TopNavBar



Saturday, October 22, 2011

Just Dandy Quilt by V. and Co

I have just this moment discovered a new blog loaded with tutorials. The artist is Vanessa Christenson, owner of V and Co. I love her "Just Dandy Baby Quilt", available from her website as a pdf download:




Robert Kaufman has a new Kona cotton roll up called "Silent Film" that I think has tremendous potential. I'm imagining it with a punch of orange or a punch of lime green ... or just the right print ... 


Kona® Cotton, Silent Film palette ®


V and Co. made a pillow using the roll up and put together a lovely tutorial:





The pillow would of course be beautiful in your favorite color gradation!

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Happy 25th Anniversary to Harry and Me

I simply cannot believe that 25 years ago, Harry and I got married. It seems like 10 years ... maybe! This is Harry with our first golden retriever, Jason, who apparently is in need of a tummy rub.






There were no cell phones then ... check out that rotary dial phone! I'm talking to someone about details, I'm sure!




Here I am with my mom as we go into the living room to start the ceremony. It was a very special, emotional time and it's especially poignant to look at these pictures today. Mom died about 15 years ago ... I miss her very much ... every day.




Here's Harry with his sister and father. Another special photo ... Harry's father died maybe 18 years ago. Harry's dad never particularly cared for cats so he, of course, was my cats' favorite person!



Our minister arrives ... in pink ... and to her right is Harry's mom, Grace, in the brown velvet jacket. Brown was Grace's favorite color ... we did not have that in common! Between Lois and Grace is my sister, Angela. But front and center is Jason ... who is hoping for a treat. We met Lois before our wedding day and I remember the first question she asked us was "Why do you want to get married?" I clearly remember a mental panic ... there's a test? No one told us there was a test!


After the ceremony, our friends and family accompanied us to dinner.
Cutting the cake


My brother took photos for us. I have always loved this photo of him:




And of course there had to be a little mischief with Harry's old Ford Custom 500 ... with one of the guilty parties front and center:




We didn't have enough room for everyone to have their own bed so my dear, sweetheart brother slept on the couch ... and was greeted by Jason first thing in the morning.




Mom, my aunt Midge and I made breakfast the next morning ... I'm sure there were biscuits! Mom made the very best biscuits!




So today, 25 years later, I am grateful for such wonderful years and miss those who no longer get to share our lives. And I would simply KILL to be that thin again!!!

The Proper Way to Seam Rip

I ran across this excellent video by Mary Fons ... daughter of Marianne Fons ... of Fons and Porter fame. I had no idea there was a proper way to rip a seam. I tried it and it works great ... it doesn't stretch the fabric and is much faster than ripping out one stitch at a time.


I was so excited about this technique that I volunteered to rip out any seams that needed rippin' in last week's "Learn to Quilt" class at the Pine Needle. Fortunately, there weren't many but it's a great way to rip out a seam. Enjoy!

Monday, October 10, 2011

Penguin & Fish Embroidery Patterns and more!

I rarely am interested in embroidery but these patterns from Penguin & Fish have really grabbed my interest. Isn't this the cutest little newt you've ever seen?


Newt_embroider_image_detail_thumb


and I absolutely must get this golden retriever puppy pattern:


Golden cover_thumb


This weekend, I watched Jean Wells on Oregon Art Beat. If you missed it, check it out! It's great to see Jean featured ... she is the most amazing, inspiring teacher ever. I only wish the segment were longer!