Back To School -Already?!

Not only have the birds been practicing flying in V formations but I made my first school lunch of the year yesterday morning as Daddy-O turned into a pumpkin because the teachers had to return to school. When Gus goes back to school (next Tuesday) I do the "It's the Most Wonderful Time of Year" dance but when Derek goes back I’m lonely for the first couple of weeks and have to recreate my daily routine and schedule making for a much more productive work schedule. Before the school year routine set in we were able to get in a fishing trip to Whittier last week. We did more fishing than catching –but that’s OK, in our house there is no such thing as a bad day of fishing! PLUS my friend Margaret D. turned me onto these WONDERFUL little treats called “Sofia Champagne” in a can!! Technically it's sparkling wine -but who cares when you can toss a lovely octagon, foil quad-pack in the cooler!

My latest art quilt was inspired by some FAB fabric I picked up at the Quilted Raven. Jana has the most beautiful collection of batik fabrics. A series of deep blues inspired me to want to make a flying crane with the contrast of the bird against this series of blues. I may turn it into another pattern to help fill out my line of art quilt patterns. Currently my designs have more Pacific Northwest

themed designs and I’d like to offer a wider variety of designs to larger markets. I’m finally feeling a bit more comfortable with my sewing machine and the back of the quilt looked much better after the free motion stitching. I’d been having a hell of a time with the correct tension setting and the thread would tangle up and frustrate the cr@p out of me. It’s been total operator learning curve errors, sprinkled with immediate high expectations and extreme impatience.

My approach to this quilt was a bit different as I created the design as I made it with no pattern before hand. Normally I start out with a drawn design in hand. I also learned that I need a deeper stash of colors in my fabric inventory. I had no whites whatsoever and not enough contrasting colors for the crane’s wing shadows and had to do a bit of shopping right in the middle of my piecing.

To make a pattern based on my finished design, I knew it would be tough to see my piecing details after I did my free motion sewing so I made a black and white copy of the crane after it was cut, pieced and ironed into place on the quilt backing. The black and white copy did a good job of highlighting the areas that I need more contrast and provided me a great base design that I can scan and drop into Adobe Illustrator to digitally create a pattern.

Happy Birthday to Gus-Gus who turned 14(!) on Sunday.

xOx

The Difference Between What Dudes and Chicks Do Best

A couple of weeks worth of scrap ready to go to AK Metal Recyclers.

The guys went fishing and I have a couple of days to myself. With absolutely promising NOT to fire the welder up or do any accounting, paperwork, house keeping or fill customer orders, I took the day OFF. I’ve been in need of some down time not involving art making (I know, how could I even say such a thing!). After a breakfast of FRESH Tamales (my favorite), the first thing I did do was go to REI and treat myself to a new pair of TEVA sandals and a new purse for Gus and my upcoming trip to the Sequim, WA Lavender

Festival this week. Then, I got my hair trimmed, treated myself to new magazines at Barnes & Noble, rented a chick-flick and bought root bear float ingredients. I also went thrift store shopping and found a TREASURE that made me think of Keren, who I can’t wait to show it to!

Sometimes inspiration sneaks up on me. Keren Lowell’s Mobile Mending booth at the Spenard Farmer’s Market is one of the coolest ideas I’ve seen. From the beginning, her vendor application stood out to our vendor committee. “I would set up a mobile clothing repair booth with a treadle sewing machine, and mend any kind of

cloth, upholstery, accessories, shoes, sports equipment.” I appreciate her resourcefulness and her unique approach of how to market her talents, creating a customer base of what would have been traditionally untapped business. I must have had Keren on my mind today at the thrift store when I found this gem. It’s a Domestic Rotary Electric Sewing Machine that works beautifully! Even the light bulb still works! What sold me were all of the accessories that came with it, including the ORIGINAL Instruction manual AND the ORIGINAL GUARANTEE! The eerie thing is, when I looked at the date of purchase on the original customer’s certificate… it was 63 years ago within two days! The date of purchase was 7-9-48 in Wyoming! How cool is that?!

My thrift store find, a 1948 Domestic Rotary Electric Sewing machine that works BEAUTIFULLY!

3 dudes doing what guys do best, load the cooler, load the boats and going fishing! Derek and Gus with Kristen's boyfriend Nelson.

So Much Fun to Have, So Little Summer

Derek and I doing one of the things we love. Gus reluctantly took the picture for us because he didn't want to set his pole down!

The bead spinner is a 'flyin! My good intentions to work while I fished this weekend went out the window with 70+ degree temps, a beautiful Kenai River and clear blue skies. Our friends Chris and Pam were with us at the lodge and we all agreed that no matter how busy we all are -we should always make time for good friends, fishing & floating! They own Liquid Adventures in Seward, and if I thought I WAS BUSY, it's nothing compared to Chris and Pam's schedule. June, July & August are their peak months by offering the coolest trips for guided kayaking, fishing and adventures out of Seward. That's a picture of Derek on one of his river floats with Chris yesterday. The guys were fishing for monster Bo's and Derek loves his new float boat we got him for his birthday last year.

We just got back home (we left the lodge early this morning to avoid the crazy Holiday highway traffic) and I wanted to do a quick post because in just a few more hours, Gus and I are headed off to WA for more good times. But before I can think about clothes packing I needed to add some beaded details to the seascape sculptures that have been drying while we were fishing. I was doing the beadwork out on our deck but took a quick break to come in and do a quick Blog post. I'm glad I got most of the things last week for our other trip because today is already a busy one. Aren't these new Keen shoes and travel bag FAB! They just screamed vacation and I couldn't pass them up when I saw them at REI. Bought magazines for my in-flight enjoyment as well and Gus' backpack is loaded with his favorite books and and DS games too.

After I wrap, tag, price and  pack up the artwork to ship, my sweet hubby will send the large bike box off to the Gallery while Gus and I are in the sky. I also still need to wrap and box my parent's 50th Anniversary present! I can't say what it is or even show pictures of it :o) because they read my Blog -but it turned out very cool and I'll just check the box as baggage on Alaska Airlines. There's much more to show and tell, like Dad getting two of his assemblage pieces accepted in the Port Townsend JURIED show!! Congratulations Dad. So I promise I'll be posting from the Olympic Peninsula the next couple of weeks!