Paper on Cloth

Here's a little collage I made by adding tissue and paper to a piece of muslin cloth.  Using scraps of collage papers, I machine sewed on the details then stamped the background with a leaf pattern.

ONE YEAR AGO TODAY:

Our cruise ship stops in Halifax, Nova Scotia for a short visit.

Fall Flower Box

This redwood planter is right outside my kitchen door.  I have tried growing lettuce, herbs and strawberries in it without much luck.  Yesterday, I filled it with fall flowers.  Hopefully they will flourish in the coming months.

ONE YEAR AGO TODAY:

We spend a day of shopping in Bar Harbor, Maine.

Progress

Patti's birthday present is pinned and ready to quilt.

ONE YEAR AGO TODAY:

Marcia and I go on an historic tour of Boston, Massachusetts.

Signature Quilt

Last April, I contributed a signature block to Bumble Beans, Inc.  All of the donated  blocks have been sewn together into a beautiful quilt.  Yesterday, I received this thank you card from Victoria Findlay Wolfe showing the completed project.  Wow!  My log cabin block is in the left hand corner, 4th row down - 3rd square over.

ONE YEAR AGO TODAY:

We arrive in Newport, Rhode Island.

Gather

I love to journal.  I keep journals on everything from my creative side to vacations to memories of activities.  This is the latest cover I have been working on, it's still a work in progress.

ONE YEAR AGO TODAY:

Marcia and I boarded the cruise ship Eurodam and started a northern journey.

My First Quilt Top

Recently, quilt bloggers have been sharing their first quilt.  In 1987, I made my first quilt for my then 12 year old daughter Jill.  I used the Eleanor Burns "Quilt In a Day" log cabin pattern.  I only made the top - no batting, no back and no quilting!  I've come a long way in the last 24 years and love quilting more every day.

ONE YEAR AGO TODAY:

Marcia and I took the Gray Line "hop on - hop off" bus tour and saw all of Manhattan.

Autumn

I made this small wall quilt several years ago to welcome the colors and crispness of autumn.

ONE YEAR AGO TODAY:

My sister Marcia and I arrived in New York City to begin an autumn adventure.

Thursday Journey #15

After several weeks off, we are finally back on track for our Thursday Journeys.  Yesterday, we went to Sea World.  What a perfect day - since school has started, it was not crowded and the weather was beautiful.

The Shamu show is always a big hit.

The penguins are so majestic and formal.

Nothing like having a shark swim directly over your head as we walk though an underwater tunnel.

I still can't believe my husband talked me into riding the Journey to Atlantis rollercoaster.  It was fast, scary and I got soaked but I had fun.  It was a great day.

Color Wheel Charms

Yesterday, I received my packet of 5" squares from the Color Wheel Charm Swap organized by the blog "from the blue chair".  What a happy collection of 112 colors, it was fun just arranging them for the photo!    Thank you Kati for putting this swap together.

Pure Joy

My pink plumeria only blooms about every 5 years.  I got really excited when I saw the flower buds starting to form.

How perfect!! 

For Storm

I made this quilt for my husband Storm when he finished the 2004 Ironman Canada in Penticton BC.  Using the log cabin pattern, it is a good example of what a different design you can get just by turning the blocks. 

This quilt will always remind me of his first Ironman competition and of how proud I am of him.

Early Fall Garden

Mums

Coleus

Petunias (don't you love the edge of lime green?)

Black-eyed Susans

Who couldn't resist this happy lime green frog, a new addition to the garden

After doing a Google search, I discovered that this is a Black and Yellow Garden Spider with a dense zigzag of silk in the center of the web.  I think this spider would make a great quilter!

Eleventh Block

I needed just one more block to finish The Block of the Month Challenge and I chose my favorite pattern, Log Cabin.  Counting the two Churn Dash blocks, I now have 12 and I'm ready to create my quilt top.

This has been so much fun and when I see all of the blocks together, I'm reminded of the challenge I faced over the last few months using patterns I had never tried before and I'm very happy with the results.

In Tribute

My daughter Jill, visiting the Empire State Building in May 1989 with her 8th grade class from Pacific Beach Middle School.

My daughter Paige, visiting friends in New York City in July 2000 (and newly blond).

Me at Ground Zero in September 2010, while on my first visit to the east coast with my sister.

WE WILL NEVER FORGET!!

Photo Sharing

I have been working on 2 gift quilts and I don't want to show them until after my friends have their birthdays.  So, I thought I would share with you some of the beautiful photographs my husband has taken.

Got Milk?

I never thought I would want to quilt a cow, but I have fallen in love with this pattern by Mary Lou Weidman and Melanie Bautista McFarland.

I purchased their latest book from Amazon and it's full of whimiscal patterns just waiting to be created.

School Days

Today is the first day of school in San Diego.  The front office is packed with students and parents trying to register, wanting to change classrooms, bringing in immunization records and the school buses need to be checked in.  OH WAIT!!!  I don't have to do that anymore!!  I'm starting my third year of retirement after working as a elementary school office employee for 24 years!!  Yippee!!

I made this little red house quilt several years ago, it's a Freddy Moran pattern and kind of reminds me of a red school house.

Morning Walk

This morning, my husband and I went for an early walk at Windansea Beach in La Jolla.

HAPPY LABOR DAY!

Tenth Block

I have been really busy working on 2 different birthday quilts but I did manage to complete another Block of the Month Challenge tutorial.  This one is made up of half square triangles.  When completed, the sampler quilt will contain 12 blocks and I'm looking forward to seeing them all sewn together.

Entry Hall

In our tiny house (1200 sq. ft.), I am always on the look out for small furniture.  I found this little table at The Pottery Barn.  It was white and my husband painted it blue to match the pillows on the sofa.  It's the first thing visitors see as they come into our home.  It's been fun redecorating this house over the last two years.