Becoming One With the New Camera!

Well, am having some fun with the new camera trying to identify all the butterflies on my neighbor's bush. So far there have been five different varieties, four of which I have good enough pictures to begin the identification process. This was a very small butterfly -- only about an inch long and he was moving all over the place. Haven't identified him specifically yet but he might be a Skipper of some kind!

This I believe is one of the tiger swallowtails. It is hidden here, but this is one bedraggled butterfly so I suspect he or she may be cocooning before too long. His body had long yellow and black stripes on it. So I have seen a Sulphur and a Painted Lady also but didn't get good pictures at all. These were relatively decent and I didn't use telephoto!

I also have gotten back to a little dyeing and Warren is now the proud owner of three very bright turquoise blue hats. I think they are a bit bright but he things they are just fine for blending in with the water when on his kayak and I notice he is already wearing one around!

The machine quilting on the Great Blue Heron is coming along as well although there is a lot so I am sure this will be a lengthy process and I have to take frequent breaks or my shoulders will object! Once I get started though, it is hard to stop.

I never thought I would enjoy the machine quilting part. I had always approached it with great trepidation, fearing I would somehow wreck the piece. Watching Phil Beaver on Simply Quilts was my magic moment. He said just to quilt around the objects when you start and then the quilting would come and that is how I approach it now. Only now I visualize that outline quilting ahead of time and the piece somehow tells me how to continue on. It seems my pieces are very noisy though and are constantly intruding on my well thought-out plans for completion!