SOME FRIENDS COME TO VISIT

Our new house is in the middle of a big community, only blocks from rushing traffic and much congestion - people hurrying and scurrying - cars flying past - but we seem to be set in a little oasis of quiet, with trees on 2 1/2 sides, only one neighbor visible from our property and wildlife everywhere.

The sun is out today, the air is warming a little (at least for NW WA is seems a bit warmer) and friends are all over the yard.


This deer is eating from a bird feeder (during one of our snow storms) - you can't see the actual feeder, it is behind the little bird house. The deer lick the seeds out of the platform feeders and slurp at the regular feeders until the seed is all gone.

We didn't have to tempt the deer to come into the yard, they were wandering about before we bought the house, and have come more often now that they have discovered they can eat from the bird feeders. Our grandson Ben tells them - chooo deers - chooo - don't eat all the bird seed, and then he tried to walk up to the deer and pet them. So far he hasn't been successful, but he keeps trying. The deer are fairly tame and will let us walk around in the yard without running, but get to close and they move quietly off.


You can see a bit of the birdseed on this deer's nose, after finishing off a tray of birdseed.


The squirrels race up and down the trees across the street, some even jump from branch to branch and when they come in our yard they always try to get the suet out of the suet holder - but so far - no luck. This one climbed up this skinny metal pole with no problem at all.


And here he is - upside down - trying his best to get this open - but no luck so he climbed down and found some sunflower seeds under the feeders to munch on. We need to get some peanuts for the squirrels.


And a crow standing on the rock wall at the edge of the yard. There were two out there but I must have frightened one off when I got out the camera. I took the pictures of the squirrels and crow through the studio window. I did have to entice them to start coming to the yard - I put out some bread yesterday and now they are coming on their own. I'll put out some apple peelings a little later on and see if they want to eat them.

One of my favorite times in N. CA was when the apples were ripe in the orchard near our house and the owners had picked all they wanted. Then the crows would come in flocks and sing out loudly as they ate the apples. If ever a bird enjoyed something, it was those crows eating apples. I could tell by the sound that they were stuffing themselves. When they were done with an apple there was nothing left but the skin - like a balloon - empty of any apple. I loved to find the empty shells of apples left on the tree. The crows would come every day for a couple weeks and as soon as I heard their special song I would rush outdoors and sit on the back porch in the warm sunshine, close my eyes and listen to their happy chorus.

At our last house we never had any crows - there were two Ravens that owned that area and we would hear them fly over and call to each other, and there were crows at the end of the gravel road, but none ever came to our property or flew over it. We are so happy to have crows back!! We loved the Ravens, though they are not as friendly and don't spend time in the yard like the crows do. Crows are funnier too - today one of them hopped up each rung of the ladder on the swingset and then hopped across the top of the swingset to the tower where the slide is. I half expected him to slide down - but he jumped off the back and walked along the rock wall.

We still have to set up the bird baths - it is super fun to watch the crows try and squeeze themselves into the birdbath - a refill is a necessity once the crow is done, all the water is gone.

There are other birds in the yard too, red breasted nuthatch, juncos, sparrows, chickadees - which Ben calls chickanees, towhees, blue jayes, and so far, one robin. I've seen flocks of the robins in other yards, and that is a good sign of spring.

We took a drive yesterday to the Nooksack River to see the eagles - they are there from Dec. through Feb. but they were all gone - flown off to their nesting grounds a little earlier than usual, I hope that is another sign of an early spring - I could really use much warmer weather, and I want to start planting things in the yard. I guess I need to find out what kinds of things deer don't prefer to eat, or I'll never have a garden.

Happy quilting, and wildlife and sunshine to all the blog friends.

MORE HOUSE PICTURES - WE ARE UNPACKED

At last - unpacked - well almost completely. We have a few pictures to hang in the bedroom and the guest room, and two closets to organize and then we are officially unpacked. We've been in the new house for two weeks now and just love it. As I am writing this it is beginning to snow - huge feather-like flakes - covering everything with a pretty layer of white.
We'll start in the living room - here is part of it. I love the lace curtains. I am making a new pad for the rocking chair, pine green checks.
I changed the dishes in the china cabinet, now I have the pine cone dishes in the open spot and the Desert Rose that I inherited from my Granny in the top glass doors. The botton is full of several other sets - can you tell I love dishes? The goose in front of the china cabinet is from my cousin in Oregon, a gift for making her a quilt.

Another part of the living room - my favorite chair and some wonderful items under the Raven House picture by Sue Coleman. She is my all-time favorite artist. I have several of her pieces, and lots of her notecards. The Raven House was a gift from Don one christmas.
Sue Coleman is from England, lives on Vancouver Island and paints First People images.
She is truly amazing in her work.
What you don't see in the picture is my sewing box and current project, sitting by the flowered chair. I keep some stitching handy beside the chair for evenings when Don reads to me as I stitch.


Next -on to the dining room - more of my dishes. I especially like the cupboard with the 'rainbow' of depression glass. Most all the blue was bought in Wisconsin when our kids were in grade school - and now it is spendy when you find it in antique stores. The fruit basket on the table is an aluminum punch bowl with ladle that I picked up at a yard sale one lucky day. The furniture has been in my family for four generations - if we passed it down to our grandsons it would be the 6th generation. It has been in California, Alaska, FLorida (was shipped there due to a mistake by the barge company that was supposed to ship it from Alaska to where we lived in California) and finally to Washington with us when we moved here in 2001.

It is solid oak and very heavy to move. They had to take the top off the table to get it out of the old house and into the new one. It was scary watching them put it back together but it is all set up now and looks super, don't you think.

Next to the kitchen - my teapots have moved from the counter to the top of the cupboards - so pretty! I've put the bread box and appliances in the kitchen also - so it looks more lived in , but don't have a picture of that yet. I am going to change the handles on the cupboards - perhaps some left imprints made with sculpey clay. There is a huge blank wall opposite the area you see here - and it is too close to the bar stools to hang anything on it - so my plan is to paint a mural on it. it is about 14 feet tall and about as long, so it is a nice big space, just begging to be painted. I want to do trees and flowers with fairies and gnomes - I can already see the fairy babies sleeping beneath the foxgloves.

Don's den, or part of it. He collects old baseball gloves, good baseball books and cards from when he was a kid in the 50s. The seat in the back corner is from Milwaukee's old stadium before they tore it down a few years ago. We were back in Wisconsin for a reunion before they tored down the stadium and he and his cousin went to the last game played in the old stadium. They had gone to hundreds of games together when they were kids.

The metal cart on the right side is a line chalker - for making lines on a baseball field. We found it one day in an antique store and Don hesitated about buying it - but he is so glad I insisited. Now he has old baseballs and gloves on it.

Our bedroom - with the bead curtain hanging in the doorway to the master bath. The quilt on the bed is Grandmother's Flower Garden, which I made in English Paper piecing, and on the foot of the bed is a YoYo quilt done in 30s repro fabrics. I love the combination. The tall quilt rack in the background is an old VRC tape shelf - a super way to display quilts. I need to get a few more quilts out of the closet and hang them on the rack.

Now to the studio - here is my new Brother sewing machine that was a gift from Don this christmas. I love the drawers next to it - they store all sorts of things and keep the area neat. my doll, Patsy gets new clothes now and then. She is wearing her school jumper today. And my Kit Kat clock - his tail moves back and forth in rhythm with his eyes - another gift from my cousin.

And my treadle machine - under a poster of Washington Wild Flowers and my gardening hat. I can't wait to get started sewing on the treadle. Just need to put the new belt on and it is ready to go.

So that is the new house - except for the guest room - right now there is no bed in there and it is full of our grandsons' toys. It will be a toy room until we have guests, then it will convert and the toys will probably live in my studio closet while we have guests.

It is so wonderful to have all this space - 3 bedrooms plus a den - and a kitchen with loads of cupboards. Do drop over some day and we'll have tea and scones.

LOOK WHAT SANTA BROUGHT ME FOR CHRISTMAS!!

A new house !! We put in our offer on Dec. 10 - and we closed yesterday - in just 3 weeks. We get the keys tomorrow. We are so excited. We've been living in the country - on a great property - but in a very small house. It was built in 1920, when there was no electricity out here - and the kitchen is not arranged to have a fridge - so our fridge has lived in my studio - which is just off the kitchen so it is not that inconvenient, but it sure takes up a lot of my studio space. Also - our small upright freezer is in there - taking up more space. And we only had 14 INCHES of counter space, making food preparation a trial, to say the least. I've learned to balance things on the toaster, in the dish drainer and all sorts of fun places when trying to prepare a meal.


This new house has 3 bedrooms plus a den - formal dining room, living room,


2 full baths, one with an oversize jetted tub and such a big kitchen -


tons of cupboards (we have 4 cupboards in the old house), lots and lots of counter space plus an island, with two levels, one for food prep and one for eating at, with bar stools. I won't know what to do with all that space.



The laundry room in the old house is for acrobats - with cupboards so close to the washer and dryer - yet on the opposite wall, that you have to bend backwards a little, over the washer and dryer, to open the cupboard doors - nearly breaks your back - and in the new house - a good sized laundry room that has a big pantry cupboard in it, and room for another plus room for the freezer, and the cat's bed. Wheeeeeeeeeeeee we are going to have fun!! And look at that pretty washer and dryer!!!!


The sellers left the swingset at our request, and our grandsons will have so much fun there. Jahn hasn't seen it yet, but Ben was there one day and said - Grammy I can't wait to get a look at that". He is only three and is so cute when he talks. We have a storage shed - and pretty trees on the property - plus public land across from us so we have trees on three sides.

I'll have a full size studio - one of the bedrooms has built in shelves, and Don will have his own den. He collects baseball memorabilia from his chlildhood in Milwaukee, he even has one of the old stadium seats from the original ballpark. He can fit his treadmill in his den, with space for bookshelves and all his collection of baseball gloves and photos - he even has an autographed photo of Hank Aaron, his childhood hero.

The other bedroom will be our guest/music/toy room - I'm planning for a piano. We will keep the grandson's toys in there when we don't have guests. It will be so nice to have a guest room - I can display quilts on the bed in there.

As you can tell, we are very excited about this - we move in on Jan 12 - and then have until Jan 20 to finish cleaning the old house and getting it ready to turn over on the 20th. That gives us plenty of time to get the cleaning finished.

MERRY MERRY - HAPPY HAPPY

Well our big day has come and gone - and we had a blast. We usually do our celebration on Christmas day, but one of our daughters was not going to be here on Christmas day so we moved it all to Christmas eve. Both daughters and their families, including our 3 and 6 year old grandsons arrived yesterday around 1 - bringing tons of gifts to be added to our already overstuffed tree. What a sight - all that love and happiness under the tree.


Our tree - lit and ready for presents. I made the tree skirt when the kids were little - it is pellon with ball point paints (Artex, for those of you who remember) and I'd like a new quilted one, but the kids howl in protest every time I suggest a different one. It is painted with a snow scene and is cute - but the quilter in me wants a different one.


Our youngest daughter's Seal Tree - she decorates it with white lights and all sorts of baby harp seal ornaments and stuffed baby harp seal stuffies. It is a gorgeous tree. She made the stockings hanging to the left of the tree - the one for her partner Jay, is a BigFoot stocking with a furry BIG FOOT on it - and the one on the left has a hot wheels car for Jahn-Zyel - our oldest grandson - with trees and racing flags - she is very clever!!

And this is her Sea Turtle tree - done again with white lights - some twinkle - and sea turtle ornaments and stuffies. The boys both love these trees. She also has a butterfly tree, but didn't get it put up this year.

Usually I set the holiday table with a red plaid tablecloth and white dishes with green holly on them, but I got this table cloth, with deer and trees on it this year and decided to go with a green theme. The pale dishes are jadite from my collection, and the dark green are Depression Glass. I think they go so well with the jadite and the red silverware - very Christmasy, and very soothing.


Some of my Lefton Holly dishes - we've been collecting these since the mid 70s when we found a few pieces in a local drug store. Now they are harder to find - and collectible. The lastest acquisition is the large bowl near the left side. The three little children standing on the back of the table are ceramic paintings I did when our kids were younger. The clothes and hair colors match what our kids wore during that time. One year in Kansas (we lived in a big old farmhouse) the kids dressed up in their coats, scarves, mittens and hats and went outdoors and walked around and around the house, singing Christmas carols to us - then we invited them in for cookies and cocoa. These little figures remind me of that fun time.

We had the traditional turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, corn, cranberry relish and cranberry jelly, and all the extras that go with - plus pumpkin pie and apple crisp for dessert - with spumoni ice cream for those so inclined. The boys were excited to open presents and at one time I found them in the livng room talking about "maybe we could just find one present for each of us (the six year old can read very well) and open it and play with it until dinner time". It was so cute to see the little culprits plotting against all the big tall adults.

I got them cute Christmas dishes to eat off - and they did really well waiting for dinner to be over. Neither of them ate much - but that is to be expected with all the excitement. They kept running over to the tree and looking for more presents with their names on them -even the 3 year old can find his name.

Some of my teddy bears - dressed by Don for the holidays. They sit on the steps leading up to the attic and Ben loves to pull them all down on the floor and take their hats off. They have different hats for every holiday.

Then we all pitched in and did the dishes - didn't take all that long, and in the mean time a big package was delivered from our son and daughter-in-law from West Virginia. Then at last - the gift opening - what a time we had - the boys loved all their toys and books and all the adults ooohed and aaahed over their stash of presents. I got a new Brother sewing machine - and I really needed it - plus several fabric store gift certificates - a perfect match!! Don got me another white covered chicken dish for my collection - and our youngest grandson, Ben, had a good time taking the top off and putting a bow in it, then opening it and being surprised every time - just darling.


A little teddy bear on the front door.

The rest of the day was spent munching on desserts and playing with our new toys - and playing with the grandsons - and talking to our son and daughter-in-law in West Virginia several times on the phone - and all too soon it was time for them to leave. Don and I settled down to a quiet end of the day - a little stitching on the Hawaiian quilt with Don reading out loud to me - what a perfect day.

My china cabinet - see the Santas inside - they are making the Peace sign - just my kind of Santa. Most of the dishes in this cabinet have pine cones on them. The dishes that you can barely see at the bottom of the photo are Loon dishes - given to me by our kids a couple years ago. As you might guess - I love dishes!!!

Today we have plans to drive down to the Nooksack River where the bald eagles congregate for the winter and see how many there are there. One time we saw over 200. Then on to Skagit Valley to see the snow geese and the trumpeter swans. They overwinter there and sometimes the flocks contain over 2000 birds - what a sight and what a sound - to stand nearby and then have the flocks swarm overhead - it is almost like being a bird yourself. Then a stop at our youngest daughter's to visit with them and see Jahn-Zyel's newest presents - they opened their family gifts this morning.

It's been a glorious holiday - so much fun with the family - all the rushing around before hand to get just the right gifts and get them wrapped - getting the house decorated and ready for company - and now we have a brand new year to look forward to with all the plans and fun to come. I hope your holidays have been as great as ours.

Merry Merry - Happy Happy

HAWAIIAN QUILT BORDERS

I've been making a lot of progress on the borders of the Hawaiian quilt. I've been able to take it to work with me (I've got a cushy job) and do some applique during the slow times. It is done in reverse applique, needle turn, and I think that is the easiest and fastest way to do applique.


I have only three more dolphins to do ( out of 27) until it is finished - so I am really closing in on the end. I spaced the dolphins randomly apart - not using the exact same space between each of them so in between I am going to make some splashes and waves - randomly placed. I took the top to a sew-in that I went to last weekend and everyone approved of the border - made me feel good.



The edge of the quilt will be bound in the same shape as the waves - giving a nice wavey edge. I like that kind of edge on a quilt - it gives a nice soft look to the quilt when it is on the bed.



Though the photos are two different sizes - the dolphins are all the same size.

The sew-in is held in Anacortes, WA - in a darling little house that has been set up for crafts/quilting - it is called the Hobby Cottage and you can rent it for your group by the day. We are a group of internet friends from western Wa and we try and get together about once a month. We bring potluck for lunch and our machines and projects, as well as show and tell, greedy gift exchange packages and anything else we can think of to bring. We have such a good time - stitching, eating, laughing, eating, talking, eating, sharing and did I mention eating? It is about an hour's drive for me, some come as far away as three hours - and we all have a grand time.

I hope to get the dolphins done this week and start on the waves - I will hand quilt this, though probably not in the traditional way that Hawaiian quilts are done, in shadow quilting about 1/4" apart - that just doesn't seem right for this quilt. I will do some crosshatching, some freeform quilting and perhaps use some stencils to make fill in quilting. I have it sort of planned in my head already. I will quilt it in purple thread, which I've already bought. I found some purple hand quilting thread at the store one time and decided I should get it while it was there, instead of waiting and then maybe being disappointed because it was gone.

My Crafting overload

I sometimes get a bit carried away with my crafting - and I've found a great outlet for it.
Etsy.com You can buy and sell all sorts of wonderful things there - currently I am listing my mesh bags. I made 22 of them in a couple days and decided I should sell a few to at least cover the cost of the materials. You can see them at Piecefulafternoon at Etsy. The zipper bags make wonderful holiday gifts - fill them with make-up, trinkets or even gift cards - they do double duty as a gift container and a bag.

The bags are made of cotton fabric and a plastic mesh that allows you to see what is inside the bags. They close with nylon zippers and are very sturdy.

Wild Animals!!!

And starting today I'm having a sale - all items in my etsy shop are 10% off, and free shipping with 3 purchases. So come over and shop - no need to get dressed, shop in your jammies if you like, have a cup of tea and enjoy holiday shopping. I'll even wrap your gifts if you'd like.

Pansies are a favorite!!

For the music lover - comes in all 3 sizes

Here are some of the new zipper bags I've made, the large size is good for cosmetics, pencils and school supplies - the medium is good for treasures of all sorts (little girls love this size) or for a wallet and the smallest size is perfect for coins.

Do you love coffee? These coffee beans are for you.

Or how about snowmen - perfect for winter.


If you can't find my shop from the link - my seller ID is winddancer. Have fun - I know I had fun making these.

HAWAIIAN QUILT

I started this Hawaiian quilt in 2001. It is the only UFO that I have, except for about 100 redwork squares, but they can't be called a UFO since I still don't have enough of them to make the quilt top that I want to make. Guess they are pre-UFOs.



This quilt was going to be a wedding gift, until I found out that the intended recipients didn't like this type of quilt, so I worked on it for a while, then put it away, since it didn't have a destination. A few months ago I got it out and put the blocks together and added a border and I've been deciding on what to put on the border - and I've finally got a plan. I am going to put jumping dolphins along each edge - and palm trees in each corner.

The whole quilt is done in reverse applique - needle turn. If I did regular applique the white seams would show up where they were turned under. I drew on the borders of jumping dolphins and as I was beginning the first dolphin I realized that the way I had drawn them, all the dolphins on three sides would be upside down - their heads pointing to the floor. That would really bug me, so I am in the process of redrawing the design so the dolphins are jumping up, towards the ceiling, when the quilt is on the bed. The top border will have them jumping towards the head of the bed - so all dolphins are right side up.

There is a thin line of white that will resemble a wave, so the border will be wavy and I'll bind it in that same wave. I love scalloped looking edges on a quilt.

It will take some time to get all those dolphins appliqued - but it will be very pretty when it is all finished.