Not Quilting for now

Life once again gets in the way and that is the case for me right now. I am still learning the right way to do physical, occupational and speech therapy at home. It has been at times daunting and difficult. I think I am finally developing a routine, but it still takes a long time to get through everything expected. Even if we begin by nine o'clock, we do not finish until well past two. Then there are days like yesterday.

I will begin by introducing you to Danny, our adult son with developmental disabilities. Danny is a pretty good guy and he definitely loves the girl in his arms. "Samantha" hasn't been herself lately and so Dan has been pretty concerned. Over the last few weeks we have observed that she was hard of hearing and shortly thereafter that she was also losing her sight. She appeared not to be hurting because every time someone petted her she would purr and push against your hand. Yesterday was different. She stopped purring and simply went to sleep. Before long she was gone. I have to admit that she and I were not always compatible. Over the course of her life and mine, she bit me viciously , twice. Each time she was provoked by a strange cat walking across the patio. I had the audacity to move and she struck.

Now, having said that, I have over the years come to an understanding with Sammy because Danny loved her so much. Danny never a vet appointment, not one. He held her closely after she had her shots and reassured her that this was good thing, and babied her always. Sammy lived with my husband and myself because it cost a lot of money to keep a cat in an apartment. He visited her often. When he comes to visit he he always sought her out and they had some serious conversations. I found myself weeping yesterday while I buried her. Weeping for her and for Danny. Danny has taken a stance of no speaking about his loss, period. He is my son, I have known him for 45 years. I know we will speak of this but not until he processes his feelings.

Another thing you should know about Samantha. She was born 23 years ago on Halloween day. I had hoped she would still be here for her birthday but it was not to be. For now I will keep my eyes and ears open and Dan will talk about her again.

Still thinking about my trip to the International Study Center

I am still going over in my mind the quick trip we made to the museum in Lincoln NE. First of all it is an incredibly beautiful facility. It was built entirely green and therefor a point of pride to those involved in it's creation. It is dedicated to the preservation and sharing of the richly diverse collection. What it means to someone like me is that there are many vintage quilts. I learned early on that was where my heart would always land. Our trip this year was pretty quick and I would have enjoyed a longer stay, but nevertheless enjoyable. The quilt seen above was a real favorite of mine. I wish you could see it first hand as it is exquisitely crafted. The maker was especially gifted. Of course it doesn't hurt that this is red and green, my favorite pallet. Those red flowers with the reverse applique slits add a new level of interest for me.


If I ever get the chance to make a quilt like this, I would definitely like to use a form of this border. On this side alone there is an eagle, a cornucopia filled with flowers from which the vine is escaping and stars . At the top of the quilt a vase containing more flowers and an extension of the beautiful vine. Take the opportunity to click on the image and catch your breath in the beauty of the quilting. No matter what the quilting is always my favorite. Okay. I admit it everything about a quilt such as this one is always my favorite. yes, I love it all. Thanks for coming. I hope you keep returning.

International Quilt Study Center & Museum

This was my third time to go to Baltimore On The Prairie in Omaha NE. as an instructor of Baltimore applique. The whole experience for me is always enhanced by the people in my classes and the quilts they bring. This year was really wonderful as usual. Students dedicated to learning as much as possible, beginners realizing their potential, in short an amazing experience for me and I think, for them. The spots for next year already more than half full before we left the building on the last day. The applique block above is a part of the Major Ringold which is part of the International Quilt Study Center & Museum in Ashland NE. If you haven't been, you need to go. At the very least get online and enjoy! Checkout this block for the various techniques. There are both ruched and stuffed roses, rose hairs and more. There is also a bible or album, so prevalent in the Baltimore quilts.



I loved the block above. It was referred to as a star flower design. I am so going to use this somewhere. I don't remember whether there is quilting in the flowers but they are large and so I will have to address that very thing.



Now. tell me, can you accidentally miss those stuffed roses. This stitcher was intent on making a statement and she did! Once again there is a lot of ruching.


In this block all of the roses as well as the buds are stuffed. There is a lot of black in this design. I speculate that because this appears to be a memorial quilt. There are three monuments and the black seems appropriate.

More ruching and a good closeup of the black hairs on the leaves and stems. This is a type of ruching on the outside edge with the center manipulated so it is contained. The white flower appears to have a button in the center? The red one has two layers of the most typical ruching. I haven't used this in just this way before but you can be sure I plan to do so.



The blue flower in the vase appears to be gathered from the center out rather than the way ruching tracks in a circle. Interesting. In this block we can see rose hairs around virtually every motif including the vase.



My first response upon seeing this block was awe! I am sure I was influenced by the sweet colors and shapes including the whimsical shape of the wreath itself. Pink. yellow, and blue in fondue print. It doesn't get better. This is a sweet block.
I am loving this too. Three simple flowers and the equally simple wreath above. Nice!


Remember the monuments I spoke of? This is one and and is similar to the others. This quilt appears to have been made during the Civil War because these images were common at that time.

This one is the Ringold monument and is upside down because this was my vantage and when I tried to turn it with my photo program it was just weird. So here we are. You know this monument is war related particularly because of the arsenal on either side. Nice design and the monument fabric is used on three of these designs. The fabric may have faded as the color shades from the top lilac color to brown. Brown often does this so it may not be the original shade.


Another monument similar to the other two.



This is an over view of this special quilt. I do wish I could have taken a full view. However the web sight of the International Quilt study center. They have over 5000 quilts!! Many online and a really user friendly web sight.

Aunty Green September 2011

Well, things are pretty slow in the quilting department so have decided to share as I go rather than waiting to finish a section. I am quilting on the fly these days so not sure I will always be happy with the result. For this section I have only the one corner pattern and will have to draft my own for the other corners. I guess I will have to see how that goes. I know I am better than my ninth grade teacher thought I was but it will still be a struggle for me. Mrs Anton took me aside at the end of the semester and told me I was a delight, the kind of student any teacher would love to have but this was an art class and I was simply not up to it. Well, Mrs Anton I think I did find my art and because of you I spent most of my life in pursuit of just that.

This is a fascinating, complex pattern and in some ways I think I may not be up to it. Oh, I can do the work, but my time is somewhat limited these days and while the stitching is not difficult, it is still a little hard to have all the starts and stops connected with the care of a loved one.

But enough about that. What I want to share is the reason for my fabric choices. I am using a background that is a subtle tone on tone print in a buttery yellow. It is a departure from the original quilt but okay I think. As I study my photo of the quilt I am taken with the variety both in design and color of the fabrics. It is almost as if she had decided to make a charm quilt and that charms me. So, I will continue to add as many different fabrics as I can.

I am headed for Baltimore on the Prairie on Tuesday and hope to see you there. I will take pictures and share when I return home. Thank you for dropping by.

Baltimore on the Prairie

I am getting ready for the conference "Baltimore on the Prairie." I am excited and a little chagrined that I have not addressed this year's program sooner. As I wind down in this part of my life working less away from home, I have come to treasure the time I spend at Eugene T Mahoney state park with a group of mostly women who love applique as much as I do. I wish you all could be there next week. Beautiful setting with a view of the Platte river. More than that, there will be quilts, lots of quilts. The photo above represents my workshops. On the left, my four day workshop, An Eagle in my Garden. The wreath in the center is embroidery and silk ribbon. The wreath on the right is cut work applique and is a one day workshop. Only three techniques, needle turn, perfect (?) circles and embroidered stems.



Okay, of course I know this is a kitchen counter. I also remember that I have a 500 square foot studio upstairs. The thing is that I need to be near my husband. He has given up taking chances for the most part but things still happen. However things still happen. Day before yesterday I walked into the kitchen knowing he was asleep in the living room in his wheel chair with the remote still in his hand ( sometimes he changes the channel in his sleep. Have you got one of those?) I swear i was gone for about a minute, When I came back, he was on the floor! Sigh... Seems he leaned a little to far and slid to the floor. So now we agree, no sleeping in that chair.
he has dodged five such falls since he came home. Did not get hurt. Long story short, I don't leave him alone much. Getting back to business, what you see is the beginning process I employ when making kits for my classes.

I always try to include items that are usually not available in the local fabric or quilt store. For instance in the above picture you see a small scrap of a favorite fabric with two chenille needles. Where I live, I was unable to buy those needles so got on the internet and ordered them from Clover. When people travel a long distance it is nice to find what you need at the conference.
Now last but not least is this to die for silk ribbon. This is another item no longer available in Springfield MO. Again the internet is my friend. These beauties will find their way into the kits I am composing even if I am getting a late start.


I do wish you were coming. be sure to look up the BOTP web sight for next years offerings. That's what I said, you can see what is happening next September!! Do not miss out. You will be sorry you missed the quilts, the friends, the view. I hope some of you will be there this year. Find me and tell me you heard from me on blogger. I always travel with chocolate!

Still recovering

Willie Nelson he is not but since this country singer is one of Dale's favorites I have decided to use his image as an icon for this weeks experiences. As many of you know, Dale has been through a lot this last year and a lot of ups and downs. As I write this I recall many proud moments, not the least of which is the progress he has made in speech therapy. While his short term memory often remains illusive, the long term is often right o the money. Recently, I cleaned out the little pond we have in the back garden as it had stopped running and we both enjoy the sound of the water running through the old water pump and splashing below. After cleaning it still would not work so off I went to the hardware store to get a new one. Installed, it did nothing. However, Dale sent me to the big workbench in the garage to reset the outlet and shazam, the pump is working again. Because he has lost a lot I love it that he can feel like he is contributing in a real way.

He has gone from a feeding tube to a peg in his abdomen, from there to eating almost anything. I gave him an Ipad to use for memory issues. I am not sure he will admit it but he does really like using it to access the news, check his calendar for appointments everyday. In addition, it seems he enjoys a game of Angry Birds and a little solitaire a slot machine now and then.

Over the months since he finally came home we have had a pretty quiet household. Well, I should qualify that by saying he was quiet and I found myself turning into a little bit of a chatterbox perhaps trying to fill the void of silence. of course there was the television. tell me why do men have to watch five minutes of a program and move on to something else and later perhaps back to the first program, move on to... well you know what I mean.

In any case Dale's voice has been there but really soft these last months. A couple of days ago he had a surgical procedure that involved an injection into his vocal cords to hep them close when speaking and really important when swallowing. So the house remains especially quiet for this next week as he is not supposed to speak at all! Then two weeks of speaking softly. This is a temporary fix but hopefully with continuing speech therapy the cords will regain some of their strength and he will have that voice back again.

I know I have not posted for awhile, but I am busier than I ever expected to be. I am still working on Aunty Green and hope to share a little more progress in the next week or so. Then heading for Baltimore on the Prairie. Take care.

So how are you doing this summer?

Kind of cute don't you think? Well, for me not so much. While things were better than usual ( I have a service ) the Japanese beetles visited my yard yet again. Six weeks of picking these things off my roses and and killing them on an individual basis has not put me in a good place. You can probably imagine my state of mind when I began seeing little piles of soil and then trails of soil on the grass. I looked on the Internet and found some really strange and fun ideas for getting rid of these creatures. The strangest solution involves sitting very close to a mound or tunnel, put your ear to the ground and when you hear activity use a spade to pound very hard on the ground. Kills em every time, not!! Used cat litter has a lot of fans. How about moth balls? You can walk around with a pitch fork and stab through the tunnels until you get lucky and stab the creature. You can also buy a package of poison worms and hope you place them in a really good place.

My yard has become a sort of mine field. Don't want the children playing back there because sometimes these soil piles are hidden by the grass. Almost turned an ankle last week myself. So, I hope you can imagine that when I saw a sign last week in my neighborhood ( Got Moles? ) that I instantly wrote down the phone number. I'm getting old. I wouldn't have remembered. Mr Rosiere came right away, set several traps and promised to come back. I ran my errands and could not resist going into the back yard to have a look. I stood there for just a few minutes when the trap nearest me snapped shut and then directly to my right another also snapped shut! Now is there a mole in either of the traps? I am not going to look. I was told that I probably only have one or two moles and wouldn't that be cool to be done with these guys? I should be so lucky! Hope to get back to posting about quilts soon,