Wednesday on Whidbey

my Langley play station! (the quilt shop...)

Summer Samples

Just thought I would take a minute to share the two samples that went to the shop this weekend--along with the patterns.

 The table runner was intended to use some left over Shop Hop blocks (the purses). This year's SH fabrics were not my cup of tea--so neither is the runner! 8-) But some folks will like it (and it's finished & kitted up!).

I really like the colors in this quilt top--Morris prints are great, and of course I have to sneak in at least one batik!  This pattern is fun, easy, and looks pretty good for the effort I think.  Now that the pattern & cut list are worked out, it will do nicely in a variety of fabric selections...

Tasting Summer

 The hint--or tease--of an actual summer continues off and on.  It's been torture.  Wish there was a way we could have one big exchange system with the mid-west;  we'll ship them some drizzle, fog, & coolness--and they can send us some true bright sunny days with heat!
Visitors here, of course, think this is a heavenly break (unless you're here for Race Week sailing in a windless downpour!)--but a steady diet of it is pretty hard to take (at least for us closet sun worshipers...). So let's do summer things anyway--maybe the power of suggestion will make it happen. You know, have the Hawaiian shirt at the ready if the clouds burn off--stuff like that. Our good friends had us down for an indoor barbeque in honor of the summer that almost isn't.

Carol is such an amazing cook.  This time she decided homemade graham crackers would be a good addition to s'mores (OMG! They were great!).

Then came the new generation of marshmallows--have you seen those things?! They're so big!

Finally, add dark chocolate for the chocolate bar pieces & use the gas cooktop--wa-la!!  The best s'mores yet! (but don't we think that every time we have 'em?) 

It feels like summer when you bite into the gooey mix of sugar--just close your eyes! Just need to add campfire stories & you're almost there...

Wednesday on Whidbey

Chain-saw art seems to be a particularly western form of yard art, probably due to the abundance of conifer trees. 

In any case, this is one of the better (less rustic) examples; I pass it frequently on the way to Langley.  

He regally stands at the entrance to a private drive--fitting with the ever growing Bald Eagle population...

Round Robin Update - the wayward block returns

You may (or may not!) remember my block that started the rotation for the most recent Round Robin exchange.  Fairly unassuming 8" little fella that left me long ago & had very few 'rules' attached to it.
The primary one: not to be wider than a certain measurement, as I wanted to be able to use it as a hanging in various areas of choice wall real estate. So compared to many that were included in this project mine remained much smaller--and looks the least 'finished' of any in the bunch (currently it's about 27" x 33").

The little traveler just returned home to me last weekend--so we're just getting reacquainted after about 15 months on the road. I'm thrilled! My ten team mates really pulled the stops & let their imagination go--I love that part! There are many embellishments, along with paper-piecing additions, three dimensional items, & Seminole piecing. It has so much potential--so many options--for completion. I can hardly wait! (but I'll have to for a little while at least...got get some other items finished & the quarter complete!)

You can click on the 'Round Robin' label at the bottom of the post to see the rest of the projects in this round--at least at the state they were in when I touched them!  Everyone seems quite content with their projects when they returned--although many were shaking their heads at mine, wondering "now what will you do?!". I think it's an honor that they broke out of the box on my behalf--regardless of how uncomfortable they may have been! Stay tuned for 'the rest of the story' later in the year...

Read Any Good Books Lately?

One of the deals I made with myself when I left the-job-that-ate-my-life was to re-learn to read.  Doesn't sound difficult, but pleasure reading had become a true challenge during the siege of graduate school.  Then came kids and then a killer job...and reading--for my own enjoyment--fell to the bottom of the list. Reading for work took more time than one often credits, and actually is not a good example of how to read for pleasure.
During my six month hiatus last year I fell headlong into reading--anything, everything, all the time! It was joyful! Once I started back to work I challenged myself to maintain that spark for reading what I want to read--and to nurture that new relationship I'd developed with my library. I also know that I'm abysmally poor at New Year's resolutions--and this felt a lot like one of those. I doubted my abilities...
Happy to say, though: half way through the calendar year I'm fairing well, and almost a full year from starting a new job, I'm managing to find space for both work & pleasure reading.  Hooray!
I'm still kinda stuck on memoirs--don't know what that's about but I'm not too concerned. Finding new authors (to me) is always fun--falling down the well of infatuation at the beginning of a new relationship.

So here are my top picks for the first half of the year (although I haven't met one I didn't like yet):

 The Company of Liars by Karen Maitland--England in the plague era; characters you learn to truly care about; and surprises that you didn't see coming (not a common occurrence).

 The School of Essential Ingredients by Seattle author Erica Bauermeister, a wonderful & touching romp through a cooking class and it's participants.

 The Glass Castle by Jeannette Wells. A memoir so fantastical it reads as though it should be fiction. I just heard she has a book based on her grandmother's life; gotta add it to the cue.

Sarah's Key by Titiana de Rosnay - the heart wrenching parallel stories of occupied Paris in the summer of 1942 & the rediscovery of the dark story at the 60th anniversary; seems bleak but can't put it down once you start.

I've also discovered a new author, Colin Cotterill (thanks to my bro!) & have been enjoying spirit filled mysteries in post-war Laos.

What's been your favorite book(s) so far this year?

Please share so I can add it to my list... 8-)

Cat-o-penic

Okay--I need to preface this by saying that I really miss having a cat around.  Since Milo left us over a year ago we've been without--and for me that's a first in my entire life.
I usually try to refrain from passing on 'cute u-tubes' but I just couldn't resist this one posted on one of my favorite blogs, Mudflats. Thanks for posting it, Jeanne, so we could all enjoy!

Got Your Attention Yet?!

The whole-world-is-watching, Wisconsin.
July 12th: first big hurdle over.
Way to go!

On to August 17th!
Thanks, you guys...

Oh, Pulleeeze!

Let's see: now that we know that she's no good at huntin'..and her poll numbers keep jumping around,
what's a girl to do? 

The cover photo for this Newsweek spread, portrays her as the confident vixen--or is it really just to help her with her new goal of being 'Mericuh's favorite pin-up girl?!

Time better spent might be the Bailey/Morris/Devon volume, Blind Allegiance--for a walk down the other side of the street...   (look out, Arizona...)

Wednesday on Whidbey

One of the oldest churches on the island--isn't she grand?

Round Robin Update - the nearly last installment

Down to the final lap on the Round Robin projects--finish the last two, and then receive mine back with all of it's additions.

this is the 'before' shot--don't you love
the various embellishments?

This project belongs to my buddy, and often roommate at retreats, Kate. She started with an ethereal photo transfer of a statue she saw in Sedona, when on a very heartfelt get-away with her sisters following the loss of their parents--truly a sentimental piece.
There is only one more person after me, so there have been eight hands on this little gem.  You could have called it complete on arrival, couldn't you? (The great red lizard had just been added before I got the project box!)
After much thinking, I added those elements I most loved when I lived in Arizona:  the many colors of the sky--with the ravens on the wing--and the melting of the sky into the amazing landscape of so many colors.  Of course, I had to go with something a little less linear, so in went the curvy piecing, along with the First American influence of shapes & textiles. (Or at least that was my intention!).
Right up until packing it in the box & sending it along I debated over the blues--pretty risking move, which Kate may not like.  Also a bit on the busy side, but the piece holds up well, I think.  It's a little over 2 ft. tall now, so will make a lovely wall hanging for Kate's studio.  Bye for now, Mr. Wiseman...

The final project for me in this Round Robin journey was Juliann's sea-life homage.  It started out with her center block fish--which I love.  It's full of color & texture & character.  When it first started making the rounds, I wasn't sure where it was going--or if I would like it--but it's really quite fun!  There are so many surprises (little & big) included!  Don't you love the translucent jellyfish?! I added the left & upper borders--with aquatic colors & the great orange added previously.  I came across a piece of undersea print that seemed a perfect addition to the mix. I think Juliann will have a lot of fun  finishing this one up--and the size will make a nice wall hanging (about 3' x 4'). It's got some great embellishments & she'll likely add more.

 So all of the projects will soon be home to their owners--mine included!

Please Stand By...

Sorry for the brief drop from sight--and missing last week's Wednesday on Whidbey (maybe you didn't even notice!). 

Nothing serious--just chalk it up to 'technical difficulties'... plus an almost honest arrival of summer! (Also throw in the start of a jam-packed eight week summer quarter!)
For a moment of brief entertainment, though, visit a fun list of test pattern 'stuff' at Lists Galore.
Meanwhile, I'll be back at the keyboard tomorrow... and remember, this is only a test!