Hot Air Balloons are a way of life here in Napa, they fly all over the Valley on cool mornings, sometimes I can see as many as 15 or 20 a day during the summer. They land in open fields most of the time, giving people around a wonderful chance to see the complex procedure bring down the balloon. One evening I even saw one being inflated (a rare occurrence). I love the patterns on the balloons, and this one reminds me of Bargello, so I translated it into needlepoint. When complete it will have a little freestanding basket and will be finished as a flat ornament. It’s just one of the projects in the upcoming Bargello book