When we honeymooned in Arizona in 2002, it was the first time either of us had seen a real joshua tree. I found them totally fascinating; the first several spottings, I was all but jumping out of the car with excitement. Rick finally stopped the car by the side of the road and snapped the photo of me, below. This is the third miniature landscape inspired by our honeymoon.

This was a total departure from my normal techniques, because I did something I *never* do - I used that nasty fusible stuff that's all the rage, the stuff I swore I'd never use. I knew there was no way I could capture the feel of a joshua tree if I had to turn my edges, and I didn't feel like doing stitching over raw edges, and, well - I was in a hurry. And, well, okay, it was fun. I'd planned to put this one behind glass in a frame anyway, so why not? Finishing it was a lot quicker, too: just trim it to the size of the frame, put a piece of batting behind it, and it's done.