A quick post....

So I'm still in MI with my folks...actually staying in the senior residence with them which has been eye opener lol lol.......sure hope Bill and I plan well for our old age..

So I ran over to my son's house today (my old MI residence that still has some of our stuff in the way) I had a quick mission to empty the china cabinet since it is no longer mine...lol...WOW talk about memories.....But tell me please what does one do with lead crystal pieces or other nice objects when it is time to downsize?

I was happy to come across something today that I could not remember where it might be?.......while in college as an Art Major at EMU   I had the opportunity to create one bronze casting...it is an abstract form displayed with black base.  After visiting all the art galleries in Santa Fe over Thanksgiving I was reminded of my casting but had no idea where it could be? At one time my parents had most of my college art... they used to tease me they paid my tuition so therefore deserved all my art.  lol lol Luckily when they started downsizing I got most of my college work back.     I have always liked this piece..."Blooming Flower"...... I'm very happy to have come across it today. The other item I was happy to locate, is a piece of black pottery, [my parents brought back each of us girls (my sisters and I) one piece each as a gift from one of their many caravans or trips]. While Bill and I were in Santa Fe we came across many nice black pottery pieces and realized how much the pottery prices have risen. It is a special technique and one to admire. My piece is actually two parts, a candle holder.

It's almost Christmas...

So it's almost Christmas and there is so much more to do....yet I'm in MI...

I'm having some quality time with my folks!
I had scheduled this trip to MI a while back since I knew we would be missing the Thanksgiving holiday time in MI due to Brynn's Denver baptism. Well my Angels must have been directing me because the timing has worked out great for me to not only visit but to also be able to help a little since dad ended up in the hospital recently once again :-(...               So while hubby is in Hawaii on business,  I'm in MI! (hmmm think about that lucky guy, now is that fair? lol lol)   I'm taking a week away from my studio & art to be with my folks!  I did manage to get our little tree out in VA before I left, it turns out I forgot I took our larger tree to MI last Christmas so this little one will have to suffice...  I do have our manger out and that's the more important part of Christmas so we will be fine...

Now to share a little about a bag all quilters and non quilters should have for airport traveling ;-) it turns out IAD airport has new screening and they will not let you pass a certain point without your ID, ticket and only 2 carry-on's. Luckily I had my trusty batik bag to bail me out! If you look at my photos you will see my two travel items, yet look closely and you will see it is really 4 items...  ;-) This bag is the best travel secret I have ..it comes in handy when ever I travel...one time my suitcase was 11 pounds overweight on my return flight (fabric happens to weigh a lot!)  they were going to charge me $125.00 but instead I took out 11 pounds of stuff and the had no idea what to do...but remembered my trusty bag!  It can travel flat yet expands so much! I need to sew some for each of my daughters....

and to think I almost left home without it ;-)))) this time..

What a great Thanksgiving!

So Happy Thanksgiving to all!!! I’m in Santa Fe….via Denver ;-) Sunday is my grand-daughter’s baptism in Denver…

We flew to Denver on Tuesday and of course got to see the grandbabies…you can see Caleb got Spiderman big boy underwear from grandpa Bill and proceeded to put them all on at once! lol

Then of course here is photo of granny Teddi and baby “Brynn Theodora”! She’s so precious….

 

But for a change of pace Bill and I decided to take a few days this trip to ourselves for a road trip to Santa Fe… so though the family is eating turkey at Keli’s and Nate’s house,  we’re relaxing at the Hilton on the Plaza ;-) Santa Fe style….

We had a wonderful day! Perfect sunny weather….

I sure hope a wonderful Thanksgiving was had by all!!!

Such a wonderful experience!

So Bill and I celebrated our first anniversary almost 2 1/2 years ago…(June 24)…We planned on going to the Little Washington Inn (a wonderful 5 star restaurant in Little Washington VA) to celebrate and set the money aside BUT stuff happened and we never made it!  We refused to spend the money and it sat in a folder because we knew we were determined to have this experience as planned. Well we finally took the time out for “US” ! Put us #1 and Bill made the reservation as our 3rd year anniversary celebration ;-) Friday Nov 20, 2009.

I must say it was delightful! Everything I /We hoped for!

I had Chilled Maine Lobster in sherry Vinaigrette with avocado,grapefruit and crispy lotus root, then Nantucket Bay Scallops Sauté w/mushrooms,peppers,and homemade Italian sausage, prosciutto wrapped loin of Veal on celery root puree with black truffle sauce....Dessert was tea along with the 7 sins of deadly desserts. (which was 7 perfectly formed miniature deserts) each serving of the 6 course meal looked like a piece of art.. I only wish I had the nerve to have taken photos of each of my servings, truly works of art! Here are some photos of our lovely evening! It was a very special night!

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I want to get back to my quilting!

So lets see it all started with these…

  I made these for my daughter last year….of course to me this is sewing! I do not know how to sew! But having 3 children you know the next statement is always “so Mom when do I get mine?” or “Me next”…..lol   So next came these

BUT they were part of a wedding shower gift this past summer since my youngest son was getting married Sept 09.

Okay so if you’re counting that should have left one more child? well yeah…..sort of….you see Keli added to her family; a grand-daughter for me so 3 were no longer enough for her family and besides it was “wow Mom I really like the ones you made Brian!” lol

Well so next came my middle son’s set and they now have their names in gold on them . (this time I thought ahead and made a set of 4? A semi guess, yet they are expecting their first child in April so at least they will have the set of 3 for next year’s Christmas Season.)

I’ve got to tell you I am sick of making Christmas stocking…I want to quilt not sew!  I was never taught to be a seamstress so sewing is hard to me. But oh well………. and then there were 4 more…… 

Wish you could see the little sparkles in the sky…and on the train wheels.

Cute!

At least I am almost completed with the stockings!…I still have to make the two doggies in the family stockings…but I’ve decided they will have to wait a few weeks!

I NEED TO QUILT!!!!!;-)

My goodness….I’ve forgotten to post!

I know I keep lamenting over and over that I have no idea where my days are going?  Time just seems to fly by faster and faster?  I have no idea how I used to have time to participate in a day job before I retired?   Heck I run out of time daily now and never seem to have the necessary time to do everything I want to!!!Go figure!!???? I am having fun though……sadly the weather has sucked this past week……..and I’m still bogged down with holiday sewing obligations….   Those I hope to get completed in the next day or so at the very worst! Then yay!      I can start on my art quilt ideas….

I also spent an evening this week working on some samples of wedding invitations for my husband’s best friend’s daughter Rebecca!  I cannot share the photo of them since of course we would want them to be a secret till they arrive in the mail sometime next spring…but you can see I’ve been very busy….thus my excuse for not remembering to post….  ;-)

Sadly my husband reminded me today I’d better start painting Brynn’s chair if I want to have it completed in time to drive to MI for Christmas so Keli can then drive it to Denver……yes as crazy as it seems they are driving from Denver to MI for the holidays….which do not misunderstand! I am thrilled my grandbabies will be in MI for Christmas but do feel bad for their long drive!

Geeeeshhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh so see? I just do not seem to have enough minutes in my day?

Handi Quilter rocks!

So if one recalls I had two items I wanted to fulfill after retiring as a reward to myself!  Things I had always wanted to do in the past but when one has a teacher’s schedule you just don’t take off to participate in workshops for your own pleasure or growth during the school year.  Conferences or workshops during the calendar year are always work related.  (BTW I’m not complaining here just stating facts….'Teachers really try not to take off during their contractual calendar time’.) So now back to me  ;-) lol,  Last week I went to Handi Quilter in Bountiful Utah to attend a U of HQ Retreat on my HQ16.  What a wonderful experience, one I highly recommend to anyone that owns or plans to purchase a Handi Quilter machine……or other mid-arm machine.  The owner of the company Mark  is very gracious and helpful!!!!

Here you see him taking us on a tour of the factory…they build them onsite!

 

 

 

 

The educators are wonderful….We had 4 individual instructors each presenting different projects.

 

 

 

 

 

When I was flying into SALT LAKE I’d forgotten how beautiful an area it is…. it’s time to let go of my past dislike of flying through Salt Lake to get to  Sun Valley Idaho many moons ago…. heck it seemed every winter I was either stuck  in Salt Lake for hours on end or I also remember one winter holiday I flew all the way to Sun Valley and Cindy (my baby sister) then put me in her van and we drove back to Salt Lake for our skiing  since Sun Valley was lacking snow….lol.

oh well enough memories….

back to quilting….The classes are well planned and the hotel they associate with is friendly, clean, and has an enjoyable pool &  hot tub to soak your sore muscles after a day of standing on your feet sewing. ;-)  We were also fortunate to have a surprise guest with a few of her very special quilts to view…Renae Haddadin  – www.renaequilts.com

 

 

 

 

 

We studied threads and tension…..9 different threads to begin with ;-) then on to feathers….pantographs and trapunto….. One evening after dinner we made a trip to a local quilt store…Quilter’s Haven.  Joni Thomson  welcomed us with open arms.  She has a wonderful shop, look for it in Bountiful Utah.

www.QuiltersHaven-ut.com

So I will leave you with a few of my various photos of my flight out and flights back…. it is an experience I highly recommend to all quilters!

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So all checked in ;-)

So thanks to my muse (AKA: hubby) I leave tomorrow to Salt Lake City to attend a 3 day class at Handi Quilter to get to know my machine…hopefully frontwards and backwards….lol

This should be fun and hopefully will put an end to my fear of not knowing how to sew ;-) lol.. I just want to be able to show full respect to my machines thus I’m trying to learn as much as I can about their care and use….

I managed to use some miles to get my ticket but due to that fact I am stuck not flying direct so my travel days will be long….but heck I’m retire so might as well just relax and go with the flow……and enjoy the journey….. ;-)))

I’m posting some photos of my neighborhood…from my hubby and my many day to day walks….it’s such a pretty area…..a golf course and there is one tree I just love! Let’s see if you can pick it out ;-)))))

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So I will be online for a few days.have opted to NOT carry laptop….. ;-))))

So think Christmas???????/

So this past summer I made stockings and a Christmas countdown calendar for my youngest son and his then soon to be bride….

well of course every parent knows when you have more then one….you’re bound to hear so where’s mine?????…..

So this past week or so I have been working on completing my other son and his wife’s calendar and stockings….. went through a few test runs for a design that would coordinate with the basic kit type countdown calendar…….I made an original that I love… 

but it was mentioned that if there were 3-4 of them hanging together they might prove to be too busy? (NOT in my opinion...but that’s okay since my hubby loves it and has stated hey that/those (meaning I must make another one at least…. can be ours)

But so I went back to the drawing board and came up with these….there is a set of 4 (just in case down the road they decide to add to their family ;-) actually they are expecting a baby this coming April (their first;-) another grandchild for us!! YAY! I’ve been told they are perfect thankfully….

So now I’m once again back to the drawing board for my biggest critic….lol my daughter! Have to make her a set of 4 stockings….

the 3 stockings I made last year just weren’t what she had in mind…and now she has added Brynn to their brood anyway..They were my first attempt ever at sewing stockings……and boy I sure wish I had a background in sewing or had taken Home Ec classes in high school….. but you know us art students never had time to add more electives to one’s high school schedules…..Anyway back to Keli’s set? She made sure to let me know she preferred a different set (politely of course)……. (See example of why I call her my biggest critic..and to think I brought her up this opinioned or confident?….lol.)

But not sure yet what I will come up with?  here is my start??? 

One thing though….. this time she’ll be stuck and has to take what she gets  lol lol …I want to get on to sewing some of my ideas….I have so much I have yet to try…….

Fall Drive..Road Trip to Web Fabrics….

So took my Road trip to Web Fabrics ….. how do you like my new fabrics…… then enjoy my Fall Photos….no sun today but still some pretty fall colors….

 

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Road trip day?

So my hubby had to take a fast trip to CA for a meeting..and I mean quick…Thurs morning till midnight Fri….poor guy….at our age trips like this can be rough….lol….  but oh well…..I’m sure he’ll find some fun out of it, he took his camera as usual.

But so let’s see….no sun outside yet think today is good day for a road trip to spend that gift card that’s been sitting by since July… so Web Fabrics here I come….might also be a good test for my back…. might get to see if the injections seem to make a difference? I hope I hope……

Also I have a couple ideas possibly even a series in mind to work on… involves leaves…….more so I mean using my leaf printing on fabric and my leaf cyanotype on fabrics……. here is a little peek……