The Inside Stori

REAL ESTATE

2008-07-25T15:30:00.005-04:00

Are you a real estate TV junkie? Seriously, I watch as many of these shows as possible......it's like window peaking, with a little dreaming thrown in too.

So, what can you get for $6 Million + ?? A totally remodeled firehouse in Noe Valley of San Francisco. This property is a block away from 'the perfect child's' house, and of course everyone in the neighborhood I'm sure is watching this listing closely. Though the prices are extremely high in SFO, this is not the average for this area. It's so high end it has its own website Engine No. 44 Firehouse

I wasn't able to download anything but a thumb nail photo of the property from the website.....but if you are anything like me....you'll spend a good hour looking at every photo, blueprint, history, and all the credits. Check it out and dream on......

YUMMY HONEY

2008-07-24T10:30:00.007-04:00

Talented new friends here in the mountains are just another bonus of our move to North Carolina. Connie Brown (email: mail2thebrowns@juno.com) is not only a really, really good quilter, but a bee keeper who produces excellent honey.

Her honey is delicious and great for gift giving too. I wrapped each jar in several layers of bubble wrap, then into two zip lock freezer bags and placed in my checked baggage for my last trip. I had a total of 4 flights to SFO.....meaning my soft side suitcase was handled a lot.....and still there was no problem.

I enjoy introducing friends and family to our local products......especially the edible ones!

SFO AIRPORT ART

2008-07-22T21:27:00.007-04:00

Airlines have certainly gotten a bad rap lately.....often well deserved due to bad service, long delays, and high prices. My day began at 4:00 AM, as did my dear daughter-in-law who cheerfully drove me to the SFO airport for my 6:00 AM flight departure. What a pleasure to have only 2 flights back to Asheville, both on time, and fabulous service....thank you Gloria....Delta flight attendant supreme SFO/ATL flight.

This fascinating tree branch sculpture is located Delta's A concourse.

Here's another folk art piece... I loved, loved, loved it.....especially the idea of recycling all this crazy material into ART!

It's been a long day........with wonderful memories of a great week......

WORK/PLAY

2008-07-21T11:17:00.006-04:00

Family life has overtaken my blog.....of course all things fiber/beading are still very much in my thoughts, but right now, projects are on hold until I return to NC in a few days. What is probably ho hum posts for you readers is really big fun for me. With the kids living clear across the country, we miss even the most mundane things such as the process of decorating a room, so I'm really enjoying the involvement during this visit.

Since big city living is so foreign to me, it's been exciting to explore their residential area of Noe Valley . I hope to be back soon to lend a hand as they slowly make this house their home.

We are making progress. After several days of work we are finally nearly finished painting the trim. Kelly's smile is an indication of how close she is to reaching the final corner!

Baseboard painting was left to Chris who is just as talented with a paint brush in hand as he is in the boardroom.

Nali, (who has personality plus) likes being with her people. She managed to wiggle past the doggie gate and now sports paint not only on her ears but her legs and tail too. She's happy!

I was forcibly retired from painting after about 5+ hours. I'd literally developed a huge blister from holding the paint brush while painting trim & the louver doors. Of course I ignored it too long and now have a hole in my skin. Sorry for the graphic photo, but what mother wouldn't work the skin off her fingers for her kids!?!?

It was too late to begin painting the final color on the walls so we took a break and headed to downtown SFO. The perfect child works for a firm located on the 47 & 48th floors of the Bank of America building.....the 2nd tallest in the city. Talk about amazing views.

He's on the road most of the time, and in fact will be heading off to London later today......but when in the office, his view includes the Golden Gate Bridge in the distance with the city below.

AND.........Alcatraz (the island on the right).....typically July and Aug. are chilly due to the fog that rolls in from the ocean.....but the view was still spectacular.

URBAN LIFE

2008-07-20T10:09:00.004-04:00

It's such a pleasure to experience differing lifestyles. Urban living has many advantages, especially now with high gas prices since walking to stores, restaurants, and shops is all so doable here in Noe Valley, CA.

Yesterday, within less than 30 minutes of walking, Kelly and I had picked up 'the perfect child's" dry cleaning, shopped at the hardware store (which will probably be a twice a day visit while their renovations are underway), & bought fresh produce at the farmer's market.

This is a very pedestrian & dog friendly area.....benches and dog water bowls line the streets.

Of course you'll find a Starbucks about every 5 blocks. I had my skinny, sugar free vanilla latte yesterday morning and am already yearning for another. BUT.....wait......this is true.....the perfect child just brought me a cup of hot coffee, made with his own hands. Life is good....tx's Chris!! Talk about perfect timing....and I'm not making this up......

Many of the homes are built right up to the sidewalks. I'm amused by the fun window displays some owners have provided for the passers by.

Although many of the streets in SFO are very steep, our son's house is on a relatively flat one at the top of several hills. Much of this neighborhood has already gone through major redevelopment. I wouldn't even want to imagine the amount of money spent bringing these Victorian homes back to life. The houses pictured here are directly across the street from our son's. The style of his home is quite different; more arts and crafts, which will lend itself nicely to their decorating style.

Kelly's parents joined us for dinner last night.....seriously, one would never need to cook here.....there seems to be 4 restaurants on every block. We had an amazing meal last night at nopa

I'm not an inexperienced cook, yet I had a difficult time understanding about half of the meal descriptions, but trusting everything would be divine.....we all just took our best guesses when we ordered and were NOT disappointed. One of our appetizers was called "Little Fried Fishes"....the photo is a bit blurry, however you should get the idea. Those of us who grew up along the shores of Lake Michigan......think smelt! Yummy and not a bit fishy.

With all the fun and culture I've been enjoying......surely you must think we've given up our redecorating projects. NOT.....I oiled several pieces of wood furniture, and spent HOURS scrubbing off years of dirt from louvered doors. The prep work is now completed in our targeted room, and painting has begun.....we intend to hit it hard today. Chris has to fly to London on Monday and I head back home very early on Tues. morning......with that said.....I'm off to find a paint brush.

EXPLORING SFO

2008-07-19T09:23:00.005-04:00

After a day of manual labor on Thurs., yesterday I planned a little R & R with my friend Lynn Koolish - Lynn's been my editor on several of my C & T projects and is an accomplished quilter and author herself. Her newest book (a June release is a follow up to her C & T DVD) its focus is about dying fabric. Check it out!

Lynn learned about a San Francisco non-profit creative re-use center, store, and workspace. It acts as a distribution center for donated materials which artists can purchase reasonable prices. It's called SCRAP - Scroungers Center For Reusable Art Parts.

You can find just about anything there. And as we understood it, the merchandise is always changing. Here's a huge box of button hole twist on cardboard spools.

MORE STUFF!

They do a pretty darn good job of keeping things organized.....cubbyholes of various types of fabric bundles, bins with pieces of felt, letter, & boxes of fleece....make shopping efficient. There didn't seemed to be large pieces of any fiber, but the variety was huge.

Lots of zippers if you like pink, maroon, and black.....all the same length. There MUST be something I could do with them!!??!!

Lynn couldn't resist playing with this funny looking piece....love the paint brush beard.

Balls of yarn were recycled into an art piece by simply stringing them in vertical rows...who thinks of this stuff......WOW!

Naturally, we couldn't call ourselves quilters if we didn't find a place to have a meal. "The perfect child", lives in Noe Valley which is mostly residential, yet there are many shops, restaurants, and other stores sprinkled in the neighborhood. We found THE BEST authentic Mexican Restaurant on 24th Street, just East of Noe for lunch. My burrito was almost too pretty to eat.......but I did.....and despite the size, I nearly polished it off. It was beyond delicious.

After Lynn returned me to the 'Home Improvement Central', I got busy again cleaning light fixtures, among other tasks. Many of the fixtures are original to the home. It's stunning to see their gas fittings, which were once turned on by turning a key for each gas jet. I'll try to get back up on a ladder and take a picture....it's pretty amazing that these pieces have survived with most of the glass in tact.

It's now 7:00 AM - Sat. morning and time to don the work clothes again. Our goal today is to wash down the room we'd stripped and where 'the perfect child' sanded the walls yesterday'. We hope to get primer on the plaster and a coat of oil paint on all the trim before the end of the day. A bank of louvered doors may slow us down....but today there are three of us, Chris, Kelly, and myself, oh and Nali - their faithful black lab.....so we expect good results.

READY, GET SET, STRIP!

2008-07-18T10:13:00.003-04:00

I've traveled to SFO to lend a hand at some decorating chores for the 'perfect child', and his 'perfect wife, in their new (1907 old) recently purchased house. The home has great bones but is in need of some renovations and love.

While the kids worked yesterday, Kelly's Mom (who is also 'perfect') and I removed wall paper.

Tests gave us hope that stripping it would be easy......how optimistic we were!

Whoever applied the paper, which had been on for years and years, must have decided it would stay in place forever. I'm guessing they used 10 times more wall paper paste than necessary. The handsome woodwork, tall ceilings, striking staircase (not quite visible), will be better showcased, once the paper is removed and the walls are painted.

Kelly's Mom, Keiko still has a smile on her face as we turn corner # 1.

SUCCESS!!! I'll admit, my bones are a bit stiff today....next step is to get all the remaining paste off the walls, give everything a good scrubbing, before painting. It's fun seeing this come together as the kids make this home their own.

UPDATE - PIGS IN CINCINNATI

2008-07-17T19:08:00.002-04:00

Isn't this internet magic simply amazing?? Someone, somewhere has the answers to almost every question we could pose.

Charlene another blogger, reports that Cincinnati was once the pork capital of the US. So, a few years back they started a theme of Flying Pigs.....yes, from the famous motto. Local area artists were called to paint fiberglass pigs to put outside businesses....., so you'll see a lot of pigs in that area. Even funnier.....the airport isn't even in Ohio....it's in Northern Kentucky! Apparently the folks in Ohio didn't want the noise or to give up the land for the airport. Considering how airports bring growth to surrounding areas....that was probably a mistake.....

Tx's Charlene for the insight!

I have to go rest down (grinning) stripping wall paper is for younger folks than me....

TRAVEL DAY

2008-07-17T10:22:00.003-04:00

My 12 hour travel day on Wednesday went surprisingly smooth, considering the 4 commuter flights from Asheville to San Francisco.

I thought it'd be fun to highlight something about each of the airports, but I forgot to take a picture in Asheville....think small but cute...with rocking chairs scattered about for comfy seating.

I have no clue what this artwork at the Cincinnati airport represents....but we've all heard the term, when pigs can fly, so it was worthy to include.

This is what I saw of the Denver airport......my flight was late getting into Denver from Cinncinati, it was supposed to be just a layover, not a plane change.....but that's not what happened. However, with unexpected efficiency, Delta hearded about 10 of us off one small plane and walked us across the tarmac to our outbound Salt Lake City plane. That's the way I like connections!!

I've never traveled through Salt Lake City's airport so with a 2+ hr. layover, I had lots of time to explore their many exhibits. This one featured silver items from the collection of the Utah Museum.

I was surprised to see so many shops in the airport.....mostly unfamiliar names, though of course the name brands were also there. Beaded items were everywhere, sincerely, beads seems to be attached to just about everything....

This purse was so unique, heavily embellished but not to the point of tackiness....well at least I thought it still remained classy.....

Today both Kelly's Mom and I are going to strip wall paper off the bedroom walls in our kids' new (1907) San Francisco Noe Valley vintage home. There's a Starbucks 3 blocks away that we can count on to keep us energized. This is going to be fun.....really....I'm pulling on my gloves as we speak.

COMPUTERS - GRRRRR!

2008-07-15T06:54:00.006-04:00

Drastic?? Not really, I'm ready to take my foot and stomp my computer to death.....but why???

It's already 90% there!

I woke up yesterday to my usual routine of downloading my favorite podcasts onto my lap top, as I also downloaded my email onto my desk top. I def. have a love/hate relationship with my computers, well.....all things technical. I know barely enough and get 'over the top' frustrated when they don't work because I'm at such a loss about what to do.

Well, my lap top (only 4 1/2 years old) has been acting up and now it won't even turn on. Naturally, just like when I had to replace my digital projector recently.....I have a trip right around the corner which allows very little time to deal with the problem.

What's frustrating me even more is the lack of quality shops here in Asheville.....this town has a big reputation, but it's really small.....we purchase almost everything over the internet. However, there is no option of overnight delivery service for a replacement lap top where we live, even if one was willing to pay for it. (It's silly.....we are only 12 mins. off I40 but they act like we are 100 years back in time!)

Enuff....grumbing....

The solution: The husband and I did a 4 hr. round trip to the Best Buy in Greenville, SC and here's my new Mac! Sadly, my foot is about to stomp on this one too because after hours and hours yesterday afternoon and late into the night....I still can't get my email or any of my documents to work. I'm hoping I can get someone at Apple's tech. dept. to help me fix this before I leave for SFO this afternoon.......

UPDATE - appx. noon on Tues. I soooo lucked out and got the MOST patient, knowledge tech at Apple's Support Center.......I want this young man (Logan - I think?) to give me private lessons....he was super. It's all good now!!!

"The husband" will hold down the fort as I take wing again.....my travel day tomorrow is 12 hrs. so, I'll chat when I can.....

PILLOWS - PART 4

2008-07-14T14:38:00.007-04:00

The final pillow is completed. Silly that it took over a week to make 3 pillows.....I can never seem to find hunks of time to sew these days. I need to remind myself....this isn't a race!

I'm happy with the texture and overall appearance the pin tucking provided to the pillow.

I got a question from a reader, inquiring about the finishing details of the pillows. The backs are made in two sections. Each measuring about one quarter short of the overall width of the finished pillow. One long side of each piece is finished with serging and then a top stitched seam. Both are positioned onto the finished pillow top, right sides together, raw edges meeting. Next I sew a 1/4" seam completely around the outside edge. As you can see....that leaves a nice opening to slip in the pillow form.

THE END!! Now, come and visit us!

INSPIRED DESIGN EXHIBIT

2008-07-13T07:07:00.004-04:00

Here are a few more photos of the amazing work displayed at the UNC's Kellogg Center, see previous post for link.

The piece below is another interactive marvel. Read the details in the signage photo. Even without the integrated tech, the design is incredible, especially when you realize this is woven fabric!

The artist is Joanna Berzowska of Concordia University in Canada.

Wow.....how on earth has this been created? The piece is part of the Interior Textiles section of the exhibit. Thankfully, viewers were encouraged to touch. This curtain is made of woven panels where every other narrow panel sits at right angles to the next. You might be able to see on the right side of the photo where I've pulled the edge tight, how the holes of the panel to the left are woven through the end panel. Way cool....

I really like this room divider. Notice that the width the sections varies.....each covered with a different, yet coordinating woven fabric. We've been looking for a room divider for our newly furnished guest suite, so I'm now pondering how to recreate this look myself.

Our group enjoys show and tell as much as any quilt/fiber related group, though I can only share one photo from this month's meeting. Lynn created the neatest scrap quilt featuring half log cabin blocks of varying sizes. This will join other quilts she's made to sell in her booth at the Southern Highland's Craft Fair.

Georgia Bonesteel shared the project she designed for her students at a Montana retreat she and Charlotte Warr Anderson do every year. And...Linda Cantrell unveiled 30 blocks for her newest show quilt. I know....what a tease I am.....telling you and not being able to share photos.....I will as soon as they give me the okay.

FASCINATING EXHIBIT

2008-07-12T09:17:00.004-04:00

Though our small fiber arts group's monthly meeting always includes good food, we also try to attend as many local fiber exhibits as possible. Thursday, 10 of us had lunch at the trendy new Hendersonville restaurant, Never Blue.

Next, we headed to The Center For Craft, Creativity & Design, affiliated with University of North Carolina. Their current exhibit is titled, Inspired Design - Jacquard & Entrepreneurial Textiles, running through Aug. 22, 2008.

Five areas of 21st century design were covered: Smart textiles (e-textiles with electronic components woven into textiles), Preformance and Interactive Textiles, Textiles for Boutique Clothing Lines, Interior Textiles, Fine and Commissioned Art.

This is amazing stuff.....

This piece is best described by the signage below.

This signage is a bit difficult to read....so here's the basic format.....the copper wire woven throughout the piece conducts electricity, which can be "heard" through the speaker when the viewer places their hands on the fabric.

As I recall, the design of this woven piece was computer generated. I liked the visual energy of the piece.

More tomorrow......

PILLOWS - PART 3

2008-07-10T06:53:00.004-04:00

Done!

Done x 2!! Now I'll make a third, larger pillow, varying the look of the cover.

I decided this larger pillow could use more texture, so I've begun pin tucking a section of silk noil. I'm using a 4.0/90 twin needle and rayon thread for the stitching. And of course, now is not the time to begin to worry about this.....but frankly, I'm wondering if there's enough fabric remaining to complete this one....geesh!

In order to allow the fabric to create tunnel domes, it was not stabilized. The quality of the stitch still isn't correct. But, after doing a test run on traditional woven cotton fabric which turned out perfect, I know that the culprit is the fabric. I'm guessing that the strong silk fibers, and the poor quality of this particular piece must be preventing the needle from piercing and forming stitches properly.

PILLOWS - PART 2

2008-07-09T07:39:00.003-04:00

I'm still at it...you won't think it'd take so long for me to find the time to stitch a few lines....well, a lot of lines.

Silk noil is not an unfamiliar fiber for me to work with. Actually, I've featured it often in my wearables, including my book, "The Whole Cloth Garment Stori" (out of print, though you may find it on Amazon.)

This particular yardage has been a bear to work with. Despite stabilizing it with a fusible tricot interfacing and sewing with a walking foot....it's stretching, quite unevenly as I stitch. Secondly, the stitches often angle out of line. I've tried changing my needle, adding paper underneath as I sew, changing thread tensions....nothing worked so I just continued. Heck, this is for pillows, on a guest bed that probably no one will ever see but me. I suspect the problem is the combo of the French fuse interfacing and the limp, thinner than usual, very evenly woven material, and stitching on the bias.

What I wanted to share with you was my decision to stick with two colors of thread, rather than adding a third that would have been stitched horizontally across the material. This seemed like enough.....well, also had enough fighting the fabric, but enjoyed catching up on HGTV's Next Design Star series! I've now marked the finished size of my two pillow tops.

Before cutting them out, I've stay stitched along the marked lines to keep the decorative stitching (pitiful as it is) from unraveling as I construct the pillows. To be continued......

PILLOWS

2008-07-07T15:45:00.008-04:00

Finally, after being on the road for weeks, I'm back at my sewing machine....if only for small spurts at a time. My task is to make a few throw pillows for the guest room bed.

I uncovered 2 pillows that I had stored away and removed the decorative covers. Yuck.......I planned to cover the pillow with white silk noil, which of course would allow this busy pillow case cover to show through.

Okay....I can fix that! After discarding the print fabric, dividing & reshaping the stuffing, I made and stuffed 3 muslin covers (2 small & 1 larger).

To stabilize the silk noil for machine stitching, I fused a triot interfacing to yardage.

Hours later, I'm now actually sewing! The plan is to alternate lines of stitching, featuring in total, 3 colors of rayon thread. Hummmm.....this is a tad time consuming and I haven't yet added the third color which I think will run horizontally through these lines. Stay tuned.......

SISTER'S CHOICE

2008-07-05T14:59:00.006-04:00

There are little things that happen in one's life that makes you stop and wonder...why now? That's exactly how I felt as I read the first couple of chapters of Emilie Richards new book "Sister's Choice" that arrived a few days ago.

First of all, I love books, and usually read at least one a week. Now that I live in the South East, I've been enjoying stories set in this completely new environment. Her most recent release is another Emilie Richards' Shenandoah Album novels (set in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley.)

The 4th of July holiday time always leaves me a bit misty since our family lost my twin sister to Leukemia, six years ago on July 2nd. The book's focus is of two sister's estrangement and their quest to form a bond again. Naturally, I'm a sap for the sister thing, especially after being a bone marrow donor for mine and learning at that time that we were identical twins!! Considering the timing, frankly, I can't put the book down.

Emilie Richards intertwines quilting throughout this series and features a quilt on the cover. Leisure Arts publishes companion pattern books to enable readers to make their own versions of the quilts in her novels.

They are well illustrated with lovely photographs, and well written instructions. Her books are widely available at local book stores, Amazon.com and if you are lucky enough, you might even find Emilie herself, signing books at a quilt show. Take a break from your sewing room this summer to read this inspiring novel.

STAGING

2008-07-04T14:09:00.004-04:00

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!!! Our day has been quiet....both of us have long "to-do" lists.....and having time to accomplish mine is a great holiday vacation!

The 'staging' of our 2nd guest room is nearly complete. Here's a tip I learned from an helpful employee of Bed Bath & Beyond when I was searching for a box spring cover.

The visibility of the box spring wasn't attractive so it seemed like a simple matter to purchase a box spring cover. WELL......that's easier said than done here in Asheville, where only Target, Wal Mart and a few other chain stores are our choices.

There wasn't a cover to be had anywhere, however this solution is just great. The trick is to purchase a fitted sheet (color and style to coordinate with your bedding/room). Way less costly. Although I was looking for white, again.....shopping here is always a challenge and there wasn't one single queen size fitted white sheet available at B B & B. So, I selected black...since there is lots of other black in the suite.

We actually had to take the mattress off anyway in order to snake the cords behind the headboard to plug in the new lamps.....naturally that was the nearest outlet. This bed is so HEAVY, we just couldn't slide it away from the wall ourselves.

TA DA!!!

STRIPPING

2008-07-03T15:36:00.005-04:00

OH, I know what you were thinking......NOT that kind of stripping! Actually, I've refinished dozens of pieces of furniture over the years, and frankly, though it's hard work, I liked the process, the cost savings, and the results.

Our antique shopping quest yesterday was in search of something to use as a nightstand. Perhaps we haven't found the right places to look, mostly we've found horribly overpriced and poor quality stuff. Even though this isn't what I had in mind, I settled for it because the size and price were right ($81.00).

I much prefer pine over oak, though I still have a lot of oak pieces......and since it wasn't rickety I decided to strip this oak table in an effort to lighten the wood and get rid of the old varnish. The above is the "before" photo. (Before my fingers, hands, knees and butt were so sore, I'll be heading to our jetted tub after this is posted!)

5 hours of scrubbing with steel wool and stripper.......it's down to the natural wood. Now that's much better!

This is the fun part, I favor Watco oil (natural) for my furniture, rather than stain and other protective coatings. You can see how the wood grain pops out where I've oiled it. The process is sort of like the excitement you get when you're sewing blocks together. Now it will dry overnight, and perhaps get more oil tomorrow before I finish 'staging' the alcove bedroom. Staging is really an appropriate description.....due to the distance we now live from close friends and family, I'm wondering if this space will ever get used.....I hope so!

CLEVER IDEA

2008-07-02T16:23:00.007-04:00

Meg Manderson......landscape artist extraordinaire passed along a great idea that can be used to protect the edges of picture frames during transport to exhibits. Especially important for artists like Meg who mat and frame their work.

Purchase foam insulation tubes, cut to size and snap onto the frame........Home Depot to the rescue again.....

FIBER ARTS ALLIANCE MEETING

2008-07-01T19:38:00.005-04:00

Once a month the Fiber Arts Alliance of Asheville, NC meets to share our love of all things fiber. We don't have formal meetings......no dues, no fuss, instead a member usually provides a short program for the group. Today Cheryl Alderman awed us with her very clever methods of hanging her work.

I'm sorry my photos are so fuzzy, apparently my camera didn't want to focus well against the busy backdrop...but I hope you'll still be able to recognize the potential for your own quilts.

Rather than using the traditional fabric sleeve and dowel, Cheryl used an interesting branch attached with beaded wrapped wire which holds the artwork with ribbon loops.

Close up

Here a branch is attached to a flat, thin piece of stained wood that has shaped edges. Fabric loops attach the quilt. The display is hung by threading the two drilled holes (in the larger wood section) onto small nails, carefully positioned in the wall.

Are you getting excited to try these ideas yourself? I sure am!

Even the traditional fabric sleeve and dowel is updated here by attaching a small link chain to each end of the dowel.

More branches, driftwood, and two back scratchers (top & bottom items)!

Cheryl purchases many types of inexpensive wood from one of the large box home stores, then sands, shapes, drills holes, and stains them to use in conjunction with branches or alone. So, the next time you want to show off your work with more pizzazz, consider recreating some of these ideas. Thanks Cheryl!!

HEADING HOME

2008-06-29T05:22:00.003-04:00

I'm off for the MSP airport.........heading home to the mountains......

Will chat again soon.

QUILT FINALE!! (correction)

2008-06-28T23:32:00.004-04:00

After class today, my long time friend Marilyn Smith drove over from Eau Claire to Rochester....we spent several hours lunching and catching up before she headed back home.

My shuttle is picking me up at 5:50 AM for the trip back to Minneapolis airport, so I had an early night spent with another long time pal.

I was lucky enough to get introduced to Trish ( we are guessing about 8 years ago, by our mutual friend Pat Campbell.) Tonight I've been invited for a home cooked meal at her house.

Trish is quite the beader......after drooling over many of her nifty jewelry projects......she gave me this lovely bracelet. Thanks girlfriend!

Trish (and her 'bling') reclines in her chair, wrapped in a quilt that won my teacher's ribbon several years ago at the show. (Incidentally, I didn't realize it was her quilt. When presenting a ''teacher's recognition" ribbon....I like to award them to the type of quilt I admire and would like to make.)

I'm enjoying Trish's deck as we begin to put the steaks on her grill. What a treat!!

QUILT MINNESOTA

2008-06-27T23:11:00.003-04:00

One of the more challenging workshop I lead is a bead embellished felted wool scissors sheath class. The difficulty is the wide range of speed that students are able to work. Again, MN winters must allow quilters plenty of time to practice their hand sewing skills because these students sure have high skill levels.

Front layer of scissors sheath.

This VERY talented quilter has been sewing since she was 11.....her Mom is co-chair of the show committee......no wonder she has the drive and talent to be the first to finish this project in class.

Friendships develop quickly in our quilt world, these best friends were 2nd and 3rd. to finish the project. Though friendship should never be a race, competition can drive students to let their needles fly!!

I sure hope my students are getting a good nights sleep.....after 3 days of workshops...they need good energy and eye sight for my final beading workshop tomorrow....yet...there's always my DVD and books to help them along their way if I find time snoozing in class.

WORKSHOP FUN

2008-06-25T22:47:00.003-04:00

Long, cold Minnesota winters are not wasted on quilters who live in this state. I'm convinced they spend their time honing their skills......

The group of 23 students cruised through my full day beading workshop with ease....smiling all day. Nan (pictured 2nd from the left) and I crossed paths about 15 years ago at a week long quilt workshop. From time to time, we've had a chance to meet again.

Nan surprised me with this fantastic folk art wood cow......totally, absolutely my kinda folk art treasure. Again, I'm reminded of how many pals have entered my life due to my travels along the quilting highway. (Yes, you can take the gal out of Wisconsin, but I still love cows!)

More happy campers!!

Kathy, my teacher's angel had the coolest toy.....it was similar to a magic wand which lite up (wonderfully tacky). She used it to announce door prize time. The photo certainly doesn't do justice to this unique gadget.....but looking at Kathy face....you can surely see it is big fun.