December 20, 2012

One hundred twelve Peanut Blossoms!

These are my favorite cookies.

A perfect way to spend the day.

Yum!

Honoring the pause

This morning we received a light dusting of snow. 

Not too uncommon for the Portland area at this time of year.
I was so happy to see it! 

Yesterday, I had felt a little agitated throughout the day. I didn't sleep well the night before. My cat was restless too. 

Then this morning when I looked out, I saw that  the snow had started.

A feeling of peacefulness has returned.

I love the snow for the very reason that it causes us to give pause to our day, and forces us to rearrange our lists of priorities. I believe that everyone needs this from time to time.

Enjoy your day.

We need to treat each other better.

Because when we don't, 

it hurts.

That's all I'm going to say.

Another year passes

Last night my small quilt group of friends once again celebrated the season with a dinner and quilt reveal.

Dortha graciously hosted our Pot Luck dinner - something that I think she looks forward to every year.

This years' gift exchange was a quilt top for the person whose name we had drawn, 

traditionally pieced in two colors of their choice.

This red and white beauty is what Jeni made for me.

Isn't it wonderful? I just love the color red!

All of the quilts were equally impressive.

 We all had so much fun!

Thank you everyone -

and 

Happy Holidays!

Inspirational Beauty

Last weekend, my husband and I went out to Montgomery Park, to attend an Art Show and fundraiser for The Audubon Society of Portland.

Afterward we took a walk in the rain, down a path near the parking area,

which turned out to be as awe-inspiring as the inside artwork and displays.

Monday Therapy

This morning my husband and I were out of the house early to sign the papers for refinancing our home, yet one more time. Interest rates are so low right now, we just couldn't let that opportunity pass.

After we got home, I received a much appreciated text from my oldest son. He and his girlfriend decided to give their relationship another go, after a bit of turmoil this weekend.

I was so sad about the whole ordeal that I spent the greater part of Saturday night crying, as I tried to put our Christmas tree up. I know it's a bit early, but I was so upset that I was acting irrationally.

Today was dark and dreary, and after I ate way too many pieces of  left-over Halloween candy,  I sat down at my sewing machine and did some 'therapy' sewing . .
I feel better now.

Have a good evening!

Enjoy the color . . .

 . . . before it's all gone.

 

November 6

Today is our 

National Day of Hope.

Please vote.

HQ Adventures-What I just learned

Here are the results from my latest adventures using my HQ Avante longarm quilting machine.

Let me share with you what I learned!

As you can see here, there is alot going on in this quilt!

Small pieces with lots of small patterns. 

(My quilting group had just finished making these as a gift to another group member who just gave birth to twins - a boy and a girl!)

As I was quilting it, I kept loosing my place. 

I couldn't tell how far away from the last pass of quilting stitches I was with my needle.

After several periods of crossing over previous stitches, ripping out and restarting, I finally figured something out.  By turning OFF my machine lights, the visibility improved immensely!

Then, I went so far as to turn off all the room lights, except for a lamp placed at the far right end of my machine. This created wonderful shadows over the entire top - allowing all of the stitching to be seen easily.

I finished quilting both of these tops, and never lost my place in the design again!

This is one of those things that you look back on, wishing someone had told you earlier.

These aren't the best pictures, but you can see that the shadowing makes quick work of the whole task.

Whew!

Now, on to the next adventure. . .

Pumpkin Pi

. . . from my husband's infinite optimism at this time of year.

(Also the sixteenth letter of the Greek alphabet, used in Mathematics as the symbol for the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter.)

 Happy Halloween!

What A Surprise!

Apparently, my 'Summer Solstice' quilt and pattern
are appearing in a new Martingale publication!

Although this quilt is constructed using a basic String block method, Prairie Points with buttons and machine applique have been added.
I chose a darker navy fabric for the sashing and border, to quench the overuse of black as a background color in quilts.

(This quilt and it's instructions have been previously published in the September/October 2010 issue of 'Quiltmaker' magazine.) It is also available for purchase from my website.

Imagine my surprise, when I sat down to my computer yesterday and found the image of my work pinned on 'Pinterest'!

As I moved my mouse over the quilt, I was redirected to the Martingale website, viewing a copy of a new book:   Easy Quilts For Beginners and Beyond

Here is a link to the page of their website:  http://www.shopmartingale.com/easy-quilts-for-beginners-and-beyond.html
I'm very excited to have my work featured along with many other wonderful design artists.
 Many thanks to Quiltmaker magazine and Martingale Publishing!

For a special Grandmother and Mother-in-law

 

Dunder, Betty Jane Irene (Lindquist) age 84, of Plymouth, Minnesota passed away 9/28/12. Born 7/15/28 in Isanti County (Wyanette) to Alvin & Irene Lindquist. Married 4/10/48 to Reuben Dunder. Preceded in death by parents, and infant sister, Jackie. Survived by her husband, Rueben; sons, Keith (Katie), Kevin (Diane) and Kent Dunder; daughter, Karen (Mark) Westermann; 7 grandsons and 1 great-grandson; brothers, Richard and Reynold. Service at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, Hwy 7 & Texas Ave., St. Louis Park, 10/3/12 at 4:30 PM with visitation 3:30 PM. Private interment. Memorials preferred to American Cancer Society or Prince of Peace Church.

Summer travels

Currently, the San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles is celebrating it's 35th Anniversary.

We visited this summer and enjoyed a large scale exhibit of textile art by Mark Adams.
(Sorry, no pictures with respect to the artist.)

To read more about this exhibit as well as the prolific body of work Mark Adam's produced in his more than sixty year career in painting, tapestry, and stained glass go to: http://sjquiltmuseum.org/exhibitions_MarkAdams.html


The San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles also houses a permanent collection of Quilts & Textiles comprised of 850 items, including historic quilts, contemporary art quilts, and textile-based art forms, as well as costumes and garments from world cultures. Formed in 1977, the Museum’s collection has gained distinction for its’ unique art and material culture collection both locally and nationally.

 This quilt greeted us at the entrance,
with it's detail and history gracefully documented: