Ivory Blush Roses

Stitching with Vintage Whites

2012-01-25T16:35:00.001-07:00

I've been stitching this week, using some of those old white linens that were too worn to mend and use as originally intended. Using a pattern for an Armchair Sewing Caddy by Maureen Greeson, I pieced together the pockets using the old linens. There weren't too many spots that needed seam embellishment as I tried to use the original edges as much as possible. But where seam embellishment was needed, simple feather stitch variations did the trick!

Each pocked ended up with a corner in need of something more, so a mother of pearl button was added. For the lining, I used some natural linen I've had for a while. I love how it shows off the beautiful old white embroidery and lace! The pincushion portion was stuffed with clean wool and the whole thing was bound with some vintage cotton bias tape I've had for ages. It was just the right color of aged white!

Here it is from the top. When I started this, I thought I'd use it on the arm of my sofa, but I didn't take into account how wide the arms of the sofa are! But it works just perfect on the arm of my cozy chair! Might have to make another one for the sofa! To the side you can see two other projects I've been stitching on this week.

I started these little linen and lace hearts last year about this time. They've been languishing in a box waiting to be finished. Next I'll add some cord to them and they will become a small garland to hang from my old shelf!

To go with all my white things, I've been wanting to make a linen and lace pincushion. I love the size of the CD pincushions and knew that this old round piece of crochet would be perfect in all it's irregularity. It has a couple of small stains that will not come out, no matter what I tried, so I'll cover them with a small crocheted Irish rose in the next few days. The tatted trim around the bottom edge came from a box of lace I picked up this summer. I believe it had been tea dyed ~ it was an ugly brown. First I washed it with non-chlorine bleach and hot water. It helped, but didn't bring it down to the lightness that I knew was hiding underneath all that icky brown. A tiny bit of bleach in hot water, a very brief soak, then lots of rinsing and at last a white vinegar rinse (to neutralize the bleach) finally took away all the brown and left the lace the perfect matching white to the old linen and lace!

Every now and then, a project comes along and simply feels "like home". These stitching projects with old white linens and lace were just that way. So comfortable and so "right" somehow. They were a joy to work on and I'll definitely enjoy using each of these items!

Playing in the Dirt!

2012-01-19T16:45:00.000-07:00

As I was straightening things up at home today, I realized that my house plants were in dire need of some freshening up! After covering the counters, I mixed up some nice potting soil and repotted almost every plant in the apartment! The miniature African violet had 3 plants growing in one tiny pot! I separated them into new pots. Getting repotted always stresses them, so I hope they all do well and enjoy their fresh dirt!

I had a variegated spider plant that had become way too large for its pot, so it was divided into two! Usually the spider plant resides on top of one of the bookshelves, but I moved it into the light until it settles into the new pot.

All the geraniums were repotted as well! They tend to get so leggy at this time of year, especially in my apartment where the sun comes in for such a short time each day. Hopefully they'll like this spot in front of the big window that gets the most sun. The last pot of Paperwhites is starting to grow!

This philodendron got a big haircut a few weeks ago when I removed over 8 feet from each of the branches! I moved it up onto the wall shelf temporarily to make space for the second spider plant on the shelf where it usually sits.

The little daffodils and hyacinth are still blooming beautifully! Is it spring yet?

The top of the china cabinet got redecorated.

The "garden" corner looks a little fresher now. It's where the garden statuary resides. One of these days I'll have a garden again and these will find homes outside once again. How lovely it was to enjoy an afternoon playing in the dirt and sprucing things up a little bit!

54 Years!

2012-01-18T22:27:00.000-07:00

Each year is a gift! But gosh, they seem to go by so quickly these days!

I've been having fun with the camera again. There is something about these old aqua glass bottles that I just love. They pick up the light so beautifully.

Every bit of sunlight that comes into my apartment on these winter days is cherished. The plants, the kitties and I all gravitate towards it for the few minutes it is here each day.

Another quilt top finished! This one on a birds and wildflowers theme!

I've started two new blogs this month to compliment this one. The first, Ivory Blush Roses Annual Project is where I document my Photo A Day, Watercolor a Week and Crazy Quilt Block a Month.

Ivory Blush Roses Reads is where I'll be writing about my favorite books, movies and what I'm currently reading. I'm not a great critic, but I love to read and read a lot of books on a number of different topics and would love to share a little about what I'm reading!

Both links are also listed in the sidebar. I'd love to have you visit!

January Musings

2012-01-15T10:08:00.000-07:00

What is it about January that inspires cleaning and paring down so much? Maybe it's putting away all the Christmas clutter. Whatever it is, I find myself wanting things spare and simple in January. Each day finds me cleaning up a small corner. This morning it was the end table. A simple linen cloth, pots of sweet smelling spring bulbs and then a few minutes of quiet while I eat my breakfast with the lovely soundtrack from Pride & Prejudice playing in the background. A lovely way way to start the morning!

On my way home from Colorado this past week, I stopped at Trader Joe's and brought home this lovely Cranberry Walnut Petit Batard bread. A slice of that with my morning cup of Scottish Breakfast Tea is just perfect!

De-Stashing Projects

2012-01-14T19:25:00.000-07:00

One of the goals on my annual list (every year!) is to downsize my belongings, including the amount of craft stuff I have. I often think that if it weren't for sewing/crafting stuff and books, I would have a minimal amount of stuff! I'd really like to do some serious de-stashing, but hate hauling stuff to the thrift shop as I think they often see fabric and just toss it.

Then I thought about how the hospital makes quilts for the beds in Pediatrics and how those quilts then go home with the child. It's a small thing, but it makes what could otherwise be a scary time for a child or teenager a little bit friendlier. The kids love the quilts and Pediatrics often hears back about how much they continue to love the quilts at home. At first I was just going to take them a couple bins of fabric, but then I ended up having to be home from work this week (nasty cough and cold) so it was a good opportunity to be a little more productive.

I found enough pre-cut blocks to make this crib quilt top. There's enough fabric for several more quilt tops so I'm busy cutting blocks tonight!

Thomas is my constant companion while I'm working! No matter what I'm doing, he has to be right there in the middle of it!

"New" Old Sewing Basket

2012-01-12T13:34:00.000-07:00

I'm back from a lovely few days in Colorado with my family! While there, my daughter and I spent an afternoon browsing through an antique mall, where I bought myself an early birthday present! This lovely old sewing basket just had to come home with me! I love the rich blue of the old silk and the deep tufting. A perfect spot to show off some old lace!

A couple bags of lace trims resulted in these delicate beauties!

As well as a few more bits of lacy goodness!

We also found this lovely embroidered linen pouch. I suspect it may have held hankies or silk stockings at one time!

A stop at Trader Joes on the way home resulted in a lovely bouquet of sweet pink roses! They look lovely with the hyacinths!

The paperwhites were done blooming, so it was time to uproot them and replace them with fresh bulbs. I always hate to throw these gorgeous bulbs away, but I've never had success getting them to re-bloom in subsequent years. Loved how they looked, so had to take a photo!

Blocks for Valentine's

2012-01-04T17:50:00.000-07:00

The piecing of the Valentine blocks went quickly today!

The only thing I'll change for using the template in the future is to allow a larger seam allowance around the outside ~ another 1/2" at least, as I like a little extra room in case the stitching and embellishment pulls the block in.

I love the soft colors.

Looking forward to adding some silk ribbon embroidery as well as other embroidery to these blocks!

And I suspect there will be a few little birds added as well!

This gives an idea of how the blocks will go together!

Drafting CQ Blocks

2012-01-04T02:02:00.000-07:00

I've had these sweet vintage Valentine images with birds on them for a while and have long wanted to do something with them. When I saw a Vintage Valentine Round Robin on CQI, I signed up right away. But the round robins usually consist of 6 blocks and I only had 5 images, so I decided to do this one on my own in my favorite muted soft colors. I found a fun assortment of other images for the round robin, which I'll put together soon.

As is the case for many people, I struggle with piecing. Usually, I just do a sew and flip method, building from the center out, but it seems that I waste a lot of fabric sometimes. And it takes seemingly forever. Then I'm not always happy with the result, though I've often realized that this is a good excuse to let one's creativity have free reign in order to overcome! But for this project, my silk stash consists of mostly small pieces, and I wanted to make the best use of them in order to have enough for all 5 blocks. So, after rereading Allie's book, perusing Gerry's blog as well as those of Vintage Vogue, Kitty Stevens, Sharon Boggen and others, I decided to design a couple of block patterns to use. I wanted one where the image tilted left and one to the right.

I started off using my Omnigrip square ruler to draw the 6 inch blocks, making sure to allow an extra 1/4" all the way around for seam allowance. I also played with some thumbnail sketches to come up with ideas for piecing.

Then with a ruler and the centers marked, I drew the pieces and made some notes for seam allowance. I also numbered the pieces in the order in which they'll be attached to help keep me organized. You'll notice that they are basically the same block mirrored, with just a couple of minor differences in the angle of some seams.

Here I was trying out the images on the squares.

Because these are square images, I can rotate the blocks and still get the tilt I need. The blocks look wonderfully varied using this technique!

Next I 2 copies each of the drafted blocks and cut patterns from them. I laid each block out as I cut it out so I could check for color placement. I was thrilled at how little waste I had with the silk! Tomorrow, I hope to get the blocks stitched up!

2012 ~ To Do List

2012-01-01T18:10:00.000-07:00

I’m not a big fan of making New Year’s Resolutions. They always seem to be pie-in-the-sky types of things, too often focused on habit breaking or creating, and bound to fail and cause great discouragement.

I love making lists, and even more, crossing things off the list, so a few years ago, I changed my focus and started creating an annual list of goals. It’s more like a list of things to do. Most are practical, do-able things and admittedly, some of them may take more than a single year to accomplish.

On my list are the projects I want to complete or large projects that I want to make significant progress towards. Some of them are just annual things that need done, like maintenance on the car or health issues I want to get on top of. Thankfully, the health list went from fairly long last year to nearly non-existent this year! The car list on the other hand got significantly longer as the odometer just passed the 100,000-mile mark! Time for some heavy-duty maintenance to keep it running for another 100,000 miles! Also on the list are trips I’d like to take, large purchases I’d like to make and a few financial goals as well.

Throughout the year, I refer to the list often to evaluate where I am with the goals. Could I be working harder towards some items? Have circumstances changed making a goal obsolete or impractical? Can I cross something off the list? Do I need to add anything? If I’m not making forward progress on a goal, I know it’s time to re-evaluate that goal and what I need to do to achieve it. It’s a process that works well for me. Last year I was able to cross off over half of my long list and was able to make significant progress on about ½ of the remaining items. I’m pretty happy with that considering the magnitude of the items I crossed off! A few things are getting transferred to this years list and I’ve gone through and marked a few items with a higher priority to keep me on track.

I do have a couple of new "Annual Projects" which I'm starting today. One is to take a photo a day. I tried this somewhat informally a couple years ago and loved having the record of the year on an almost daily basis. I want to get focused back on creating art on a regular basis, and so I'm hoping to produce a watercolor sketch every week. In addition, I'm trying to do a small crazy quilt block a month. My sister and I have also started a monthly Calendar Journal project. We got started on this last month, creating the foundation for the coming year. It's already fun to see our different takes on it! I'll be sharing these annual projects at my new blog; Ivory Blush Roses Annual Project, that you'll see listed on the sidebar.

This year, my Mom shared the following, which I like a lot because it takes the focus off of myself and turns it towards benefitting others instead!

Instead of making resolutions, try doing 12 ACTS OF KINDNESS throughout 2012. You can do them over and over again.

1/ Send a card to a friend for absolutely no reason.

2/ Bake goodies for a neighbor.

3/ Buy coffee for an old friend,

4/ Hold the door open for a stranger.

5/ Compliment a server for their service.

6/ Pick up litter that you see.

7/ Write a note to someone special.

8/ For one day, smile at everyone you pass by.

9/ Let someone go ahead of you in line.

10/ Pass on a memento to a loved one.

11/ Invite a friend or neighbor over for a simple meal.

12/ Call a family member and tell them how much they mean to you.

Whether or not you set resolutions, goals, to-do lists or something completely different, I wish you all the best in achieving them!

Happy New Year!

2011-12-31T20:26:00.000-07:00

Happy New Year!
May the old year go out in peace and the new year enter with joy!

Here is a review of my year in photos.
As always, there was quite a lot of stitching taking place.

The big finish was the cream/white crazy quilt! I only participated in one round robin on an Autumn theme this year. Most of the other projects were fairly small, though there were a number of things that got finished that aren't included in this mosaic.

There were a few trips as well, though not so many as previous years.

The big highlights were the trip to Yosemite and surrounding areas and the trip to South Dakota as well as Rocky Mountain National Park, which is always a favorite destination of mine and Saguaro National Park.

I love taking photos of the flora and fauna as a way to capture the details of a time and place!

This year, one of these photos, the Mesquite in Bloom, second photo down from the upper left corner, was published in Natural History Magazine and has been contracted to publish in another magazine this coming spring!

Each year, I mark a few photos as being the "best" of the year ~ here are the ones I like this year.

The center photo of Palisade State Park in South Dakota was featured on their Facebook promo site!

But there was more than lovely trips and stitching this year that will forever mark 2011 in my memory.

2011 is the year that I had bariatric surgery. I started off weighing a peak of 278 pounds with several weight related health issues. Here is a before shot (when I'd already lost about 35 pounds due to pre-surgery efforts)

And an after shot, taken just a few days ago, down 95+ pounds (every single one of the weight related health issues has been resolved!) and feeling great!!!

2011 is also the year that my Dad passed away. He had Alzheimer's for the past decade and while he remained a gentle and kind man throughout, it was still difficult to watch the man we knew disappear. The whole family is grateful that his passing was relatively easy and peaceful. For me, it is still hard to get used to the idea of a world without my Dad in it. This mosaic captures glimpses of his life. The music clip following is the one we played at his memorial service of him singing the aria, "If With All Your Heart from the Oratorio, "Elijah". It was recorded in 1983. The recording was rather quiet, so you may need to adjust the volume. (once again, please pardon the brief advertisement prior to the music)

We were so happy to celebrate Stephen and Amanda's wedding in September! They chose to celebrate it on what would have been my parent's 56th wedding anniversary! (Stephen also got a promotion to Sergeant this year!)

So, 2011 is filled with memories of all sorts. The first half of the year was difficult, with everything from frozen pipes/flooded apartment to my being extremely ill in March, then the unexpected passing of Amanda's mother, also in March, my surgery in April (good, but still difficult!) and then my Dad's passing in May. The second half of the year has been truly blessed. There have been lovely trips, Stephen and Amanda's wedding, my weight loss and improved health, achieving a couple of professional milestones, namely getting both my IBCLC and RNC-MNN certifications, and now foster son Gary and his recent engagement to Marcy (we are looking forward to a June wedding!) !

So as I try to think of what to end this yearly review with, I can think of nothing better than to use the Psalm that has been the center of my devotions this year. This Psalm has been the rock I leaned on when times were difficult; as a family we recited it at my Dad's passing; and it has been the promise I have looked towards through all things throughout the year. Truly, here at the end of the year I can say, my cup overflows and goodness and mercy have abounded throughout this year!

Psalm 23 (my paraphrase)

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside the still waters.
He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil, for
You are with me.
Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me, in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil.
My cup overflows!
Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life,
And I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever and ever.

* * *

For you shall go out in joy,
and be led forth in peace;
the mountains and the hills before you
shall break forth into singing,
and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.

Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress;
instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle;
and it shall be to the Lord for a memorial,
for an everlasting sign which shall not be cut off.
Isaiah 55:12-13

A Flibberti Gibbet

2011-12-27T16:12:00.000-07:00

Do you remember those words from the song "Maria" in the Sound of Music when the nuns are trying to describe Maria? They call her a flibberti gibbet, a willo' the wisp, meaning someone who flits from thing to thing. That's sort of how I feel right now. With Christmas past, I flit between projects, not getting anything finished, but changing from this to that on a whim! So here are a few of the things I've been working on.

A while back I saw a wonderful flower afghan and I searched and searched for the pattern to no avail. Then, I saw a flower motif and recognized it as being very similar. So I did my best to copy the flower and have started my own flower afghan! I knew I wanted something quiet to go with my white and green decor and settled at last on these white flowers with green centers! I can't decide if I like this side best or the other side, which I'll show at some point in the future.

Then there are the crazy quilted pockets for a pincushion caddy to go over the arm of my chair/sofa. All in shades of green, white and natural linen.

There is the green Louet KidLin (lovely mix of mohair and linen that is so soft and light!) shawl that I've been working on for ages. It's a simple garter stitch so it shouldn't take too long, but it is BORING knitting! I'd sure like to have it finished to use this summer over a nice linen summer dress!

Then I got to playing among my basket of old cutter linens as I've been thinking about making a very simple white pincushion with this piece of old crochet for the sole decoration.

There's just something so delightful in playing around with old linens and lace!

Even when some pieces such as this lovely old dresser scarf are too badly damaged to use as is. It just means I can cut it up to use it for something else! So many possibilities!

I did finish one more project before Christmas, which I couldn't share until now! This is the scarf I knit for my soon to be new daughter-in-law who is engaged to my foster son! We're looking forward to a June wedding!

Meditation for Christmas ~ December 25

2011-12-25T00:01:00.012-07:00

Christmas Day

When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph and the baby lying in a manger. And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them.

Luke 2: 15-18

O Come, All Ye Faithful

O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant,

O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem;

Come and behold Him, born the King of angels;

O come, let us adore Him,

Christ, the Lord!

Sing, choirs of angels, sing in exultation,

O sing, all ye citizens of heaven above!

Glory to God, all glory in the highest’

Yea, Lord, we greet Thee, born this happy morning,

Jesus, to Thee be all glory given;

Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing;

Latin Hymn (18^th Century)

Attributed to John Francis Wade (1711-1786)

May the gift of God's grace
and the gentleness of His peace
bless you this Christmas season.

Merry Christmas!

Meditations for Advent ~ December 24

2011-12-24T00:01:00.013-07:00

Christmas Eve

For to us a child is born,

To us a son is given;

And the government shall be upon his shoulder;

And his name shall be called

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 9:6

And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you; you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

"Glory to God in the highest,

And on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

Luke 2:8-14

Silent Night

Silent night, holy night

All is calm, all is bright

Round yon virgin mother and Child.

Holy Infant so tender and mild,

Sleep in heavenly peace,

Sleep in heavenly peace.

Silent night, holy night,

Shepherds quake at the sight.

Glories stream from heaven afar,

Heavenly hosts sing alleluia;

Christ the Savior is born!

Silent night, holy night,

Son of God, love’s pure light

Radiant beams from Thy holy face,

With the dawn of redeeming grace,

Jesus, Lord ,at Thy birth,

Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth.
Joseph Mohr (1792-1848) Translated by John Freeman Young (1820-1885)

Christmas Tradition ~ Pigs in the Blanket

2011-12-23T00:44:00.001-07:00

The Daily Meditation is below this post!

Pigs in the Blankets or SAUCIJZENBROODJES as they are known in Dutch, have been a Christmas tradition in my family for generations. I can remember as a little girl, coming in from playing outside in the snow with my cousins, to my Grandma's blissfully warm kitchen with the smell of freshly made Pigs in the Blankets permeating the air! What a treat to sit down around the kitchen table with a bit of that wonderful goodness! Years later, I can remember how disappointed I was the first time someone handed me an "American" pig in the blanket and it was just a hot dog wrapped in biscuit dough! For me, nothing beats the real thing! In the recent past, when we used to hold a large Christmas Caroling Party every year, we made a double batch of these and they were always a favorite of everyones and one of the first things to be eaten up!

The recipe has evolved over the years. My Grandmother made them with all pork sausage. As times have changed, the amount of pork sausage has decreased and the amount of lean ground meat has increased and now many family members make them with either lean ground beef or even ground turkey! Each family also seems to change the spices to suit their own preferences. It seems that not too many people make the bread dough anymore either (other than me!) and so using frozen bread or roll dough has made the process simpler for some.

I photographed the making of Pigs in the Blankets this year for posterity and so that the coming generations will still know how to make them! I thought I'd share the recipe with you!

First make the bread dough. My recipe comes from the "More with Less" Cookbook by Doris Janzen Longacre. I've been using it for decades and find it to be a great white bread recipe. Note that you will probably only need three loaves worth of dough, so you can either make a loaf of bread or some rolls in addition to the Pigs in the Blankets!

WHITE BREAD

Oven: 350 degrees F

30 to 35 minutes

Dissolve

2 pkg. dry yeast in

½ c. warm water

1 ½ tsp sugar

Combine in large mixer bowl:

½ c. sugar

1 TBLS salt

1/4 c. lard or shortening

3 c. warm water

yeast mixture

Add:

5 c. flour

Beat with electric mixer 3 minutes.

Stir in by hand:

6 c. flour

Turn onto floured board and knead 5 minutes. Place in greased bowl, turning once, cover and let rise ½ hour. Punch down, turn over and let rise again until double.
While the bread is rising, you can mix the meat!

In a large mixing bowl, combine:

2 lbs. ground beef

1 lb. pork sausage

1 tsp. Salt

½ tsp. Pepper

1 tsp. Cinnamon

1 tsp. Nutmeg

1/4 tsp. Cloves

Mix well using hands to evenly mix spices throughout meat.
Divide bread dough into four balls. Divide each ball into thirds as they are needed.

With hands, roll one third of ball into a long thin roll

and then roll with rolling pin into long flat rectangle about 3" wide and 3/8" thick.

Form meat into a long thin roll about ½" in diameter down center of dough.

Brush edges of dough with water. (I usually use my fingers dipped in a small bowl of water to do this.)

Bring edges of dough together around meat and pinch to seal.

Cut into 1 1/2" to 2" segments

and place seam side down, 1" apart on a cookie sheet with sides.

Cover and let rise for ½ hour in a warm place.

Brush tops with:

1/4 c. milk

Bake at 350 F for 20 minutes. (use the middle rack)

Using a pastry brush, brush drippings from bottom of pan onto tops of Pigs in the Blankets.
Bake another 5 to 10 minutes or until nicely browned.

Note: if they don’t seem to brown in this amount of time, increase temp to 375 degrees F.

Remove to plates. Serve warm.
This usually makes about 2 1/2 pans full for me, enough for a family plus a few leftovers to warm up later!
An alternate version:

Use:

3 – 4 loaves “Rhodes” frozen bread, thawed and raised as on label.

Eliminate Nutmeg (but keep other spices) and instead add:

1/4 tsp. Ground ginger

½ tsp. Poultry seasoning

Happy Baking! I'd love to know what family traditions you have that have been passed down through the generations!

Meditations for Advent ~ December 23

2011-12-23T00:01:00.001-07:00

In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all went to be registered, each to his own town. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. And while they were the, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

Luke 2:1-7

Meditation for Christmas ~ Music from the Messiah sung by my Dad

2011-12-22T00:01:00.004-07:00

As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet,
The voice of one crying in the wilderness

“Prepare the way of the Lord, Make his paths straight. Every valley shall be filled, And every mountain and hill shall be made low,And the crooked shall become straight, And the rough places shall become level ways, And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.”

Luke 3: 4-6

It is my deepest pleasure to be able to share this music clip of my Dad, Myron N. Plooster, singing "Every Valley Shall be Exalted" from the Messiah in 1988 at the height of his singing career. Take a few minutes, click on the "play" arrow on the media bar above (please pardon the brief ad that plays in front of the music) and listen to the sound of a his voice lifted in praise to God as you enjoy the images of the mountains and valleys of Colorado, which he loved. The photo at the top of this post was taken in the Canadian Rockies on a backpacking trip he took, probably within a year or two of the recording.

(being new to posting clips of music, I inadvertently got off schedule for the meditations, so this posted a couple of days early instead of on the 22nd as it was intended)

Meditations for Advent ~ December 21

2011-12-21T00:01:00.004-07:00

And you, child [John the Baptist], will be called the prophet of the Most High;

For you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,
To give knowledge of salvation to his people
In the forgiveness of their sins,
Because of the tender mercy of our God,
Whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
To guide our feet into the way of peace.
Luke 1:76-79

Luke 1:76-79

Meditations for Advent ~ December 20

2011-12-20T00:01:00.011-07:00

And Mary said,

“My soul magnifies the Lord,

and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.
For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed
For he who is mighty has done great things for me,
And holy is his name.
And his mercy is for those who fear him
From generation to generation.
He has shown strength with his arm;
He has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;
He has brought down the mighty from their thrones
And exalted those of humble estate;
He has filled the hungry with good things,
And the rich he has sent away empty.
He has helped hi servant Israel,
In remembrance of his mercy,
As he spoke to our father,
To Abraham and to his offspring forever.”

Luke 1:46-55

Meditations for Advent ~ December 19

2011-12-19T00:01:00.012-07:00

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her,

“Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”

And the angel answered her,

“the Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy – the Son of God. And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.”

And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

Luke 1: 26-38

Framed at Last!

2011-12-18T11:52:00.000-07:00

Gentle Blue Dreams is framed at last! Stitching was completed in May 2010 and since then I've been searching for a nice frame for it. At first I tried a 12" square frame. It was too tight to the stitching and diminished it somehow. Then, during a trip to IKEA a few weeks ago, I found these lovely simple 20" square frames. The glass sits well away from the stitching giving all those dimensional stitches and appliques room to breath! And having the mat makes the stitching the focus rather than the frame, which was what happened with the 12" frame. I do notice that the camera makes the mat look much more yellow than it is in real life. I'll watch it in different light and if it continues to look yellow, I may change it out for a purer white or maybe even a very pale blue. Regardless, I'm so happy to have this completed and hanging on the wall!

Meditations for Advent ~ December 18

2011-12-18T00:01:00.005-07:00

Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!

Serve the Lord with gladness!

Come into his presence with singing!

Know that the Lord, he is God!

It is he who made us, and we are his;

We are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving,

And his courts with praise!

Give thanks to him; bless his name!

For the Lord is good;

His steadfast love endures forever,

And his faithfulness to all generations.

Psalm 100

Ding Dong Merrily on High

Ding dong merrily on high

In heav’n the bells are ringing.

Ding dong verily the sky

Is riv’n with angels singing.

Gloria, hosanna in excelsis!

Ding dong carol all the bells

Ring out the Christmas story.

Ding dong sound the good nowells

God’s Son has come in glory.

Praise Him! People far and near

And join the angels’ singing.

Ding dong everywhere we hear

The Christmas bells a’ ringing.

Hear them ring this happy morn

Our God a gift has given.

Ding dong Jesus Christ is born

A precious Child from heaven.

Meditations for Advent ~ December 17

2011-12-17T00:01:00.005-07:00

Lift up your heads, O gates!

And lift them, O ancient doors,

That the King of glory may come in.

Who is this King of glory?

The Lord of hosts,

He is the King of glory!

Psalm 24: 9, 10

Meditations for Advent ~ December 16

2011-12-16T02:22:00.000-07:00

Glory to God in the highest,

and on earth

PEACE

among those with whom he is pleased!

Luke 2:14

Calendar Cover

2011-12-15T14:33:00.000-07:00

The calendar cover is complete!

Some handmade bright green binding turned out to be the perfect finishing touch!

I had lots of this lovely rosey material, which was perfect for the interior!

One of my labels attached to the inside back pocket.

The inside top pocket will be perfect for tucking away the pages no longer needed.

A look at the finished cover!
This was a happy little project to work on! Tutorial coming soon!

Meditations for Advent ~ December 15

2011-12-15T01:28:00.000-07:00

The people who walked in darkness
Have seen a great light;

Those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness,

On them has light shined.

Isaiah 9:2

Meditations for Advent ~ December 14

2011-12-14T00:01:00.005-07:00

In this the love of God was made manifest among us,

that God sent his only Son into the world,

so that we might live through him.

I John 4:9

Meditations for Advent ~ December 13

2011-12-13T00:01:00.002-07:00

Arise, shine, for your light has come,

And the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.

Isaiah 60:1

Meditations for Advent ~ December 12

2011-12-12T00:01:00.001-07:00

Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you the, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!

Matthew 7; 7-11

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Ephesians 2: 8,9

A Little Stitching Underway

2011-12-11T14:57:00.000-07:00

All year long, I carry a small calendar with me, to keep me on track with my funky schedule. This year, I couldn't find one that I liked. Either the pictures weren't to my taste or the squares for keeping track of things were too small. Then I found these inexpensive little pocket calendars at Wal-Mart. The price was right, but the cover rather bland and uninspiring. After seeing the wallets here, I was inspired to make a crazy quilted cover for it.

A few of my favorite fabrics in pink and green were picked out and simply pieced to allow room for some lovely seams. The embroidery is all pearl cotton, no beads or sequins added as this will reside in my bag and get hard use throughout the coming year.

The back of the calendar.

The front of the calendar. I love the seam with the flower wheels!

Now, I just need to finish it with some green binding and pockets to hold the calendar in place!

Meditations for Advent ~ December 11

2011-12-11T00:01:00.026-07:00

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God; all things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made….And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth; we have beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father.
John 1:1-3, 14

Angels We Have Heard On High

Angels we have heard on high,

Sweetly singing o'er the plain;

And the mountains in reply

Echoing their joyous strains.

Gloria in excelsis Deo!

Gloria in excelcis Deo!

Shepherds, why this jubilee?

Why your joyous strains prolong?

Say what may the tidings be;

Which inspired your heavenly song?

Come to Bethlehem and see

Him, whose birth the angels sing;

Come, adore on bended knee,

Christ the Lord, the newborn King.

See Him in a manger laid,

Whom the choirs of angels praise;

Mary, Joseph, lend your aid,

While our hearts in love we raise.

James Chadwick (1913-1882)

Meditations for Advent ~ December 10

2011-12-10T00:01:00.003-07:00

For as the earth brings froth its sprouts,

and as a garden causes what is sown in it to sprout up,

so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise

to sprout up before all the nations.

Isaiah 61:11

Meditations for Advent ~ December 9

2011-12-09T00:01:00.003-07:00

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.
And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Philippians 2:5-11

Meditations for Advent ~ December 8

2011-12-08T00:01:00.007-07:00

Behold, the Lord God comes with might,
and his arm rules for him;
behold, his reward is with him,
and his recompense before him.

He will tend his flock like a shepherd;
he will gather the lambs in his arms;
he will carry them in his bosom,
and gently lead those that are with young.
Isaiah 40:10,11

Winter Tidbits

2011-12-07T18:10:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, when it gets to be this time of year, and I hear about all the family activities taking place, and see all the photos of families together, I get a little blue over not being near to my own kids and my Mom, though I am blessed to have my sister only an hour's drive away. So, when that starts happening, I know I need to do a little extra for myself to help chase the blues away. So instead of eating dinner in front of the computer as I too often do, I clear off a space on the table (which at the moment is taken over by Christmas Cards, present wrapping and the like, and set myself a lovely place for a spot of dinner. It's time to turn on some Christmas music and make a tasty wintry meal.

A spicy southwestern soup with toasted tortilla strips, some homemade cranberry orange bread, a cup of steaming spicy tea and a sweet mandarin orange. Yum! The soup is so easy ~ the recipe a gift from a dear friend in Michigan, which I tweaked just a little.

Southwestern Soup
- 1 can Tomato soup
- 1 can Cheddar Cheese soup
- 1 can Rotel Green Chiles and Tomatoes (I use the original as I like it a bit spicy but not super hot! If you don't like 'hot', make sure to use the mild version!)
- 1 can skim milk
Heat, but do not boil.
Cut a Flour Tortilla into 1/2" wide strips, toast lightly, break into shorter pieces
Dish soup into bowls, top with toasted tortilla strips! Enjoy!
Makes about 4 moderate servings

When we had fresh snow a couple days ago, I found three of these lovely prints in the snow from the collared doves that visit the feeder! I have really wondered why they made them, as there is no sign that anything was chasing them, or that there was anything on the snow that they were after. Lovely to have Dove Snow Angels!

Meditations for Advent ~ December 7

2011-12-07T00:01:00.002-07:00

And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord,

In the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.

And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth.

And he shall be their peace.

Micah 5:4, 5a

Meditations for Advent ~ December 6

2011-12-06T00:01:00.004-07:00

And again Isaiah says,

“The root of Jesse will come,

even he who arises to rule the Gentiles;

in him will the Gentiles hope.”

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

Romans 15:12, 13

Meditations for Advent ~ December 5

2011-12-05T00:01:00.002-07:00

Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."
John 8:12

Meditations for Advent ~ December 4

2011-12-04T00:01:00.001-07:00

But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins.”

Matthew 1:20, 21

Come Thou Long Expected Jesus

Come , Thou long expected Jesus,

Born to set Thy people free;

From our fears and sins release us;

Let us find our rest in Thee.

Israel’s strength and consolation,

Hope of all the earth Thou art;

Dear desire of every nation,

Joy of every longing heart.

Born Thy people to deliver,

Born a child and yet a King,

Born to reign in us forever,

Now Thy gracious kingdom bring.

By Thine own eternal spirit

Rule in all our hearts alone;

By Think all sufficient merit,

Raise us to Thy glorious throne.

Charles Wesley (1707-1788)

Meditations for Advent ~ December 3

2011-12-03T00:01:00.001-07:00

Come, let us walk in the light of the Lord.
Isaiah 2:5b

... for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true)
Ephesians 5: 8, 9

Meditations for Advent ~ December 2

2011-12-02T00:01:00.007-07:00

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son and shall call his name Immanuel [which means God with us].

Isaiah 7:14

Meditations for Advent ~ December 1

2011-12-01T00:01:00.000-07:00

The Lord your God is in your midst,

a mighty one who will save;

he will rejoice over you with gladness;

he will quiet you by his love;

he will exult over you with loud singing.

Zephaniah 3:17

Autumn Walks

2011-11-30T00:31:00.000-07:00

My Mom has been here visiting for the past week. We've taken many lovely autumn walks as my sister and I have shared some of our favorite spots with her! I always love visiting Montezuma Well, especially the path down to the outlet. It's a beautiful, peaceful oasis in the midst of a dry desert landscape that never fails to move me. When we went this week, there was a new sign that said "Warning! Falling Prickly Pear". This was the view when I looked up to see what they were talking about! Sure enough, there is a precariously perched prickly pear cactus hanging over the edge of the rocks above, but what really got our attention was the magnificence of the centuries old Arizona Sycamore tree clothed in autumn glory!

We continued our walk at Montezuma Castle. Once again the Arizona Sycamore trees were in full glory. The russet tones of the leaves glowed against the clear blue sky!

The white bark of the Sycamore is always stunning, but never more so than right now!

Another day, my Mom and I took a drive north to Lee's Ferry on the Colorado River. Here we enjoyed a walk around the Lonely Dell Ranch. The old orchard trees still carry an assortment of green to golden leaves and the ground underneath is a tapestry of golden tones. Just beautiful.

Our drive continued on to the Vermillion Cliffs, where we stopped to watch the California Condors. They were soaring too high to get a picture, though they were easily spotted with binoculars. The ornithologist was there, tracking 15 of them! It's always amazing to see them!

Our last outing before my Mom headed home was to Oak Creek Canyon and Sedona, where we spent a good part of the afternoon at Red Rock Crossing State Park. We loved the wide leaf covered path through the woods.

Oak Creek runs just over the right berm in this photo. This small tributary is really an irrigation ditch that supplies farms downstream, but it has to be one of the loveliest irrigation ditches I've seen!

There were grand arching Sycamore trees here too. We stopped and watched the birds along the way. My Mom is a master birder and with her along on these walks, I was able to learn to identify several birds that were new to me ~ Bridled Titmice, Swenson's Thrushes, and Bewick's Wren among others.

The views at Red Rock Crossing are stunning!

The golden leaves of this large cottonwood near the parking area just glowed in the afternoon light! This has been a gorgeous lingering autumn here in Arizona. Winter is due to arrive in full force in Flagstaff in a couple of days, so I'm extra glad to have had this lovely week of golden days!

A Lovely Thanksgiving!

2011-11-25T09:22:00.000-07:00

We had a lovely Thanksgiving Day at my sister's! She has two young cats, Felix and Charlie, who have been a joy to watch! They really made us smile when we spotted them sitting at the end of the kid's table as if waiting patiently for their dinner!

My sister set a festive table in her lovely home!

And she made these delightful place cards!

Sea Dreams

2011-11-20T15:09:00.002-07:00

Do you remember this piece? I started this in August 2008 and "completed" it in October that same year. Originally, I had intended to mount it around a piece of foam core and used some Moire Satin to frame it, but it never seemed quite right somehow and so it languished, unfinished in a box until this week.

I changed the moire satin to a textured rayon/linen mix that fit the piece better. Again, I tried mounting it on a piece of foam core, but it just didn't look right. So I started looking at frames and found this one at IKEA that turned out to be the perfect size with the glass removed. Another project to cross off my list!

Here it is, hanging in place in the bathroom.

One last look at it in unfiltered daylight, showing it's truer colors.

FYI, when I created this piece, I did a tutorial on how it was pieced. The first try ended up being too dark and somehow the layout of colors wasn't quite right, so that piece ended up being turned into the Sea Dreams Pincushions (and the CD Pincushion Tutorial) that have gotten much attention since then. The links to the tutorials are in the side bar.

Published!

2011-11-19T21:00:00.043-07:00

A few weeks ago, I received this magazine in the mail, seemingly out of the blue. I couldn't figure out if someone had sent me a gift subscription or if it was a marketing thing, or what. I was quite busy with work and studying for my RNC exam at the time and so set the magazine aside without really looking at it.

Then a few days ago as I was straightening things up, I found the magazine again and at last remembered that the magazine's art director had contacted me a while back about using one of my photos in an article on the Sonoran Desert, which I had given permission for.

What fun to have one of my photographs published and credited in print!

Knitting for a New Nephew!

2011-11-18T21:01:00.001-07:00

I have a new little great nephew and will get to meet him for the first time at Thanksgiving! Had to knit up a little gift for him! This little hat and booties is from "Natural Knits for Babies and Moms" by Louisa Harding. Quick and fun to stitch!

With so many big projects out of the way, there is time to have a little fun! I signed up to swap two crazy quilted Christmas crackers and got the covers pieced! It's enjoyable and a bit challenging to look over the recipients preferences and come up with something lovely for them!

This is the second one. I love the colors in this and think I may have to try a block based on this for myself!

I started this crazy quilted tree skirt for my little faux tree last year, but didn't get any further than stitching the seams. I hope to cover this with graceful curlicue branches and holly leaves!

Finished!

2011-11-09T16:34:00.002-07:00

At long last! When I started this back in March 2008, inspired by a small post card size piece by BaumCat, I only envisioned doing one 12" block. It didn't take long for that initial vision to expand into 4 blocks for a wall hanging. And now, here it is, complete! It has been such a joy to work on these past 3 1/2 years!

Each block contains some repeating elements. Here is a list of them.
~ A patch filled with buttonhole stitch leaves
~ A butterfly and a bird
~ A trellis of SRE roses
~ A piece of "sampler" lace crocheted by my Aunt Lois
~ A piece of tatting (except for block 4, which somehow missed out!)
~ A piece of cotton/rayon eyelet lace from my adopted Grandmother Florence Scheerer's petticoat
~ A piece of cotton Cluny type lace, either vintage or new
~ A patch of button flowers with embroidered rayon stems and leaves, inspired by the ones created by Moline.
~ A bone bead Bird or Bunny

There are also two needle lace medallions (one looks more like crochet) that came from my Uncle Jake's great Aunt, who was a missionary to Persia in the late 1800's early 1900's. The tatted medallion was made by my Aunt Lois.

I have so many favorite parts on this piece that I wanted to share some of them with you. This is the center of the original block. I loved the robin "silkie" that I picked up at the local scrapbook store. When I pieced the fabrics, I just used what I had and thus ended up with an assortment of mostly cotton fabrics but a couple pieces of silk as well. The seams were stitched in vintage pearl cottons as well as new and some lovely silk pearl as well. On each block, I tried to stitch each seam with different stitches and tried hard not to repeat stitches within each block. For the most part I succeeded!

One of my very favorite elements is the patch of buttonhole stitch leaves. Up until this point, I had never stitched without a pre-printed pattern, so to just stitch randomly as I went, was a real challenge and learning experience for me!

Another favorite element is this patch of a bird on a branch of apple blossoms. This was the only block whose silkie didn't have a bird on it, so I felt I needed to add a special one! I used Gerry's method of doing the embroidery on felt and than appliqueing it on after the rest of the embroidery was complete.

Each block contains stitches that were new to me, things I'd never really tried before. I loved the way this needle woven daisy turned out! I also tatted the clover lace, after seeing a small piece somewhere and writing down what I thought the pattern was.

There were lots of new stitches in this corner, from the button stitch wheel flowers, to the spiderweb roses done in embroidery thread, to the cast on petals of the chamomile blossoms and the granitos stitch used for the wheat berries.

The very last completed element was this spray of Lily of the Valley. I was stumped as to what to do in this space and when I found this vintage motif, knew it would work beautifully in a mix of embroidery and SRE.

Each of the other blocks features a bone bird bead, but I really wanted to include one bunny bead, almost a signature element for me. At first, I tried putting it in the center of the quilt, but it was not at home there, but when I placed it under the fern in this corner, it was perfect!

Feather stitching is one of my very favorite stitches and I love the finishing touch that it added around the seam binding! I would have loved to include just a touch of traditional quilting in this piece, but couldn't figure out where. Now that I look at it, I am thinking I may do about 3 rows of hand quilting to mimic the scallops in the lace. But first I'll live with it for a few weeks and see if it still seems like a good idea down the road!

For the finishing of the quilt, I used the techniques from Allison Aller's Crazy Quilting. The tiny mother of pearl buttons tack the backing to the flannel interlining to keep everything from shifting.

I placed a tube at the top in order to hang it. While I'm using a 3/8" dowel at the moment, I hope to change it out to a slightly larger piece of lath. The tube is large enough to accommodate nearly any size rod that might be used. I also used two tube pieces rather than one large one so that it can be hung from the center as well as from each end, depending on the needs of where it hangs. Again, I tried to use all things from my stash, including the backing fabric and the dowel!

So here it is, in all it's glory, hanging between the paintings on my living room wall.

Sneak Peek! (Almost finished!)

2011-11-08T15:00:00.003-07:00

The binding is on! At first, I hadn't planned on adding the binding, but when I got to the finishing stage, realized that without a binding, the edges just didn't seem complete. The binding helps add a finishing touch to it. I changed the button on the taupe velvet patch. This one has a better scale for the location.

As the finishing stages progressed, I realized that a few elements needed added and/or changed. I added the bone bird bead to this block.

For the center of the quilt, I played with lots of options, but ended up moving this lovely mother of pearl button from it's prior location in the upper right corner down to the center. It just shines at this location where it was a bit lost before.

In the lower left, I added another tiny mother of pearl button with a few beads and below the fern, I added one of my favorite bone bunny beads!

While I loved the seam binding border, it needed something a bit more.

A bit of feather stitching was just the thing! I'll finish stitching the remaining three sides tonight. Tomorrow, I hope to post a photo of the finished quilt hanging on the wall!

MaMere's Quilt

2011-11-07T17:05:00.000-07:00

Another project finished! This one has been on my list for... too many decades! When my kids were small, their great grandmother on their Dad's side, knowing I liked to quilt, sent us this quilt top for me to finish. She had pieced it, none to carefully (slightly different sized patches, incomplete seams, puckers, etc), with patches cut from old clothes and aprons. There is quite a mix of colors and textures in there, which I always found a bit jarring, and I'm sure that's what made it languish at the bottom of the project bin for so long.

Many years ago, I did get so far as to thrift an old sheet for the back, added batting and tied it with yarn, but I never put the binding on it until yesterday. As I looked over my list of things to finish, I realized that this was one that had languished for far too long and wouldn't take too long to complete. So I dug out the seam binding I'd bought for it years ago, and got busy on it.

Pinning and machine sewing the binding on took very little time. Hand stitching the binding on the back side took the remainder of the day. I also had to fix a number of seams where the patches were coming undone from one another. I picked up a bit more yarn today to add some more ties at each intersection as it seems a bit skimpy in that department. Knowing what I do these days about quilts and comforters, I'd have used something colorful instead of plain old white for the backing. But it's cozy and warm and I hope that one of the kids will enjoy having it!

Great Grandma's Afghan

2011-11-05T21:38:00.004-07:00

When I attended the family reunion in South Dakota last month, my Aunt Mary brought me a bag and said, "I thought that you should have this." Now I love gifts like that, when someone has something they think I will love ~ but this turned out to be doubly special! She went on to tell me that this afghan was crocheted by my Great Grandmother and that she thought that I was the one who would appreciate it and take the time to fix it! Having that family connection to a piece of beautiful handwork is something I cherish!

There are a few things I've noticed as I've examined the afghan. All the diagonal rows are matching... except in spots where she must have run out of a particular color, and then there is a subtle change. I love that she did that! I also found that many of the blocks were sewn together with a different color yarn. It makes me think that this was a true, use up your leftovers, afghan! And yet it all looks wonderful!

It needs a few repairs where seams have come undone. Those should be fairly easy to fix.

Other spots will be a little more difficult where the stitching itself has come undone. In this spot, the yarn is already there to do the repair, it's just a matter of finagling it together.

There are also a few spots where the yarn has simply worn out, mostly in the black areas. Or is it really black? Turns out what at first appears to be an all black background is really a mix of black, dark brown and maybe some very dark green! I have some dark navy blue wool yarn that is a perfect match of weight and density ~ I'm thinking it might work to make the repairs, right in keeping with using what you have, just like my G. Grandma seems to have done when she made this! I might take a look first though, and see if I can find some nice old black wool sock yarn of the right density. What a fun project to work on. I love being able to take something from my ancestors and fix it up so that those in the future can also enjoy it!

We've had our first real snow of the season! Nothing compared to what much of the rest of the country has received in the past couple of weeks, but it does mean that autumn is over here and winter has arrived!

I must have a set of pictures like this for the start of every winter that I've been in Flagstaff. It's hard to believe that it's already been nearly 5 years! I do love the look of the ponderosa pines covered in fresh snow and the deep blue skies peeking out between the breaking clouds!

Inside, there has been a bit of rearranging as I have acquired a sleeper sofa. Now I have a lovely spot for people to stay, which is much nicer than an air mattress on the floor. Mollie Kitty has already picked out her new favorite spot on the top of one of the back cushions! And Thomas can sit curled up beside me instead of in my lap when I'm busy stitching!

Since I had to move some things around in the study as well, this little shelf came out to the living room. A perfect place for the bunnies and a few other critters to show off!

The cubby hole shelf moved back into the study. I loved having it in the living room, but it did tend to look pretty messy when I was in the middle of a project. The inspiration boards are filled with lovely bits and pieces including quotes and bits of scripture to keep me focused! The stack of scrapbooking stuff on the right needs another go through as the bins are filled to overflowing!

The bookshelves continue to overflow as well. Every now and then I go through and purge them of things I'll never read again, one once in a while, I box up things I want to keep, but don't necessarily want out all the time. What that means is that I have at least this many books in storage! Yikes! I love having the big work table back up in here. So nice to have a spot to spread out a project and work on it and leave the main living spaces neat and clean!

And that project on the table? Today I finished basting the flannel interlining to the Cream/White Crazy Quilt! Hopefully, in the next post or two, I'll have it all finished to show you! Now to figure out what I'm going to use to bind it and also where I'm going to hang it!

One last note! I hadn't posted lately because I was busy studying again! On Friday, I passed the Maternal Newborn Certification exam, so now I have an advanced certification in my specialty area of nursing! I also received the results of the IBCLC exam at long last and am pleased to announce that I passed it as well! So my new credentials are listed as follows: Lisa Boni, RNC IBCLC!

Perfect Autumn Days!

2011-10-22T17:30:00.000-07:00

With the changing of the seasons, the decor on top of the china cabinet has changed! White pumpkins from the farm stand in California. Oak leaves from the oak trees outside my apartment. An Autumn themed oil painting and a fall leaves watercolor by me.

For whimsey, a beeswax mouse on a small ironstone platter of seed corn and oak leaves!

The oak trees outside my apartment are glowing gold! It fills the apartment with wonderful reflected light!

I love the mix of color on some of the branches.

Especially when paired with deep brown acorns!

I don't know what it is about acorns that I love so much. I remember picking up pocketfuls as a child. I still do! There are so many this year!

Autumn in South Dakota & Nebraska

2011-10-21T17:30:00.000-07:00

Our last night in SD, we stopped in the town of Winner, SD. We had a difficult time finding a hotel room (and were lucky to grab a room when they received a cancelation) as we had forgotten that it was the opening weekend of Pheasant Season! Entering the restaurant, we had a good giggle at the sea of orange hats! (pardon the blurry picture!)

Everywhere in town, there were signs welcoming the hunters to the "Rooster Rush". We even had to try some "Ring Neck Ale" in honor of it!

After a night in Winner, we woke to gloomy, grey, drippy skies. The moisture brought out the colors in the landscape and we loved the russet and ochre colors of the grasslands punctuated by the myriad shades of greens left in the trees! In some places the green had lightened to the point where it almost looked like spring rather than autumn!

In the dry western prairies, trees only grow where there is water, so while the broad hill tops are grassland, every little gully seems to have trees.

We loved all these little gullies of color! I wish the pictures did them justice.

Eventually, we turned south to the LaCreek National Wildlife Refuge for a little bit of birdwatching. South of the refuge, the sunflower fields were filled with enormous flocks of redwing blackbirds and vesper sparrows. Such fun to watch them!

Being on the prairie makes me want to get out my oil paints again, as I love the barns and grain elevators. This one is in the small town of Merriman, Nebraska.

These lovely buttes are east of the town of Crawford, Nebraska, where my Uncle Jake and Aunt Olive used to have a grocery store, way back when! We were so busy looking at the buttes, that we missed the turn into town. We'll have to search out the store location (which was later purchased by another cousin of my Dads's) on a different trip.

South of Scottsbluff, Nebraska, we turned onto highway 88 and saw these lovely buttes, known as Hogback Ridge, in the setting sun. Gorgeous!

Palisade State Park, South Dakota

2011-10-20T17:00:00.000-07:00

Our Family Reunion/60th Anniversary Celebration was held at Palisade State Park in South Dakota, north of Sioux Falls. I had never been there, but among the early photos of my Dad, there is one marked Palisades on the back, so I was looking forward to seeing the area in addition to spending time with all the relatives! Just after sunrise one morning, I took a walk along Split Rock Creek. It was gorgeous! This photo is taken from the bridge shown below.

Red granite walls line the creek. It has a lovely sheen and reflective quality compared to all the red sandstone that I'm so used to seeing in the southwest!

The path was lovely too. Mossy verges, canopies of trees and a well packed path made walking very pleasant. In spots, a little agility was needed where there were rock steps to negotiate!

While most of the landscape had gone to shades of brown, gold, rust and green, there was an occasional spot of color! This lone blue flower (chicory, I believe) really stood out!

The moss made beautiful patterns on the fallen trees.

I loved the still pools of water along the creek.

Everywhere I went, I noticed the wonderful moss.

In one spot, I found a bright clump of mushrooms!

And a little further along, a whole tree trunk covered in a carpet of lush moss!

I walked as far along the left side of the creek as I could. So lovely!

The return path climbed up between the rocks, where I found this tree limb grabbing hold of the rock wall as it grew over it!

Most of the oak trees here had already lost their leaves, revealing their wonderful shapes.

This small creek flows into Split Rock Creek. All the water here moved along so peacefully and gently. It was a delightful early morning walk!

The reunion was fabulous and as always, such a pleasure to see all the cousins and Aunts and Uncles again!

The Road Less Traveled

2011-10-13T02:37:00.000-07:00

On my way to Colorado, I usually turn north at Kayenta and head up the well traveled and winding road through Monument Valley and Valley of the Gods. There is a straighter alternate route that heads east of Kayenta and then turns north to Bluff, Utah, which I've been wanting to try for some time. Today was the day. Just a couple of miles east of Kayenta, this spire of ancient volcanic core rises up out of a sandy sage brush flat. Such a contrast to the red petrified sand dune hills in the distance.

Just past the core, the road rises to the top of a small hill. Turning and looking back at the core provides a vastly different perspective! Such a spiky landscape, both in the rock formations and in the yucca dotting the landscape here. My usual route takes me between the distant ridges of rock and around the right-most spire of rock in this photo before heading north to Monument Valley.

After the turn north towards Bluff, I looked off to the west and saw this distant view of Monument Valley. While this route doesn't have quite the impact that driving through Monument Valley does, it has it's own Colorado Plateau beauty. The vistas here are so amazingly vast and the sky seems unbelievably endless. It's also incredibly isolated. This truly is the road less traveled ~ in over 30 miles, I only passed one car! At one time, Kayenta was considered the most remote post office in the continental United States. Driving east of Kayenta on these isolated roads, one can understand why!

Today's journey ends with a brief stop in Colorado. Tomorrow the road leads on towards Nebraska and South Dakota with my Mom and daughter! How nice it will be to have traveling companions for a change!

First Snow

2011-10-06T23:35:00.000-07:00

Ready or not, here comes the snow! The San Francisco Peaks above Flagstaff received their first real dusting of snow last night. It sure is beautiful.

I'd love to see autumn linger a bit longer though. I've been loving the changing colors around town and the sunny but crisp days that are perfect for walking. Hopefully after tonights hard freeze, we'll get back to more Indian Summer weather for a while!

Swatches

2011-10-04T23:00:00.000-07:00

I've been looking up patterns for ripple afghans and making swatches! There is enough yarn to make a decent sized afghan and I'd really like for this to be a project that gets finished this autumn/winter season.

The first ripple swatch I tried is from Crochet Cabana. It crocheted up quickly, and was quite easy, but I don't like the holes occurring in the valleys. If they also occurred at the peaks, I'd probably be happier with it. As it is, I thought it comes out looking a bit messy.

The second swatch was made by following instructions from Attic 24. It crochets up very quickly and has a nice soft feel to it. It makes efficient use of the yarn as well.

The third swatch is a pretty traditional ripple afghan stitch from Caron. It is my favorite as far as looks go. And I love the texture of the ribs. But the swatch feels awfully stiff, and it takes much more time to crochet all those rows and it uses more yarn. If I did choose this one, I'd use a larger needle size, just to soften the feel of it and use 6 stitches on the slopes rather than 4. Using half double crochet stitches instead of a single crochet might also help it go faster. Guess I need to make another swatch!

Which would you choose?

I'm really leaning towards the Attic 24 ripple as I think it would make the most use of the yarn I have and the overall feel of it would be cozier.

p.s. I'm still working on finishing the Cream/White Crazy Quilt. There was a lot of hand stitching to sew the lace down and to tack the flannel batting to the front. It's taking me much longer than I thought it would!

Sketches from the Trip

2011-10-02T23:00:00.000-07:00

While on my trip, I managed to do three small sketches. This one of Tuolumne Meadows is my favorite of the three.

At Half Dome, I sat and sketched as the light was fading. I was distracted watching the California Ground Squirrels foraging in front of me! As I was leaving, a bear meandered through the meadow off to my left! I wish I had thought to sketch him!

While waiting for the tram tour to begin, I sketched these sequoia along the road. I ran out of time to finish, so this one isn't quite as complete as I would have liked. Regardless, I love being able to capture my impressions of a place.

Autumn in the Air

2011-10-01T23:00:00.000-07:00

Autumn is in the air no matter where one looks right now. From the charming farm stand I stopped at in California...

to the forest floor in the Sierra, where the cones seem to be dropping from the trees. I loved this vignette of old cones vs new ones.

For the first time since I've lived in Flagstaff, the oak trees here are loaded with ripening acorns. There are no pristine leaves here this autumn; they got pretty beat up in the massive hailstorm we had a few weeks ago. It won't affect them as they change to beautiful shades of golden ochre in the coming weeks though!

The woman at the farm stand told me I "had" to look at the eggs they'd just gotten because they were so pretty. They were! And since I was going to buy eggs when I got home anyway, I bought a dozen. So pretty, one almost hates to crack them open!

Some white pumpkins came home with me too! Love that there are still bits of vine attached!

This lovely soft wool from my mother's weaving stash is begging to made into an afghan. There is lots of it and I think a ripple afghan is in the works!

Mono Lake

2011-09-30T23:00:00.000-07:00

When my travel plans went awry, I wasn't sure a visit to Mono Lake would still happen. I'm so glad it did! Views of the lake from afar were lovely, though nothing extraordinary. It wasn't until walking down the path at South Tufa through the rabbitbrush and greasewood and coming out upon this scene, that the true beauty of Mono Lake became apparent.

The Tufa towers were created when fresh water flowing underground, rose up through the salt water of Mono Lake, at which point the interaction of salt and fresh water caused the minerals to precipitate out leaving these towers behind. All of these were created underwater at a time when the lake level was much higher than it is now.

Birds love Mono Lake and in particular, the California Gulls, who also nest on one of the islands in the lake.

There were large flocks of grackles too, iridescent in the morning sun.

Mono Lake has a small but unique eco-system. No fish live in the lake as it is too salty; 2 1/2 times as salty as the ocean! Instead the eco-system is based on just a handful of things. The algae, which the alkali flies and brine shrimp live on and the birds which eat the alkali flies and brine shrimp. The black band along the beach is not sand, but rather masses of the alkali flies. They don't swarm at humans or bite at all. In places, they mound up as in the above photo.

It was so fun to watch the gulls eating. They put their head down low and ran at the water, following the shoreline with beaks open, catching alkali flies and brine shrimp. The alkali flies would part right in front of the gull as though the gull were a vacuum cleaner sucking them up. The grackles would do the same thing! Their beaks would come up full!

I was lucky to have the area to myself for nearly an hour. The grand expanse of peace and quiet, but for the birds and lapping of the water, was a healing balm after having been sick for two days.

Looking out across the water, there were hundreds of ducks and grebes all across the lake. I can imagine what it must be like when thousands of birds stop here during migration!

The beauty continued on the walk back to the car. The rabbit brush was nearly done blooming, but the greasewood was covered with these pink blossoms!

Just as I left, the grackles took flight.

The Adventure Continues!

2011-09-29T23:00:00.000-07:00

On the morning of day three, I woke feeling much better (though still a bit off) after a good night's sleep. I drove up over Tioga Pass into Yosemite National Park with the sunrise. At nearly 10,000 feet high, the early morning was chilly. I was glad I had packed sweaters and a jacket! What a change from two days before in Death Valley! Here, there was frost on the ground and mist rising from the lakes. The autumn colors were starting to glow as you can see in this photo of Lembert Dome.

As always, I love the details of a place as well as the big picture. How delightful to find a whole bank of these wild lupine still blooming! Each leaf and petal was covered in frosty droplets.

The view at Tenaya Lake was stunning. I had the beach to myself and enjoyed a leisurely walk across it. So beautifully peaceful at this early hour of the morning!

In various parts of the southwest, one comes across a type of sandstone known as slick rock. This hillside of granite made me think of that, though the geology of it is completely different. Amazing to see these broad smooth mountainsides of rock either way!

What is it about ponds that draws our attention to them? I find myself wanting to stop at every little bit of water I see. At this lovely spot, I watched enormous blue dragonflies performing aerial acrobatics as hunted for their breakfast. On the far side, there were lily pads. All around was birdsong!

At Tuolumne Meadows, I sat and listened to a Beldings Ground Squirrel. His call was clear and piping, echoing across the meadow like a ringing bell. It was so musical, that at first I thought it was a bird.

Eventually I made it down to the valley floor. The views, as one can imagine from all the magnificent photos taken of it, don't begin to express the immensity and grandiosity of the formations here. I took lots of photos, that look just like all those that everyone takes. But it wasn't until late in the day as the sun was setting, that I finally took a photo that captured the light that in my mind, I saw all day. It's no wonder that so many artists have been drawn to paint masterpieces here.

In the evening, I drove back towards Lee Vining and reached Olmstead Point just as the last light of the sunset was hitting the peaks. A beautiful view to end the day with!

The next morning, I needed to head towards home. With a tummy still not quite normal, I didn't want to rush, and somehow, the idea of driving into the sun all day across the desert was more than I could handle. So I decided to take a more lingering way home and travel down the western side of the Sierra. I started the day with a look at Mono Lake, which I'll post about tomorrow. Then I headed back into Yosemite. As I headed toward the southern end of the park, I was surprised at the Tunnel View overlook, to suddenly see the view of the valley that has become so famous, so of course, I had to get out with a million other tourists and take a shot of the view. Gorgeous! Even if everyone else who visits Yosemite takes the exact same picture!

I was really looking forward to seeing the big trees again, so a stop at Mariposa Grove was must. Somehow, time had gotten away from me on this drive (too many distractions!) and so it was late afternoon already by the time I arrived. Taking the "tram" tour allowed me to see all of the grove. I love this shot of the little cabin back in the woods framed by the sequoia. It helps to put them in proper scale!

The evening sun coming through the trees was glorious. Every now and then, something comes along that fills one with a sort of primal awe. Something so primal, so powerful, so... amazing. I feel that way about watching an ocean when the waves are at their peak, about watching a powerful fire rip through a forest, watching, listening and feeling an intense thunder and lightning storm, or watching a new life being born. I feel that way about the Sequoia trees too. The Irish gentleman who sat next to me on the tram tour put it perfectly. We waited for him after one of our stops and when he got back on at last, his friends ribbed him about wanting to stay in the forest. He stood up, flung his arms out and looking up into the tall trees cried, "I love the trees! I love the sequoia! I... Am A Tree Hugger!!!"

Road Trip Day 2 or Where Things go Awry

2011-09-28T22:34:00.001-07:00

On day two of my road trip, I was up with the dawn and spent a lovely hour watching the sun come up and the jack rabbits playing in the field adjacent to my hotel room. The morning view of the high Sierra peaks was amazing! This shot was taken just across the street from my hotel.

As I was leaving, I noticed this fun bear carved in stone in front of the hotel! He made me smile!

I drove up toward the Whitney Portal, where the trailheads leave to climb the peaks. This photo of Mt. Whitney was taken on the way up. I never made it to the portal. Just after taking this photo, I was beset by horrible diarrhea and vomiting. Ugh! After re-routing to a campground with a bathroom (and returning several times), I finally felt a bit better and decided to head up the road towards my next hotel.

Rather than stopping to see the Manzanar Historic Site and visiting Devils Postpile National Monument and Lake Mono as planned, I realized that I needed to see a Dr instead. I spent the afternoon in the emergency department at the hospital in Bishop, California. I was so glad to be there and they took such great care of me, that missing the sights was fine by me! I was terribly afraid that the c-diff I'd had back in March had returned, so was grateful and relieved to find that it hadn't. More likely, I just picked up a bug or had a case of food poisoning. Imagine being happy about that! I truly was!

By early evening, I was on the road again, feeling much better (and well medicated!) so I drove on towards my hotel. Lake Crowley in the evening light was just lovely. I got glimpses along the way of more amazing ranges of mountain peaks, but by then the light was too low for photos. Just as dusk gave way to night, I made it to my hotel in Lee Vining. How relieved I was to finally settle in for the night!

A Little Road Trip!

2011-09-26T07:13:00.000-07:00

It has been a while since I've been able to get away on a little road trip to see a new place! So when I saw a newspaper article on the Eastern Sierra last week, just before a long stretch of days off, I knew I had to go! Heading west from Flagstaff, I traveled through Kingman, Arizona, up to Las Vegas and then west towards Pahrump. These colorful cliffs just west of Las Vegas are in the Wild Horse and Burro conservation area.

From Pahrump, I took the road to Shoshone and into Death Valley. These ruins are left from the Ashford Mill. They made a nice frame for the colorful mountain in the distance! It was hot ~ about 92 degrees at this location. Not much grows here, mostly just some creosote bush.

As the road dropped in elevation, the temperatures kept rising. By the time I got to the Lowest Point in the U.S., it was 101 degrees F!

The salt flats were amazing. Taking the first step out onto them, I felt like I should have ice skates on as the impression was like stepping out onto an ice rink. But the traction was great. On the path where many had walked, the salt was worn smooth. Off to the sides of the path, the salt was rugged. I'd have loved to explore a bit more, but it was just too darn hot!

One of the plants I love in Death Valley is this Desert Holly. It reflects the light in almost a prismatic way.

The colors of the mountains and hills around Death Valley are ever changing. These yellow ochre hills just glowed with light! It was even hotter here at 106 degrees F! It's the end of September ~ I'm sure glad I didn't try this trip in the midst of summer!

When I was in Elementary School, we watched a number of films about Death Valley, which all seemed to focus on the nocturnal wildlife of the dunes ~ particularly the sidewinder rattlesnakes and kangaroo rats. How surprised I was to find that the dunes exist only in fairly small areas, though they do rise to a good height! Since I was there in the middle of the day, I didn't get to see any wildlife! I'd have loved to see a kangaroo rat, but I'll pass on the rattlesnakes! There is so much to see and do here, that I wish I'd had more time.

As the first day of my road trip came to an end, I headed into the town of Lone Pine, which sits at the eastern base of the Sierra. The low hills in front are the Alabama Hills. In back, the Sierra rise vertically nearly 10,000 feet from the valley floor! The peak underneath the butterfly shaped cloud on the right is Mount Whitney, the tallest peak in the contiguous U.S. at 14, 495 feet high! Beyond the peaks to the west is Sequoia National Park, where unfortunately, you can't see the peaks without backpacking in a good ways. How wonderful to see these glorious peaks at last!

Downsizing!

2011-09-18T09:43:00.000-07:00

Several of you have asked how things are going after my surgery back in April and I'm pleased to say that they are going very well! I'm down over 75 lbs from where I was in January! I have so much more energy and I move so much faster than I used to! This weekend, I took half a day to go through my closet, trying every single item on. I was able to get rid of 4 large trash bags full of clothes that are way too big! How nice to get everything all sorted out and downsize in such a positive way! Everything that is left in the closet fits for now! (Provided you don't count things like suitcases and pillows, which are also stored here! )

See all those empty hanger to the right? I'm wondering how they all fit in the closet with clothes on them! Now I've got things sorted by color, which makes it easy to find things that go together. In another 20 lbs or so, I'll have to do this again as many of these shirts are just borderline too big. How nice to have this problem rather than the old one of things getting too tight!

Last week, we had some tremendous thunderstorms move through. One of them left us with lots of hail, up to 4 inches deep in some places in town! The leaves on the trees are looking mighty beat up and much thinner than they had been! I took this picture a couple of hours after the storm when I got home from work. I can only imagine what it must have looked like right after!

Lap Afghan Finished!

2011-09-11T18:13:00.000-07:00

One of my goals this year was to complete a number of unfinished projects. I'm making good headway and am so happy to have another large project completed! I started this lap afghan last year from some wool from my mother's weaving stash. I'm a slow knitter, so it's doubly satisfying to see a large project like this get finished!

The lap afghan measures 34" x 44". Just the right size to curl up with in a chair while reading (or stitching)!

Trying to plan this project was the hardest part as I knew I had a limited amount of yarn to work with and wanted to make the most of it. I ended up using the yarn calculator on Ravelry to help plan. For the most part, it worked fairly well. I didn't end up with the square afghan I was hoping for, but the size still works out great, so I'm happy with it!

With hindsight, I'd have planned the borders a bit differently so they came out the same width on all sides. But I started off with a narrow border on the leading edge and so I finished with a narrow one on the top edge as well (though it's two rows short of the leading edge as I ran out of yarn!), while both sides are a bit wider. I ended up with just a foot or two extra of yarn! I still need to block it, but that's a job for tomorrow!