Vacation's End

We had so much joy playing with the kids.

Little Zoe was starting to get more interactive. She actually cooed & smiled for me.

I felt very sad when they left. We had a few quiet days, just the 2 of us, before spending the last day in Seattle with Michelle.

We got back home last Friday & I went back to work on Monday. By Tuesday I had a very sore throat & aching all over. We went out to dinner yesterday with my friend Judy, & Anita's son Bryan, & his friend Brandon are back in Anchorage, so we asked them if they wanted to come too. It was nice seeing the boys again.

 I ate soup, as it was the only thing that sounded good, then went straight to bed when we got home.Today I did nothing. I'm almost finished with Wendy's quilt, it just needs trimming & binding, but I couldn't get enough energy to even trim it today. Feeling ill is such a waste of time! 

Holiday's End

We had a great time with my son Brandon & his lovely Laura. We enjoyed their company for our holidays. They left early on Wednesday, & I've been working.
Today I played a little in my studio. I pulled together a few items to submit to Somerset Studio. They are asking for things to go into their "Nature Preserved" theme. I thought my October JQ fit the theme, & had a couple of other things that might work, so I'll send them all. Below is the card I made to go with the items, I used a piece of my rusted fabric, & some hand painted cheese cloth, along with one of my calling cards cut up.

This is a wall hanging, I made a while back, using shells & coral bits that Brandon had given me from Kwajelein.

This little Birchbark angel was a gift for us this year, from our friends John & Kathy Jolman. John made her, & then embellished her with some vintage beads that they got at a Pow-Wow.

This is a full view of the basket we got from Brandon & Laura. I think I should wrap it in cotton & turn it into a snowman for the holidays next year.

This ceramic plaque came from my dear friend Ilene. Just thinking of her & her hubby Stu, makes me smile.
Speaking of hubbies....my DH was playing Paul Bunyun today, & sliced a bit of skin off of his finger with a saw, while trying to cut a piece of firewood. Lucky he has a nurse for a wife!

I hope you'll all have a safe & Happy New Year! Love & Best Wishes to all!!

Merry Christmas

Christmas has sped by so fast. It's been fun having the kids here, Brandon & his sweet wife Laura. We've gotten to know her better, & she's such a funny girl, I really love her.

My DH was razzing me for not refilling the paper towel. I hate my paper towel holder , I have trouble screwing it back together.
I got a case & these lenses for my camera from my DH.
& I took pictures of this neat basket from the kids, & them relaxing after our gift exchange,using my new lenses. Laura in her new fleece top, & Brandon playing with the X-Box that Laura gave him.

The owl came back this evening, while we were eating dinner. Brandon & I tryed taking pictures, shinning a big flash light on him. It was fun, but this was the closest thing to a picture that we got. Looks like Ghost Owl!

Merry Christmas to all!

Christmas Eve 2006

I hope you're all having a wonderful holiday time. We're enjoying our company, & fresh snow (we've gotten a couple of feet of the white stuff). Brandon & Laura went snowboarding at Alyeska Resort yesterday. It was Laura's 1st time, & she did great. They had a great time.

I wanted to show you a couple of the things I made as gifts this year, now that I can. This 1st is a quilted clock that I made for my friend Judy, whose name I drew at work. I was glad to get her name, as she is my closest friend at work. I used a piece of my hand painted fabric, & stamed silver cups on it, & little sayings for the number places. I thread painted a teapot for the center, using Holoshimmer threads & bits of red wool.

For our feast last night, I finally tried Naomi's pie. It was from Allie's Thanksgiving . Thanks Allie, we all loved it. It was a little something different from the usual apple pie. We only ate about 1/2 of it because we were so full from the Smoked Salmon Pasta & pear salad, & rolls that we'd had .

Everyone was stuffed after the meal.
We exchanged gifts. Here's a couple details of what I gave Mindy.

She loved it.The girls liked their rotery mat, cutter & rulers too. Both of them quilt (I started hope when she was 4 years old. We had to set her on the big dictionary & put the machine pedal on a box for her to reach. She doesn't have to do that any more.)

Mindy fuses glass. This was the snowflake ornament she made for me this year. I have quite a collection of them from her. I keep them in my kitchen window.

Here's the fused glass plate she made for me, from clear glass & frit. I love it.

She also felt compelled to add to the chickens in my kitchen, with this cute wooden plaque

& this metal chicken, who has already found a roost in my chicken coop.
So this is only the begining of my Christmas & it's already been great. I am very blessed to have my good friends & family.

Happy holidays to all of you out there.

I'm Having Another Grandbaby!

Here they are the new parents to be, on their wedding day nearly 2 years ago. Brandon & Laura.

He is my firstborn son, & now he's going to be a daddy in July. Guess I better get busy with my quilting, because another grandchild means more quilts to be quilted! This will be the first on Laura's side! 2nd for us.

To answer questions about my previous post, Michelle wanted to know how I made the pin. It was just hot glue actually. My friend Jackie had a tiny hot glue gun & these neat glittery glues that I wanted to try. I figured if I didn't like how it turned out I could just peel it apart, but it seems to hold pretty well, & I'm not sure I could peel it apart unless I warm it up with a heat gun or something. I think if I understood the other question correctly, the answer is the Teddy bear's coat is made from a crocheted from a chenille yarn.

Is it the Sunspots?

Here's my DGD Darian, with her Papa-Jon. She turned 12 yesterday! Wow! Where did the time go? Happy birthday Darian. Sorry I didn't get it on here yesterday.

The image is a picture taken from C St. near downtown Anchorage. It's a bridge along the bike path (we have over 1000 miles of paths in & around Anchorage), over Campbell Creek.

My reference to the sunspots is because it seems like everything is just a little bit off lately. The fancy dishwasher still isn't working. We are now waiting for parts.
The Sattelite TV comes & goes, but for the most part seems to be working today.
The DSL for my computer has been very iffy the past few days. The little blogging I've managed to do, was done in such a hurry, trying to get it done before the connection is broken again. Probably related to the issues with our phone line. We have terrible static noises, that apparently can't be fixed until we finish the outside wall where the wire is running, & that won't be done until next summer.
Now my nice, Rowenta Steam Generator iron is dying. I rely heavily on it. I really miss it when I can't use it. It makes all the difference in the world when ironing. Even my children all commented on how they wanted it when they were here visiting & used it, so I gave them each one for Christmas a few years ago. So once again I will pack it up & ship it off, & pray it doesn't take much to repair, because I'll miss it when it's gone. I shoudn't lament though, at least I have a back up iron, & things could be a lot worse! At least I have a home!

Arm rest & Thanks

In Anchorage the public places do 1% for the Arts. This picture is a busy corner by one of the elementary schools. The piece is designed by Kieth Appel, & it shows best when it's dark out. It's one of my favorite public art pieces. It changes color constantly, & can be very mesmerizing. Kieth's wife Darleen is an active member of our quilt guild, & he used to teach art at UAA here in Anchorage. He did a lecture at our guild once. He was a very interesting speaker.

I'm up early this morning even though I'm not working this week, since I must rest the shoulder. Typing one handed is making blogging harder for me. I thought about making a list of all the things I can do with one hand, but it wouldn't be fun to type or read.

I noticed I made a typo on another blog a couple of days ago, wrote pooped instead of popped. Really changed the meaning of what I was trying to say. I hate when that happens!

I'm off to the Gynecologist's today for my PAP & exam. Something exciting to look forward to (not). Then we have to go say happy birthday to Auntie Ethel. She's made it to 93! It looked touch & go there for a bit, but she made it.

I may try to do a littkle right hand only quilting tonight. I want to do something with those leaves. I have decided we'll just eat the pomegranate since I just looked at Dijanne Cevaal's blog, & she's worked the pom to death, so I'll have to find something else to play around with.

Thanks to all who have wished my sister & me both well. My shoulder is feeling quite a bit better than it was, & Em is home & on the road to recovery. She'll know more about what she has to do next when all the path reports come in. So please keep her in your prayers. & thanks again!

Blogging one handed

Here's me & my sister Em, taken in May 2004, when a whole bunch of family & friends came up to surprise me & celebrate my 50th birthday. It was one of the most fun 2 weeks of my life. Even though Em is 6 years older than me, we've always been really close. We slept in the same bed for years, we seldom fought, though Em still has a small scar on her thigh where I bit her once. Mostly we got along well, & got into only a little trouble together. We both love to quilt. Em won awards in High School for Drafting (something only boys did until she took the class), & for sewing a nice peachy suit, with a little hat, very Jackie Kennedy style. She was always my hero. I always looked up to her (no Em, not just because I'm shorter!) She has a wicked wit. Today before the anesthesiologist put her to sleep for her surgery, she told him to tell the Dr. to make the incions for her mastectomies vertical, since vertical lines have a more slimming effect.

She apparently went through surgery well, & will likly go home tomorrow. I called our Dad to find out how she did. I'll call her tomorrow when she feels more awake. I talked to the Recovery Room nurse in Michigan, & she was one of my old friends & coworkers from ICU. It felt good knowing who was taking care of her.

Of course the Dr. won't say much yet, as far as results, but told Dad that he only took 2 nodes & they appeared normal. It didn't look like the cancer had spread anywhere.

I went to my friend the Dr. today, & he says I have very inflammed tendons where they connect to the humerus. He injected my shoulder with steroids & a little Marcaine, which gave me some relief right away. Now he says "REST IT", hence one handed blogging. I felt queezy all weekend. Had to stop & get a few groceries on the way home. We were completely out of fruits & veggies. I felt worse when I got home, so I just warmed up some soup for supper. Warren built a fire, & I passed out on the couch. I vaguely remember him leaving for work. My shoulder & tummy both feel a little better now. I'm off work at least through next Monday, then we'll see how the shoulder is doing. I had to fill out FMLA forms at work. I feel like a jerk for needing to take time off like this, but know it won't get any better if I don't.
I guess I'll have to learn to quilt one handed. Thankfully I'm right handed, & it's the left shoulder that hurts.
I picked these leaves up in the parking lot at the grocery store. I think they may play a part in my October Journal quilt.
& I loved this Pomegranate. I thought it was cute. Now I want to use it somehow in a quilt design.....

Blog Facelift

Today's blog is of a more personal nature, so I've posted it here.

Happy Birthday Warren & Brandon

You all had such nice comments on what a babe my Brandon is. It's funny because the card I made for Warren says," Beautiful young people are accidents of nature, but beautiful old people are works of art."-M. Breenbie... It seemed appropriate. Brandon is a good genetic blend of his father & my father, who Brandon looks a LOT like.
Inside I wrote "Happy Birthday to my favorite work of Art!" Warren appreciated it. :)
For you who are interested in the technical details of this Quard....I started with a piece of hand-painted cotton Batting (wadding for those of you who use that term), layered on a piece of paper towel. Yes, I said paper towel. It was one of the towels I used for clean up after one of my fabric painting sessions & it was too pretty to throw away! I sprinkled on thread bits (I save everything!), & 3 little pieces of Whisper (that cellophane like stuff Florists use to make bows for plants),a piece of painted Bounce (dryer sheet), the little quote (from my Cryptoquote that I do every day in the newspaper), & a piece of gold Tulle to hold it all down. Quilted with Sulky Holoshimmer Copper color thread, then a few more Bouce bits for frame & stitched right on to a card blank.
I just finished another Reversible Purse. I sent the last to my DDIL in Kwajelain. This one will be a sample for my class at Coupville Arts in the spring. (If you want to check out the classes, go to "workshops", Mine are Threadplay Apr. 28 & 29, then April 30 & May 1st, for free motion quilting & the reversible purses).
I really like the button detail on this side. It is fused glass from my friend Mindy Meyn. It took me almost 4 hours to get the beading done to my satisfaction, to hold it in place.
The reverse side includes a bit of the Calendar Girls Challenge fabric, just like the last, & I used several pieces of my hand painted Sheer silk to layer over the top of commercial prints to make them softer looking.
I used one of my Thread-paint Flowers, that will be part of another class at Coupville in April, for this side of the purse.
This last photo is just a little detail shot of some of the quilting.