YES TO THIS: 12

0605: REPURPOSE & ENVIRONMENT

all supplies are from kits by Tangie Baxter at www.scrapbookgraphics.com

So much fun to think of new ways or different ways to use common everyday boxes, bins, bottles, jars, and whatever else you can get your fingers on ...


My daughter recently made some amazing Hoosier Jar finds at an estate sale. When I asked her what she was going to do with them ... how was she going to use them, she gave my standard response right back at me.

"You can put THINGS in them!"

When Colin and Lucia were here for their long visit we had great fun the day Grandpa Mike brought home the pool noodles. No limit to the imagination (plus a little inspiration from Pinterest LOL) as to how many different ways they could be used and what they could become. The favorite ... cut them in half and you instantly have matchbox car raceways!

Much fun had by all.

 

Switching gears for a bit but not really ... there is more magic to be had watching a honey bee busy at work in the flowers in the garden ... the photo for today's prompt (environment) from Chantrelle at #fmsphotoaday. The best part: these beautiful lupines are volunteer plants that come back every year from my planting of the packet of wildflower field flowers 3 years ago.

 

Thanks for stopping by and visiting my little corner of the world today.

 

 



0603: ON MY TABLE & FAUX STITCHING

It took a little more than a few visits to see Grandpa Mike while he was teaching for Colin & Lucia to feel totally comfortable going in to visit him in his studio on their own. However, there was plenty of time for them to become completely at ease with their searches for Grandpa Mike when they stayed with us on their own for 10 days. So you can imagine the feeling of "special-ness" when Colin asked for AND received a special dinosaur treasure he happened to spy on a studio shelf on one of these surprise studio visits. (I'm not sure who felt more special ... Colin or Grandpa Mike.)

 

Lucia's moments of "special-ness" came when she and KK had to "do up their faces" each morning and pick just the right necklace and/or earrings to go with the outfit of the day.

 

And for the index-card-a-day (ICAD) challenge today the prompt was to incorporate faux stitching for attaching elements or as a part of the design. I also chose to integrate my mixed media/art journaling challenges on the same piece of art and work with the word-of-the-week for the Art Journal Caravan ... transcend.
 

all supplies from kits by Tangie Baxter at www.scrapbookgraphics.com

 

LUNCHTIME

1002: lunchtime ... facetime ... the best way to connect with family that lives far away ... schedule a lunch date today. It's on the calendar ...  Eryn and I enjoy breakfast dates, coffee breaks, and lunchtime together on a regular basis.

PURPLE PIXIE POUCHES & FAIRY DUST

0912: together ...

Purple fairy dresses, purple pixie dust pouches, and now a purple fairy quilt. Those are the number one things in Luci's world other than snuggles and cuddles with Mama.

 

The purple fair quilt is almost ready for going on the machine. As soon as the backing is pieced the loading will begin. The quilt top is made using a fairy print panel by Michael Miller using illustrations from the book by Cicely Mary Barker called The Complete Book of The Flower Fairies. A new quilt and a new book ... what a perfect combination for a little girl, and a perfect combination of fun fabrics for the grandma to play with piecing a special quilt.

FIRST: I fussy cut the illustrations of the flower fairies from the panel a quarter of an inch larger than the dark blue trim line that surrounds each of the pictures. I then measured a sampling of the blocks to determine the size of the alternate blocks.

 

SECOND: I subtacted 1.5" from the finished size of the fairy panel blocks for the periwinkle fairy frost sashing I used to surround the fairy print fabric blocks.

 

THIRD: I pieced the sashing strip set and crosscut the strips to add to the alternating fairy print blocks.

 

FOURTH: assemble the bocks into rows.

 

FIFTH: add borders; piece the backing and binding; and it's time for quilting!

1550 FAIRY FLUTTERINGS seems like it might be the best choice for a quilting pattern. The quilting won't show up much on the front of the quilt, but the backing fabric is a tone on tone so Luci will have fun tracing over the fairy quilting pattern with her finger on the backside of the quilt.

You can find the files for 1550 FAIRY FLUTTERINGS by clicking on the links for your machine or file type needed.

• STATLER: QLI: 1550 FAIRY FLUTTERINGS E2E ... click HERE.
• INTELLIQUILTER: IQP: 1550 FAIRY FLUTTERINGS E2E ... click HERE.
• COMPUQUILTER: CQP: 1550 FAIRY FLUTTERINGS E2E ... click HERE.

Now would be a good time to add this file to your pattern library taking advantage of the 35% discounted price by using the coupon code: daisydaysbright_05.

TRASH OR TREASURE

... read more ...

ON THE ROAD-PART TWO

Much excitement driving across the Mojave Desert into Needles, CA! A lightning thunderstorm that was as beautiful as only the great Southwest can offer. And then it began to rain. The first squall was heavy but do-able ... most likely because we were able to follow a truck.

However, during the second squall we were on our own. The rain came down so hard and fast the little center stripe markers that stick up above the surface of the road were underwater and it was most difficult to see exactly where the road was.

As we came up to the crest of a hill just before descending into Needles the shoulder of the road was lined with trucks. I said to Mike, "I wonder what they know that we don't." but we kept going and found a room in Needles for the night.

When Mike checked in he found that they had been without power most of the day - during a high temperature of 115; 27 power poles had been knocked down due to wind and flash flooding; and the road was closed just beyond the town of Needles. Now we know what those truckers knew that we didn't!

The next morning the freeway was truck central as the road east opened up to traffic ... we shared the road with all the trucks that had been stopped for the night plus all the new ones that joined us on their trek headed east.

Next destination: Grand Canyon National Park.

ON VACATION

Oh my goodness! Being on the road more weeks than being home makes being home like being on vacation! I loved everywhere I went but it sure is good to be home even it is for only a couple more days before I have to leave again. So, where have I been?

July:
Our second annual Statler retreat in Sisters. We started with a day touring the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show for inspiration checking out the quilting on lots and lots of quilts. We had some great sessions working with the Creative Studio software, fun with our clam digger challenge to practice our Auto Sketch skills, and some fast and furious badminton games in the evenings.

Then I was home for just a short week repacking for a quick weekend trip to San Diego to see the grand babies and hear Toby in a summer concert with the San Diego Symphony.

Back home ... just enough time to do a quick load of wash, repack, and then it was off to Long Beach for the first West Coast International Quilt Festival. As with any project, getting started with the "first" is always a little rough. There are some bugs to be worked out but I'm sure the festival will be even bigger and better next year with even more vendors, another awesome quilt show, great classes to be taken by super teachers, and lots and lots of eager and happy shoppers.
August: Back home ... do another quick load of wash ... and then off to Alabama to help my daughter learn how to can and have a little bit of vacation. We did go to one quilt store while I was there. I got to meet Becky of Sew What! in Oxford. Becky was so nice to invite us to visit her guild meeting the next day. Eryn and I thought we might make it but the call of vacationing activities was just too strong. Thanks for thinking of us, Becky.

Eryn and I did have a good time canning beans and tomatoes. I'd never heard of Rattlesnake Beans before but they canned up just like regular beans and the stripes disappeared when the beans were cooked just like the man said. We ended up with 35 quarts of tomatoes and 14 quarts of beans. Eryn makes a mean pot of bean soup to get her through the week once the school year starts up for her at JSU again. All of that canning helped me remember some of the more simple things I enjoyed before quilting took over my life!

Eryn and Frankie: "Oh Dear! What are we going to do with all of these tomatoes?"

After getting home from Alabama, we had our annual Scrappy Sister Retreat here at my house. We've been retreating every summer now since 2000. We have an organized strip exchange and then work on the challenge project ... piecing a quilt top using the 2 1/2" and 4 1/2" strips we've exchanged. We've had some pretty amazing quilts come from our exchanges over the years.

We had the additional challenge this year of working all weekend in a record setting heat wave for our usually mild Pacific Northwest. But not to worry, on Monday we were back to our usual rain and mid-60's weather. Sometimes, I think we're going to go crazy with this wild 40 degree swings on the thermometer!

I do need some help from all of you deciding just what to do for borders on my Retreat Challenge quilt. Post your vote in the poll at the top of the page as to your preference for Design 1 with the square in a square border or Design 2 with the half crystal block border. This is a new pattern I'm developing for release at Fall Market in Houston this year. It also needs a name - any and all suggestions are welcomed!

And, now where am I off to next? In just a couple of days we leave for San Diego ... another concert, and then we're driving our son's/daughter-in-law's car to Boston for them. They're flying and getting settled with babies, meeting movers, and getting set for rehearsals and various recording sessions to start with the Boston Symphony Orchestra for Toby.

It's been a busy busy summer ... and I've loved every minute of it! Good times with family and friends are just the best and never to be taken for granted.

A GOOD BOOK, A GOOD SONG, AND EYE CANDY

A GOOD BOOK: I just finished two good books, one mentioned in an earlier post The Last Wife of Henry VIII. Insterestingly enough, Katherine Parr was a part of court life throughout all of Henry's wives so this book provides a different perspective as an overall view of his reign and desparation to sire an heir to the throne. The chronology of his life and keeping track of his many wives has been difficult for me to follow and this book helped to get "things" in order in my brain.

Another book I would recommend written by Elizabeth Chadwick is the tale of John Marshal father of one of the greatest knights of all time Sir William Marshal A Place Beyond Courage. It took a little bit to get into the story in the beginning, but once it started rolling it is a good read. I think the slow start may have been my trouble in transitioning from the 1500 and all of the Henry VIII drama going back in time to the mid 12th century.

What sparked all this interest in English historical fiction? From way back I've always loved any good book or movie about King Arthur, Robin Hood, King Henry VII, and even Princess Diana and that has continued to the present with a renewal of that interest being sparked by the TV series on showtime The Tudors and the reading of two best sellers by Ken Follett Pillars of the Earth and World Without End. I like the comparitive views presented by reading books from the perspective of the Church and the Kings and their lords.

A simple resource to help me keep track of where I am "in time" as I read has been a chronologial listing of English Monarchs. I appreciate a good story that is historically sound and well-researched.

A GOOD SONG: Being fairly new to the blog scene I find myself spending way too much time exploring different blogs and adding them to my favorites to come back and check out. As time goes on I find myself editing my bookmarks deleting some and adding new ones. And, a few are becoming regular favorites ... enough to maybe even think about starting a blog roll. One of those sites came to light this morning.

Part of our regular morning ritual is reading the paper over breakfast. Mike reads word for word the items of interest to him while I quickly scan the headlines over his shoulder asking an occassional question about an ariticle here and there. I'm interested in only one part of the paper and must anxiously wait until he finishes reading the comics before I can delve into the daily crossword puzzle. Oh how I love the days when I'm incredibally inteligent and rue the days I don't know nuthin' 'bout 'nuthin'.

So, to tie all this together ... crossword puzzles, a good song, and blog rolls? I found a blog that posts all the answers to the Star Tribune crossword each day with comments, links, and general repsonses to the clues, the words, the themes ... you name it. Good quick reading and much easier than hunting up a word in my crossword dictionary.

But what about the good song? Today there was a link posted with 65D: Give it a go: TRY. "TRY me, TRY me..." What a great start to my morning!

THE EYE CANDY: we had some special visitors come walking down the driveway just proud as ... well, you can see ... there were five of them in all ... not a bit afraid of me ... and very intent on eating seeds that had fallen naturally along the fenceline of the pasture.

I love the color of their feathers and the fanned topnot on each of their heads.

I love the way the line of flowers leads your eye across the picture. This is a concept I try to teach in my quilting classes when dealing with the layout of scrappy quilts making them works of art rather than jumbles of color and fabric.

Isn't this little garden of purple flowers just the greatest study on value? Texture and scale differences are minimal, but the change in value holds your interest and makes you come back for a second look.

And, finally, a photo entitled A Mother-Daughter Portrait.

I love you Eryn.

POSTAGE STAMP HEXAGON QUILT

As promised, here is the story of the Hexagon quilt. I started the hexagon quilt in the early 90's as a take-along project while waiting for our kids during music lessons, contest performances, cross country races, and track meets. It was small and easily fit into my purse in a plastic birthday card sized envelope. I had everything I needed ...

• pre-cut fabric hexagons
• card stock foundation papers
• basted hexagons
• scissors, needle, and thread
• the project (at that time it was small enough to fit very nicely into my bag without being wadded into a ball like a rag

But after this kids graduated and went away to college part of my "empty nest" was no more waiting time to be filled and the hexagon quilt was put away for another day, to work on sometime, and soon a forgotten UFO. Until, last summer.

One of the things Eryn asked for last summer was the hexagon quilt. Did I still have it? Could she have it? Could it be her quilt to finish? Absolutely! And, even better, Eryn would be visiting during her in-between homes moving time which happened to coincide with our Scrappy Sister annual quilting retreat.I had been using 30's reproduction prints for the hexagon quilt, and, at the retreat, we just happened to be trading strips of 30's reproduction fabrics. Eryn got to take my place in the strip exchange so she would have a stash for cutting new hexagons. She circulated through the tables during the retreat driving hard bargins with the ladies as she traded strips for different strips she liked better. We got her set up with a rotary cutter, a stacked template like I describe in yesterday's post, and the UFO quilt kit.

I would hear off and on about surprise "squishies" arriving in the mail as different Scrappy Sisters mailed 30's scraps to Eryn to help her along the way to finishing her quilt. And what progress she has made!. When I gave the UFO to her it measure about 18" in length and about 12" in width. Check out the length now! I think it must be nearly 4'x6'. It covers the top of her dining room table. The desired finished length is still up in the air. She has decided it will be a large wall hanging rather than a bed quilt. And from the looks of things, I think it might be time to think about ordering the half hexagon card stock from Paper Pieces.


While I was visiting Eryn earlier in June we found some great looking organizing containers for her hexagons. She used the antique sherbet glasses for sorting the unbasted hexagons by color. By the way, if anyone knows the name of the crystal pattern for these glasses, let us know. I know it is hard to see that pattern on them from this picture. I'll ask her to send me a picture of just one so you can get a good look at it and help us identify the pattern. She is looking for more. She has eight right now but would like more since she has more that eight colors. I think she needs about 4 more.

After she bastes the hexagons she sorts them into her Fiestaware tea cups. Her new search now is to find brown Fiestaware. Do they even make it in brown? I think the cinnabar might be her closest bet. She's done a great job working the reds into the quilt. I tended to avoid the reds when I started because they seemed to jump right off the quilt at me. She has also added some of the more bold colors that have joined the palette of 30's prints ... the darker blues, the brighter oranges, browns (which are very hard to find) and, for today's project she has been working in the black prints with grace and style so they look like the belong in the quilt. Not an easy task.

During our antique outings we also found this primitive tool boxs. I thought it would be a good storage piece for my studio or to use for display in the different shows I go to. Wrong! It is perfect for storing the 6" squares of fabric before they are cut into hexagons. Another bin is used for her cutter, scissors, needle case, and template, and she uses an antique aluminum measuring cup for corralling her pre-cut card stock shapes.

How big are the hexagons? Eryn is working with hexagons that measure 3/4" on the side. Just the right size to not make the quilt seam "klunky" and yet big enough to allow centering of fussy cut prints from the conversational prints of the 30's.

FRIDAY FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Here it is the end of the second week in January and I have loved my "slow-down" time. My friend Marje of Quilt Design Northwest asked me some time back,

"Kay, when IS your slow time?"

When you have to think about what the answer might be to that question, you're in trouble before you even know it. Thank you, Marje, for asking, because it has made me take time to slow down even if it is for just a short while. Time to reflect on goals for myself personally as well as professionally.

During this slower time I have been reading different blogs and stumbled upon one that bears mentioning because of the content in her 2 part post regarding the value of craft. But before you hop over to Paula's site and read what she has to say, let me preface it with some thoughts of my own and some from my daughter. Trust a daughter to always keep you on your toes and to tell it like it is.

I am a collector, a collector of all kinds of things, but mostly quilts. I remember thinking years ago one could never ever have too many quilts. I love decorating seasonally with my quilts ... on the walls, on the beds, on tables and over chair backs, and even on formal quilt racks. Since my hobby has since grown into my business, which I absolutely LOVE, I have lots and lots and lots of quilts. Samples for classes, samples for patterns, samples for quilting designs, duplicate samples for trunk shows, and retired samples which we have for every day use.

In fact I was sharing with my friend Juanita the other day that I really needed to get an inventory and organized storage check-in/out system going for all these quilts. It is amazing to have only lost one over the years for as much as they go in and out to this shop and that shop, to this show and that show, to this class and that workshop. But ... moving on ...

I come from a family of generational quilting --- great grandmother quilted, grandmother quilted, mother quilted, daughter (me) quilts, so it would stand to reason that my daughter might want to quilt. When asked about it this summer at my annual quilting retreat which happened to occur while she was home visiting, she just laughed.

"Why should I learn to quilt?" said Eryn. "Do we have any shortage of quilts in this house!" We all had to share in her laughter and admit, she did have a good point. I will say, in her defense, she asked for (and took with her) a scrappy 1 1/2" English paper piecing Grandmothers Flower garden project I had started over ten years ago with her in her move to Alabama this last fall. She's been working diligently on her project enjoying the journey, fondling the little scraps of fabric pondering which colors would look best as next-door neighbors. It appears maybe she did inherit some of the genes after all. And, she will have plenty of quilts to choose from when the time comes.

After that little prelude or warm-up, hop over to Paula's blog and read what she has to say about the value of craft. Thank you, Paula, for such an thought-provoking couple of posts.

WORKS FOR ME AND FITS MY BUDGET

I just pasted a new widget on the sidebar today ... a listing of recent purchases from ITunes. I thought some of you might be interested in what has replaced the "Holiday Soundtrack" for my studio. I love my Christmas music and start it running non-stop the day after Thanksgiving all the way through to New Year's Day. But now it's time for the January Soundtrack to be running.

One of the best additions with the purchase of my new computer last fall was my new sound bar. As you can see, it fits right under my monitor. It has an on/off volume control knob right on the face of the bar, as well as, responding to the controls on my monitor and great sound. I'm sure there are other sound bars on the market of various sound quality and price ranges. This one happens to be from a company called Altec Lansing. Wouldn't we all love surround-sound Bose throughout the house but, ... this works for me and my budget.

So, once you're wired for sound you want to check out one of my favorite new albums by just clicking on the cover on my ITunes widget. I happen to be a big fan of the acoustical guitar style and I've found a new artist ... I love his sound. Billy McLaughlin and the album is Guitar Meditations, Vol.2 ... Soulfood featuring Billy McLaughlin.

You'll also want to click on the link above to visit his website to read his amazing story. He suffers from a neuromuscular condition diagnosed in 2001 which prevents him from playing the guitar anymore. He has since relearned all of his music playing with his left hand rather than right and is back on stage sharing his beautiful music once more.

You'll see some other purchases in the line-up. I can't always hop on a plane to go hear Toby, my son who is the principal trombonist with the San Diego Symphony, in another concert. So the next best thing is to get together all of the selections for his upcoming performances and put together the playlist for my ITunes library. My favorites are Mussorgsky/Ravel: Pictures at an Exhibition with San Diego and Prokofiev:Symphony No. 7 when he performs in New York City with the New York Phil. Not quite the same as live, but ... works for me and fits my budget.

What else am I listening to these days? For my nightly "reading" via IPod, I'm listening to The Blood of Flowers by Anita Amirrezvani - a novel taking place in 17th century Persia about the struggles of a young girl and her mother trying to rebuild a life for themselves in a very male dominated culture after the tragic sudden death of her father. I usually prefer historical fiction from the Western World so this is very different for me. As I was exploring more about ancient Persia this evening I found a great traditional Persian recipe I'd like to try called Apple Stew. I also enjoyed looking at pictures in the gallery section of the author's website of Isfahan, the city where the story takes place. So, I'll eat the food, check out the pictures from the gallery, and read the story. Not quite the same as visiting Ancient Persia in person but ... works for me and fits my budget.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Christmas celebrations happen at our house on Christmas Eve beginning with a large soup bowl full of our traditional Oyster Stew. When the dishes are cleared and the kitchen clean it's time to get ready for Santa to come. That was the one night either as a kid myself or with our own children, an early bed time was never a problem. Everyone knows, the earlier you go to bed the earlier Santa is likely to arrive.

It's a little different now since most of our Christmas celebrations are much more relaxed affairs at home with just Mike and me. We've had wonderful times traveling to the Chicago area to celebrate the holidays with Toby and Andrea. Last year was especially wonderful because it was the first time we had all of the kids home for Christmas. Our walls echoed last night with memories of a houseful of family sharing the love, laughter, joy and warmth of the season. And, I must admit, it's just as nice, quieter and more relaxing, when there is just two of us. Our cell phones have been fully charged and ready for long calls as we all make connections with each other via the air waves.

The melding of family traditions, the search for keeping those traditions alive and meaningful as our family grows and changes over the years whether near or far is part of what helps strengthen the family bond and helps keep the "blood thicker than water."

My family always had a hearty Potato Soup for Christmas dinner. Mike's family always celebrated with Oyster Stew. So, it was an easy leap for me to switch to the Oyster Stew for our family after Mike and I were married. Last year we needed to make some changes in the recipe after Eryn and Mike were diagnosed with celiac disease, a genetic lifelong condition which makes them gluten-intolerant. We've had quite a year changing recipes and finding the "good" foods and the foods to avoid. Eryn came up with the following recipe to help keep our family tradition of Oyster Stew on Christmas Eve alive.

So gather up a cuppa of your favorite holiday libations ... wine, egg nog, hot buttered rum, or even a seasonal favorite of mine ... HOT APPLE PIE (cider, tuaca, a cinnamon stick, topped off with whipped cream - YUM ... dessert in a glass!) and get ready for a simple hearty meal.

ERYN'S OYSTER STEW (for two ... two heaping bowl each!)

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon salted butter
• 1 cup chooped leek
• 2 ribs celery chopped
• 1 quart whole milk
• 2 jars extra small oysters (In our houseful of oyster lovers ... we use 3 jars)
• salt & pepper

Saute the leek and celery lightly in the butter. Heat the milk gently to scalding in a saucepan. Be careful to make sure the milk doesn't boil. Add leek/celery mixture and the oysters (including the liquid) to the scalding milk. Keep the temperature at scalding giving a stir every now and then. Season to taste with salt and pepper. It will not take long to cook the oysters ... maybe about 10 minutes depending on how cold they were when added to the milk.

Ladle into soup bowls and serve with a small dollop of butter on top. Serve with crackers ... gluten free or regular oyster crackers depending on your dietary needs.

Wishing all of you out there a safe and happy holiday season
as you share love and laughter with family and friends.
MERRY CHRISTMAS from Damascus OR
where it is snowing great big fat fluffy flakes right now!!!