Views from the Porch....

It's been a cool Summer.  Great weather for flowers and grass. The garden has not produced as well.  I'm scared I may not have pumpkins or gourds this year.  We' keep you posted.

Daisies frame my garden gate.

I love this variety of petunia... the pink and red are stunning.

The Bee Balm is just starting to come out.  Being on the north side of a hill everything blooms later than other areas.

This is my first year with Butterfly Weed.  It's a perennial that I hope will come back.  Winters are so hard on them.

The Echinea plant has a steady crowd of friends hanging around....

The lavender boughs are tiny this year . The heat hasn't burned or bleached them at all.  You can see that while the Black-eyed Susans have not bloomed in the picture, Along our roadsides they have almost finished.

At the center of my perennial bed out back is this old chair. The ladle keeps bird seeds for the birds.  The ferns grow wild.  Thanks to Don's labor, it's framed with rocks that also 'grow wild' around our place.....

On the quilt front, the Baby Quilt is finished and delivered.  I love the disappearing nine patch.

  I did not want to find a distinct pattern, just wanted blocks to appear.

Sunday Morning Early sunlight.....

Sunday Morning on My Porch...

Put it down... get ready for church... 

It would be easy to never leave this spot on sunny mornings.  Hopefully by this evening this will be on my breakfast table.  This is a Primitive Gatherings pattern -- doubled in size -wool onto cotton backgrounds.

The thermometer hasn't seen 80 degrees in over a week.  But I sleep with the windows open every night and a quilt on my bed.  The other night I awoke at about 1 am to rain and the sound of raindrops on metal gutters just singing away.  I smiled. Rolled over. And went back to sleep.  Better than lullabies.

I made blueberry bread yesterday.  So keyed up about having muffins earlier in the week and yet having another cupful ripe to bake with I forgot to photograph..  Who cares about diets... the blueberries make it 'good for you'.  I can just about justify anything if I try hard enough.

Days getting shorter.... I intend to make the most of this last month of summer.....

On the Line....

It 's Saturday.  We've had a cool front come through -- a high of 73 degrees scheduled for today. 

It was a day at home...playing with the pups, vacuuming, dusting... all those things we would like to pretend happen magically.  If I'm going to do them I definitely want credit. 

The fun thing I did was cut out quilt blocks from the fabric above.  I usually talk to my mom and my mother-in-law on the drive into work.  I told my MIL that I planned on cutting these blocks out for a baby quilt this weekend.  

Her response:
"Man, you  folks have a lot of babies..."

Truth be told... these are the same blocks I have been planning on cutting out for a couple of months.  Things get in the way.  Summers being short -- quilting takes 'the back seat'.  I just couldn't spit out the words that I just haven't gotten around to it and this is the same project I keep dreaming out in office meetings, those church bulletins when I should be paying attention, and there's even that walmart receipt with  a doodle while I was waiting for a train one day.  

Life is busy.  Summers short.  But I think this is going to be a great Baby Quilt.

Sunday Afternoon...

The Machine quilting is complete.  I need to wash out the old marker lines.  But I'm tickled it's done.

One for the books--- a collage of fat quarters..Not my favorite quilt but a great one for keeping someone warm at night.

It reminds me not to quit and give up on pieces-- no matter how old they are.  I'm going to work on a brand new piece next...then back to finding another UFO. 

Summer is flying fast.  We're losing 2 minutes of sunshine a day...yuck...

I find myself looking for any excuse to be outside.  I live on my porch-- where I'm typing right now. Weeding the garden, watering flowers, running my pups... reading a book.  Just to listen to the woods.  Lawnmowers are completely insulting - unless they are push mowers...somehow they fit the picture.

Independence Day 2013

Summer is in full swing... Today is a great day to catch up---

May 31st - Mr. Ripley turn One year old....

While some may think this a face only a  mother could love-- he warms my heart.  When Ransom died, I thought my world ended-- enter stage left - Ripley... Good Natured.... eager to please.. the Gentle Giant. He's beautiful.

And He loves Bruno....

And truth be told-- sometimes Bruno is not easy to love....;)

Today is a holiday.. We spent half the day at the lake with friends.  Good food and company.  Don and I both have to work tomorrow so we're home cooking ribs on the grill as I type.

Summertime is filled with porch time for us.  We had a rug under our grouping...but Ripley sometimes"redecorates" and gets a little destructive. So I did not put the rug down this summer.

Don built me a coffee table in its place.  I love it.

We went on a weekend trip a couple of weeks ago to Prairie Du Chein Wisconsin.  I found a set of used wheels for my buggy out front.  So We spent the night at the northern end of the Mississippi River.  We could see it from our hotel room.  I did not even 'google' quilt shops.  I didn't want or need anything. I was grateful for the wheels-- enough.

But.... On the way home--- out of know where--- I didn't even see the shop on the way down---

This shop appeared.  It's only been opened about three months the owner said.  It had the biggest selection of vintage machines I had ever seen.  I saw this book and noticed I had almost every quilt pinned in my Pinterest account.  It's a great book and to support the shop--- I purchased it.  

The shop is so big. I said, "You must have a really impressive guild in the area." 

The Shopkeeper said, " No-the owner just has a real  love of  quilting."

The shop is in the middle of a really small area surrounded by corn fields, but twice while I was there two quilters came running in frantic, " I was just a quarter of a yard short--- can you cut me a yard of this " and laid a bolt on the counter.  This shop is a gift to those quilters... If you ever hit the area -- it's completely worth the stop.

What I'm Working on.....

One of the bright sides to cooler summer weather --- You can dismantle quilting sitting outside in a chair.  I was wandering around Pinterest and started seeing a couple of quilts from this pattern popping up.   I remembered how I had pulled scraps and pieced together my own.  It had to of been ten years ago....When it came time to quilt it on my machine.... A can of basting spray and a jar of safety pins still couldn't keep me from making a mess of it. It was a big piece and my attempt at quilting it in straight lines ---like a hopscotch pattern-- Was a complete disaster.  Broken threads, wrinkles, wobbly lines---13 long lines into it I literally rolled it into a ball and threw it in one of the kids toy-boxes they had long out grown.

Flash forward to a couple of weeks ago-- I saw those photos on Pinterest and remember the failure.  I have been ripping apart each stitch, one at time,  and I'm going to give it another shot, this time  with fresh  batting----stretching it on my Grace frame.  It has some great fabrics that will look wonderful on a summer rocking chair....

Taking out the stitches is pretty painful....I'm not giving up this time...

Holding onto Summer....

Purple fills the woods and my garden as the Allium blooms from the bulbs I planted last October.  Summer never seems warm enough or long enough in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, but we're grateful for what we do have.

My Bleeding Hearts frame the Screened Porch.  I have a friend that shared some of her plants as well. I do think of her every time I see them.  They were her Grandmother's.  She has moved three times and carried them with her each time.  

Note to self:  I have to remember to share my plants with my kids....

Prayers for the tomatoes, beans,peppers, pumpkins, peas, carrots and cucumbers as the Garden Angels watch over them.

I made it.....to Country Sampler

Definitely one of those 'Bucket List items' ... I visited Country Sampler in Spring Green WI a couple of weeks ago. I spent two hours wishing and visiting with the Shop keeper in this wonderful quilt shop. It's a shop that honestly stays very true to their style of quilting.  When you walk in -- it's like coming to what every quilter calls 'home'....

I knew I may never get back to Country Sampler again -- I wanted  my purchases to count. Hardwood floors full of shelves holding bolt after bolt of fabric made the choices tough. They had  beautiful samples -- no photos allowed--.  The photos would not have done them justice anyhow.  

Then I wandered down the basement stairs to  dark, Dingy room filled with clearance items.  There she sat --- all alone--- markdown down several times.... with her tiny feet, wooden wings and rumpled dress She just sat there.  I don't go for the really primitive hand made stuff. ... But she was different.  I don't know if she's a Christmas Angel, or A Harvest Angel, or maybe a Garden Angel....but I did know  she was definitely being taken out of that basement And coming Home with me. I had several other things picked out ... but back to the displays they went because  she was more important-- something I would always have to remember the visit.

Also in the basement were candlesticks marked to five bucks a set.  I purchased the small kit from the door's entryway.  I haven't decided whether it was the pattern or the reproduction fabrics--but I'm certain that purple ribbon that had something to do with the purchase.

Hungry for gardening, some sort of spring, and definitely anything green outside--- this was my last item.

This photo book finds beauty in the small things...

If you ever get the opportunity to visit this quilt shop-- do it... it's worth the drive, the flight, and the miles it takes to get there.....

Tulip Basket...

It started with this...

A Pattern(that has since been chewed up by Ripley). I made it for my Mom a couple of Christmas's ago.  I loved it-- Bought it as a kit.  But it was small by my standards.

 I got this great Idea about blowing it up to 125% size and making one for myself.  That's what I did.  But when it came time to up a 16 x 24 pieces of wool for the background-- I just couldn't do it.  Call me cheap...but I couldn't.  Plus I was afraid my version may fail... So I took another approach:

I really like it.  It gives me hand stitching at night when I'm too tired too work on the machine.  I haven't decided whether I am going to cut, curve or scallop the ends-- but I really like the difference.

Sunny Morning...

Do you ever have days you just feel like this????  Sometimes a make lists and run on autopilot because I'm  afraid to be caught doing this.... But some days you just need do....

 I don't want to go through life and not realize how great it is....

before, during, and after the snow....

Reasons to Take Your Guys To A Quilt Shop....

That trip to Traverse City with the guys had a payoff... Aside from the jokes and laughter --they were really paying attention...

And they love me....

Chelsey came for a visit and my guys sent this....

Spring fat quarters and Audra's Iris Garden by Brannock & Patek.   

Buttons and Bows...

The season change is taking it's sweet time where I live. in an effort not to waste a day--- on the snow flurry days (yes-- we've had them) and the rainy ones(more than I like to talk about)-- I put this together for my table.

Easy and fun--- the wool applique left me with handwork in the evenings after work.

Hopefully I will get it quilted up tonight and it will be on my table tomorrow.

As always when I make a project without a pattern -- there are blocks and pieces left over.  As I worked on it I would take four or five blocks to work every morning for the corner of my desk.  While being 'on hold' on the telephone or contemplating how to get  a vendor to return a call.. I would study them.

I explained to a coworker that they were' bowties'  ...

'see the bow?!?!'

  'Dog bones --- looks like Dog bones to me'....

Not exactly what I was going for.. but for some insane reason it has stuck with me.  So I'm thinking the leftover blocks coupled with about 475 more will make a great 'dog bone quilt'.  So I'm saving the pieces and maybe keeping a few together to work on day I can't be outside.  Sooner or later the number will be reached and I will have the Bowtie/Dog bone quilt to keep me warm.

Saturday....

The weatherman had predicted rain and 50 degree temps all weekend.  But it was sunny and in the 70's.  For once I'm thankful he was wrong.  I raked and  and uncovered perennials.   

It's still way too early to plant but Don and I have been playing the the garden department of every store.  I saw a clay pot with metallic branches and birds on it.  I flirted with it a little-- twenty bucks.  Don said, "You ought to get it...but a really creative person could do something like that for less than half of the ridiculous price."  The wheels started turning.....

Painted and sealed -- Here is my creation.... Both sides have a crow --- waiting to be filled with a geranium. Quilting will have to wait  for a rainy day --- 

It's what the picture tells you --- no snow in the background.  Shadows from the sunshine....

An Ivy sunning in the corner...

It's Spring...

Giving----

Thanks for giving me a copy of this book.  It arrived Saturday from the mailman. Carolyn shared with me. The envelope was tattered but the book safe and sound.  Jennifer Chiaverini's books are always too good not to share.  So I pass them on after I finish them --- My Mom can't wait.

Quilters are special people.....

Pinwheels and Spring...

While the snow melted I worked on half square triangles

It felt like a million of them...... I ended with enough to make 230 pinwheels..do the math...

The pieces with white fabric made me nervous, but I kept thinking I could always tea dye them.....

Well spring got here... My bulbs I planted are coming up.  There's plenty of yard to rake-- I don't care... any excuse to be outside.

I'm at a stopping point until I get border fabrics but they're still fun to play with.....

Bowties.....

Quilters can find find it... that quilt pattern in anything.

You know exactly what I'm talking about.  Farelle is positively my favorite kind of pasta.  Pasta is, after all, pasta... It's got to be the shape. Given any choice-- it's the one I choose every time. 

Not the Rigatoni, 

Penne,

 Elbow, 

Ziti,

or Gemelli.  

It's go to be those cute Bowties....  

I'm playing with a cute three inch block from Needl'Love. I found it in the Garden Gate threads book. I am thinking a small piece for the table and then maybe if I made ten Bowties a day in a couple of weeks I'd have enough for a nice size quilt.

Catch up....

In January I lined up three UFO's to complete.  By April 8th...I finished.  I started to beat myself up because the dream was 3 in a month  when actually I averaged one.  I refused to be gloomy about it and one UFO a month is really awesome.  If any friend were to tell me that I'd be proud....

This is the last of the three ... weather as much as anything kept me from posting sooner.  It's 18 degrees this morning, but not a cloud in the sky.  We got a dusting of snow last night but a high temp of 38 expected.

This piece is completely scrappy and was made to keep me warm in a queen size bed.   It may hang on a rack for a spell, but I promise you it will definitely attend picnics in the back this summer.

Started last summer... 'Bout time it's complete...ready to be loved.

Making Pin Wheels

Well, Snow Watch 2013 continues.  Ripley is officially ten months old.  He loves it outside.  He's in kind of the destructive puppy stage-- I think he ways  around 65 lbs.  The stakes don't seem so high with this pup, so I take the destruction in stride. I tell myself Ripley thinks I need a new one--- what ever is destroyed.  He does have a great temperament and once the 'puppy' gets out of him-- he's going to be awesome.

We took photos yesterday evening.  It all started last week.  I had my bundle of Field notes pressed and ready to cut into a project.  I made myself go down and clean the sewing room up before starting the new project.

I picked up a jelly roll that my MIL gave me that I had marked up for piecing one might while watching TV.  I decided to sew it up instead of putting it away.

I took a Thangles template and made a cardboard pattern.  I made 2.5 inch Thangles that will turn into 2 inch size half square triangle units.

I'm no good at removing paper between seams and so this worked real nicely.  So I took the other jelly roll I got for Christmas and cut it up as well.

Two different fabric lines by two different designers, but I think they are going to blend together well.

There's even purple in the mix.

Every night I press a few pieces down.

What am I making?  I told Don I'm not really sure-- but it's going to have pinwheels and I want it to be that piece that the kids fight over after I'm long gone....I have narrowed it down a little

It will probably come from one of these.  Anyway I think I have time on my side-- I don't plan on going anywhere any time soon....

Happy Thursday.

Bear Paw Quilt....

It was Friday evening ---sleeting.  I had worked all week and headed home exhausted after work.  In the mailbox was a gift...

A gift from a friend-- wool squares, spools of thread, and a hand-quilted bear paw block.  And for the 15 inch square that it was....it might as well have been a bear hug in stead of paw because that's just what it felt like when I opened it. 

I always want to share quilts with others.  I need to remember this feeling and the thought that it doesn't have to be  a 6 foot square piece to have meaning.  A single quilt block can warm your heart just as well.  

This is from a friend I've never met.  We live in the same state-- shame on us.  But I live in the Upper Peninsula and she's tucked away in the lower part of the 'Mitten'..... One of these days....

Thank You So Much....