Here and There and Back Again

ohmygoodness!  Have I not posted since my first visit to meet my little granddaughter?!  hmmm.  Well, I guess I've been a bit busy.  I was home for one week, before heading back to the mid-West.

During that week, guild met.  I've got a few months left of my Block of the Month commitment.  Par usual, I tossed together this month's block in the days preceding the meeting.  The response to September's Jacob's Ladder was not as enthusiastic as I had hoped.

 Perhaps October's pumpkin will attract more participants.  The applique is easier than it looks, with only 7 pieces, all curves, except for the stem.  I'm not sure I could have made anything easier than that.

 Before we left, quilts were delivered for the Tulare County Fair.  My friend Judie generously took care of both delivery and retrieval of my entries.  "Broken Shell Beach," made by 10 members of Sew Eclectic took top Professional honors with a BOS rosette.

 My quilt, "Shalom" also showed well.  Both of these quilts have been accepted into PIQF, so if you want to see them in person, I suggest you plan a trip to Santa Clara in October.  That's what I'm doing.

My friend Wendy and I traveled to Ohio on Sept 9, to visit our good friend Pat.  She left CA two years ago.  Finally, finally we were able to coordinate a visit to see her in her new environment.

Here we are, at Lake Erie:

 When Pat asked what we wanted to do, I'd asked, "Well, what is there to do?"  This was my first visit to Ohio, so I had no idea.  When she mentioned Lake Erie, well, I've never dipped a toe in a great lake before.  Let's do it!

As a thank you, Wendy and I did a bit of decorating in Pat's house.  It was painted a pale grey and white, that is just not Pat.  When she said, "I wish it was purple, " well, Wendy said, "We can paint it!"

 And so we did.  Isn't this so much better?  If you know Pat, you know that this is now her happy place.

Well, this post is getting a bit long, so I'll pick up with it again  in the morning.

Since I've returned home, I've been trying to get my sewing space under control.  Yesterday, I made enough progress to be able to get some machine quilting done.  I am trying to hit a deadline for entry that comes in October.  I don't have much time, but perhaps I'll hit this one.  Goals are good!

Happy Quilting!!

Like New

Sorry to be such a horrid blogger.  So much to do, so little time to blog.  But I have news!  My walls are done!  The wallpaper is gone, the walls are textured, and now they are painted.  Most of the walls are painted with semi-gloss Great White Way (Lowe's), but each of the rooms has at least one accent wall.

The dining room has two walls of PPG's "Cloudberry."

 As you can see, we've moved right back in and made ourselves at home.  I think we ate one meal in here, before pulling out the computer and Christmas cards and everything else.

 One wall in the master bedroom is "Magical," I think it's a Sherwin-Williams color, from Lowe's.  It is a red-violet, that sings to me.  Sorry the room is so rumpled.  When it is nice and neat, my camera is nowhere to be found.

Here is a better picture, but I'd just stripped the bed after spilling windex in the middle of it.  (I had cleaned everything, in preparation for a glam shot.)  *sigh*

I chose "Rain Dance," another Lowe's (maybe Valspar?) color, for two walls of the master bathroom.

 As you can see, I still need to put the towel bar back on the wall.  I really miss that towel bar!

 The kitchen was tricky. In 2008, I painted an accent wall in the cooking area.  I used an Easy Living paint from Orchard Supply, called Cottage Garden.  Between then and now, OSH broke up with Sears, and my paint rotted.  Trying to match it was difficult.  I went first to PPG (self-proclaimed to be The Best), and then to OSH, when I saw that the PPG color was much too dark.

At this point, I have to mention that I painted the dining room and bedroom.  I hired a professional to finish the kitchen and bathroom.  I would have been happier with the results, had I painted it all myself, but I must admit it was a relief to have the last two rooms done in two days.  (Each wall required a coat of primer, two coats of paint.)  Unfortunately, the painter was horrendously sloppy, as witnessed by this corner.  You can see the 2008 paint on the left, and the new paint on the right.  I cringe, every time I see this.

 My son suggested trying the Lowe's paint match experts.  I had no hope, but I stopped by.  The woman in the paint department was FANTASTIC.  "Easy Living?  Isn't that Martha Stewart?  Cottage Green?  here you go!"  Not only was she able to match it perfectly, but she sold me a $2.48 sample, instead of an $18 quart like the other stores!!

Look at that match!!

I quickly went back for a quart, and proceeded to repaint the new green area.  Such a difference in color!!

 Did I mention that I added wainscoting?  Chairs kept hitting the wall and knocking off texture.  It is so easy!  It cost about $30, when all was said and done.  (The middle and bottom slats are to help the Liquid Nails hold.  I didn't understand the instructions, and didn't apply it liberally enough.)

 Looks like it's always been there!

So, yes, I've been busy.  busy, busy, busy.  But not with fabric.  Instead, I've given this tired 80's house a desperately needed facelift.

We didn't bring the tree in until 12/17, though we had it in the backyard for two weeks.  First, I had to finish the painting.  Having the 10' ladder in the house made decorating the tree easier than usual.

I'm calling it "done" though I still have a tub of ornaments that I've yet to dig into.

 And on that note, the important things are done.

Wishing you and yours a most Blessed Christmas, and the Happiest of New Years.  I know that I, for one, am truly anticipating 2018.  Resolution #1:  Quilt!!

Goals are good.
Merry Christmas!

Art Art

When I was growing up, Art was a big part of my environment.  I had no idea that other people did not have walls hung with paintings.  My grandfather's home was like a museum, with Tiffany lamps, antique china, Stickley furniture and the like.  Unfortunately, a few years after he passed away, his Malibu home burnt to the ground in one of their horrible fires.  It all went up in smoke.

He was also a painter, who dabbled in oils.  I have several of his paintings in my home, as I was given them before the fire.

My parents bought paintings.  My dad preferred desert landscapes.  My mom liked figures, often done in charcoal, pastels, or woodblock prints.

My home has paintings (I purchase primarily watercolors, though I inherited a number of oils).  Two of my sisters also have homes filled with paintings.  One has a bit of everything, the other loves abstracts.

This is my dad's house:

 This is my house (new sofas, from Costco!)

These are hanging on my sister's walls:

 huh. Each got turned on its ear.  I guess that means it's real art, because they still look good!  And balanced!

Are we odd?  I always thought this was normal, until my husband indicated that he prefers blank walls.  I would have the place hung like a gallery, if I had my druthers.  I have two closets filled with paintings, which never see the light of day.

Again, are we odd?  I guess I never thought about it, until I realized that each of my sisters have so much art in our homes, we will be hard-pressed to know what to do with my dad's collection once he is done with it.  Add to that my quilting, and one sister's knitting, and, well, I guess the creative gene runs deep, along with appreciation.

And on that note, all I've got to show you today is one polka dot:

 and one birthday card.

Thanks for hanging in with me, as I think about Art, and appreciation.  Happy Quilting!!

Steady Progress

I seem to be plugging along, getting quilting time here and there.  It's not yet all quilting all the time, but I'm working on it.  I pieced another baby quilt over the weekend.  It's a bit BUSY.

 It's still busy, when you're up close and personal.  I thought of putting dots on the back, but that might be just a bit much.

Remember the scraps I pieced while on retreat?  They were leftovers from an unsuccessful challenge entry.

 I kept thinking it needed a pelican.  Last night, I pulled out the brown paint and painted one on.

 This morning I picked out some nice variegated King Tut thread...

 And then I started quilting.

 I love the fabric I chose for the back.  It seems to have lined up quite well.

 I trimmed it, and added facing.

And the next thing I knew, it was finished.  Well, it still needs a sleeve and a label, but it's pretty close to done.

Yes, I think the pelican was just what it needed.  Cross one more thing off the list.  woohoo!  :)

Tree vs. Drought

Well, the drought won this one.  One of our redwood trees has been water-stressed for the past several years.  Part of it was probably due to our switching from above ground sprinklers to a drip system 5 years ago.  Obviously the trees aren't getting as much water as they used to, and then combine that with the cut back in watering due to a lack of water and, well, the drought won.  Tree zero.

 The above is the "before" picture.  The tree on the furthest left belongs to our neighbor.  I suspect it looks so healthy and luscious because a couple of years ago it tapped into the sewer line, eventually popping it and causing a huge leak in the middle of the street.  Our tree (second on the left) was not so aggressive.  Here's a better view.  It was definitely struggling.  I'm not sure if you can tell from the angle, but it had a 20' split up the front, and it was leaning towards the garage.

 They cut a wedge at the bottom, tied the top to a truck, cut through the trunk, then backed the truck up.  Timber!

 It was simultaneously depressing and impressive.

 When they started cutting the top, the owner called me over to see the trunk.  This was 20' from the top.  He said the tree was much more distressed and dangerous than he'd thought, and we are fortunate that it hadn't fallen on its own.  (If you notice in the first photo, the top of the tree is double.  That means that at one point, it did break off.  I think I remember that, but not so clearly.  It's happened more than once in the middle of windstorms.)

Below is the "after" photo.  One tree is gone, and the tree on the right has been thinned, as has one in the backyard.  You can see the redwoods surrounding us.  Five are ours, the two shortest ones belong to our behind the fence neighbor, and the lush green one belongs to the neighbor on the left.  The giant trees were a huge selling point, when we moved into this neighborhood in 1994.

 This is what we have left.  One friend received about 15' of trunk to make bowls.  Another friend and my son are discussing the remaining 18'.  I've told my son that I'd really like a table made out of the largest section.  Then again, do I really want to add to his list of UFO's?  (He's already got tons - probably literally - of walnut, waiting to be planked.)

And that, folks, is what's been happening around here lately.  I've also finished my project from Asilomar and Susan Brubaker Knapp's class.  I just haven't gotten around to taking good pictures yet.  I can give you a bad one, just to tide you over...

And with that, I've got to say that I am most definitely happy to be back and quilting!!  :)

Busy Doing Nothing

Where are the weeks going?  I can't believe it's been so long since I've blogged.  It's hot and blah right now, so there's not a lot to blog about.  This morning I thought, "I'll take my camera out to the walnuts!"  Then I hopped in the car and drove off...without the camera, of course.  My brain just doesn't function when it's overheated.

I have spent a lot of time admiring my house.  The color has really grown on me.  My favorite sight is this back door, to the pool bathroom.

I had it painted one shade darker than the house.  You can only see the difference when it is in shadow, but it's enough.  It makes me smile, every time.  :)

Last week was my husband's birthday.  Usually I'm at a loss to buy him anything, but this time?  He said he wanted "a new pair of TopSiders."  wow.  His "old" pair was a 30 year old pair of hand-me-downs from my younger brother!  Well, they're more than 30, since my brother wore them for who-knows-how-long before he gave them to husband 30 years ago!

Shock of shocks, he's wearing the new shoes.  yay!!!

The fact that I took a picture of them might indicate how rare an occurrence it is for me to pick a "winner" of a gift for him.

I'm trying to prep for a personal quilt retreat, but can't seem to get my thoughts organized.  As I consider taking along this project or that, I'm sewing my way through snippets on my table.  Over the weekend, I pieced some tops for Komforters for Kids, our guild's community outreach program.  (Finished quilts are placed in police cars and fire trucks and with CPS, to be given to children in distress.)  The fabric was donated and pre-cut.  I just sewed it together.

I made some snippets leftover from Penny's Christmas quilt into postcards:

and finished up a potential birthday card that I started a while back

I also made some postcards from some Halloween selvedges, gifted to me by a friend.

And I think that's about it.  Not much to crow about, really, but I missed you guys, and thought I ought to check in.