April Spider web bee batik block

Oh how I luv thee... after almost two weeks of rain the sun came out and Y*E*S
I am able to get outside and take some shots of these amazing fabrics in the sun...even if it is amongst a few dandelions. That means summer is just around the corner gals! I really wanted to try and capture the colors before I put them out in the mail.


Tracey said we could add our own batiks if they were green or purple. I did have a number of batiks but only two of them worked. This purple I really liked how it added to the blocks and sent my remaining fabric swatch along in the mail in the hopes it gets used if she wants to add to the 24 blocks we as a group are making.

I am going to add at least 6 blocks to mine and more for a row in the back of the quilt.....at least I think I am. I also like this huge block idea for a back as well.

I had to place a little stone on the top to hold the blocks in place or they would fly around like in the photo above. This is a pretty good photo of the colors. It will be a darker quilt...mysterious feeling...a wonderful place to go!
I moved the rock over to the side and snapped one last photo and forced myself to get these in an envelop and to the post office before it closed! Run! I got to the post office and the line was out the door. So I ran back to my car and got the book I am reading and stood there for about a half hour reading "The Color of Water" A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother. by James McBride.

My son's best friend's mom lent me the book. She is a Jewish woman and her son's dad is African American. He is in college now and was just slammed verbally by a bag lady walking to his car. Believe me folks racism still exists big time in our country. The book is a wonderful tribute to a mom who had 12 children and put all of them through college and in most cases graduate school. The author asked his mother what color God was , she said "God is the color of water". He asked his mother if he was black or white. "You're a human being." "Educate yourself or you'll be a nobody!" He knew his mom was different and when he asked her about it she'd simply say, "I'm light skinned."

The whole time reading the book I was thinking in my mind"light skinned black" but she never said that. It's just what my mind was processing. She said "light skinned". Which she is. Which I am. My children are bi-racial. The younger son is darker than his older brother. The older one comments by saying "you are so much darker than I am" every so often when he sees him. He just says it. Not in a condescending manner or negative by any means it is just a statement of fact. The older one is in college and about to turn 21. The younger one is only 8. He goes to a school that is very racially diverse. There are students from 46 different countries at his school. It is a public school in a major city. In his class of 22 there are two white students. I grew up in a small town and never saw a person of another color until I was in high school and even then it was one person.

When I was in college I was involved in the International Student Association and had so much fun meeting people from all over the world. I studied in Germany for a year and enjoyed the experience so much. The friend of my son's leaves in a week to study in England with his girlfriend. He pulled a 4.0 GPA this semester. I am so excited for him. This experience will open his eyes to a much bigger world. I hope I can get my children to travel.