My Goodness! Where do I start?

I have had company for the better part of three weeks, and what a packed three weeks it has been!

Our son flew down to Arizona to be with us for a week. He and his dad, Mr.O spent the first few days hiking some of the tougher trails in the area. While they did that I did get a day in working on my stained glass block, and I also managed to get a bit of sewing in. 

My sister, Barb and I got a good start on this month's Schnibbles project. I am still pretty slow at it because of my splinted finger, but slow and steady wins the race, right? I did manage to get all the cutting done, and but very little piecing got done because i had to pack things up to prepare the room for my next company...my brother and sister in law. They arrived Wednesday and I had the next day planned for a "girls day out". 

AQS quilt week was happening in Phoenix this year! In a perfect world, I would have attended all four days of Quilt Week and attended a class both morning and afternoon of each day, and squeezed in the quilt show as well as all 200 vendors booths. This however is not a perfect world, and I had neither the time, the funds, or the energy. We did however, get to see the quilt show and shop on the second day (Thursday) and believe me when I tell you that was more than what we bargained for. Up early in the morning, an hour drive and then 8 hours of walking through the huge convention center was plenty for this old girl.

There is no way to cover all we saw but  I will show some of the quilts in later posts. 

On Saturday we left the guys to fend for themselves again...

Barb and I registered for a class on Saturday...she took machine quilting and I took Beginner Hand Appliqué with Mary Andra Holmes. She is a master quilter and appliquer and also owns a pattern company with her three sisters.    www.sistersquiltingtrunk.com

My class was only 3 hours so in order to touch on everything needed to complete a project, we jumped from step to step, but this is the project we were given to do.(and that I hope to eventually finish)

I really dont have much to show for my three hours, because all I managed to do between taking notes and copying pattern pieces was to needle turn applique about 1/3 of one side of the tree trunk and one of the berries. After the class was finished, i packed things away and I have really not had a chance to even take it out of the bag since returning home with it.

I do however feel more confident to tackle an applique project now and it's a good thing too, because one of my blog readers has challenged me to do a baltimore Album quilt with her! I laughingly agreed, thinking it was my sister Barb, when in actuality it was a different Barb! It was only when she commented that when she returned from her vacation to Hawaii she would be ready to tackle such a project, that I realized it was not my sister. So Barb H. if you are reading this, I have not forgotten your challenge and I am preparing myself to tackle my first block. I am pretty sure I will not be making a full sized Baltimore Album quilt to start, but maybe a smaller version of one...or maybe just a block, that becomes a medallion block for a future project. I will decide as I go along.

I got to see a few big name quilters while there...Carrie Nelson was in the ticket line the same time as us, we saw Lisa Bongean of Primitive Gatherings, the girls from Me and My Sister Designs, Anita Grossman Solomon, and I know there were others but it is 11:20pm and my brain is sort of mushy tonight.

It was an exciting couple of days as far as quilting goes and I am excited to be able set up my machine and get back at it again tomorrow. 

What else did we do to keep busy? Well, we visited Frank Lloyd Wright's home again and had an amazing and very knowledgable guide to enlighten us on more FLW trivia.

We visited the Botanical Gardens that was featuring an exibition of a glass sculptor, Dale Chihuly. 

You may have seen some of his pieces at Belaggio on the Vegas Strip, or possibly the MGM Grand Casino in Macau. He has had pieces featured at Kew Gardens and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London as well. Here are a few of the pieces we were able to see. They are blown glass and keep in mind that they are huge pieces of art.

This last piece is a floating piece. All of the blown glass pieces are in an old boat, floating in a pond. Very striking!

We kept busy at many other things but because we are on the subject of glass, I will jump ahead to today and show you a piece glass art of a much different caliber, I finished cutting, grinding, foiling, and soldering my quilt block project. I still need another day or two to frame, and patina and clean my project but here is another shot of my progress.

It is far from perfect and let me tell you it is much faster and easier to make a 12" churn dash block in fabric than in glass, but I am glad to have tried it, and who knows? I may make another, next year.

I think I will call it a night and hopefully I will get back tomorrow evening to share a few more fun things we did with our company in the last two weeks.

Sweet dreams!

“Creativity takes courage. ” 
― Henri Matisse

Same but different

Good thing the Schnibbles parade is tomorrow or I might never get around to blogging! I have such good intentions and then...pfft! ...the day is gone.

As I mentioned before being here in Mesa allows me to spend time with my sister, ans it's a good thing we planned a Schnibbles day a way s back because I had a minor accident that slowed things down a bit in the sewing department.

I finally got the borders done and finished assembling the circle quilt I'd been working on. I have friends who voiced their displeasure a time or two with doing bindings, but I would gladly exchange border applications for bindings any day!

I am calling a local long arm quilter in the morning, with hopes of getting it quilted this month.

I had no pattern for this quilt, but had a picture I found online that I used for inspiration. I had decided on 48 blocks. After choosing 48 different fabrics, I cut 10 1/2" strips width of fabric. From that I cut one 10 1/2" square. From the rest of the strip, I cut 3 different sized circles (8.5, 6.5, 4.5) using my circle templates. These circle templates are a June Tailor product that I purchased on clearance at WalMart and I have to say they were a very good purchase!

I used the scraps from this quilt to make my Schnibbles this month, in fact I had so many scraps left over that there were enough for both Barb and I to make our Jersey Girl. We gathered up the scraps, she cut the darks into charms and I cut the lights and before long we had everything we needed to forge ahead. Because my fabric choices were sort of high contrast and quite busy, we both decided to use a more "neutral" sashing. Not wanting to waste the 1 1/2" strips I had cut for sashings, I used a 

1 1/2" neutral border first and then the 11/2" scrappy border. All done! Sandwiched and ready to quilt...

Before I had a chance to get Jersey Girl quilted, I had a minor mishap.

Mr. O and I decided to go for a 10k bike ride. We were only gone five minutes and my chain fell off; no problem...a quick fix. While fixing my chain I noticed my tire was a bit low, so we had to stop for air; service station on the next corner, no problem...so we continued riding up to the next corner. 

We stopped for traffic before crossing the intersection and when I put my foot down against a concrete curb I lost my balance and with my foot against the cement I couldn't shift and correct...down I went! Trying to break my fall I reached out and ended up driving my hand into a concrete slab...I knew instantly it was broken...(from experience)

Almost one week after the fact it is still swollen and bruised and unmovable wirhout extreme pain.

I had no choice but to quilt it with my finger still in the splint. My machine quilting needs work at the best of times but I managed to get it finished.

Today while Mr O was out hiking I set myself up and stitched down the binding.

I purchased a Craftsy class by Monique Dillard a few weeks ago and decided to watch it while stitching. I'm sure you're wondering what the cookie sheet is for...I placed it behind the speaker on my IPad to intensify the sound. The bowl? Well it corralled my thread, scissors, clips and thread clippings...hey! You use what you have!

After it was all finished, I took Jersey Girl out for a photo shoot.

Done is better than perfect!  Far, far away in the land of ice and snow, Sue was working away on her Jersey Girl, and strangely enough she was working injured as well! Somehow she had pulled a muscle in her neck. She managed to persevere and get hers pieced as well. Now Sue has a family member with a brand new baby so she made the sweetest baby quilt...all pretty in pink. Being a baby quilt necessetated a little change as well. Sue added an extra row.

I only have the one photo she sent me, but isn't it just the cutest baby quilt?

We started out with the same Schnibbles pattern, encountered a few injuries between us along the way...(same) but used different fabrics and  colours and she made hers larger...(different)

So there you have it...Same but Different.

Stop by http://pinkpincushion.blogspot.com  to see the parade. See you there! I'll be the one with the splinted finger.

If you worried about falling off the bike, you'd never get on.

Lance Armstrong

It was a warm one today!

The temps reached 81 degrees F today in the Scottsdale area! Guess where we were hiking today? Yup! You got it!

Arizona has had an exceptionally warm January with average daytime temps of 72. 

I look at how tanned Mr.O is getting and keep hoping I will get a little colour, but I just get more freckles! It's just not fair!

All this sunshine has more blossoms opening up. We saw some lovely red flowering bushes today, and this is one of my favourite desert plants. The Ocotillo

I left the camera at home, so these shots were takn with my phone.

Such a unique looking plant. This one stands 8-10 feet tall but these long thin stems can reach 25'. The trunk is covered with needles and small oval leaflets. Brilliant red flowers occur at the tips of the branches.and are very pretty when they start to blossom.

This one was just starting to flower and it was taken with the zoom on my phone so it really doesnt do it justice, but hopefully in the next week or two I will have some better shots.

We started out to hike about 6k but ended up adding to it and by the end we had hiked over 8 km over some pretty rocky terraine to an elevation of a couple thousand feet( i think; i have a hard time remembering all the elevation numbers from day to day)

If you look at the bottom of the map beside the blue bar inside the circle, that is where we started. Now follow the red line keeping left almost to the top of the page to the red star, that is where we hiked to. From there we backtracked down a bit to where the trail goes to the right and looped down to the next star almost in the middle of the map. From there we continued down until we met up with our original trail and continued on to our car in the parking lot at the bottom star. Over 8km. My foot and ankle was killing me and I was hot and dusty and ready to rest!

I had packed pb&j sandwiches but I was more interested in water than food today, and when we arrived home I made up a big jug of homemade lemonade.

Mr O had one glass and I pretty much polished off the rest. When lemons are selling at 20 lemons for $1.00 homemade is the way to go...no McCains frozen lemonade happening here!

Yesterday was our oldest grand daughter's 19th birthday and our daughter had a surprise party for her and just look at the cake she made for her!

This......

Turned....

Into this and then .....

Into THIS!

With the help of KitKat bars, mini Reeses and Smarties! 

It was part of the tablescape for the party and here's the birthday girl...

Happy Birthday Savannah! We love you!

" Let them eat cake." 

                               Marie Antoinette

Itty Bitty Update

I'm not sure why, it happens, but the days are shorter here in Arizona. They have to be. That's the only way to explain why I get so little done.  Actually now that I really think about it, I get up later than I did for many years; that shortens my day by 2 hours right off the bat. Combine that with short Arizona days, and I am just not getting as much done!

After a quick coffee I am off to an hour of aerobics. Shower, hair and breakfast pretty much takes up another chunk of the morning. There was a bit of time to tend to a few things and then i was off to my stained glass workshop til 4.

I am making headway but, it is a slow process.

You really can't tell by the picture but there are 4 colours there, a dark amber, light gold, dark red, and olive green. With a paper pattern behind, the colours are quite dull. I got another 1/4 block cut, grinded/smoothed and pieced together. I also learned how to apply the copper foil to the cut edges, apply the "flux" to help the leading stick, and then use the soldering gun to apply the "lead".

Very slow work!

Here you can see that I got three seams leaded. Doing this kind of thing sure gives me a greater appreciation for some of the intricate, huge, detailed stained glass windows in some of the churches and cathedrals we have visited during our travels.

The lady working next to me is not a novice, and wanted a quick easy project to work on while here, so she used her bits and pieces to make a mosaic type design on a lantern. So delicate and pretty, and I'm sure it will be very pretty with a lit candle inside it.

 I have only bought a minimal amount of tools because I keep telling myself " I am NOT starting another hobbey!" It makes it hard to stick to my guns though when I see such pretty pieces being made.

After class, it was home, a quick bike ride, supper, and off to do a little retail therapy with my sis. A real treat for us to spend this time together. 

Tomorrow, Mr. O has another hike planned for us. Not sure of the details, but it is bound to be another interesting one.

It has crossed my mind that I forgot to show you some of the things I purchased on Saturday at the Olde  World Quilt Shoppe. 

A new pattern book because You never can have too many books, and I like the patterns inside and at $6.50 I figured it definitely a good deal.

I have been slowly gathering up civil war repros for another quilt so that was where I concentrated my time in the shop. I still need some greens, blues and purples but every little bit helps.

And last but certainly not least is my kit for one of Carrie's newst Schnibbles, Squared. This is the one Carrie was demonstrating Saturday. The quilt on the pattern packet is done with Minick and Simpsons Indigo Crossing, but she demoed a change of fabric that resulted in a much different look.

Carrie's Squared is on the table in front of us. It is still in a flimsy stage, but beautiful just the same!

So there you have it...an itty bitty update of my slightly shortened 21 hour Arizona day.

Lost, yesterday, somewhere between sunrise and sunset, two golden hours, each set with sixty diamond minutes. No reward is offered for they are gone forever.

Horace Mann

Sign, sign; everywhere a sign...

I had such good intentions of keeping a regular log of what's happening here in Arizona, but as you can see from the date of the last blog post that has not happened. Every day I had great intentions but by early evening, i just seemed to run out of steam and creative writing was just not happening...did I just say that? ..."by early evening I run out of steam"...oh my...if ever there was a sign of my "aging" that would be it! I am the proverbial nighthawk! I am the person who would start a major project at 10 o'clock at night!

 I am blaming it on the sun and fresh air, NOT on my age. I refuse to believe that just because I turned 60 I will automatically slow down...not yet!

I know I am not going to remember everything over the last couple weeks, but I think I will start with today and work my way backward.

Today we went on another hike. This is my third one but Mr.O has done seven! We hiked a bit over 6km over hills and rocks and trails through the desert. 

There are signs of spring blossoms getting ready to splash the desert with colour.

Signs of wildlife, but much of it way to fast for me to photograph...lizards, eagles, ground squirrels, an assortment of small birds, and this

A Sonoran ground snake. Of the two of us, I was much faster fleeing the scene than the snake!

There is so much beauty in the desert and although the rocks, sand and mountains are all brown, there is nothing plain about them.

It's surprising to me how much green there is, but I am told that will change as the sun gets more intense and there is less and less precipitation.

Our first hike was quite a rugged climb. My sister and her husband and Mr. O and I ventured out on a hike in Gold Canyon to see the petroglyphs. I went with just a little footie sock and my light weight running shoes, but made a note to get better foot gear for the next time out. It certainly makes a difference in negotiating the rocky terrains. It was a pleasant climb with beautiful views and we got to see the petroglyphs at the end of our hike.

I have joined the quilting group here in the park and have spent a couple days quilting with my sister as well. The results?

I have 27 scrappy granny squares done.

I pieced a charity quilt for Arizona Quilts for Kids and quilted 2 baby ones.

I cut 48 squares and appliqued approximately 150 circles to make this quilt for my oldest grand daughter. One border is on and the last border is cut and measured and ready to apply and then I hope to find a longarm quilter to quilt it for me. It should finish up at about 76x100. 

This months Schnibbles is cut sewn and ready to assemble.

I have been spending Monday afternoons working with these tools.

This is my progress so far...

With a little more guidance and several more hours I hope to end up with a stain glass hanging of a 12" square quilt block that resembles this

Several times a week we walk to the market to take advantage of the exceptional bargains on fresh fruit and veggies.

Now I'm sure you know that fruits and veggies are not the only things I have been shopping for. Yesterday my sister and I took a forty minute drive out to my favourite area quilt shop, and just look who we met!

Carrie, from Miss Rosie's Quilt Company, (the Schnibbles patterns designer herself!)

Carrie was just finishing up a class and was gracious enough to take a few minutes to talk with us and pose for pictures. She had extra kits and we were able to buy the kit she had demoed that day, AND she also had her finished quilt from the American Patchwork and Quilting quilt along! G O R G E O U S!!!    If I had any doubts about making this quilt, they are totally dissolved. I can hardly wait to start it! I blogged about a couple posts back and it is available in the Feb. issue on the newstands now.

I leave you with a few cactus photos with captions

PEACE  MAN ! 

YES MAMM, JUST GO LEFT AT THE NEXT INTERSECTION OVER THERE.

HE WENT THAT WAY OFFICER!

SEE YA! Bye bye, adios, catch you later.