Sew Faster!

I think I mentioned our Sew Eclectic Challenge in my last post.  I finished my second piece, and am very happy with it.  I can't wait to see what the rest of the finished quilts look like.  We have a new deadline of February 1.  Hopefully the other half of the whole will be done by then.  no pressure.  ;)

 We went to the first estate sale of the year, and I found this cutter quilt for $2.  Had to have it.  I thought I would make it into pillows, until I realized that it only has holes on one end.  The other end has already been chopped off.  Maybe I'll chop off the holey end and make it a floor quilt for babies to play on.  We'll see.

 I wasn't familiar with the pattern, but Charlotte looked it up and tells me it is Road to Oklahoma.  In looking at this photo, I see that there are chains running top left to bottom right.  I hadn't noticed that before.  The blocks are set with cornerstones and sashing, so it's a bit tricky to see that the blocks consist of 4 diagonal squares and two arrows.

Other than that, I've been busy trying to prepare for various events.  Tomorrow I give a trunk show presentation at the local Orange Blossom Quilt Guild.  It should be fun, and will be good preparation for my scheduled presentation during the World Ag Expo.

This year has gotten off to a wild and woolly beginning.  Let's hope it calms down a bit, because it's hard to keep up when so much is happening so quickly.  My father-in-law passed away at the beginning of the month.  His memorial service was held last week.  This was the first time to see all of our grandchildren together in one place.  They are a joy to behold.

The baby does not belong to his handler.  That's Penelope's dad, holding her itty bitty cousin.

And I guess that's going to have to do it for now, because I've got lots to do and not a lot of time in which to get it done.  Happy New Year!  Happy Quilting!!

RAIN!

We've got rain and thunder.  Whosh, here comes a downpour!!  Good thing I took some pictures of my garden BEFORE the rains came down!

 And here's a sure sign of Spring:  The Gingkoes are beginning to push itty bitty leafies.

The only quiltie thing I have to show for the past week, other than piles of quilt show paperwork is this $5 gem from another estate sale.

The mom looked at it, and at her daughter.  Her daughter scowled, pointed to the raw edge, and said, "It's not even finished!"  wow.  Hand pieced and OLD fabrics.  A friend thinks it's mid to late 1800's.  I'll be stopping by the Appraiser at BOTV to see what she has to say about my find!

See me smile!!

Life Happens

A day or so after my last post, I made more blocks for the string quilt.

 Eventually I would like to make 9 more blocks, if not 21.  It may be big enough with the large dark squares set 3x4, rather than 4x4.  With the foundation and all of the seams, it gains weight quickly.

Last week...or was it the week before?  My father had a medical issue that necessitated a trip to the emergency room.  His subsequent treatment of his treatment (or lack thereof - he refused to fill the prescription, then decided to do a home modification on an inserted medical device) landed him in the hospital and eventually in surgery.  He's currently in a rehab facility, but going home is no longer an option.  Here you can see the dramatic property line between the neighbor's place and my dad's.  Can you say, "fire hazard?"

 Needless to say, there was no quilting happening last week, as I spent 6 days visiting with him and trying to make sense of some of his paperwork.  I came home for a couple of days, but will be headed back again. My impassioned plea to all of you is to make sure that you have your estate paperwork in order BEFORE you need your estate paperwork.  He has maintained control for YEARS, and now that we need to be able to help him (he's 88), he's tied our hands in more ways than one.  If you love your family, you will not do this to them.  seriously.  The result of procrastination/refusal is hateful, and really limits his own options.

On a brighter note, I was home for a bit of weekend estate-sale-ing.  I only had time to swing by one, but I found this bright and cheery wedding ring.  It is graphically delightful, with its bold reds and happy ginghams.  Because it has worn spots and a tear, it was a mere $15.  I bought it with the thought of using it as a cutter quilt, but it is in much better condition than I initially believed.  I might have to do something fun with it...like even patch/repair it!  Just looking at it makes me happy!

 And finally, the primary motivator for returning home this week was the wrap-up party I planned for the quilt show committee.  I'm not sure if you can see how bright and happy it looked, with the tables and new umbrellas and Adirondack chairs, etc.  It almost looked like a resort by the time everyone began to arrive.  My backyard is my happy place.  :)

And on that cheery note, I am sitting here looking at two gorgeous bouquets of roses from two of my children.  It's Mother's Day, a day that often leaves me melancholy.  The last time I saw my mother was Mother's Day 2000.  She passed away a few weeks later.  And now my dad is ailing.  Maybe the bright side is that he's left so much undone, we are busy from morning until night trying to put things in order.  Maybe.  But it's not easy, and I'm sure many of you know that.

Every day is a gift.  Treasure it!

Happy Things

I don't think I've ever had so many tulips bloom in a single year. 

 Apparently, tulips make me almost as happy as iris do.

 Even the cat with the attitude makes me happy, sometimes.  ;)

And then there are the iris.  They are beginning their season of beauty.

 They can be apricot, or orange,

 or blue violet

 or pale yellow

or red violet

 or two-toned, it doesn't matter.  They all have me reaching for my camera in an attempt to capture some of their beauty.

And then there are quilt shows.  They make me happy.  And the quilts in the shows make me even happier.  Here is a picture of my favorite quilt from this weekend's SJVQG show in Fresno.

There now.  I hope you are smiling, too!

Out and About

Over the weekend, hubby and I celebrated our 34th wedding anniversary.  oh. my. goodness.  How did we get to be so old?!  He indulged me with a week at the beach, and he's actually come a long way in learning to enjoy it.  He's more of a mountains/river guy, but this year?  The mountains are too dry, and the rivers...hard to enjoy.  And so, it's beach for the both of us, and I'm not the only one smiling.  See?

There was a roving photographer at our lunch destination, and we took her up on her offer of a "free photo."  The first one was awful - who were those old people?!! - but when I told her it was our anniversary, she ushered us out to the harbor for something special.  This one is a keeper.

We've been walking the beach, miles each day.  Hubby is getting his exercise, I stop every few steps to watch a surfer or a bird, or to pick up a shell or stone, or to snap a photo of this that or the other thing.  Here are a few examples:  This guy had a fan strapped to his backside, and he was buzzing back and forth past where the surfers hang out.  If he went down, it would not be good.

 This gull was one of the most regal I've seen.  Most of them remind me of flying rats.  I'm not usually a fan.

 The pelicans trade off lifeguard duty.  Some are banded, some are not.  That's how we know they're taking turns.

And then there is the worry about poachers.  Apparently it's a problem.  (Check that bird's beak!  I think he's an offender!)

 I only brought along handwork.  This old quilt top, which I bought and began quilting back in the mid-90's, is almost finished.

 See?  I'm down to the last corner.  woohoo!

And finally, I've got to share some of my sunset shots.  On our anniversary, evening we were out for a stroll.  The photo ops just kept on coming.

 There was the distant sailboat, and the lifeguard tower.

 But I think our favorite was the chairs/umbrellas tableau.  The furniture was up for a couple of days, and then it disappeared.  Simply lovely.

The best part of the beach escape is that at home, they're in the midst of a 100+ heat wave.  I think it was supposed to last 12 days, but I haven't even looked at the forecast.  I'm just assuming it's been horrendously hot, and I am not.  Whatever it takes, to survive another summer.  :)

Coming Down

I'm still riding a bit high from the most recent edition of Best of the Valley.  The show was wonderful, and the praise hasn't stopped.  I need to be careful, because it just might go to my head.  :)  We worked hard to make it happen, and that hard work paid off.  Don't you just love it when that happens?  I most certainly do!  :)  I've already got next year's dates.  Mark your calendars for April 10-12, 2015, when the 20th annual BOTV opens its doors to the public.

I've been playing a lot of clean up and doing a lot of paperwork during the past few weeks.  I'm also trying to prepare for a week at Asilomar.  I'm taking a class with David Taylor.  I can't wait, even though I haven't pulled any fabric yet.

I haven't had time to get back to work on any serious projects, but I had enough focus to unquilt this top that I bought a few years ago.  I love the colors and the fabric, but the workmanship?  It wasn't worth finishing.  I got the great idea to dismantle it, cut it correctly, and reassemble it.  At this point the top has been separated from the back, and the nasty batting has gone out with the garbage.

 As you can see, there are some stains in the muslin.  I think this is a job for RetroClean.  I'm pretty sure that it will look beautiful, if/when I get it all apart and then put back together again.  :)  I haven't examined the muslin yet.  I suppose I should consider replacing it with new.

In addition to cleaning the studio, I've taken a few hours to assemble a couple of birthday cards.  One should be delivered today, the other goes out today.  I like them both, and am inclined to go back and do more sewing, rather than cleaning.  Sometimes a girl just needs to sew, don't you think?

I'm sending two quilts off to Denver today.  If you make it to Denver Quilt Fest next week, you can look for "They Play Well Together" (a wild and crazy Log Cabin) and "Inspired by Sara," a simple art quilt with some wonderful hand-beading.

And I think that's a wrap.

All Better

I guess I must have dislocated something in my foot, which relocated itself during the course of the day.  My limp is gone, hurrah!  I'm still a bit bumped and bruised, but I feel terrific.  Thank you to those of you who commented.  I know.  I shouldn't be on a ladder on an incline.  Unfortunately I keep thinking I need to get back up there and finish the job!  Maybe I'll go shopping instead!

 

I found this velvet Log Cabin quilt at an Estate Sale yesterday.  It smells musty - ew! - but for $15, I thought it might be a good experiment to see if velvet can be washed in the bathtub.  So far, so good, except that it bleeds like crazy, and it still smells.  oh well.  Maybe a few days on the line will reduce the aroma?

The dog, who shall remain nameless, or called "Rocky", "Butch," "Spot," or "Jaws," (depending upon who you talk to) has been back for three days.  Do you suppose he will stay?  He has new scars since his last visit.  He acts like a lover, not a fighter.  At least he has no ticks this time around!

 The Chup-ster isn't feeling so hot.  Or maybe she's feeling TOO hot.  The heat is taking its toll, and the boys worry that she's not going to make it through the summer.  Once the sun goes down, she takes more of an interest in her surroundings.

And I guess that's about it.  Yard sales are calling, and then later, I may hole up in the Studio, and begin stitching 'til the cows come home.  (And since we don't have any cows, that could be a very long time!)  :)

Charlie, Addendum

Here he is, last night, with his IV, waiting for transport to the Emergency Clinic. Poor kitty, I miss you.

This afternoon, I thought he might be coming home, but it was not to be. By 2:30, he'd gone more than 24 hours without passing stool, so the vet started giving him enemas. Poor kitty. Just before I arrived, he finally passed something. What did he pass? Was it barium along with the usual bowel contents? No, it was not. It was thread. A lot of thread. And fiber. A third set of xrays confirmed the first vet's original assessment: linear foreign object. Not good.

Where did he get this thread and fiber? He did not get it from my Studio or any of my projects. He got it from this quilt. It was purchased from an antique store, and I love the floral fabric. I've had it on my bed all winter, as it has a wool blanket for a batt.

The quilt top is a shredded mess, so it is never exposed.

Here's a close-up, to show you how badly it's shredded.

It never occurred to me that the floral side would be a problem, but apparently it is pretty tasty. Charlie ate the thread, and Charlie ate the wool. I suspect the wool kept the thread from destroying his intestines. So far.

All I can say is that if you have a cutter quilt in your possession, please, please, keep it away from your pets. You may not mind what the animals do to the quilt, but what the quilt can do to the animals? That is a completely different story. Ours has not yet ended. Charlie is on fluids through the night, hoping to keep him hyper-hydrated so that he will continue to pass the contents of his colon. His colon appears jam-packed, so I'm guessing that tomorrow he'll be once again visited by the enema tech. Poor baby. :(

I'm Ba-ack!!

Did you miss me? I've spent the past several days in Santa Barbara, doing this, that and the other thing. I'd never been there for an extended period of time, so it was interesting to see the place that I've heard so much about. Upon my return, I had to tell #1 son that I was GLAD he'd chosen UCSC over UCSB - Santa Cruz wins hands down for cleanliness, beauty, and personality, at least in my opinion.

I was struck by a massive incongruity in SB. When I shopped, they were extremely aware of being green and environmentally friendly, trying to limit the use of paper and plastic. There is nothing wrong with that at all, it's just that if that is the prevailing sentiment, you'd think that it would apply to their local environs as well as the world at large.

When I went down to the beach, at 9am, this is what I saw:

What is this pool, and why don't they fix it?


Look at all the cigarette butts. There were also bums, and their sleeping bags were spread on the sand, but I didn't take pictures of them. They were congregated under the palm trees behind me.

The one thing that I thought did the least to impact the view was the oil platforms on the horizon. I doubt they are in use these days, but there they are, holding all the promise of homegrown oil. If the people of Santa Barbara don't care about the cigarettes and trash underfoot, why do they fuss about getting oil from out there, where you can barely see it?


I'm not asking that to make trouble, I seriously just don't get it. It seems to be contradictory. If they are truly fixated on fixing the environment, wouldn't they start right there on the beach? Then again, maybe they have. Maybe it used to be a lot worse. I don't have anything to compare it to, in its current condition, so who am I to judge?

But enough of Santa Barbara.

While there, I wandered into the Santa Barbara Consignment Shop. It is a huge warehouse, filled with furniture and your usual this and that home furnishing antique-y stuff. As I walked by, a quilt called out to me.

It's a hand-embroidered, hand-quilted beauty, with scalloped edges. I looked at it, I fondled it, I thought about it, and I took it home.

As I laid it out on my hotel bed, I made an interesting discovery. The quilter/embroiderer ran out of floss.

The majority of blocks are embroidered thusly:

As I was looking block to block, I found this:


She was probably embroidering, thinking "Surely I'll have enough green..." And then the cat ate the rest of her floss, or the wind blew it away, or she realized that she used it in the cornerstone embroidery in the sashing, instead of doing all the blocks first. There is one block like this:

Yep. She definitely ran out of green...

This is the full shot of the quilt. The all-yellow block is on the right side, second row, the transition block is smack-dab in the middle of the top row. Apparently she didn't mind putting the problem right up front and dealing with it. I like her attitude. It's pretty spunky. :)

The quilting is beautifully done. I think that more than one person quilted on this quilt, but most of the quilting is as good as that pictured above. I wouldn't make this quilt for what I paid for it, even if I'd quilted it by machine. It's a lovely piece, and I intend to treasure it. Someone put a lot of time and effort into it, and it would have been a shame to leave it languishing in the shop, waiting for someone else to notice it.

And now, I am home. What a delight!! Two of our boys are home for the summer, and life just got more entertaining. It is a trade off, but when you consider empty nest vs. messy nest, I'll take the life and love of messy any day. My goal this summer is to just keep it less messy.

This is #2 son. His goal this summer is to master the ukulele. He bought it two days ago. He also wants to learn to walk the slack line. You can barely see it, it's red and strung between the trees behind him, behind his hat.

#3 son is still testing his environment. What happens if you put one handset on each ear when Dad calls? Wow! You get him in stereo, but the voice is not synchronized. cool!!!

Yep. You send them off to college to learn new things, but they also continue to learn them at home. I find it highly entertaining to see exactly how and what each one chooses to learn. #1 son is paint-balling today, and going hang-gliding tomorrow...never a dull moment!

And our daughter should be arriving momentarily, with pictures from her trip to Italy. ooh, aah, I'm looking forward to seeing her and them.

Finally, my Hoffman update is that I worked on it a LOT this past week, and have quilted at least 1/3 of it. I believe I will make the deadline, and my quilt will even be hand-quilted. I'll spare you the in-progress picture, and keep on working.

Enjoy your weekend, and stay cool!!! (Easier said than done around here, where it's supposed to hit 106...)