"Quilting" Weekends

This year our "quilting weekend" at Pam B.'s was more of a "shopping, eating and lounging by the pool" weekend. It was HOT, so we spent a great deal of our time IN the pool. It would be less than accurate to call this a sewing or quilting gathering, but I think someone managed to finish a binding. Personally, I think I added about 25 more stitches to my "Summer Woods" piece.

We were a much smaller group this year, but that just made it easier to go places all together. We visited some discount fabric stores, a mall or two and a fun restaurant for dinner and drinks. All in all, it was a very fun and relaxing girl's weekend.



To keep this firmly in the quilting realm, here are a couple of quilts from the girls.

All of that was last weekend, THIS weekend I took Friday off and went to the San Diego Quilt Show with a couple of friends. It is a non juried show, so in many ways it is something like a guild show. This year I thought the entries were a bit better with more variety than last year, and they did a great job hanging the exhibit. The highlight was talking with guest artist Mary Lou Weidman and seeing her wonderful quilts up close and "in person". We had fun browsing the vendors, but I didn't get pictures.

Saturday was fun since I spent the day painting fabric and working on another small quilt. I can't share these little artistic efforts just yet, but I am happy with some of them. Sunday we went to the lake and walked six miles (one more than usual, so I joked about "going the extra mile"). In the afternoon and evening I relaxed and read "The Thirteenth Tale", start to finish.

Time to get back to work now.

Quilting Retreat Coming Up

This is a cover for a pool side chair at my friend Pam's house. It really IS as relaxing as a day spa to visit for the weekend. Last year I posted about our wonderful quilting weekend at Pam's house, and this weekend we are set to do it again. She is really going the extra mile for us to hostess this retreat since she has been pretty busy preparing for her daughter's wedding next month.

Just to give you a nice visual, here is a lovely sampler quilt done by our hostess and shared with us last year. I don't have anything of my own to show since I have been working more or less exclusively on 17" x 22" pieces for the Journal Quilt 2007 submission. Right now I'm feeling like everything I touch is overworked. Too much free motion embroidery, too much special fiber, just too much all the way around. The deadline is fast approaching, so I have to figure out if I should just stop and be done with it or start all over again.

Summertime

Here is some of our "garden bounty" (well, the fruit is from the citrus trees, but you get the idea. ) My garden is nothing like Fran's lovley oasis, but we are certainly enjoying the tomatoes. The other night I made a spaghetti sauce from fresh tomatoes that was to die for. Nothing tastes like fresh.

Here is a little preview of the newly white cupboards in my farmhouse kitchen. I used the old hardware, spray painted black. The space is transformed already.

These shelves will remain open, OR I may have custom glass front doors made to go here. Either way you will be able to see the dishes on these shelves, so I have painted the backgrounds a nice barn red.

Here is the bargain fabric I found, a nice red and white decorator width cotton ticking to make curtains. One set for the windows and one for a space under the counter.

Finally, here is another future decoration for the refurbished kitchen. A whimsical vintage style sign. It is not really such an idle boast, for we are coffee snobs of the first order.

I have no idea how long it will be until I can show you a completed "after" picture because this project is taking forever. I am happy with the results so far, though.

I never told you about my trip to the Quilt Visions museum. It was a fabulous exhibit, quilts from the "Thomas Contemporary Quilt Collection". Well-known artists like Ruth McDowell, Frieda Anderson, Carol Taylor, and many others.

I was delighted to see the quilts "in person" and I'm even happier that there is a wonderful art quilt exhibit space locally. I'm afraid, however, that I disappointed the nice lady who called me to get volunteers to work the museum desk. With a full time job, I'm just not willing to give up weekend afternoons, even for a good cause. Some things will just have to wait until retirement.

Current Projects

Here is where most of my time and energy has gone in the last week. Notice how dark my kitchen looks, even with the skylight. After receiving an astonishing estimate of $23,000 for cabinet refacing (yes, I said refacing not replacing), I set off for Home Depot and came home with lots of creamy white paint. This is a JOB. Clean, sand, primer, paint, repeat. The white paint also highlights the many imperfections in the wood, so I have been puttying holes, resanding, etc. The style will still be rustic when I am finished, but at least it should be brighter! Come back in a few weeks (months?) for "after" pictures.

I have hardly been in my studio at all, but this ocean theme quilt for my son is what is on the design wall. I also need to get going on the baby quilt for Emily. I have also been experimenting with paint and stitch for my 2007 journal quilt, but can't share any images online. Back to work for me today, so I'd better get going.

Baby Emily is Here!

Baby Emily is Here! I am NOT the grandma, but I AM the great aunt. I had a chance to spend several minutes holding her yesterday. Her parents are tired but happy and the grandparents (seen above) are over the moon. I hosted the baby shower, but I didn't finish the quilt yet. Guess I'd better get busy!

Where has the time gone?

Where has the time gone? I have been working just two days a week this month and have hugely enjoyed my time off. To give you something nice to look at, here is my friend Barbara's quilt on the design wall at our last sewing day. I just love the liveliness and color of this one. She collected polka dot and retro looking fabrics for ages before making this quilt.

In my own sewing room, besides more fabric painting, I have two projects going but no pictures to show you yet. Under the quilting needle are my bright "bullseye flowers" and on the design wall is the start of a quilt in beautiful ocean blues for my son. I have also been reading stacks of books while curled up in my comfortable window bed. This activity has been known to morph into the luxury of an afternoon nap.

Lest you think I have only been lazy, another thing I have been doing a lot of this month is exercising. Jerry and I have been walking 15 miles a week together and added to that are my swimming aerobics classes. We are both looking a little better than when we posed for our "chubby Hawaiian" picture in the sidebar, but we have a long way to go. I can't tell you how happy I am to get Jerry walking with me. He works long hours and doesn't take care of himself, so this is great progress.

Yesterday I went shopping with my SILs Diane and Barb and had a great lunch out at Panera. I had the Strawberry Poppyseed & Chicken Salad.

Yum!

We also had a great visit with my sweet niece Amy, who is due to have her first child next week. Do you think we are all just a little excited? She has her nursery all prepared and her bag packed for the hospital. The proud papa is anxiously awaiting his role as coach.

Today I will be visiting the new Quilt Visions museum. I'm so excited to be able to spend the day just taking in all that fabulous inspiration. Stay tuned for future blog reports.

On Saturday we will celebrate my FIL's 92nd birthday with a big family party. It's not at my house, but I will help out with food and decorating.
Next week I have another shopping and lunch trip planned, more catching up with friends. I have not even touched my "home improvement" projects yet. Where has the time gone?

It's July, so I'm on Vacation

This was the view from my front door on Saturday morning. Jerry and I got up early to walk by the lake. Good thing, too, because it was bright and hot by the time we finished at 9 am. Same thing today, only it was hot and sunny by 8:30am. I think tomorrow we will start even earlier.
Summer heat here is nothing to kid around with. You don't EVEN want to exercise in it, unless of course you are in a pool.

Here is how I spent another part of my day. That is silk charmuese on the frame, and yes I know those pins are a terrible abuse of fabric, but I am cutting that part off later.

I am having the most wonderful time being away from work. Believe it or not I love my job, but being away is better. Time for morning exercise, time for painting, fabric or otherwise, time for reading, time for napping. For dinner I am preparing a lovely healthy stir fry and then I am meeting some friends for coffee at Starbuck's. We will sit outside enjoying the cool of the summer evening, laughing and chatting and catching up on each other's lives. Ah, this is the life.

WIP Wednesday

I think we can all agree that I'm not a great photographer, but here is how my pieced "Summer Woods" (working title) turned out. I wanted you to feel the lovely blue of lake and sky, the bright flashes of sunlight through the tree branches, the coolness of the green foliage and the surprise of summer flowers. The kind of woods I'm talking about aren't in abundance here in So Cal, so this is a composite of memory and emotion.

I've always felt at home in the woods and have experienced a special kind of peacefulness there. (ok, ok so these days I'm more of a lodge kind of gal, but I still love to walk in the woods even if I don't sleep under the stars anymore.)

There will be more subtle handwork and machine quilting to add texture. I'm happy with my progress.

WIP WEDNESDAY

This is the finished quilt I will be donating for a recovering female soldier. I actually finished it last summer, but not in time for the original occasion I had in mind. It has been in the closet for a while but not in use. After a wash to freshen it, I think it will be perfect. Debra is sending one of her pretty labels for the back. The quilt with stars has been set aside for a time, so I'm glad I thought of this one.

Here is the WIP part of my post. My pieced abstract landscape is coming along slowly. I am still fiddling with the arrangment of the blocks, and also working out what form the lower center of the quilt will take. I'm leaning towards more flowers. I'm also wondering if maybe I should make the quilt smaller, using just the upper portion with the tree blocks. Right now it doesn't flow the way I want it to. I guess that's why it's "work in progress".

It's Been a Bright, Bright Sunshiney Day

The weather has been nearly perfect this week. Lots of sun, at least inland, and warm but not too hot yet. Temperatures are supposed to improve for the coastal dwellers this weekend, and there will be a little more sun too. Sunshine on the coast is kind of iffy in May and June in California.

The weekend is almost officially here, and I hope to get back to work on my current piece. On my lunch hour I ran up to the fabric store (yes, it is dangerously close) and picked up some more "sky blues" just to be sure of enough variety . I picked up a nice King Tut multi-colored blue thread as well.

It seems that even with the best of intentions I am too busy or too tired to get back into my work room at the end of a long day. A little time is better than none, though, and this morning I found myself wide awake at 3am. I decided to go to my room and work for a bit, and so I did, getting back to bed and to sleep for another couple of hours at 5 am. Waking up at 7am, I had the fastest shower in history and made it out the door to work by 7:35am. Maybe this will be my new pattern, after all, it's not like I'm sleeping.

They say It's Your Birthday

My birthday was on Sunday June 10th. Here is a picture (sorry, not a good one) of my birthday presents, which I chose for myself .Not pictured are some discharge and dyeing supplies from Dharma. I have some big plans for my upcoming time off!

I had a fine day with my family and went out for a delicious seafood dinner at the Fish Market. They have the very best wonderful fresh seafood, hot sourdough bread, and a New England clam chowder to die for. We had a nice little bottle of Pinot with our dinner and walked along the water afterwards. Lovely, lovely. I am a lucky woman.

On Monday I took a birthday holiday and spent hours in this room, completely lost in the joy of designing and making this.

Still a work in progress, but I have so many ideas on what to add next. So far, I am delighted, it's just what I wanted it to be.

Amy's Baby Shower

On Saturday I hosted a baby shower for my neice Amy. Here you see the centerpiece we made. Every decoration is useful, as is the "cake" itself.

Here are my lovely guests. (I took this picture, so I am not in it.) I had loads of help from my SILs Jane and Judy and my other neices Carrie and Colleen. All I had to do was clean and decorate since Judy and Jane prepared the food. It was a lot like having a catering service, except better.

This was the most touching gift. The pretty little sweater and booties were made by great grandma Clara as a gift for Barb when Amy was born. Here, Amy's mother Barb passes it on for Clara's great great grandchild to use. It is still lovely and soft and in wonderful condition. Barb also prepared a beautiful gift basket full of baby things. The basket itself was originally a gift from Amy's grandma Adelene. I'm sure they both were with us in spirit that day. I loved that Barb thought to do these very special things.

Here are the tables set and ready for the guests. You can see all the little "baby baskets" we made for serving lunch. Besides the chips and salad cup, we had a chicken salad wrap tucked into the basket.

Dessert was coconut cupcakes made from scratch. Delicious! The little pacifier decorations on top were not edible, so we had to warn our guests to remove them. As far as I know, nobody ate one by mistake.

More Quilt Sharing

My, but my friend Carla has been busy. With Gayle's help, here are three more of the quilts she shared at our last gathering. That's what happens when you retire, I guess, you actually get time to finish your projects!

We are really enjoying our lovely weather. It's great to have some daylight to be outside in the evenings after work. On the coast there are lots of clouds, "May gray" and "June gloom", but this is the best time of year inland. The clouds, if there are any, burn off quickly and it's not too hot yet.

When I'm not at work, I've been getting the house and yard ready for visitors since this coming weekend is the baby shower. Some people have this funny idea that I keep everything spic and span all the time, but really it's just because I clean the dickens out of everything before we have guests.

Besides the shower, we have our son's visit this weekend to look forward to. I have done "empty nest" before, but this time it seemed to hit me harder. We 've started to talk about downsizing our home and planning in earnest for retirement. I guess we really are getting ready for the next phase in our lives.

More quilts to share

Here, Barbara helps Andine show her cute ladybug quilt. You can't tell from the pictures, but the quilting details supply the antennae. Andine made the top and Barbara did the quilting.

Here, Carla helps Gayle show her new bedroom quilt, done in cool and crisp shades of aqua, green and white. I love the simplicity and calm of this quilt design, so perfect for a bedroom. Gayle quilted this one herself. Carla has a longarm for her own use and is teaching Gayle how to use it.

I'm glad I have my friends' quilt pictures to share since I haven't been doing too much in that area myself this week. Instead, I've been spring cleaning and planting some colorful annuals to spruce up the flowerbeds. My flower quilt is still on the design wall, but with luck I'll get in there today to work on it.

Flower Quilts

Here are some of the flower quilts we made in our quilt group. Still on the design wall at home, my quilt is a lot like Barbara's (above) with a green background and bright colors. It looks like everyone liked my idea of staggering the blocks. They do look more lively that way. Doesn't my friend Gayle's quilt look great in her kitchen?


Here, Andine and Carla show their quilts.

We had a fun day of sewing and sharing. Great food, of course. Our project this time was making postcards for soldiers. They will be handed out rather than mailed.
My soldier's quilt is still a work in progress, too, but I have until the end of June to get it mailed. Regardless of my feelings about the war, I think it is important to support the troops.

Finally checking in...

Hey everyone, I'm finally back in blog land, hoping to catch up a bit. Thanks so much to everyone who emailed or left comments, I've missed you too! Life has been a little crazy busy, as it is for everyone at times. Above is a little experiment with fabric painting and stitching, something I love to do. I am holding out on sharing some of what I have done because I haven't yet selected which piece will be the "journal quilt" for this year. I have been hanging around reading "Quiltart" and have committed to submitting a journal quilt in 2007. As an art quilter, sometimes I feel like I am just "dabbling", but really it is where my heart is and one day I will be able to give it the time it deserves.

Here are a couple of pictures of my handsome and talented son ( totally unbiased opinion of course) at his graduation party. Yes! he is a college grad now and I couldn't be more proud. (And no more tuition checks, yay!) The mug says " Be the change you want to see".

The world is his oyster, really. I hope with all the love in a mother's heart that the world doesn't leave him cynical and disillusioned. He has a giving spirit and great idealism. He hopes to work for a non-profit.

And, last, here is a picture of me with a couple of sister-in-laws and neices after a long day of making "baby shower' decorations. We are giving a baby shower for my neice Amy on June 2. The little bassinets will serve as serving baskets for our lunch and the "diaper cakes" as centerpieces. We are all so excited to be welcoming a new baby into the family!

I have been working on my "quilt of valor" donation and have improved the layout greatly by setting the blocks on point and adding more stars. Honestly, it was boring the heck out of me before, but now I think it is getting better. No pictures yet, but soon, I promise.