I am back from my glorious trip to San Diego.  I stayed with my friend Cassie Prescott in her beautiful home by the water for a full week!  Being by the sea, savoring the cool moist air every day was pure pleasure and quite the change from my dry high desert climate.  San Diego is paradise indeed!

On Tuesday evening, I presented a program for the San Diego ANG's annual Open House.  That was quite a challenge for me as I was asked to speak for about an hour.  But, I think it turned out fine, and I was happy to do it.  Also happy when I completed that assignment!

Wednesday and  Thursday were play days for Cassie and me.  She took me shopping, of course, because that is always fun!  And also, we toured the Balboa Park's Botanical Gardens.  Oh what beauty!  Sadly, we didn't have enough time to really linger and immerse ourselves in all the flora because we had a dinner appointment to keep, but I did capture some beautiful photos with my cell phone camera. 

Below is one of the many magnificient coy fish in the surroundings ponds which will be laden with gorgeous water lilies later this summer.

Next, is the historic wood slated arboretum.  Such a beautiful structure!  Very Victorian, and it houses all kinds of tropical plants.

 

Here now, are photos of some of the most beautiful flowers I have ever seen.  I am just entranced by their exotic nature!  

Seriously now, do these flowers incite inspiration and the desire to stitch something beautiful?
I just want to study them in depth, re-create their colors  and intricate patterns with needle and thread.  Which is what I did..(but long before I saw these beauties in person.)  Here is my rendition of a lady slipper flower, rendered in my Painted Threads technique.

On Sunday, April 18th, I did teach this technique to 11 members of the guild.   This is my absolute favorite stitching and painting technique!  The subject is pre-stitched in all white threads, then soaked in water, and paint applied, to bleed and run into the threads and surrounding background.   I'll post more about that in a few days.  But right now, I have to work on one of my UFO's!  I'm determined to get it done in the next day or so.  So close to completion...so many stitches, so many colors, so many ideas, so many many things to do!  Ain't life grand?