Wednesday, December 16, 2015

She DID fall off the turnip truck

I love that expression and yes, I appear to have fallen off.  My biggest hold-up is the inability to get my photo program to work properly.  Blogs without any photos are soooooo boring.

So let's do a bit of catching up.  Thanksgiving was fun and busy with 9 of us enjoying turkey and all the requisite trimmings.  E's brother Henry came from Michigan and cousins from Everett came as well.  Fun, tasty and a grand afternoon and evening.


So the big run-up to Christmas begins (actually, it is well on its way).  Nana has had several items to get completed:


We also got a new tree planted in the front grass strip.


Several concerts and a couple of plays.  Shopping and wrapping for our adopted Christmas family.  I had a very fun day beginning the "catch up" with friend Julia.  She had moved away almost 20 years ago, but has now moved back into the area.  She took me to a marvelous new place:  The Chalet in the Woods.   Oh such fun!




A charming locale for all variety of Scandinavian items.  We were greeted at the door with a cup of coffee and a cookie and invited inside to wander to our heart's content.  What a treat.  Limited hours, but if you are interested I can tell you how to find it in Gig Harbor.  And yes, Nana did manage to find a couple of Christmas gifts there.
The sweet little girls are getting very excited for Santa Claus to come and visit their house.  Some sleep sacks and baby quilts for CTA - and I have been keeping busy, all in all.  

Hoping that your holidays are blessed.

Tuesday, November 3, 2015

The leaves are changing color all over the place

I have been having lots of challenges with my photos - so we shall see what I can transfer here  It is frustrating that I cannot show you what's going on (in pictures).  So - lots of time with the grandchildren, such fun.

A couple of weeks ago we had a great trip to the local aquarium.  We all had a great day.
They are such a great bunch of kids.  They are a pleasure to have around.

CTA had a sewing day when we made baby quilts for the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). 





We also made sleep sacks for the babies in the same hospital, but once again, my photos won't transfer over.  I am sorry.  It is so frustrating.

Here's one of the younger grands - just prior to Halloween.  You may notice the fake braid and the blue gloves - all part of the Elsa costume.  The same as half of the 4 year olds around the world, who think this is just the perfect outfit.  Isn't Disney successful!

Life is good and busy and perhaps I can get this photo issue resolved.

We got a tree from the city - a long and convoluted process - and finally got that planted.  We did discover what a dreadful layer of clay we have about 10 inches below the surface.  But with a pick managed to break it up.  Hope we were able to loosen the soil enough that our little Elm tree can grow.  [Who knows where the pictures went.]

Split 9 patch table runner (before binding)
Too frustrating.  Happy fall, everyone.



Wednesday, September 30, 2015

Autumn Firldtrip

Twiice a year Clothworks in Seattle open their doors for a tour. That was today and it was great.  They rep  a lot of well known designers as well as a couple of lines of their own.  If you buy any Laurel Burch fabrics or That Patchwork Place, for example, they come through Clothworks.  This location in a very non-descript building is Wholesale only.  But they showed us their entire process from receipt of printed good, to measuring it out onto bolts and shipping to their customers.

We then had a very informative presentation on the growing, finishing and weaving of cotton in the US. Clothworks produces their own line of solid fabrics 100% American.  It is called, not surprisingly "American Made Brand" (AMB). For the first time they will be at Houston with this line next month.  We were all given a packet of 2 1/2" squares of that line.  



They are adding another 13 colors to the 57(?) they already have. One of the ladies there said it was very well priced.  


They also gave us 6 fat quarters of their fresh batiks line. This is not American but does have a very nice hand. 

Altogether a very interesting and fun day. It was hard not to drool over shelves and shelves of lovely fabrics in a zillion different colors.  

Tuesday, September 15, 2015

Autumn has indeed arrived around here

It may not be raining lots, but the grey and clouds and much, much cooler weather tell that autumn is HERE!

Got a back for this one.  I love that it is called "Hello Betty".  Doesn't that just sound like something from 1930.


And as I needed to visit a quilt store that I was passing (need being the important word there) I found some "neutrals" that all happened to be on sale.  And for one of them, as I bought the end of the bolt, I got it for 50% off.  Now how can a girl pass that up?



While on that little adventure I found some fat quarters that just called my name.  So I cut them up and made a couple of split nine-patch table runners.  So I got everything washed and ironed this evening.  Tomorrow evening is "Days for Girls" sewing group, with women mostly from my church.
Busy days.


Here are my "playing with FQ's"

Today was a mostly grey and rainy, but extra fun day.  We met our friends Maud and Alayne at the Washington State Fair.  Lots of things to see and try and wonder about.  The quilts are always one of the highlights.

The lady on the left was MOST anxious that I wasnt making photos of the paintings. A HUGE NO NO!!
But rather I pointed out that I wanted to show how the quilts are hung - very high. So here are some that impressed me:
This one was so intricate.  Alayne and I decided that it had to have been all reverse applique with magnificent quilting in the light squares. And it didnt win anything 
Oh well - different strokes, I guess.  Hope you're having a great start to fall.

Saturday, August 29, 2015

Borders

Quilt borders can sometimes cause us challenges. Especially if I dont have enough fabric to make the border that the pattern "suggests". And so one tries to come up with something that 1) works, 2) uses the fabric we have and 3) looks like it belongs.  Realizing that I only had bits and scraps of fabric used in the body of the quilt (realize I did start this 2+ years ago) I got a border put together, attached and Im feeling satisfied. I probably will have to buy a back.
Ah that all of life's decisions were solved this easily.

It was a real treat to awaken to the sound of rain. For a place so accustomed to lots of precipitation, our overly long dry spell has been strange and sadly we are definitely paying the price with so many ENORMOUS wildfires. So many with homes and property threatened, fire fighters killed trying to help, oh it makes me sad.

"My" little girls joined us for a quick outdoor dinner last week
School is starting soon, so Nana will begin her duties. I love it. 

After 18 years in this house, it really was time to update the floor covering.  Lots of discussion and finding samples and decided to get a "berber" type of carpet. Our big surprise was finding the newspaper from 1991 when the previous carpet was laid and the sign indicating that the carpet pad had been installed in 1974 - supposedly with a 50 year guarantee!  NOT!  Of course we left a newspaper for the next homeowners to find!


Enjoy the transitions into autumn.


Thursday, August 27, 2015

Eminently tardy blogwriter

This has been a deligjtful and BUSY summer!  No big trips but many, many week-end adventures.  Love our happy motorhome - really getting our money's worth this year. Fun started with Fourth of July camping adventures. Sadly that interfered this year with our annual Pine Needle trip, but so many choices it is difficult!

We took two of the grands to our church's family camp at Seabeck.  See how dry it has been!


We brought the kids home and headed off for Lake Cushman - a new destination for us.  Really beautiful and also included a trip into the Olympic National Forest, nearby.

On to a regular RV event with our group along Hood Canal.  The Lug Nuts were the "staff" at Camp Cascadia.  And then it was time to get ready for the 14th Annual Camping with the Grandma's trip   Luckily this year no rain, no hail and we parked so we could use the awning.  Hurrah'

Nana and Oakie's Favorite Five'

Border to be attached. (Christmas gift ready early!)

Pattern from the internet. Isnt it so cute?

Block of the Month which I am finally finishing.

One of the free Bonnie Hunter patterns.  USE UP THOSE SCRAPS!

So, yes, I have had a bit of time behind the machine!

One more week-end out and about.  Another adventure at Harmony Lakeside resort. Oh goodness,

And here we are, almost September.  My days with the Little Girls are already beginning, school is ready to start, fall sports, and so it goes!  Happy Autumn 2015.