Aging

Here is something my sister, Vicki, sent me. We are both determined to go into old age with the right attitude. I liked this one and thought some of you might too.

Old age is like a bank account. You withdraw from what you've put in.

So, my advice to you would be to deposit a lot of happiness in the bank

account of memories!

Thank you for your part in filling my Memory Bank.

I am still depositing.

'Remember the five simple rules to be happy:

1. Free your heart from hatred.

2. Free your mind from worries.

3. Live simply.

4. Give more.

5. Expect less.

Lily Pad

Began sketches on the Lily Pad quilt. Now I have to go thru my stash for greens for the pads and
greys and whites and other muted colors for the lily and see if I need more. Then it will mean a trip to the quilt store...not a bad thing.

Writers Block?

I am back to quilting "Mulberry Bush" but wanted to begin another quilt while working on it again. I started the blue quilt background, but just was not inspired, so I put that on hold for a bit. Then I pulled these greens and auditioned them hoping for inspiration to come. Nothing.

I thought maybe if I threw in something bold....like purple.....nothing. The fabric was not speaking to me at all.

So I went to my Ideas folder where I stick things that I think I might use for a future quilt.
I found this:

This is a photo taken by Eva-Maria Nerling
http://colourful-research.blogspot.com
When I first saw it I thought quilt. So I asked her permission to use it and she was
happy to give it to me. So this is where I am now heading.

Funny how somethings just wait for you to find them again.

End of Vacation

My weeks vacation is over and tomorrow it is back to work.
It was a relaxing time. Only negative thing....for the last four days they predicted thunderstorms. We changed all our plans for being outside and then even though it got very dark and cloudy, it never stormed. So much of what we could have done we did not.

Saturday I spent the day with my daughter Molly. We went to a quilt shop, then to a Farmers Market in Appleton, out to lunch at Olive Garden and then shopping at the mall.
It was a great time and we have not been able to find an entire day together for a while now.

Musicians at the Farmers Market.

I did find time to finish some projects around the house. I framed new fabric in my Bathroom.

This one I fused some stars over the fabric.

So....it was enjoyable and I wish it would last a bit longer but yet I am happy we had the time off together.

My Pods Finished - New Start - On the Lake

Here is the completed "My Pods". I think I will smile everytime I look at this piece since
it was supposed to be a nice small quicky and I think I spent more time on this then other quilts that I made. This was partly due to the quilting error made. However, I was rescued with great
quilters giving me tips on how I could save this and not hide it in a closet. First, I colored the threads that crossed over the pods and leaves to match and not stand out so badly.

Then I over quilted some detail stitches on top of the pods and leaves.
It worked! I am actually happy with the movement and action on this little quilt as I wanted
it to reflect the music that is listened too each day and as loud or soft as I want!

I was doing double duty finishing up "My Pods" and beginning the background to my next quilt on my featherweight. I like using it for seaming just to keep it in use and keep the oil flowing.

I cut apart a great piece of fabric I had in my stash and reassembled it. I wanted the water to look more in motion and wavy.
More to come later.

Since it is our vacation I thought I would show the lake we went fishing on. It is called
"Bullhead Lake". Not a very nice name. It was small and we probably will not go back because of that, but it was still beautiful and peaceful. I enjoyed "discovering" a lake I had never heard of that was only one hour away.

Here is my hubby getting a pole ready for me. I am a fairly good fisherwoman but not so
good at getting my pole set up to fish. I do put on my own bait though, so I am no wimp about that. Bob is so good helping me get set up even when we both forgot our reading glasses!!!

Double the Pleasure

I am so excited....both "The Intruder" and "Turtle Soup" have been accepted into the juried show,
Madison Wi. Quilt Expo! I am so honored and thrilled! If you want to see these quilts look down the right had column.

To make it even better my sister, Bonnie, got one of her quilts accepted as well! It will be so fun to go this year and see our work there.

THE SPA

I woke up this morning at 6am. Should I stay in bed til 7? No....get up and get your coffee and go sit in the spa giving you time to slowly wake up to sounds of the early morning birds.
Mmmmmm that sounds nice.
So up I went and Bob had already made me some coffee, so I went and changed into my suit, grabbed my beach towel and coffee and headed out to the warm spa. It had rained last night so the leaves and grass were all glistening with rain drops as the sun came up.
This is going to be perfect. I set my coffee on the spa edge and turn to hang my towel over the chair when I hear....plop! I turn around and my spa water is BROWN! and has a cup floating in it. Noooooooooooooooooooo!

So, gingerly walk back in the house. "Honey, guess what I just did......:P"

So it was empty the spa and refill it and reheat it and rechemical it.
Now in order to see my cup 1/2 full....it was going to be emptied for its usual clean water at the end of July...so....we just jumped the gun a bit.

Looks good now though....maybe I will try that again tonight without coffee.

Have a great weekend everyone. Since I am on Staycation, I hope to post a few times next week and make progress on my quilts as well but will be focusing on fun and relaxation!

Squiggles

More time this morning.....got up at 5:15 to "make" time!
I have been quilting the borders and then bringing part of the vines out into the body of the piece. I have made it around one corner.....lots more to do but at least I am moving forward.

Next week Bob and I are taking a "Staycation". We are not going anywhere far away but instead will just take day trips or perhaps an overnite during the week. I am just happy to have a break
from our antique business and maybe a bit more time to quilt as well.

No Time No Progress

Here is "My Pods" after taking fabric markers and coloring over the threads on each pod. It was a great success in bringing them forward again instead of behind the quilting. I used the same technique on some of the leaves and stems.

Now I am quilting the borders but have only been able to find about 10 minutes in each day of the week so far. It has been frustrating but so many things have been distracting me from studio time that it can not be helped. Hopefully I can return to some sort of normalcy soon.

Pods Revisted and Max Visited

Publish Post

Max at 1 1/2 years old enjoying Grandma's antique childs rocker and wearing Grandpa's
Mustang t-shirt he had to get for him!

Whew! What a weekend. Sunday I spent the morning trying the suggestion from Wanda about using a fabric permanent marker and coloring over the threads on the pods only. Wow! What a success that was! Made a huge difference so thank you so much Wanda.
Then I had to quit and get to painting the inside door jams of our new patio door that we got last fall but it was too cold to paint the inside of the door back then.
That job was horrible. I painted from 1:30 until 7:30 pm. It was the worst job going around hardware and sealing rubber and squeezing in between things. I was in no mood when I got finished and my husband knew to stay clear of me.

The next morning he took me for a drive in the convertible to the Cheesecake Factory for lunch down in Milwaukee. It was gorgeous weather and it was just what I needed.

Jon, Becky and Max came for supper and stayed overnite. He is out getting fitted for a tux this morning and I am at work. Bob is at home because we are having a new furnace installed today too. Hopefully I will get home before they all leave to go back home.

Then it is back to saving "My Pods".

Mill Street Festival

Today is our downtown's "Mill Street Festival". We close the street and vendors and crafters come and sell their wares along with food and drink. Music will start soon in several tents and of course there are pony rides and a petting zoo for the little ones.
You can see in the background of this photo that an old "ghost" sign is being repainted on the side of one of our buildings down here. Love that because I am all for keeping our downtown historical. The weather is sunny and about 80 degrees....just perfect.

Just What Was I Thinking?????

Thank you all for the words of encourangement, but as you can see....this is NOT good.
Now I am looking at it seeing if I just rip out the stitches over the pods if that would help.
Oh my! Just did not do what I thought it would.

Do you have these in your yard?

Well fill up a spray bottle with any flavor of this!
Spray on your deck, around the chair you are sitting on, or on your skin
and .....

They then turn into this!!!!

Worried about the Quilting

Took a walk in my back yard because I am worried about the quilting I decided to do on "My Pods". I am not showing it since it is not finished and I am crossing my fingers that the next steps will save it, but ...maybe not.
So...I took a breather to rid myself of my anxiety and filled my bird baths.

Spotted "Jack" in the foliage.

Pulled a few weeds in the vegetable garden and harvested a kohlrabi

and some lettuce for dinner tonight.
Now I feel better.

Pods, Goose & Octopus!

Before I get back to "Mulberry Bush" and beginning something new on my design wall, I am going to quilt "My Pods". (Remember that one????)
So I began this morning after.........

I hung "The Canadian" temporarily in my studio to keep it safe above "The Intruder" also
hanging temporarily waiting to see if it is getting into the Quilt Expo in Madison.
http://wiquiltexpo.com/

Then I ran out and got a "Pink Octopus" for my sister Bonnie. She admired mine in my garden so I got her one. She in turn dug up some Pink Cone flowers from her garden in trade.
It is great when you can start splitting and sharing plants!
Now....Off to work!

A Non-Quilting Weekend

Strawberry Freezer Jelly

Well our three day weekend was a busy one. We spent Saturday the Fourth of July working in our yard mowing, weeding, trimming, edging and dead heading. It was a full days work but fun
because the weather was perfect at about 82 degrees and partly cloudy.
That evening we took our dogs to the basement family room so they would not be bothered by the fireworks and watched "Last Chance Harvey" which I thoroughly enjoyed!

Sunday brought more projects, laundry and indoor things and then outdoor projects, a trip to the nursery for a butterfly bush, some moss, and to put my name on the list for some tomato soup and macaroni and cheese cone flowers. (Red and golden and gorgeous!!!)

Then out to The Highland House in Sheboygan to gaze at Lake Michigan and drink Magaritas and delicious Mexican food.

Monday my sister, Bonnie, and I headed to the strawberry patch to pick our own strawberries.
I picked 4 1/2 Ice Cream Pails full (the half was for my Mom) and she picked 5!!!
Again it was gorgeous weather and we had lots of fun riding on the hay wagon out to the field
and talking while picking.

Spent all afternoon making freezer jelly and some sauce for ice cream etc. Then My Mom came over for dinner, ribs, potato salad and mixed veggies. For dessert....strawberries over angel food cake, what else!!!!

I did begin auditioning some fabric for another bird quilt. Have not decided whether to go with the Loon first....or the row of swimming Pelicans. (Both photos taken by my brother Jeff.)
What do you think?

A Look At The Back & My Garden

Thought I would show the back of "The Canadian".
As some of you know, I tried a new technique for me of quilting the entire goose on
black stabilizer and then fused it to the already quilted top. I then machine stitched around the entire edge of the goose, insuring it would not detach over time.
So here you can see that outline stitch as well as how the wing looks from the back. I have also embellished a bit with some feathers and have one more on the sleeve which I have to still attach.

It is very dry here. Has been cloudy and looking like rain for the entire week but all we have gotten is sprinkles. So early this morning I went out to water and took some pictures of my exploding vegetable garden....

and the nude boy garden. Remember this used to be full of poppies. Now it is hostas, huecheras, delphiniums, astilbe, roses, grasses etc.

Hope you all have a great 4th of July!!!!!

"The Canadian"

In honor of "Canada Day" I have finished "The Canadian".
This quilt measures 41 1/2" by 21 1/2".
It is designed, raw edged fused appliqued & quilted by me.
The inspirational photo was taken by my wildlife photographer Jeffrey J. Strobel.

Detail of quilting.
This quilt is dedicated to my father, Charles S. Strobel, who never tired of watching the geese in flight. Although he is no longer here on earth, I feel his spirit each time I see these the Canadian Goose overhead.