Of Russians and Rain Drops

It's been over a month and our home is still in the process of getting a much needed face-lift.  I said the house, not me.  She got new windows and new siding to replace the dry rot.  It so air tight that the air conditioning actually turns off on a 103 degree day.
 
She is still the yellow beauty she was meant to be.  The interesting thing is the siding manufacturer calls this yellow color Cream.  The same color we got in trouble for with the color Nazis back in 2002.  You can read about that episode here.

Yes, Yuri and his Russian crew are still here fixing her up. How things in the world have changed just in my lifetime.  They are a group of really nice guys that understand more English than they let on.  After a month I have adopted them all.  I just call them my boys.  If Joe's dad was still alive he would have a field day with this.  Russians in our yard working on our house.   For all the years I knew him he pretended he was Italian.   I have been researching Joe's family genealogy and on his fathers side, I come to find out, is a grandfather and grandmother who were Russian and Polish.  So when I hear my boys talking,  I think of how it was when Joe's grandfather, who emigrated here in 1911, didn't speak English and had to work and fit in right away.   Just like my boys. Would I be able to do that?  And most important, why did Joe's dad always say he was Italian? Interesting, isn't it?

So while my boys have been hammering away I have been making this quilt and thinking. 

I took the original picture after we had a big rain storm.  I love the rain drops running down the petals.  I'm not sure what the name of the flower is, but it's a vine that grows like crazy in my back yard.   I have looked at this photo for about a year waiting for the right time to make it.   I always like to challenge myself and wanted to see if I could do a flower covered in rain drops.  I was asked to participate in this year's International Quilt Festival in Houston silent action and this will be my contribution, which is kind of ironic because I missed the entry date for the show for the 2 quilts I have been working on since last year.  I can't believe I missed the cut off date, but I did. So I will be there just teaching a new pattern I designed just for Houston.  But let's just say, that if it wasn't for all these big shows, giving me the venue to show my art,  I wouldn't have all these great teaching jobs and be traveling the world.  Without the big shows I would have had plenty of time and an open calender to get my quilts in to Houston on time.   So it is very bittersweet, and funny, that I missed the cut off date. 

The first year I went to the Houston Show, I was so blown away.  My friend, Dawn, took me that year to expose me to the quilting world.  We walked through the silent action where Dawn bid on a stunning Diane Gaudynski whole cloth quilt.  No bigger than 12" square.   She has it hanging in her beautiful home and I know it cost $$$.  So when I was asked to participate in  this years auction I stopped everything and made the quilt shown here, Rain Drops.  I encrusted it in thread and the back is as pretty as the front, so, if you are going to the IQA Houston show, start the bidding.

That there are even a places for me to show my art  is so amazing.  I am truly grateful. To think that I can now financially help out my husband, after all these years of being a stay at home mom/artist.  To have a funny group of Russians putting badly needed siding on my notorious Yellow House is awesome.  It wouldn't have happened if it wasn't for the quilting world.  THANK YOU!