly tucked back into the earth. Aside from the live oaks deep green, all the color I can see from the window is a shaggy expanse of beige grass and a cold, cold blue sky. Enough of that!

My niece Heather lives in Portland, Oregon. Last year she took some wonderful pictures at the farmers market. For those of us who are starved for color, these are visual food for the soul.

Flowers, fruit, and veggies in the summer sun.

I want to reach into the screen and grab these.

This is the most perfect composition. Bundles of lavender in a red basket-perfect! Thank you Heather. 

Because this blog is ostensibly about quilts I suppose I should show a block or two. This is the one I made (the pattern is Star of the West) for the block exchange at our quilt guild's Christmas party in December. Geez! Aside from the minimal amount of red, the colors are as dull as my front yard! Maybe I can't always find fabric to translate color...maybe you need a fantasy image. This is more like it.