To Oceanside, and Back

SO much has happened in the past three weeks.!  I'm not even sure where to begin.  I guess the best would be at the beginning.

On July 2, I had a MOHS procedure on my face, to remove a Basal Cell tumor.  I knew the "spot" was bigger than what showed, but the resulting suturing on my face?  Sixteen stitches.  My son asks, "Knife fight?"  Friends say, "It will fade."  It's still swollen and somewhat numb.  I'm assured that when the hidden two layers of dissolvable stitches finally do, "it will be a faint line."  Oh, how I hope so.  The current disfigurement, and it is that, catches my breath every time I glance at a mirror.  oh my.

So, anyway, on the heels of the surgery, we had already reserved a week in Oceanside, right on the beach.  I thought my husband would join me, but he had to go back to work.  He stayed less than 48 hours of the week I was there.

And, since I couldn't go into the sun because of the medications, I was trapped in my room for days.  Good thing I brought my sewing machine and projects along, right?  Actually, when my husband was with me, we did venture out to the beach for an hour, and into a couple of thrift stores.

I found this great stained glass lamp for the kids for $35.  I paid more than 10 times that, for the one hanging in my house!  (I am smiling, in both pictures.  I was so swollen you can't tell.)

 Once hubby headed back to the Valley, I set up shop.  I was upstairs, with little ventilation, other than the sliding glass door.  It was in the upper 80's the entire week, which is pretty toasty, without a/c.

 Here is my sewing/pressing station, with projects scattered about the room.

 Here is the cutting table, finally organized.  By this time, it was almost time to head home!

But I did get a lot put together, inspired by the view.  I took LOTS of pictures.

 Sometimes it was hazy, sometimes smoky (fire at Camp Pendleton),

 And on the last day?  Perfection!!

These were the first two pieces that I worked on.

 The piece on the left didn't flow properly.  I folded it this way and that, to see if I could salvage it.  Once I found a proportion that worked, I cut it apart and sewed it back together again.  Much better!

 Here are two more pieces.  The one on the left is new, the one on the right is the same one from above.  I thought the pieces of Tahitian bark cloth were great, but once I tried to applique them in place?  Not so great.  I had to take them off.  They looked tacky, due to poor workmanship (from poor eyesight).

 Here are three more.  I told you I was busy!!

And then I made cards, as well.  And chose fabrics for more seascapes.  I may be addicted to this!

 These are the only two that I have finished from that week at the ocean.  I've been working on cards, and finished one this morning, but mailed it before I remembered to take a picture.  groan.  You'll have to trust me on that.

In other news, someone dumped another dog out at the walnuts.  He's about 3 months old, was skin and bones, and covered with ticks.  Now that he's cleaned up and fed, he's making himself at home with the other dogs.

 Everyone's guess is that he's a husky.  He's got crazy light blue eyes, and a sweet attitude.  Just what the doctor ordered!!

And speaking of sweet, we wouldn't want to forget about our local cutie pie.

She's eating green beans and blueberries in this pic.  And she pulls herself up to stand all the time, and crawls faster than we can keep up with her.

So.  Sorry this was such a long post, but life has been good.  Busy.  But good.
Happy Quilting!!

Two Tiny Finishes

Last week, when I dug into my card-making box, I found a second tree piece that I'd begun to quilt.  It was long and narrow, and primarily river.  I didn't know what I wanted to do with it, other than to finish it.  I doubled the quilting in the water, then thread-painted the batik trees.  Then I set it aside.

When I came back to it, I measured it. 6.25" tall.  Not large enough to face it, if I wanted to cut off a 6" finished piece, but binding?  That would work.  I'd already sliced it off and trimmed it, before I remembered my camera.

 What do you think?  Is it better as two pieces?  Maybe.  Maybe not.  As two pieces, it fulfills two requirements.

 I finished the 6" piece by binding, adding a fish, and mounting it on canvas.  This is #7, of the 6" mounted pieces for Sew Eclectic.  I'm pretty pleased with the way my collection is coming together.

 This larger piece is for my niece.  I didn't have any appropriate animal charms, but she's a big fan of steam punk.  I'd purchased these gears and sequins, thinking that I would use them on something for her.  I think it's kind of fun, in a funky sort of way.

I've also been out to the walnuts, to check the trees and walk the dogs.  I don't know if I've introduced you to my son's new dog, Sandy.  She's a hoot, still in the puppy stage.  She has a sweet disposition, which offsets her mediocre brain capacity.  She's definitely not as smart as Roscoe or Pixel.

 My son makes them sit, before letting them loose in the orchard.  They can barely keep their bottoms on the ground, they are SO excited.

 And once in the orchard?  They hunt for nuts.  They LOVE walnuts.  Look at Roscoe.  "I spy!!"  And then he cracks it open in his jaws and gulp!  All gone.

And I guess that's it...oh wait!  That's not it.  I've made great progress on my quilt from the David Taylor class I took three years ago.  I have soaked the finished applique in the tub, which was a very good move.  Both the red and the black bled heavily, despite prewashing.  Here is the quilt, as it soaks in the tub.  Thank you, Vicki Welsh, for your cure for bleeding fabrics!!

 I then hung the top to dry.  I am SO glad I covered it with this sheet.  I left it out overnight, and a gust of wind caught it and sent it crashing to the ground.  The quilt itself stayed clean.  whew!

I have one more little bit to add to the top.  Once I make a decision, I will be able to baste it and begin quilting. 

This year's quilting goals have fallen by the wayside.  If I can just finish this quilt, it will be enough for 2017.  I know that I am running out of time, but I'm going to give it a valiant effort.  Goals are good, and all that.  Putting them in writing?  Even better.  Here's hoping that I've got something to show you in the not-too-distant future.

Check

 Well, I finished that baby quilt, bound it, labeled it, wrapped it, and sent it off to the office with my husband.  Hopefully it was delivered today, and I won't be thinking about it again.  You can see the errant blocks in the upper left quadrant and the bottom right.  But they're all fish or lures, so it's all good, right? Check one more thing off of the ToDo List.

Over the weekend, I got a new-to-me cabinet from a friend.  I filled it with things from the room I have been referring to as The Sewing Annex.  It is no longer the annex.  Okay, so the Tiara is still in there, and a design wall, and the closet is full of sewing machines, but other than those details (and the bins under the bed and under the window seat)...well, it's now a Guest Room!  For now.

 We have company coming for Thanksgiving, in the form of my dad and his new companion Tutti.  He's had her for four days, and already, she's booked on a road trip.  Tomorrow I head down to Escondido to pick them up.  The plan is for them to stay through Saturday.

I've also been sewing out some labels, and attaching them to quilts.  I have several deadlines before November 30, but whether or not I will be able to meet them remains to be seen.  One day at a time.  Goals are good!

Flying Time

Christmas is just around the corner.  Are you ready?  Oh, I thought I might be, but life had other plans.

I basted a stack of baby quilts, and even got one quilted.  I suspect that the month of January will see me spending a lot of time in the studio, but I'm getting ahead of myself.

 Quilts from earlier years were put to good use, as Penny recovered from a stomach bug.

 On the 18th, Grandpa took Penny (and her mom) to see the SF Ballet perform The Nutcracker.  Looks like they had a GREAT time!

I stayed behind, to keep track of the well drillers.  Yesterday, we finally made it to 500'.  We're about a week away from completion of the drilling portion of this project.  Machines broke down, rain came (yay!) and in general, it's been a muddy mucky mess out there.

 Look at that glop.  I'm not even sure if this is what they dug out of the well, or if it's what they were using to do the drilling.  It's just...gross.  blech.

I spent last week keeping watch over the doggies.  This is what Pixel looked like when she was at her house.

 This is where she hangs out at my house.

Roscoe was there too

 And Sheila.

When my son got back into town, I took a few days off.  Then yesterday, when there was a break in the weather, I suggested we let the dogs run.  One thing led to another, and in the end, I slipped in the mud.

 The bad news is that I broke my fibula.  The good news is that my son put lights on the tree for me.

We've got family coming in tomorrow, and lots of plans for the next 10 days.  If I don't check in with you, don't worry.  We're not planning on breaking any more bones.  Merry Christmas, my friends!!

Houston, Here I Come!

Usually I don't broadcast my intent to leave town, but everyone else will be here, so all is well.  I haven't packed, but I have my tickets and my hotel room, so I'm ready, Freddy.  Let's go!

Why am I treating myself to Houston this year?  Well, that quilt that I made back in May, at Empty Spools, with Susan Brubaker Knapp, well, it was accepted into the show.  It did not win, but it was accepted, and for me, that is a big deal.  A very big deal.  So, of course I need to go see it hang, in person.  Can't wait!

And then there are the people.  I expect to see quilting friends from across the country, all gathered in one place.  I do hope that Hurricane/Tropical Storm Patricia does not mess with us.  I'm not excited about flying into or out of weather.  We'll just play it by ear.

In the meantime, I've made two quilted cards, and not much else.  Life is busy, and not leaving a lot of time with the sewing machine.  This first was for our pastor, for Pastor Appreciation Sunday.

 The next was for a dear friend, for her birthday.  It was made from leftovers/trims from a couple of favorite projects.

And really, that's about it.  I've been out at the walnuts, shooing away nut thieves - yes, truly I have - and running the dogs.  In fact, I sent the dogs after this fellow, as he told me, "It's fine!  No problem!" when I asked him to leave.  See him, there?  Under the tree?  He was still taking nuts, as I walked back to the house.

 When I got there, his van was STILL parked in our orchard.

 So I let the dogs out.  He left in a hurry.

And just in case you think I'm not very nice, well, the thieves are quite brazen this year.  Walnut theft is so common, the Tulare County Sheriff's Dept has a special unit which patrols the county.  On Tuesday - or was it Wednesday? - we had a group of Mien people gleaning.  We'd given them permission, in the form of a registered receipt with our contact information, etc.  A Sheriff's Deputy had stopped to see if they had the proper paperwork to glean our nuts.  While he was talking to them, two Mexicans drove up, parked, jumped out of their car, stole two 50lb bags of nuts, and sped off.  The deputy jumped into his car, chased them down, and caught them.

To make the story even better, our son's girlfriend is also a Sheriff's Deputy, who works in Corrections.  She processed the idiots who tried to steal our nuts.

My patience is very very thin at this point.  Take one nut, without asking permission?  Sic 'em, Roscoe!!

(Not really.  If he actually caught someone, he probably wouldn't know what to do with them.  On the other hand, Sheila?  She's just waiting for someone to tell her, "Game on!")

A Bit of an Interlude

oh, wow.  I just spent the last hour resizing and saving the pictures for my next Scotland post.  Then I checked my last post, and realized that I'd skipped over a couple of days!  arg!  What was I thinking?  I've had enough feedback - thank you!  See me smile! - that I don't want to skimp on trip pics, but I also don't want to spend another hour resizing pics right now.

Instead, I'll tell you what I've been up to.

On Sept. 10, four days after we returned from Scotland, I had my thyroid out.  It wasn't a mandatory procedure, it was elective, but according to the surgeon, it was "going to have to come out eventually."  We've been watching it for a year, and I decided "Let's do this!"  I wanted it done after Scotland and before Houston.  That's right!  I'm headed to Houston next month!  woohoo!

The thyroid came out, best surgery experience ever.  I feel better than I've felt in years.  I haven't felt this good since I was 40!  I'm still having some surgery-induced calcium issues, but if taking megadoses of calcium is all it takes to keep me feeling this good, bring it on!  :)

I made a single birthday card, for my oldest son, for his birthday on Sept. 14.  He manages our walnut ranch, so I made something I thought he would appreciate: fallen leaves, and money in the form of a walnut.  :)

 I spent a couple of days quilting at the County Fair, and I went to the Kings River Quilt Show in Reedley, but forgot to take pictures.

 I got really really excited about this Estate Sale find.  I was looking at shells, and one of the workers asked, "Did you see the big one on the hearth?"  I hadn't.  She brought it to me, in this presentation.

 I flipped it over, tried to hide my gasps, and flipped it back.  "I'll take it!"  For $5?!!  You bet I'll take it.

 Here is another view of this "shell," as seen with a second one, and a quarter.  I believe the little one is star coral, the bigger one is mushroom coral.  (I identified them using online images.  If anyone needs to correct me, please do!)  Coral is no longer sold retail, I'm pretty sure there are laws against it.  But vintage coral?  This is not my first piece, but it's definitely my best deal yet.  LOVE it! 

 And finally, this is my real dog.

 My son and his wife sent me this flower dog, as a get well gift.

It took a few days, but now it looks more like Scruffy.

And I'll leave you with that.  Hopefully next time, I'll have resized the proper set of photos, as we continue our tour through Scotland.  Ta!