Starting up again

To say it's been a long time since I posted anything is probably a bit of an understatement. However, I've been busy. Really. Really busy. And when you're a contractor, being busy is a good thing. I did get a free day this last weekend to do some sewing...just for fun. It's been a while since I've had time to do fun sewing. I've looked at the Carpenter's Star pattern on the http://blog.MaryQuilts.com site and I wanted to make it...really wanted to make it. But there was that time issue. Randy was back in ND visiting his folks. Which meant I was the full-time entertainment for Charli. But she finally laid down on Saturday late afternoon, and I was able to get the squares and half-square triangles cut, then sewed together on Sunday. (By the way, the lightest color in this photo is white. Actually it's white-on-white - I was shooting without the flash so it looks not-white...oops! It's better if you squint your eyes when you look at it. Really.) Now I just have to decide on borders. I've gotten input from my sister. Now I just need to find time to get that part done!

College Quilts

I sewed college quilts as high school graduation presents for the twins in our family. I waited until they had selected their colleges before picking up the fabric because I wanted to make the quilts in the college colors. Needless-to-say, that put me behind a bit! I did finish the quilts before graduation in June, then sent them off to be quilted. The specific quilter I used did an absolutely amazing job. Our niece is planning a career in medicine and is at UCLA, so the colors are blue and gold. The quilting - this just blows me away - is the hippocratic oath. You know it - it's the "do no harm" speech that you hear on every medical TV show. It's tough to see on these photos, but it's there...trust me! Our nephew is planning a film career. He's been into movie making projects since he was very young, and he's very talented. He's at Chapman University in CA...hence the red and white for that university.His quilt is quilted with the names of actors, movies, directors and producers - very fun and very unique! I got them back a couple of weeks ago, added binding and labels, then sent them to the twins. I hope the quilts keep them wrapped in hugs whenever they're feeling a little homesick. The patterns are from a favorite blogger of mine - http://blog.maryquilts.com/. Check it out - you'll love her work!

Happy Birthday, Dennis

I miss you everyday.

For my MIL..bird pictures

My mother-in-law is a great photographer and she loves taking pictures of birds. She'll wait for an hour just to get that perfect bird shot.

And I like to think I'm a good photographer but I just don't have her patience. If I can't get the shot in 10 minutes (or 15 shots in 10 minutes), well, it's time to move on. Plus, my photography interest really isn't with birds.

My interest is with flowers...

or sunsets...

or Charli.Every time we go to the San Juans, my MIL asks if we're taking bird pictures for her to see. This time I made the effort. These certainly aren't wonderful...blue heron tend to be pretty skittish as you near them. So these were shot from a distance; then cropped. Don't be looking for digital perfection here. But they're okay shots.

Then there's this picture of my favorite subjects.

And I know she'll like it because they're also two of her favorite subjects!

Tidepooling

The tides were very low in the mornings when we were in the San Juans and that made for great tidepooling. I took a lot of pictures - naturally - but haven't had a chance to go through them all so this post is limited to starfish.

I just love the bright purple color against the greens and browns of the shoreline.

The starfish just seems to hang onto to whatever is close...even if it's another starfish.

And I love being able to see how they're clinging to the rocks; they're strong little buggers!

And there were some orange ones, too. Not many, mind you, but a few mingling in with the purples.

But while I love tidepooling and finding all the hidden starfish, I also know that starfish LOVE eating crab. Oh, and by the way ... so do I. And that means finding a lot of starfish near our crabbing grounds isn't exactly a wonderful thing because that means competition...and starfish don't have to follow Washington State crabbing season guidelines!

San Juan Sunsets

We were up in the San Juan Islands recently and were lucky enough to be there during a particularly hot spell in Vancouver. It was in the high 90s in Vancouver; it was 80 in the San Juan's...and absolutely beautiful. Again. Still. As always. And no, I am not a bit biased.I mean, come on...look at that sunset and tell me that is not beautiful.Or that one. It was just like living in pictures from a travel magazine. And of course, part of the charm is the sailboats reflecting in the water.This was the view from our bed the first night. It's difficult to close your eyes when this is the view outside your window.

Even Charli was spellbound.

On the Design Wall...

I've been doing more applique this summer so the projects that take shape on the design wall have been few and far between. I do have some finished appliqued wallhangings on there but they'll stay there until I decide how I want to finish them. And, knowing me, they could be there a long time. I read a few blogs everyday. One is called Mary Quilts (http://blog.maryquilts.com/). I like her style of writing (very casual) and I like the scrappy quilts she designs, makes and gives away. And she always gives step-by-step instructions so that if you like the quilt, you can make one for yourself. I really like that. When I saw the lattice quilt design, I knew I needed to make one. Earlier this spring, Randy's cousin gave me some yardage that she'd picked up at a garage sale. There are quite a few yards and it's a pattern I've always liked. In fact, I had the same fabric in 2 other colorways...and still have a bit of each! Since I'd gotten a lot of the blue colorway, I decided to use it, along with a navy-on-navy floral and a rose-on-pink fabric ...to make my own lattice quilt. I cut and pieced enough for a few blocks on Friday just to see if I liked it. Then, Sunday, I cut and pieced a few more. One thing I really like is that you oversize the blocks when cutting; then square them up after piecing.It makes for a bit of waste...but more importantly, it makes for very square blocks!

Now that I've got a few blocks done, I'm thinking I may need to applique something in the middle where the four blocks come together. To me, it looks a bit blah:Since the 4 blocks together make a 12" finished block, I could applique something, but what?

And that's why it takes so long to finish quilting projects!