Each day the weather isn’t utterly awful I try to take a walk. I live near the old Ohio and Erie Canal towpath, which has been turned into a biking/running/walking trail. For short stretches you can pretend to be in the country, but then urban life intrudes with trunk sewer and high voltage transmission lines and the glimpse of cars on a nearby road.
But I actually like the sights more this time of year as I can see the shapes of the trees and enjoy the different colors and textures of their bark.
For color, bittersweet vines add pops of orange-red.
And lacy patterns of crossed branches catch my eye.
These sights led me to piece “A Hazy Shade Of Winter” based on inspiration from Helen Howes.
Sun printed fabric, hand dyes, strips from the scrap bin, and small bits of yardage collected over ten years were combined to make stylized trees. Narrow red/orange strips were inserted to pay homage to the bittersweet, and charcoal/purple McKenna Ryan fabric separated the trees from the forest.
I’m mulling over a few quilting ideas – possibly an overall wood grain pattern or one or two large tree outlines with echo quilting or…
The Snarky Quilter 
I love winter and your quilt shows me why!!
Then you must be in your element right now. Sorry you’re missing the western winter fun this year.
I am eager to get out again, as I see the landscape much as you do. That said, it is -2 right now, going to get quite windy. Tomorrow it will be colder. We have 5″ fresh snowfall. Instead, I’ll work on things inside. Looks like you found the perfect combination of the two. Your trees are very evocative without being sentimental.
You’re welcome to visit northeast Ohio where the temp is a balmy 16 degrees and we have only an inch of snow. My exercise program is confined to my DVDs right now. I like your phrase “evocative without being sentimental.”
I’ve been seeing the same piece, with a red cardinal, perched on a branch. I’m out of iron on interfacing, used it all over Christmas. I have some of the old stuff you have to pin and baste on that I bought before I knew what I would do with it. Need to use that, I suppose. I’m ready for spring.
Nothing like a bit of red to liven up a winter landscape. Hate to break it to you, but we’ve just started the hard months, at least in northeastern Ohio. Spring is certainly a longed for event, but there’s two months of yuk to get through.
I’m lucky to be on the coast of NC. We still have plenty of winter, but I’ll be planting tomato seedlings in about three weeks. They will go outside in the dirt mid march. We are in for a bad couple of here though.
As a former Tar Heel I have fond memories of winter and spring there. However, when blizzards hit, you can forget about going anywhere for weeks. And don’t get me started on the hurricanes.
You helped me feel a little better about the winter landscape when I looked at it through artistic eyes, like you did! Nice work on “A Hazy Shade of Winter”!
Thanks, and we all need to feel better about winter in northeast Ohio. I never thought the words “lake effect snow” would fill me with dread.
You positively nailed it. I completetly see the connection and the interpretation. Really nice work!
I sometimes feel like Paul Harvey, talking about “the rest of the story.” I’m always interested in the context of others’ work, so I thought I should put my money where my mouth is. And thanks for the compliment.