Merry Christmas

Wishing everyone a very happy Christmas.  The best gifts are the ones that come from the heart and quite often the only cost is a little time and effort.  A simple act of kindness, an encouraging word, or a hug can brighten even the gloomiest day.  Thank you all for your comments during the past year.....I appreciate each one.  Enjoy your holidays with family and friends.

Daisy Stitchery Finished

Doesn't this look like a spring-y, warm, summer-y little wall quilt?  This was a bom from Jenny of Elefantz, who is one of my favorite designers and bloggers.  When I look at my list of favorites, it seems most of them live in Australia! If you haven't visited Jenny's blog, just click on the name.  I really like the combination of stitchery and quilting.....but I also like artsy quilts....and traditional with a twist.....oh, lets just face it!  I like almost every type of quilting!

All Things Christmas

I can't believe that next week is Thanksgiving already, which means that Christmas is only a month away!  Anyway, SewCalGal is hosting another online Christmas quilt show, and this is the only Christmas quilt I have.  Yes, I posted about it last year and also promised myself that I would finish the embellishing before Christmas 2010.  Hasn't happened yet, but I took a class from Mary Stori in October so I'm getting out the beads and fancies. When I finish embellishing I will update the picture.  In the meantime, check out all the wonderful quilts at the virtual quilt show.   Just click HERE


This pattern is from one of my favorite applique/pattern designers, Angie Padilla.  Check out her website for some really fun things.  Angie is also the author of the EQ6 applique book.

And The Fall into Fall winner is.......

Not yet!  First I would like to thank everyone for stopping by and leaving a comment on your favorite fall activity.  Mine is picking apples and just the "right" pumpkin for our annual dinner in the pumpkin!  This is a day late because I didn't get out of hospital until yesterday so I'm moving quite slowly.  My apologies for that. 

Drum roll please........Mr Random Generator chose....#74.....Karen!  Good name too, it's my youngest daughter's name.  Karen I will email you in just a bit for mailing info.  Congrats!  And thanks for entering.

Kindle Case and More Little Bags

This little bag turned out so cute.  The pattern is from "The Quilt Company" and called "Three Pocket Tote".  It's actually made from a quilted square.  The trick is folding it origami style.  There is a center pocket and two flap pockets that button or velcro closed.  It can be almost any size depending on the size of your quilted square!  This one is about 8"x8 1/2" and the perfect size for a quick trip to the market.....or fabric store.

Here's another Sonoma Bag made for another grandgirl.  She picked out the colors and watched while her sister (younger) stitched all the strips for both bags together.

I just got a Kindle and had to have a pouch to protect it. The tutorial for this one showed up in my in-box from Tipnut.com the same day I was trying to figure out how to hide the lining seams.  The tutorial can be found on Junie Moon's blog .  The first photo is the back pocket and the second picture is the front.  Black velcro would have been so-o-o much better, but I needed it right then.  Thank you Junie!!!

Road Update

I've had several people ask me for an update on the new road behind our house. After almost a year of problems, cars are actually able to drive on it! Most of the time.

Okay. Here's the latest as of this afternoon. Seems there is still a problem with water drainage! Last time I posted about the road it was all paved and ready to go....or so it seemed. Sure enough, something was just not right so they got the old jackhammers out and dug up a few spots through the brand new hot topped road. Did I not predict that that would happen? That was around the end of August. Since we are a desert climate, there is not much rain during the summer, but we have had a few storms. Yep, each time it rained out came the trucks and up came the man-hole covers.

This photo was taken right behind our house. It started raining about half an hour before they got here, but not really that hard. When they started the engine on this thing it sounded like my vacuum. Once it reached the bottom it sounded like my vacuum sucking up a spilled box of beads, only louder. You all know the sound of hard little things being vacuumed.

So, for now, it seems like it's mostly a go. I'll let you know if anything interesting happens. Oh! There are actually some speed limit signs up....so it must be officially declared a road.

Fall into Fall Quilt Bloggers Giveaway

Oh my gosh!  I am so sorry for the late post for the Fall into Fall Quilt Bloggers Giveaway!  My excuses are valid but I won't bore you with explanations.

See the little scarecrow on the right sidebar?  When you finish reading this post....not before....click on the little guy and he will take you to the list of blogging quilters who are all giving away prizes.  There are 130+ sites to visit so you have lots of chances to win some fun things.  The giveaway runs from Oct. 1 to Oct. 15th.

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This is what I will be giving away.  A half yard of autumn fairy print, (several different fairies in little rectangles that can be fussy-cut), half yard of coordinating leaf print, three fat quarters and Billie Lauder's book "Quick Quilt Tricks".  There may be a few more goodies included.  Surprises are fun!

To enter just leave a comment about your favorite fall activity.  International is welcome, too.  If you decide to become a follower of my blog that would be wonderful but not necessary.  If you don't have a blog with a link-back, please include your email with your comment.  You can't win if I can't contact you and Mr. Random will have to draw another number.  Winning entry will be drawn on Oct. 15th.  Good luck to everyone!

Niagra River Rapids

We spent a wonderful week visiting family in Buffalo, NY (two weeks ago).  Can't go there without visiting Niagra Falls which is one of my favorite places.  The Canadian side of the falls is gorgeous, but we were making a trip to the casino and since we all left our passports at the house, decided to check out the American side.  We went to Goat Island and we were able to venture right down to the Niagra river....no railing or fence to keep you from falling into the rapids.  Wow!!  It was amazing!  We couldn't actually see the falls, but you can see mist caused by the power of this river.  The rapids were incredible.

 This picture is taken from Goat Island looking over the falls at the city of Niagra Falls through the mist.

(Close-up from the picture above)


You can see the water beginning to spill over the edge and the "fog" is the spray or mist rising from the force of the water hitting the bottom.

This photo is just one little area of the rapids.

Contemporary Art Quilts

Contemporary Art Quilts

Who: Universe City
What: Contemporary Art Quilts by Judy Elsley and Julie Nelson
When: October 1-16, Fridays: 5:00-8:00 pm, Saturdays: 1:00-6:00 pm
Opening Reception: Friday, October 1, 5:00-8:00 pm
Closing Night Art Talk and reception, Saturday, October 16, 6:30-8:00 pm
Where: Universe City, 2556 Washington Boulevard, Ogden

In conjunction with First Friday Art Stroll, Universe City opens "Contemporary Art Quilts" by Judy Elsley and Julie Nelson, Friday, October 1 from 5:00-8:00 PM. The show continues until October 16th, Fridays: 5:00-8:00 pm and Saturdays: 1:00-6:00 pm or by appointment. For appointments, call Benjamin Jennings, 801 458-8959. The show will conclude with an art talk and reception on October 16h, 6:30-8:00 pm. Light refreshment are available opening and closing nights.

Julie Nelson and Judy Elsley are quilt makers living in the Ogden area.  Both artisists design and make their own quilts, and they meet regularly for "play dates" to talk about their individual work and try out new techniques together.

Nelson uses a mix of commercial and hand-dyed fabrics, incorporating wood, metal and gourd shells into her work. Elsley's quilts are made from her own hand-dyed fabrics. Nelson machine and hand quilts her work, while Elsley often takes hers to a professional machine quilter.

Elsley says of their work, "We draw inspiration from each other, learn from each other, and we play well together. I admire Julie's creativity, her sense of color, and her beautiful quilts. We feel fortunate to have found each other and we enjoy collaborating."

In addition to being a quilt artist, Elsley is well-known quilt historian, as a researcher and author on the topic of quilts and their place in culture. She has taught a course, "Text and Textile: Teaching the Literature of Quilting," at Weber State University, where she is a Professor of English and also the Director of the Honors Program. The course familiarizes students with texts about quilts and quilters, ranging from such non-fiction as history, biography, and critical articles to a variety of fiction, including poetry, short stories, a quilt detective novel, children's books, and a play. Quilt texts are often connected with the textiles that inspired them so as well as reading, discussing and writing about these texts, students are invited to bring in a family quilt to "show and tell." As a final project, students make a small autobiographical quilt which they display and explain to an audience of family and friends.

For more information about this show, contact:
Judy Elsley, jelsley@weber.edu
or Benjamin Jennings, benjaminjennings@me.com

New little bags

When I saw these little bags I knew I had to make one...or two. They measure 7 1/2" x 9", outside pocket big enough for a cell phone or i-pod, and two inside pockets. I found the buttons in my button box and finished it off with little zipper pulls with some beads I had. The size will be perfect for our upcoming quilt fest....no heavy purse to carry while visiting all the wonderful vendors that will be there!

Surprise in the Mail

The mail brought a package last week with these wonderful fabrics and patterns.
I had to dive right in and start with the top kit.  Check out the ric-rac!  Orange is so not my color, but this combination just shouted "happy, happy!  Me first"!  Keep reading and scrolling to see the finished top.  It just makes me smile because it is so bright and cheerful.

 The second kit is a Christmas table topper called Figgy Pudding.  Yes, Christmas is not that far away, especially for quilters and crafters!  This one uses 10" squares cut into four different sized pieces and put back together with strips of sashing.  This kit came with fat quarters so if there is a cutting error...oop-p-p-p-s....there is plenty left to cut another piece.  I love the new Christmas colors, especially the blues and stripes.

Here are the finished tops.

 Sorry the picture isn't quite in focus.  There is a strip of wide lime green ric-rac across the middle of the top piece and the bottom piece.





 Popp'n Posies by Izzy & Ivy
Kit from Thimbles & Threads

Happy, dancing flowers.

Finally, here's Figgy Pudding from Mary's Cottage Quilts.
Kit is from Thimbles & Threads.

Can you believe that I found some Christmas decorations in August?  The little bags are filled with balsam needles from our niece who lives in Maine.  They make and sell wreaths and always send us one along with these cute little bags.  I save them every year and put them in a red basket! 

Plum Jam

Yesterday we made nine jars of plum jam. (One is already missing!) Our big old plum tree didn't produce much this year but we did get enough for one batch. Last year the tree was loaded with plums, and our dog, Sam, loved to eat the ones on the ground and the birds really enjoyed pecking bits out of the ones still on the tree. Not so this year. Maybe it's an every other year thing.

Mushrooms Anyone?

I found these beauties growing in odd spots around the yard.  These were sprouting under our spruce tree.  Really strange looking.  The middle one looks like a glass of beer with the foam overflowing...really dark beer.  Not quite sure about the small one, but I'll watch them.


These little guys were growing next to a piece

 of wood.  The peaked tops were quite shiny and if you zoom in there are wonderful striations of color that almost looks like wood grain.

 This one was all by itself between two pieces of wood.  Much darker brown cap.

I guess they like the dampness of the wood because here is another group on the other side of the log. 

Last year I found a giant puffball in our yard.  Of course I had no clue what it was when I took the picture, but after much research, not only did I find out what it was, but that it is edible and has a texture sort of like a marshmallow.

Nature provides us with many, many interesting and unusual things to see and wonder about if we take the time to really look at our surroundings.

Kathy's Project

My daughter, Kathy, asked me to help her with a project she needed for Nursing School.  It had to be "creative" and tell the story of her journey to become an RN.  It also had to show her future goals.  She had decided to make a "quilt".....designed and finished in 10 days!  Between classes, exams, full time job, and three girls still at home, plus studying and maybe a little sleep.

 She did it!!  We raided my stash and supplies and since she doesn't really sew and isn't a quilter (yet), I suggested fusing the whole thing.

So, this little quiltlet shows the road from CNA to LPN, to RN with her BRN to be achieved in the future.  A little pleat on the curves became 'speed bumps', a flower button by the rest area sign,  beads representing the rocky road, burning the candle at both ends, and lots of other little things to show her journey.  She has worked really hard (and almost quit a few times) to reach her goal.  We are so proud of her!

Road Update

Looks like we are entering another phase of our road construction.  There has been a lot of activity the past week.  Trucks full of gravel carefully winding their way around some small front end loaders, small yellow shovels and a big one too, plus a grader and even a water sprayer.  I just took our dog out and OMG! they are putting in some jersey barriers on the drop off side of the road.  No more fear of some loonie driving over the edge and adding to the scrap metal pile!  Yes, there are quite a few people out there who don't think the barriers and the "road closed" signs at each end apply to them.  A few have gotten stuck over the last few months and have had the joy of backing down this steep, narrow, unfinished road.  Some have been good for a chuckle or two.  I'm beginning to think that things may be a bit boring around here when if it's all done.
Maybe it's time to get out of my quilting slump and finish some things!?!?

21st Century Technology

Road construction has been progressing slowly but surely. This morning there was a lot of activity with quite a few guys....not a lot of motorized activity, mind you, but a lot of "get down an dirty" stuff. I didn't realize just what was going on until this guy and two other workers were almost out of sight, so you only get to see the "down and dirty" guy. No, he's not hurt or taking a break. He's really working hard! If you click on the picture and maybe zoom in, you will be able to see a string just about eye level. He's got "laser vision"! Yes, he's using the old fashioned method of making sure the string is right on with the other stakes and string. Hm-m-m, I wonder if he's a hunter who is used to lining up the sights of a gun or even a bow.

We still have things being done and then re-done, such as deciding that the retaining wall isn't quite high enough in one section, so off come the caps and on go a few more levels and then back on with the caps. A few minutes ago two cement trucks went past, so maybe it's almost time for the next phase.....but.....it will be much more difficult to un-do concrete than plain old sandy dirt.

Remember the "junk-yard" at the bottom of the hill? Well, three guys were trying to un-junk it a bit, but got caught by one of our police officers. He watched them for about 10 min. and called for back-up. The cops were pretty sneaky and the un-junkers were so engrossed in trying to clean things up that they didn't hear anything until it was too late. Mr. D and I drank our morning coffee on the deck watching all the action. Their car was towed away along with some of their stuff, but we're not sure what happened to the "un-junkers".

Gee's Bend Quilt

Have you seen the quilts that the ladies of Gee's Bend, AL have been making? I love the simplicity and geometric designs. This pattern is called "Housetop Denim Quilt" and is all hand dyed fabric. It has been so relaxing to just sew straight seams with almost no matching. AND no points to line up. A quilt store in Kansas City had several of these quilts on display along with a few kits. I don't usually buy kits but this one wouldn't let me move on until I decided that it had to come home with me! Any ideas for quilting designs?

Perfect Rose

This morning was gorgeous! Warm and sunny with a mild breeze just doesn't get much better. This rose was kind of hidden on the side of the bush so I didn't see it right away, but had to grab the camera and share it with you.

Hope all the great Dad's out there had a great day!

Road Update

Yea!!!  We have a fire hydrant installed!  No recent disasters although the "water problem" area was dug up and filled in a couple of times since my last report.  It is finally beginning to look like a road and the retaining walls have gone up quite fast.  Big Blue is at the edge of our backyard putting the last bit of gravel between the wall and our yard.  Maybe there really is an end in sight!  Any bets on the finish date?

Cottage Stars

Finally! The top is finished! The photo shows about 3/4's of the top because it is quite large....85 1/4" x 102 1/4".....and not quite enough space to hang the whole thing. There are 50 star blocks plus 18 side units plus 4 corner units. Each star block has 20 pieces and each edge unit has 10 pieces......oh, plus the four corner units, but who's counting!? (1204 sound about right?) It's a good thing that Cathy is on my "A" list. Yes, there was a lot of cutting and lots of pinning (which I seldom do), but I think it turned out really nice. Can't wait to see it quilted!

This is another shop sample for Cathie Z of Thimbles and Threads in Draper, UT. She's busy getting her new shop ready for the annual Shop Hop which begins all too soon.

The close-up picture shows the stars much better. You will just have to ignore the wrinkles from being folded up. It really does lay nice and flat.

We're not in Kansas anymore,

Bubble Tea and BBQ Ribs!  M-m-m-m good stuff!  Our Son and Daughter-in-law love to try different cuisines (so do we) and restaurants, so it seems most of our travels include finding good food.  Sometimes I think we should have been food critics.....wouldn't that be interesting?  We tried Spanish Tapas, Mongolian BBQ, Italian Pizza, a great breakfast place, etc.  Sounds like we spent our week eating, but we did a lot of sightseeing as well.  The WWI Museum was awesome.  History books can tell you about things, but when you can actually  see the weapons and reconstructed living conditions it really brings things into perspective.  

 
We really enjoyed our trip to Kansas, but it's good to be home.  Why is traveling so tiring?  It's always fun to experience new things, but then you need a vacation to recover from your vacation!  

This is one of the hidden bunkers. 


































This is the WWI Monument and entrance to the museum.

This is another monument in Rosedale Park.

Fun in Kansas City

Kansas City has some wonderful things to see, eat and visit.  So far we've done a lot of eating!  Last night we had a wonderful meal of Tapas.  What a wonderful variety of flavors and textures, and a great way to sample many different dishes.

Our plane trip was quite an adventure.  Everything was fine until we were ready to leave Denver for KC.  Before we took off, a tornado warning and storm came in.  All of a sudden we were asked to deplane as quickly as possible, leaving everything behind.  Once inside, the alarms kept going off, and announcements to go to safe areas and away from the windows.  Did anyone listen?  Of course not!  After more than an hour we finally re-boarded and took off for KC.  During the flight, the weather channel came on and Denver got at least six inches of hail....golf ball to baseball size!  They showed pictures of front end loaders clearing streets!

The weather here is pretty warm and a bit humid, but beautiful.  Had to share a few pictures from today.