I've been thinking about my blogging for a while now - it started out being mostly about quilting, or at least that was my intention. Recently I've noticed that my blogs about quilting are few and far between, and for my readers who follow my blog because they like to see the quilting entries, I would feel bad because there wasn't more about quilting going on.
Then my thoughts turned to my life - and I realize that quilting is not the main focus of my life. I admire those of you who turn out, and finish, quilt after quilt - sitting for hours at your machine piecing tops, quilting them on your own machines - but that is not me. I am a slow quilter - usually doing handwork, so there is little progress to show on a daily/weekly or even monthly basis.
Puffballs along the pathway!
I am also interested in doing a lot of different things, making pincushions for my Etsy shop, working of fairy projects, gardening, crocheting mittens for the needy, reading, beading, painting, sketching, angels, gnomes, deer, nature, photography - the list goes on and on and my studio reflects that mix of interests. I have many more craft supplies than I do fabric (I'm the one without the stash), and more projects lined up to work on that are crafty rather than quilty. Don't get me wrong - I still adore quilting, all aspects of it - it just isn't my main focus right now - so my blog will begin to reflect that - and I'll happily dispose of the guilt that I've been putting on myself for not posting more often about quilts. When I have some wonderful quilting news, I will certainly share it - but until then I shall blog away about my other interests and activities and let myself enjoy both the activity and the blogging.
And that brings me to the new banner on my blog. I took this photo in Whistler, BC last August when our family spent a fun weekend retreat there. Whistler is mainly a ski resort, though there was no snow in August and the main attraction for sports people was the downhill bike run - the bikers would haul their bikes up the mountain on the ski lift, then race scarily down the ski runs. We saw many of them coming off the mountain that day - wearing amazing amounts of protective gear, and good thing too, because many of them had bumps, bruises and scrapes from the rough ride down the mountain. They seemed to all enjoy it and it was thrilling to watch the very last part of their ride. There were groups of bikers walking through the streets - often carrying their bikes on their shoulders - another amazing sight.
The town of Whistler is wonderful to wander through and explore - so many sculptures and nature areas - besides the expected shopping and dining experiences available.
A wonderful shelf fungus - we used to call these Bear Bread when I was a kid in Alaska. We had a friend that would take a single "shelf" and paint scenery pictures on them. I had on with a fishing boat on it for years, until it began to biodegrade.
These pedestals with sculptures on them were all along the walkway by the river running through town. The water was a soft blueish grey from the soft rocks it flowed through.
A very impressive stone circle - with seating around the edges, can't you just see the fairies dancing in the moonlight?
We went to the Pumpkin Patch on Saturday - a glorious fall day - sunshine, about 60 degrees and no wind. Ben brought his mommy and daddy, and we brought Jahn with us. The boys had such a grand time.
There was a barrel train to ride on,
animals to pet,
Goats to feed - they were way up high on a walkway and the boys would run a can of food up, it would dump out and the goats would gobble it up.
a saddle to sit on for pictures,
fun pictures to be taken,
Have to see how tall we are this year!!
Bucket head people to chat with,
pumpkins and apples to pick
Christmas trees to look over
and dig holes for - oh that is another holiday - but the trees were right there!!!
And of course a ride in the hay wagon - which I didn't get a picture of.
When the boys were worn out - or we were worn out - we all went back to the car and had a picnic of apples, cheese, juice and chocolate cupcakes frosted with orange frosting. It was a super fun day - just the perfect way to spend an autumn day.
Jahn came home with us for a little while and Grampy gave him the Big Wheel he had bought for him about a month ago. They had great fun in the driveway - speeding along. Jahn figured out that if he went fast enough down the sidewalk he could make the front wheel bounce up onto the bottom step - he had such a good time.
Is SUMMER - hee hee - you thought I was going to say fall, didn't you? Don is a Virgo and I asked him the other day how Virgos can put up with the chaos of autumn, what with their tidy ways and their clever ideas for keeping everything organized and controlled. What about all those leaves floating about, what about all those leaves littering the ground? Doesn't that work against their sense of tidiness? He said he couldn't explain it, because usually that much distraction would drive him crazy - but he just loves fall!
The sideboard - decorated with leaves, gourds and my favorite Myrtlewood bowl from my cousin in Oregon.
I, on the other hand, adore summer. And the best place for summer is the Pacific Northwest - pleasant temperatures (72-76) most days, plenty of sunshine, a tiny breeze and not bad humidity. Days on end of this kind of weather make me the happiest person in the world, and I mourn for those days when fall comes. Here in the PNW fall comes with rain, Rain, RAin, RAIn, RAIN! And then it rains more.
Now having grown up in Southeast Alaska (the part that runs down beside British Columbia) I know rain. We played outdoors in the rain because we would not have gotten outdoors otherwise, so I'm used to rain. But I am a little sad when the glorious days of sunshine and pleasant temperatures are gone and the rain settles in. There are indeed some gloriously sunny days in the fall here, but they are cooler, damper and remind us that more rain is coming. I like a good rainy day (good thing) for making stew, doing some canning, baking bread and cuddling up with a good quilt to do some hand quilting - but my favorite season shall forever be summer - long, pleasant glorious summer!
More of the sideboard - with a teeny tiny birdhouse.
But I do decorate for fall - not as extensively as some others - but a little bit here and there - and some years more than others. This year was a moderate year, just some garlands of leaves and a few faux punkins, along with the pine cones I've collected over the years.
The china cabinet with a pine cone teapot, corn dishes, pinecones and sunflowers.
I love the holidays that follow - Thanksgiving and Christmas and New Years. This Thanksgiving none of our kids might be here for the big turkey dinner - one family will be in Virginia visiting the other side of the family, another lives in West Virginia and will be spending happy days with family there, and the third might be in Olympia, so we might just have a roast chicken instead of a turkey and a quiet dinner. I prefer the big, confusing, rushing about time of the Thanksgiving dinner - but we must learn to share our families - though we miss them terribly when they are not around.
And so - we bid farewell to summer - get through autumn and then on to the festivities - I already have plans in my head for the christmas decorations in our new house - this will be our first Christmas here - what fun we'll have!!!!
Good-bye old friend summer!!!
Thanks to so many of you for putting up with the process of re-doing my blog. As I said before - one bright sunny day Blogger took all my photos off my blog - and all they could say was - "oh there is nothing we can do to fix THAT - it just happens sometimes". I'd never heard of it happening before or since - so I set about re-doing my blog entries - re-entering all the photos that I had posted in the original entries. What a pain - not only for me, but for those that had to put up with my postings reappearing many months after the original. I did gain some new readers through this - and I say - welcome to each and every one of you.
So that is all done and I'm ready to begin catching up with the things that have been happening around here.
And I always like a photo in a post - so here is one from long ago.
This was taken in Sitka, Alaska, when I was in 5th grade. That is me on the left, then my brothers, Jimmy and Jeff, and our friends Margie and Dennis. The baby in the front is Jimmy Eskimo - so named because we kept getting the two Jimmies confused. His mother had TB and he and his 7 siblings were in foster homes - we got the youngest one. He was a happy little boy - loved to have adventures - like trying to eat our dad's cigarettes - and climbing out of his crib. He kept us busy and happy also - and we missed him something terrible when he was able to be re-united with his family.
Here is the second part - another item to give away. I will be adding - to the fall color knitted pincushion and the zipper mesh bags - three fat quarters of my hand painted fabrics. These are PAINTED - not dyed - with non toxic paints - sun-printed and ready to use - will not fade or bleed - guaranteed colorfast.
So be sure and enter - if you haven't already - only one entry per person. Just leave me a comment telling me what your favorite thing about quilting is. Only those entries that answer that question will be considered. And I must be able to reply to your comment, or have an email included, or your name will be deleted from the give-away. Those who entered on the previous post are already in the drawing - and I've enjoyed your comments.
It is amazing that I've already gotten 16 comments with no-reply, or no email, or no comment on quilting. Wish it wasnt' so - but it surely is.
So let's hear from you - about what your favorite thing about quilting is. Happy quilting.
Debi is having a Fall Into Fall Quilters Blog Give-Away - and I am part of that. Stop over at her blog and find out more about this. A bunch of quilters will be having give-aways and you can find links to these wonderful give-aways at Debi's blog. Hurry on over - join in the fun.
I will be giving away a nice little box of things - here is the beginning of what I'm giving - so stop by often and see what has been added to the box. The drawing will be on October 15, and to be entered in the drawing I would like to know more about you - and what is a favorite thing that you like about quilting - or a clever story about quilting - or something wonderful you have discovered while quilting. So just a comment saying "I want to be in your give-away" will NOT get you entered. I love to hear good stories - long or short - about your quilting experiences - good and not so good - so come along - leave a comment about something quilty - a favorite, a clever story or something wonderful. Let's have a good time sharing our quilty moments. If you don't have a blog - be sure and leave your email so I can contact you about your prize if you win.
The first thing I'm putting in the box is this
A set of three zippered bags mesh bags that I made with quilty fabric - the sizes are coin purse, wallet and make-up bag. You can use them for stitching supplies, buttons, coins - just about anything you would put in a little bag to keep organized.
Next item is a knit pincushion in lovely fall colors - I knit this with the help of my three year old grandson - he likes to pull the yarn out of the skein as I knit. Sometimes he gets ahead of me and we get tangles, but it is such fun to have him help. So stop by and see what else I will add to this fun box - maybe some fat quarters - maybe some quilting supplies - who knows what - and leave your comment about quilting - this is going to be fun.
