Each month Angela choses a colour and this year Mari is posting a block for the Squared Away sampler.
This month's colour is red and here are my two Round the Corner blocks:
I was in Friesland (one of the most northerly provinces of The Netherlands) last week, and stayed in Leeuwarden, the provincial capital which has been chosen as Cultural Capital of Europe for 2018. To celebrate this honour the provincial governors decided to invite eleven sculptors to create a fountain for each of eleven towns in the province. A suitable cultural expression considering the importance of water in out lives.
I photographed the fountains in Bolswaard:
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| De Vliermuis (the bat) by Johan Cretan |
and in Leeuwarden:
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| Artist unknown to me: I couldn't find a plaque at the site, and no info on the Province's info online |
This country, The Netherlands, is normally wet. In fact historically our greatest struggle has been managing the water. Just think of all those windmills pumping the water off the land from the network of drainage ditches into the rivers, and all those levees keeping the rivers within boundaries and keeping out the sea.
Uncharacteristically no rain has fallen in the last six weeks, leading to depleted water supplies. In some areas, including Friesland, a water shortage has officially been declared; fortunately there is no restriction yet for households, but farmers are no longer allowed to pump up ground water, and town councils have advised that fountains should be still, and garden hoses go unused. Any other year and Friesland's fountain project would have been spectacular. As it is the sculpture is interesting, beautiful, moving and in some cases controversial, but in some cities misses its crowning glory.
You can't plan everything!
I never thought I'd say this, but I wish it would rain! Just a little, and at night!
I'm linking to
Click on the button to see more scrappy redness.
Happy sewing
Marly.
9 comments:
Your Squared Away blocks turned out beautifully! Hoping you see rain soon. Typically we are very dry in July and August, but we've been having very powerful thunderstorms that just pop up, reek havoc and then dissipate. So we've had rain, with a side of roof and electrical damage.
Such pretty reds! I like those circle prints especially! It's hot and dry in Colorado - we also would like some rain.
If I could, I would send you some of our rain--we have too much! The fountains are lovely even without water. Your blocks look great!
I'd be happy to send you some rain....It has rained daily for the last 6 weeks and all day yesterday. Mother nature sure is having fun this year with the weather. Hope the rain happens for you soon - at night and just enough to get everyone off the drought restrictions.
I have some of that red dot fabric that I used in my first one. I have 2 to make still. Your blocks look great.
SEW glad that you found time to play with your RED scraps!!!
We've been dry here, as well. The grass makes a crunchy noise when you walk on it...
It is a shame the drought happened just when the fountains were installed! Melbourne had to turn off all the fountains for a couple of years in the last major drought, and it was so nice when they came back again. Hope you get some rain soon!
Love your red and white blocks! I have always loved red and white combinations! The fountains are a nice idea and it is a shame that you weren't able to see them working! I think it has been dry in a lot of Europe! Christine x
What a shame the fountains aren't working, but beautiful sculptures are always appreciated. Even controversial ones!
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