Ginkgos

These are leaves from the Ginkgo trees in Weimar and Jena (Germany), they belong to the eldest Ginkgo trees in Europe. They are more than 200 years old, both were planted by our beloved German poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.

I tried to use Ginkgo leaves as a motif for my block with five leaves forming a circle, thereby giving space for five petals in the middle in another color, all having their origin in the five-sided form in the center.

Since I had been thinking of Ginkgos this way for a longer time now, I was very glad to find these lovely trees: in Weimar opposite the Amalia Library, or here in Jena in the very lovely Botanical Gardens:

"Matter is thought, and thought is matter. Nothing exists that cannot be synthesised."

... thinks a physicist in the book "Ghostwritten" by David Mitchell.

June

I didn't plan it, but I think I was influenced by reading this very very lovely book "The Secret Life of Bees" by Sue Monk Kidd when I designed this block for June, for my 2014-quilt.

"Light spilled through a crack in a red-rimmed cloud, and I walked toward it along a path that led from the honey house into the woods. I passed a child's wagon loaded with garden tools. I rested beside a plot growing tomatoes..." 

ah, this girl goes quite a long way from anguish and horror to finding friends, and a real home, and ultimately a soft spot within herself. I so much love such stories!!

This is my quilt-top so far then (January - June):

"You've Got Mail"- Quilt

http://hudsonnewsandmuse.blogspot.de/2013/04/quilt-inspiration-in-kleenex-box.html

Isn't that a lovely quilt? 

It belongs to Kathleen Kelly in the movie "You've Got Mail", from 1998,

I like this story VERY much.

It's about books, bookstores, book lovers, lovers, New York... wonderful.

With Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks and more great actors 

and a lovely dog, too.

http://tazziequilts.blogspot.de/2013/02/a-fun-find.html

It's the Day of the Garden in Germany today!

"Some men like to make a little garden out of life 

and walk down a path."

Jean Anouilh

http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/topics/topic_gardening3.html

Octascope Pictures

An octascope is some sort of kaleidoscope. Only, you don't look into an octascope the way you do it with a kaleidoscope, you look through it while it segments the view you chose into these tiny parts which form new patterns constantly whenever you move the octascope. Very fascinating! I once found one at the shop of the Botanical Gardens in Berlin. These pictures were taken while I directed it towards some of my quilts, I photographed through the "eye" of the octascope.