Thursday, December 1, 2016

Vacation, Strings, and Kaleidoscope of Butterflies Dec 2016

I didn't expect to find any butterflies this month but QS (QuiltingSister) sent this adorable pin from her vacation through Utah. These represent some of the same butterflies that make it to the California coast in January.

In the meanwhile, our family celebrated four birthdays and one wedding anniversary with a long-planned trip. The perfect {temporary} escape from political turmoil.

Disney's Animal Kingdom has an African bird habitat chock full of colorful species like this purple starling. He has one bright yellow eye while the other is black.

Purple starlings have one yellow eye and one black eye.
Purple Starling, Disney Animal Kingdom

The Golden Weaver entertained us for a good half-hour building his coconut-shaped nest on one of these extremely large leaves. Don't you love these shades of green and yellow as the light hits shines through the leaves? I was also struck by the analogous color scheme of each of these birds.

Golden Weaver, Disney Animal Kingdom

Disney displayed several Imagineer sketchbooks from a trip to Africa at Tiffins Restaurant. I couldn't decide which was my favorite. While I loved the watercolors, I was equally drawn to the quicker pencil sketches with notes. Tiffins decorated the walls with enlargements of some of these pages. I wanted to wander through them like a gallery but restrained myself so others could enjoy their meal. {Darn my mother for insisting on polite table manners.}

Sketches of baobab tree and African wildlife
Imagineer Sketchbooks,
Tiffins Restaurant, Disney Animal Kingdom

Jane LaFazio does similar work with her collages. Perhaps many painters combine words with their work.

On a regular {non-netted} trail this tiger swallowtail posed for several minutes with wings wide open. Show off! Guests took turns snapping photos as he obligingly remained in place, unlike the shyer fellow in California.

Tiger swallowtail butterfly, Disney Animal Kingdom

As a young girl I enjoyed reading Swiss Family Robinson so I climbed their treehouse at Magic Kingdom. This lovely Odd Fellow's quilt graced on one of the beds. {Sorry. It was after sunset when the photo was snapped.} Who'd have expected to find a quilt at an amusement park?

Odd Fellow's quilt,
Swiss Family Robinson treehouse,
Magic Kingdom

More string blocks awaited our return. These blues range from icy white to darkest navy but I wasn't sure how well it would look without a secondary color. Turns out the aqua and green strip used in so many blocks pumps up the quilt.

Blue String quilt

There was one leftover block from this set. And, the original light green binding from the green string might work here. Lucky me if that's the case.

Enjoy the day, Ann

InLinkz removed because it was hacked.

12 comments:

KaHolly said...

Sounds like a fun trip. Loved the photos!

patty a. said...

Too cold in Ohio for butterflies this time of year. Your blue string blocks are wonderful! How large do you make each block? Do you use a foundation fabric or just sew the strips together and then trim? Those red ones were stunning too!

Ann said...

Thanks, Karen. Family time is wonderful.

Ann said...

I had an old phone book, 8.5x11" so I made paper foundations 8.5" square. I have used fabric foundations but they make a quilt too warm for where I live. Might work well for you. Fabric foundations also allow use of any leftover fabric. It doesn't require muslin though that's what most people use.

Mystic Quilter said...

Oh the African bird habitat sounds exciting, love the birds you've posted. I often see carmine bee eaters on wildlife programmes from Africa and they fascinate me, such glorious colour.

Monica said...

Love that Odd Fellow quilt! I have not heard that name for it before. I've been on the fence about a similar Bonnie Hunter design, Wild & Goosey, now here it is again! Lots of inspiration again this month, Ann. Thank you!

Now, I wonder if I can scare up some butterflies this week?

Kaja said...

Your trip looks like a lot of fun - like you I would have been itching to leaf through those sketchbooks. I like the blue strings a lot and you are right, that green in the mix just gives it a nice little edge.

Ann said...

Are all alfrican birds so colorful? Carmine bee eater is a fantastic name. I will look for them now. This trip was so memorable. I'm glad you enjoyed the photos.

Ann said...

I looked up Wild and Goosey; they do look very similar. This name is from my reference books circa 1920-30. The blues are particularly attractive to me. Guess we both need to get busy.

Ann said...

I wish I had half their painting ability. Every sketch was a delight, especially with the handwritten notes.
Still working on the blue quilt and considering binding options.

Janie said...

Beautiful picture of Tiger Swallowtail butterfly, thanks for sharing.
And what a wonderful vacation opportunity!
Yes, Jane LaFazio does amazing sketchbooks and collages also, what a treat to see the Imagineer sketchbooks.

Cathy said...

What a fun trip.I want to get back to Disney World someday with the family.
Beautiful butterfly pic! I loved reading Swiss Family Robinson too but who knew they had such a lovely quilt in the tree house.

I like the pencil sketches too. I have some old herbal pencil sketches in an old book. If I knew how to sketch I'd have my own nature sketchbook. I can't even draw a proper stick figure.