Spring Has Sprung!

Spring is here whether we're ready for it or not.  The flowering trees & bushes are beautiful.  I just hope we don't get a late frost.

I was at the ironing board waiting for the iron to heat up and looked out the window.  Look what I saw!

Even though it was taken through the screen, it is beautiful.  This was planted 1989 in honor of my daughter, Amanda.  No Mo Chemo!  Both Amanda and the forsythia are doing great!

I used to have an old whiskey barrel in the yard for flowers.  It was full of Johnny-Jump-Ups.  Over the years, the barrel fell apart and the flower seeds blew in the wind.  Walking from the studio to the house, I found the first one of the season.

I few years back I planted 12 daffodil bulbs.  They have multiplied and now make a nice row near the fence.  They are so rich in color this year.  Another one of my favorite flowers.

Today will be another day in the 80's, about 30 degrees above normal.  Thunderstorms tomorrow and in the 60's for the weekend.  Here is my corner of the world, we take it day by day.
Hope everyone can get out and enjoy the day.

On & Off The Machine Today

This quilt is a pattern from Bonnie Hunter of Quiltville.  It was published in Quiltmaker Magazine awhile ago.  I loved it and made this quilt.  12 blocks made a nice baby quilt.

I decided to teach it as a class and this is the result made by Kay Knapp.  Kay made 20 blocks for her quilt.

Kay really stepped out of her comfort zone on this one.  I love the colors!  Kay's quilt was the one on/off the machine today :)

Our Next Adventure!

We decided it would not be a good idea to sit around the day after cross country skiing so we went SNOW SHOE HIKING!!!!! 

This was a lot more relaxing then the skiing.  The first time I snowshoed was at Crater Lake last July 4, 2011!  Once you learn how to walk in the shoes, it's a wonderful way to get around. 

We took the trail that lead to Columbine Point.  The elevation there was 8756, the snow was clean and crisp and some places had not been disturbed by even the animals.  There was an open air church at Columbine Point.  Those are the backs of the seats peeking out of the snow!

Isn't that beautiful?  It just takes your breath away. 

Jeff and I decided to venture up Totally Wired, another trail that went higher into the mountain.  UP, UP, UP we went.  I thought we were almost at the top and when we rounded a small tree I looked up and said, "You've got to be kidding!".  We continued to climb more.  I can't figure out why that picture won't load.

This is what we saw at the top of Totally Wired!  Elevation 9200 feet.

This is the lodge we stayed in.  We are about 2 to 3 miles from it.

The peak you see here is the end of Nine Mile Hike snow shoe path.  Jeff and I decided we would not be the first to break through that trail!

Back down and around the trail we snowshoed through a beautiful grove of aspen trees.  I find these trees amazing.  I've seen them in Summer & Winter.  I want to see them shimmer in the fall!

What a wonderful way to spend the day!

I Did Find SNOW....somewhat

Here in Ohio, we had only 12" of snow fall through the whole winter season.  What a difference a year makes when last year we had record snowfalls.  Being one who LOVES snow I found it very difficult to deal with this winter. 

Off to Colorado I flew (with hubby) to go play, ski & hike in the snow. 

Well, I was really disappointed with the amount of snow, but at least there was some!  Colorado only had 59" of snow this past winter, the least since the 1980's.  They too have had warmer than usual days and the people at Snow Mountain Ranch figured the snow would all be melted before the end of March.  How sad.

After all, snow is snow so we made the best of it.  Jeff and I bought cross country skis this past November and hadn't had a chance to use them.  While out at Snow Mountain Ranch (SMR), which in west of Winter Park in the Fraser Valley Region, we took cross country ski lessons. 

Learning and doing this is harder than it looks and boy is it a workout!

Once you learn the 1..2..3 Waltz type glide motion you are on your way!  One of the best things about cross country is the beautiful scenery you pass.  All the trails were groomed and had the groves to follow.  Every now and then you just had to stop and enjoy the view!

I did become an expert on falling and getting back up.  Our instructor was a hoot and told us to TEBOW when getting up.  Hey, it worked!

From this photo you can see all the bare places where the snow has melted.  We had a wonderful day cross country skiing, but after being on the skis from 9:30 am to 4:30 pm, we were exhausted...and sore!

Wow!  What a day!.

SNOW!!!

I am off to look for & play in the snow!  Hope you all have a wonderful week!

Talented Artists

 I am humbled to be able to quilt for such a talented artist, yes artist.  Once you see what she has done, you will be blown away!!  It is totally AMAZING!!!

Oh how I wish I could show you a picture, but at this time it is not possible.  Maybe soon!  I know that is a tease, but that's that way it is :)

Cut Out Thursday, Sewn Together Friday!

I always knew there was an easier way to do a zig-zag quilt than working with all those triangles.  I found it!  This is from www.crazymomquilts.blogspot.com and it goes together super fast. 

It measures 46 x 61 which is too small for a lap quilt for me so I am going to add borders....stay tuned to see what I come up with!

One of My Quilts

Here is my quilt that I quilted today.  I have been piecing it through the winter months, first making four patch blocks and then the 16-patch block.  I saw a photo of this quilt, studied it and  figured it out .  All the fabric for this quilt was either a scrap or it came out of my stash.  Remember the 'Happiness is...." post when I found backing for a quilt?  This is the quilt.

Getting it ready to load on the quilting machine.  I quilted this with the Tendrils pantograph and used Victorian Rose thread. 

This quilt was also the #2 UFO project for our local quilt guild challenge.  I found fabric in my stash for the binding too.  It is attached and this evening I will hand turn it.  This quilt measures 79" x 88" or close enough.

I get a wonderful feeling knowing I figured this pattern out, and did not buy any additional fabric for it.  I still have a lot of stash, but it is s-l-o-w-l-y getting smaller :)

Today was a beautiful day to take pictures outside. 

Monday & Wednesday's Quilts

I have been busy quilting away the past few days. 

This first quilt belongs to Miller's Dry Goods and is to be displayed in the fabric shop.  The pattern is "Can't Cut It!" 

You use nice big pieces in this quilt.  I quilted it using red thread with the Clover Meadow pantograph.  I also like the fabric used on the back.

I probably would have used this fabric on the front of the quilt!  Just my opinion!
I got this quilt done on Monday and delivered it to Miller's on Tuesday.  Nice road trip!


Today I worked on a quilt for me which I will post later and I worked on this quilt for Sherri Gibson. 

These are just the strips sewn together to make the body of the quilt.  Very nice!  I quilted it with a loopie meander and included the words:  coffee, latte, perk, drip, hazelnut, cappuccino, mocha and maybe a few more.  I used Latte thread! 

All of today's photos were taken outside.  That small log pile makes a great prop!  It was about 60 degrees today, but the wind was very strong.  Guess winter is over.

My Faithful Companion

This is Gus!  He is with me everyday and is the best quilting buddy anyone could ask for!!

On & Off on Friday

This very large quilt was quilted on Friday.  It is a very interesting design that looks great and is made with 2 1/2" strips.  I think I'll have to figure this one out!

I quilted this with Parchment thread and the Clover Meadow pantograph. 

February UFO Challenge #2 Project

Yes, I know it is a few days into March, but I am just now finding time to get this posted.  This is the UFO #2 from Patchwork Times Challenge.  This is from Bonnie Hunter's book Leaders & Enders and is the Rick Rack Quilt.  I did not make mine as large as Bonnie did, mine is only 90" x 97". 

I was also happy to find enough backing fabric in my stash.  It will get quilted soon, the binding is already made!

On to the next block!

Knitted Dishcloth

I finished the dishcloth I posted earlier this week.  The pattern is called Double Bump.  You really have to concentrate on the first two rows of the pattern.  I am not happy with the way the sides of the cloth finish so on the next one I am trying a different stitch.

If you look really, really close you can see two mistakes where I missed a knit or purl.  I would usually blame Jeff, but I was watching the Daytona 500.  I can blame NASCAR!!  I think I may use this pattern to knit a scarf out of the alpaca yarn I bought last year in Frisco, Colorado!

On & Off Yesterday

Yesterday proved to be a very long quilting day.  I quilted another quilt that had 15" borders! 

It took 1 1/2 bobbins to quilt across this quilt.  I used white thread and Tendrils pantograph.

Here is a picture of the body of the quilt.  I just love how it looks.  I would have preferred only about a 6" border if I was doing this for me. 

This is how it looks with the 15" border!

I was so happy to get this one off the quilting machine.
Today is Open Sewing Day and I need to finish the borders on my February UFO!!