Monday, September 28, 2009

It's Autumn, Time to Move Tender Herbs Indoors

It's autumn and we have had a few light frosts. It's time to bring in the tender herbs that I grow in pots. They have been living on the porch and on the deck for the summer. I've trimmed, washed and moved them to their living quarters, in front of a set of southern-facing glass doors. Here's what I brought in:

Galangal
Cardamon
Tumeric
Bay
Rootbeer plant - Piper auritum
Dream Herb - Calea zacatechichi
Tea - Camellia sinensis
Vanilla Bean orchid
Attar of Roses Scented Geranium
Black pepper - Piper nigrum
Vietnamese Celery
Cactus grandiflorus
Jiao-gu-lan
Aztec Sweet Herb
Gotu kola
Salvia divinorum
Peppermint Scented Geranium
Coffee Plant
Rabbit's Foot Fern
Moujean Tea
Inebriating Mint
Vick's plant
Mandrake
Lemon Scented Geranium
Honeydew Melon Sage
Habek Mint
Iboza
Lemon Verbena
Rock Rose
Costus
Balm of Gilead
Aloysia gratissima - Bee Brush
Vetiver grass
Polygonum multiflorum - He Shou Wu
Cuban Oregano
Helichrysum - curry plant
Rosemary
Aloe vera
Lemon Meringue Scented Geranium
Old-Fashioned Rose Scented Geranium
Christmas Cactus
Citronella Scented Geranium
Agapanthus - Lily of the Nile
Houyttunia variegata

There's still tons of work to do in the yard. Roots to be dug (burdock, echinacea, valerian, dock), beds to be thinned and a few plants to be moved. I'll plant garlic this weekend - if the rain holds off long enough.

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Crazy Quilt News

This past weekend, my crazy quilt, "Crazy Diamonds" won two more ribbons. The Bennington VT Quilt Fest doesn't have a judged show, it's people's choice votes and vendor's choice votes. I won first in People's Choice and got a vendor's choice ribbon as well. Yay! And, another of my crazy quilts, "Homage to Ardelia" is in Washington State at a special exhibit at the La Conner Quilt and Textile Museum. At their Quilt Fest, they are having an exhibit of quilts which have won national awards (and the ribbons are to be displayed with the quilts). "Homage to Ardelia" has won Best Needlework at the Vermont Quilt Fest (and was on special exhibit at their Historymakers retrospective), Best Traditional Quilt at Threads of America, and ribbons at Road to California, Quilt Odyssey, NQA and something else I can't remember right now!

"Rose Song", the crazy quilt block I donated to the Alliance for American Quilts Museum will be displayed (along with the 83 other donations) at the Houston Quilt Festival in October. It will then be sold on eBay. Go to www.allianceforamericanquilts.org for more info.

And soon, "Birds of a Feather", my award-winning crazy quilt entered in last year's Hoffman Challenge should be coming home soon, after its year-long tour around the country in the traveling exhibit of award winners.

After herb harvesting is done for the year, it's back to planning the next crazy quilt. Actually, I have ideas already formed and tentatively started. On a couple new projects....