My darling QS sent a butterfly card she made. It's beautifully tinted. So clever of her!
From April 2015 to April 2016 the cultivated honeybee population declined 44%. Bees typically die off in the winter when food sources disappear but for the last two years we've lost as many during the summer as the winter. You understand why this is a problem: bees pollinate 35% of the world's food.
Scientists generally agree that species face extinction due to habitat loss, climate change, and rampant chemical use. We can help by not using pesticides and keeping some "weedy areas" in our yards. Bees like to live in dead/dying plants.
Here's an interesting article about entomologist Robin Thorp's continued search for the Franklin bee. Since this bee doesn't make honey, why should we care? Monoculture creates increased risk for species collapse. When a disease strikes a species, the greater the diversity of related species, the more likely they are to recover. Remember the die off of American chestnut trees and the battle against oak wilt? When one tree becomes the singular street tree it may look "pretty" in a mechanical way but greatly increases the transmission of disease. There is strength in diversity. {Hmm. This hits some political notes today.}
SCVQA Quilt Show in Santa Clara
Our biennial quilt show runs this weekend. I'm part of the the stand take-down crew. We start after the 300+ quilts are down. It's a quick operation and much easier since we recently purchased new rods.
Not only is SCVQA a larger group but we have a wide diversity of quilting - art, traditional, modern, really a bit of everything. Each show highlights one or two noted quilters. This year Mel Beach and Sue Bianchi share their artistry. Both are award-winners. Mel, known for her lively colors and modern style, has several quilts touring with challenge quilts. Meanwhile Sue frequently creates works based on photos and/or heavily embellished with buttons. Both are talented artists with unique visions who enjoy sharing ideas. The show's up through Sunday! {Hint, hint.}
Here's a portion of the Sampler as it was being blocked.
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| Block the Sampler before the show |
There's still some time to link up with #AHIQChineseCoins.
Although {once again} I haven't made a kaleidoscope or butterfly block, I plan to share a design next month. Tune in and let's see how colorful we can be in May.
Enjoy the day, Ann
InLinkz removed because it was hacked.