I love to go a-wandering...

This just came from Rian, & I'm supposed to pass it on to 7 other people. Thanks Rian.

There are a lot of nice folks out there in blog-land. I have to say family first though, that means my DD Michelle, who is kind to everybody, & always the champion for the underdog, from the time she was a tiny little girl. My big sister Em, one of the funniest & most corageous women I know. My sweet niece Leilani, who always remembers birthdays, when I can barely remember my own. My sweet son Brandon, who has always been very good to his mother. My dearest friend Kathy J who has inspired me since the day I met her.

That's my list of personal close family, now for other bloggers, there really are way more than 7really nice ones that I know of, & most of those I would mention have already been mentioned eslewhere. There's Allie, Ali Honey, Amy, DebG , Debra, Caricol Suze (who helped me more than I could say when I 1st started blogging),Helen Suzanne, Out of the Basement Kay, Kim, & Bayou Jen, Emmy, & Fairy Di, Granny Fran, Vicki W, CarlaB, Janeann,Barbara, Jules, Karoda, Sue B, Jackie,Diva Laura & & her sweet little daughter),Mags, Francios, Carol, Pat,Terry, Shirley,Shelina, Sandy, Roxanne.& of course Rian. I know this sounds like an episode of Romper Room, but I can't stand leaving anyone out & I'm sure I have!

I was another beautiful day today, so Darian & I went for a walk. We took the path up behind our house that winds through a part of the Chugach State Park, though a wooded valley where we felt completely in the wilderness. It was warm & only mildly buggy. I did remember to bring a little bug dope, which helped too.
Signs of summer coming to an end are everywhere. Berries are ripening. These watermelon berries were all over the place, ripe & juicy. Nice to eat on a warm day.

These Bane berries are pretty to look at, but don't eat them! Very BAD!

Some of the leaves are starting to turn red.
The wet summer we've had, has encouraged a prolific growth of Fungi.

I love the colors & shapes & textures of the fungi.
This shelf fungus was a beautiful bright orange-yellow.

The red mushrooms are always pretty. I had Darian put her hand here to show how big they get.

I liked how these spiraled together.
The path took us to a nice bridge over the creek.

I think it's the south fork of Rabbit Creek.

This neat willow fence was along the path heading back out to the road.

We saw these pretty begonias along the road.

After about 3 miles of hiking in the woods, we finally made it out on to Dearmon Rd. I had the cell phone, so we called Warren & he came & picked us up & took us to the store for iced coffee drinks. Ahhh, it was nice.

Yesterday I went to Calendar Girls.

We had our usual fun time. Mary Gerkin's house is gorgeous.

The Greek food she made for lunch was excellent.

& the veiw from her deck was spectacular.

Making Some Progress

We've had 3 beautiful sunny days in a row. Most of our summer has been wet this year. Not the usual nice summers we've come accoustomed to. Yesterday I had Darian stamp some butterfly images on green squares of fabric that she used in the little quilt she's making for her new cousin

Carys.

Meanwhile my DH, Warren made some progress on the deck.
Darian finished piecing & quilting the quilt for Carys.
We'll save it for show & tell at guild next week, then we'll mail it out. It really isn't as wonky as this picture makes it look.

This wicker bust above, I bought at an antique shop in Frederick, MD when I was there with Patty. I thought it would be fun for display in my studio & to use at our quilt show.

I also got this bead collar for next to nothing. The beads alone were worth the price.

This is the purse that I made for my DD Michelle, for her birthday. The background fabric was a piece my friend Kathy made in our Ann Johnston class at the last Alaska Fiber Festival. Kathy had just used it to mop up left over dye off the table, & wanted to toss it out, but I saved it from the trash, & look how pretty it looks now! I made a yarn weighted with beads, to wrap around the button as the fastener (idea came from Sue B's padfolios, thanks again Sue).

I had read that fruit, especially cherries is very Vogue for purses right now, & Michelle is a very hip & trendy girl.

I did have to make it reversible though, so here is the other side, made with microfiber suede material. The button is a vintage one that Michelle had given me a long while ago. The little purse in front is a little wallet/change purse that I made to go along with it.

Grand daughters, cats, & family & a bit of fiber

Broccoli has come to understand that when the suitcases come out of the closet & begin to get packed, that he will be left home alone for a while (with visits from Mindy of course). Well this time, Warren stayed home with him. Warren said he was a bit psycho while I was away, but seems fine now.
Above is a card I made for my son & DDIL, to congratulate them on the birth of thier 1st baby.
I went to Frederick, Maryland to visit them, at Laura's (my DIL) parents house, Cliff & Patty Cool. I made this dragonfly card as a thank you note for them.

This card was for my DD Michelle's birthday, which was yesterday. We did a quick birthday gift exchange at the airport in Seattle, when I picked up my DGD#1, Darian, to bring her home with me for a visit. I also made a purse for Michelle, but I'll save it for my next post.

Yesterday Darian & I played in my studio for a while. I showed her how to neddle felt, & she made some cat toys with wool.

I made this Dragonfly ATC for an exchange with another Michelle. It's a layer of my cotton hand dyed fabric under some of my hand painted silk organza, with free motion quilting on top.

Here is what I did the whole time I was in Maryland. Holding the baby. Carys is a very sweet natured baby. Seldom fussy.

Brandon is a natural at fatherhood.

Laura is a really good mom too.

Here is a 4 generation picture of Patty, her mom Jean, & Laura, with Carys.

Great grandma Jean loved holding the baby.

Patty took me to downtown Frederick, one day. I was facinated by this bridge area. The stone is actually flat cement painted by a local artist.

I found this painting interesting. Looking straight on, it looked stretched...

but from the side the picture came into perspective.

I loved all the paintings among the "stones"

Doesn't this look like a real statue? It was flat cement too.

It was hot while I was there. I felt like I was melting at times. This Alaska girl is no longer used to >90 degree temps with high humidity. I did enjoy seeing the deer visit the Cool's backyard every day though. They had an apple tree & a peach tree that the deer like to feast on.

Since I started with a cat picture, I thought I'd finish with this. A pair of slipper socks from My Michelle. Aren't they a hoot?