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.

Rain, snow, cold, and mud

We've had a lot of rain the past few days and even a little snow yesterday.  Water and dirt equals mud. Loose dirt on a hillside along with lots of rain equals mud slides.  Yes, there was mud sliding down where the new road is going.  The crew brought in gravel and stones this morning to try to fill the hole a bit.  But....this afternoon they dug it all back out because of all the water pooling at the bottom.  They dug down to the drainage pipe that was put in some time ago.  I'm not sure what is going on at this point.  We are going to Kansas City for a week, so it will be interesting to see what has happened while we are gone.

Hole in the Hill

This photo was one of several that I took on May 19th. Yep, they had to stop working....again. After a big conference with about 10 guys, they concentrated on a different part of the road. At least nothing fell in and no one was hurt this time.

Bloggers Quilt Show Entry - click here

This quilt was made during a class on Ricky Tims "Convergence Quilts".  We were able to put the whole top - background and borders - together during the two hour class.  The appliques and embellishments were added after class.  The fish and starfish are fussy cut, and the seaweed were free form cut and fused.  I added bead "bubbles" and machine quilted it using metallic thread, outlining some of the background images.  You never know just what your finished quilt will look like, so there is a lot of anticipation while sewing all of the strips together.

Click on the title of this post for all the links to all of the quilts

Bloggers Quilt Show

It's time for the Blogger's Quilt Festival! Visit Amy's Creative Side to either enter a quilt or follow all the links to see all the eye candy created by so many talented quilters.
Just click on the above button to read all about it.

Road Progress?

These are some pictures taken Wednesday. The first one is the end of the road at this point. You can see the end of the retaining wall. Second picture, things look pretty good. They made a lot of progress during the time I was away. It's even beginning to look like a road!

O-0-0-p-p s! Spoke too soon! Looks like a cave in the side of the hill! We know there is a lot of water draining down the mountain and it looks like it wants to join the creek below. This hole is only about 10 feet higher than where the front end loader fell in.

Teton Patchworks Quilters Retreat

I can't believe how long it has been since my last post!  Lots of things have been going on during the past few weeks, so I will be posting pictures, etc. out of order, but that's normal for me, too!
Nine of us lucky quilters just got back from a wonderful weekend retreat at Teton Patchworks located in Tetonia ID, which is also the home of Lea and Jim Hardy.  Lea taught us Ruth McDowell's technique of curved piecing to make these wonderful roses, and Jim was our chef!  What a treat to be able to sew to our hearts content, learn a new technique, have brunch and dinner cooked by someone else, AND not have to clean up the kitchen!!

Anne's Purple Rose, Kaye's Orange Rose




Pat's Whimsical Orange, Cathie's Red Velvet

 Bev's Red, Marilyn's Pretty Pink






Sue's Retro B&W, Laurel's Peach

Anna's Pink





and finally, Lea's class sample

  





We had two days of intense sewing, unsewing, re-sewing, and a lot of muttering trying to put some of these puzzle pieces together, but we had a good teacher and we all helped each other.  Some got their top completed, while some of us still have a few more seams to finish.
We also had alot of laughter along with some clowns......or should I say Elmer Fudd?

Sorry, Cathie.  Way too tempting not to post this!  (She was really cold and took all the extra blankets).  Yes, it is her hat and she did bring it with her.  No, it wasn't really cold for the rest of us.

Here's the whole group.....Pat, Anne, Cathie, Lea, Kaye, Laurel, Bev (me), Marilyn, Anna, and Sue in front.

Road Construction Update

We now have three big shovels digging up the rest of the hill.  In addition to big blue, there are two big yellows happily moving dirt from one spot to another.  When all of this began last fall, there were trees and brush, deer, raccoons, pheasants, and lots of birds and other wildlife.  Then all of the trees were cut and everything else was removed.  Nothing else happened for quite some time, until the big equipment finally started to reconfigure the natural landscape.  Since then, dirt has been taken out, dirt brought in, more dirt taken out or moved from one spot to another, gravel brought in, drainage pipe laid and then taken back out.  Retaining walls started being put up and then back to the drawing board.  Since the "near disaster", there have been many (that we have seen) meetings with drawings and plans laid out, along with many surveys, new markers, and on and on.  There are now four, yes, four tiers of ground.  Pictures just don't show the depth of these, but it starts with our lawn, then the first drop-off which is a good ten feet, where we thought the actual road would be, now another lower tier with at least another ten foot drop-off.  Not finished yet!  One more drop-off to the bottom.

Why?  No one can really give us a good explanation as to why all of this is being done.  Now all we see when we are on our deck is dirt, and the junkyard left behind by the former landowner who lived right beside the creek.  What would almost make all of this worth while would be a nice little park / green space beside the creek, maybe a couple of picnic tables and benches.  I know, I know.  Just dreaming a little of what could be done.  Something to suggest to the city.

This guy had to use his shovel to pull himself back up.

Big blue is way-y-y down on the third tier.

 





Another survey and check the plans.

If you click on the picture you can see some of the junk that's all over the area beside the creek.  Yes, there was a house (kind of) there.  The garage is still standing, bulging with more stuff.

Near Disaster!!

OMG!!  It finally happened!! Yesterday afternoon I was outside with Sam when I heard a shout, looked up and saw the ground give way and a big piece of construction equipment fall into the ditch they were digging. I ran inside, got the phone and called 911. By the time I got back outside, they had gotten the driver out and said that he was okay. I relayed that to the dispatcher and went back inside to get my camera. That only took about 30 seconds, and when I got back outside someone was shouting for an ambulance!  Go figure! 

The police and ambulance had to wait for Big Yellow to move some dirt and tamp it down so they could get to the injured driver.

Short story......the driver apparently had minor injuries and is okay. The crew spent two more hours digging out enough dirt so that Big Yellow and Big Blue could get in there with cables to lift the fallen equipment back on its wheels. It had kind of jack-knifed when it fell over, so they pulled and heaved to straighten it somewhat. It took awhile to get it running again, and someone actually was able to drive it out. Unbelievable! There were a few things broken and banged and dented, but it didn't look too bad considering everything that happened.

I did take lots of pictures, but too many to post at one time.  This whole project has created some really dangerous situations, and I don't think this accident will convince the city that some kind of precautions need to be exercised. Lots of unstable ground, kids climbing the piles, curious nuts trying to drive down, and even a dirt bike or two.


This morning the power company took their truck out from our side yard without too much damage. Yes, the pole is still standing!

Paradigm Shift

Last Monday one of my friends and I went to visit Thimbles and Threads quilt shop in Draper, UT. Cathie (owner) has been busy, busy, busy updating most everything in the shop, an open house, getting ready for the shop hop in June, along with everything else she does. Now I'm busy, busy, busy (along with some of my other friends) making shop samples.....yes, I left the shop with lots of fabric for two quilt tops. This is the first one, from the current issue of McCall's, called Paradigm Shift. I really like the asymmetrical setting for this one.

Should something be called "work" if you really love doing it? I love making shop samples! It allows me to play with new fabrics, try new patterns or ideas, improve my piecing skills, and above all, use colors or textures that I normally might avoid.

Best of Show - Paducah

Sue McCarty, of Roy, UT has been awarded the BEST OF SHOW at the AQS show going on in Paducah this week.  Wow!  Her quilt, Tribute to Tolkien, won best of show at the HMQS last year, and has also won awards in CA and TX. Sue is a true quilt artist.  If you'd like to see the award presentation, click on the following link www.wpsdlocal6.com/news/local/91670204.html to watch the news video of the award ceremony.
I've had a couple of quilts quilted by Sue and they are wonderful. Now I can say that I know a soon to be famous quilter.  Way to go, Sue!

Road Construction Update

Okay! Last Friday, the power company, city planners, and the engineer were here and we ended up with a BIG truck in our side yard holding the power pole so it didn't fall into the big dig. Well, it's still here, still holding onto the power pole ( was only going to be 2-3 days). The retaining wall looks like it's almost up where the pole is, but there is a long way to go until it is finished. Unfortunatly, Mother Nature has not been very cooperative the past three days. Wednesday afternoon we had rain and hail, but some of the crew worked through it. Oh, yeah....there was a lot of lightening as well. Yesterday brought more rain and as you can see in these pictures it created quite a mud hole. Then this morning, out came the yellow tape (see top picture) after a meeting of the minds. We don't know why this part is taped off, but it doesn't instill much confidence in the safety of our neighbors or ourselves. Yes, it's still raining and the mud is increasing.

These pictures are all taken from our upper deck so you can see just how close all of this digging is to our house. What's really scarry is an article in the paper and on the news, yesterday and today about mudslides and rock retaining walls giving way and a house on the verge of sliding down to visit the neighbors below them.

Now that I've vented a little, it's time to get some sewing done. I've got 42 quilt blocks finished and ready to put together.....black, white, and lime green. You can see it when the top is together.

Chaos 12x12 project

Finally! It's finished! This really represents my creative life....decisions, decisions, decisions! I used a small panel for the crazy lady, enlarged it, cut her arms off and switched them from being on her hips to holding fabric up. She started out as a nurse, so I cut off her cap, used "Texture Magic" on a piece of gray fabric which became her brain, and thread tangles (from the dryer) for her hair. The words were printed on fabric as well, and the little bits and pieces are simply fused on. Once I decided on trying the Texture Magic, everything else just kind of fell into place. Oh, she also has beads for earrings and her jumper is colored with marker and colored pencil. This was a fun piece to make. Hope you all enjoy it.

More Road Construction!

Yesterday was very interesting.  A very nice guy from our power company came to tell us that he was very concerned that the power pole on the back corner of our yard was going to fall into the gully that's been created by the construction crew.  One of the anchor cables was exposed when the big blue machine was moving more dirt for the retaining wall.  Mother Nature just doesn't like having her surface re-contoured like that.  Solution?  Back a big power company truck into our side yard, break our plum tree branches, put a choke hold on the power pole, and leave it like that until the construction crew gets the retaining wall up and everything stabilized.

If that's not enough to be concerned about, there is a 20-25 foot drop-off from the edge of the grassy area to where they are digging.  No retaining wall there yet either, and the edge is so unstable that our dog won't go near it because the sand/dirt gives way.  It seems to be mostly sand and since they've taken all the trees and undergrowth out there really doesn't seem like there is anything there to keep us from sliding right down to the creek.  Just pray that we don't have an earthquake here....there was a 4.6 quake not too far north of us on Friday afternoon that was felt in three states.

This big yellow guy is directly behind our house as viewed from our upper deck.  There isn't much more than 20 - 25 feet if that between the house and edge of the grass.

Big Blue is right underneath the power pole piling up dirt and retainers.  So, big yellow behind us, big blue to the right and big power truck beside the house.  Very interesting. I watched some of the "Big Dig" in Boston and now this, and I'm convinced that sometimes these guys just think they are in a big sandbox with their toy trucks, having fun moving the dirt and then putting some back again. No disrespect intended, that's just what it looks like to me. They really do work hard at what they do and it is fascinating to watch how precise these heavy equipment operators are with these huge shovels. So, now to enjoy a quiet weekend without any more drama.

Florida Trip

How's this for a backyard visitor!! The picture is a bit fuzzy because I'm taking it from inside the pool cage (screened in area). She doesn't look too big in this picture, but she was the size of my Brittany Spaniel, Sam. She stayed and watched all of us watching her, for about ten minutes, and then just sauntered away. I did go out and try to get another picture, but she was a bit too far away. There is also a resident raccoon and a few bunnies, but they didn't hang around long enough to have their pictures taken.



The main reason for my trip was to help take care of Makayla and Tyler, my two youngest grandkids while my daughter, Karen, had back surgery. I had so-o-o much fun with them.  We went to the park, did a little shopping, colored Easter eggs, went to Fisherman's Village, and the Military Museum. There was a time-out, too, because they had to find out just how far I would let them go! lol  It seemed once was enough.
They even made some yo-yo's for one of my quilts!

This is a shot of the marina at Fisherman's Village.  I didn't get any pictures of any of the really big yachts. It was just a gorgeous day to spend outside.

I came home to snow on the ground and lots of snow in the mountains!

Trunk Show

Robyn Orchard presented a wonderful trunk show at the Ogden Quilt Guild meeting this afternoon. Ogden's theme for this year is how to use your scraps to make beautiful quilts. One of the best web sites for patterns and ideas for using scraps is Bonnie Hunter's site at

www.quiltville.com . There is a lot of information and tips for cutting and storing strips, bricks, and squares of various sizes which Bonnie calls her "scrap savers system". Robyn showed us just how beautiful quilts made from scraps can be. Organizing all those bins and boxes of fabric can be daunting if you try to do it all at once. Instead, Robyn suggests limiting your cutting and sorting time into 15 minute segments. When the timer goes off, walk away and do someting else unless you are on a roll, then set the timer for another 15 minutes. It really is amazing how many strips, bricks and squares you can cut in what seems like a short amount of time.

Here are a few more beauties!

Quilts for Cars

Oh, yes!  Quilters love their craft and they really love to let everyone know just how much they love it!  Quilts were originally intended as bed coverings to keep you warm.  Most of them were made with scraps that were from old clothing or traded with other quilters.  Fast forward 100+ years and we make "lap" quilts to snuggle under while watching TV or reading, wall quilts (hangings) to help insulate our homes, art quilts, and more.  There are quilt blocks painted on barns and even tours to see this wonderful artwork.  What else are quilters doing with orphan blocks?  Click on the link below to see just how creative we quilters are!!

 http://quiltspluscolor.blogspot.com/2010/04/in-spring-quilters-fancy-turns-to-quilt

First Spring Daffodil

This is the one and only flower that has decided it might be spring! Wrong! It rained and then snowed yesterday!! I spent eight days in Florida helping my daughter who had surgery. The weather was a warm 82 - 83 F (hot) . The daily reports from Utah was snow, snow, snow...enough to need the snowblower.

Hubby had to have sinus surgery this past Friday and can't smell much right now, but should be able to really "smell the roses" this year. Lots of leaf buds on the trees and tulips poking through the ground, uh, snow, so my favorite time of year is almost here.

Finished Tote Bag

This bag will be perfect for my upcoming trip and the next quilting retreat. The pattern is from "The Creative Thimble" and their instructions were easy to follow and understand. The zippered inside pocket is big enough to hold my laptop and the other five inside pockets will make it easier to find things. There are two pockets on the front and a full width pocket on the back along with a luggage strap. The side pockets can hold a good sized water bottle or whatever. I didn't take a picture of the top of the bag, but it has a full zipper so nothing will fall out! I'm really happy with the way it turned out and can't wait to put it to use.