Where Did Summer Go???

Woodland Sunflowers

Yesterday I noticed that the woodland sunflowers had started to bloom under the evergreens and the chives were sporting their dainty white flowers.  Oh my gosh...these are sure signs that summer is coming to an end!

Garlic Chives

Wasn't is just yesterday that the peas were popping up in the garden?

Sugar Snap Peas

Audrey takes a plunge

A week long trip to Lake Vermilion with family in June was fun with fishing and swimming plus a side trip to the Soudan mine.

Nana cools her heels as Katie takes the plunge!

Standing: My brother Nick, Niece Julie, Melanie and Mom Karen.

On the 4th of July, we headed out east for my niece Melanie's high school graduation party.  It was a 100 degree day but a wonderful gathering of family and friends. 

Lubec, Maine as viewed from Campobello Island, Canada.

Next we headed for Lubec Maine with my niece Lisa for a week long piano intensive and some serious seafood! 

And here are the likely victims

Served up at the Water Street Tavern and Inn where we stayed

Lubec is known for it's summer music programs (SummerKeys) and for being the most eastern point of the United States.  It's a charming small town and the place we stayed once was a cat food factory.  While everyone else was melting in 100 degree heat we were enjoying the 70's and cool ocean breezes.

Lisa and I performing

After a week of piano practice (and delicious seafood) Lisa and I performed our  duets before the other students and instructors. I truly can't believe I was play the piano and smiling!

Lisa and I gift shopping

Of course there was the usual shopping and touring.  We visited many lighthouses and Roosevelt's summer home at Campobello on the Bay of Fundy.

On our way back, we stopped in Intercourse, PA to visit the Old Country Store Museum where they had a lovely quilt exhibit.  Using Skype on my phone, I was able to share the exhibit with a friend in Wisconsin.....oh the amazing things we can do with technology!

This was a delicious Pennsylvania Dutch salad at the Cork Factory in Lancaster.  I love pickled eggs and beets.  Yum!

That was just the first half of summer.  More later.
I hope you are enjoying the last beautiful days
as much as I am.

Nana

The Quilt That Started It All

This is my entry in The Bloggers' Quilt Festival. My second son was just a few months old when I innocently picked up this magazine at the drugstore!  Who knew what a monster was about to emerge.

I knew how to sew and always wanted to make a quilt, but most of the patterns looked overwhelming and besides, I didn't know a soul who quilted. There were no quiltshops around and J. C. Penney was the only source of fabric in town.

This small project appealed to me immediately!  I had plenty of gingham in my stash.  First I had to enlarge the pattern.  The instructions on applique were one paragraph suggesting that I sew on the seam allowance around each piece before turning it under.  Many dogs and cats bit the dust as I taught myself to applique.

By the time I got the top together, I discovered Quilters' Newsletter Magazine and from their catalog I ordered a disappearing chalk to mark it.
I worked late into the night marking the quilt only to discover the next morning the quilting lines had disappeared due to the humidity.  My husband laughed and said I'd never finish it!  Now I was really determined and I marked it again with a pencil.  The batting was the old unbonded variety that made the quilt soft and cuddly.

Four c-clamps and some wood I found in the garage provided a frame.  I wasn't looking forward to the quilting part but when I sat down and started stitching, something happened at that frame. It was a sense of peace and serenity that I had never experienced before.  Quilting grounded me in the moment, connected me to the past and handwork has been my refuge ever since.

I wish you that same sense of peace, serentity and connection to the past in whatever you do!

Nana

16 Years At The Lake

We enjoyed the daffodils and tulips for a long time this spring. They welcomed everyone at the front of our home.

The Forget-me-nots bloomed in the back yard garden.  Most were blue, but I found one pink in the bunch.

My friend, Mrs. Schraml gave me this Columbine many years ago. The most precious flowers in my garden are the ones that come from my friends and family. 

This is the garden in the back.  Mostly full of creeping Charley and a lot of sedum.

My husband (despite the fact that we have a huge lake in our backyard) always wanted a pond.  So we had our neighbor (who also has a landscaping business, Creative Landscaping)
design a pond, patio with a fire pit and surround them with a beautiful garden
First, I dug up all my plants and put them into pots.

Then there was a whole lot of digging going on.  They tore out my garden, saving many of the plants.  These were the most amazing workers. They did an excellent job!

They brought in rocks and lovely black dirt (we live in Blue Earth County on top of clay).

One week later, on Mother's Day we had a pond with fish and the grand-daughters named them.    

They put in steps to a patio with a fire pit.

And by Wednesday of the following week it was finished.  Here is the layout without the landscaping.

Most of the plants are originally from the garden.  The sedum was tucked between the rocks.  It's breathtaking!

Here Mrs. Schraml's  Columbine sits next to some fieldstone.

And here are some of the Forget-me-nots.

And this is where I'm going to sit and enjoy it all...on the screened porch.

Today we celebrate 16 years from the day we moved into the garage where we lived while the house was built.  That's a story for another post!

This is how the backyard looked then.  The deck was quite high and now it's at ground level.










We are so grateful to have such a beautiful spot on this earth!  I hope we can enjoy it for many years to come!

Nana

Spring Break

We're having an early spring here.  The weather has been warm and the trees are beginning to glow in that fresh lime green.

A few wildflowers have escaped from the woods and sprung up in the garden.  This is Hepatica.

These are Dutchman's Breeches. 

In the sewing room, two graduation quilts are cut and ready to go.

These are the fabrics I purchased to finish some of my redwork projects.

Here is the project laid out on the design wall.  The redwork pattern is from Aunt Martha's.

The finished project....after another trip to the quilt shop for the border and binding.  Now I have to decide how to quilt it.....hand or machine?

The grand-daughters came for spring break and besides cooking and baking, we did some sewing.  They picked out fabrics and stitched them to a piece of muslin to make little purses.  This is Audrey stitching away.

This is Katie's first time at the sewing machine. They both did a good job choosing fabric.

Ta-da!  The finished project.  They took them to church on Easter Sunday.


Things have been very busy here.  I'm caught up with my UFO's and started two new quilts, but the garden is beckoning.  Lettuce is popping up in the pots on the porch and the tomatoes are growing on the window sill.  So many things to do and so little time.

Here's the lettuce.  The chicken wire is to keep the squirrels from digging it up.



Well, I hope you are having a delightful spring.  I think I'm ready for a nap!

Nana

BACK

One of many gorgeous sunsets.

We're back from a vacation in Cozumel, Mexico.
We snorkeled, walked and enjoyed many meals at our favorite restaurant, del Museo or the Museum where we had delicious food and a breezy view.

This is my favorite breakfast, motulenos: two fried eggs over a crisp tortilla, topped with ham, cheese, peas, a delicious red sauce and a side of fried bananas. Absolute heaven!  Is your mouth watering yet?

We snorkeled and it was fun when Jim fed the fish and I got to hang out with them. 

I hung out on the beach, stitched some redwork and read a few good books.

Now it's back to reality.  I've hung the spring quilts.  This one is "Basket of Blooms" that I designed for the 1999 American Patchwork & Quilting Calendar.  My friend, Darlene shared some of her vintage fabric with me for the project.

The center of this quilt is from a crib quilt pattern by "Little Quilts".  I added the dogtooth border and the appliqued vine.  I like to put it up for Valentine's Day.

My goal for 2012 was to finish one UFO a month and sadly, I'm already behind.  Still quilting my Christmas quilt. 

I am working on a series of Civil War Blocks by Barbara Brackman which I'm starting a year late and I'm a bit behind on that, too.  Well, stay tuned...the laundry is done and I'm ready to go.  I just might get something finished.






Wishing you many beautiful sunsets and lots of finished projects!

Nana

MERRY CHRISTMAS

 

If,

as Herod,

we fill our lives

with things, and again

with things;If we consider

 ourselves so unimportant that

we must fill every moment of our

 lives with action, When will we have the

time to make the long, slow journey across

the desert as did the Magi? Or sit and watch

the stars as did the shepherds? Or brood over the

coming of the child as did Mary? For each one of us,

there is a desert to travel.

A star to discover.

And a being within

ourselves to bring

to life.

                                                                           Author  Unknown

Make of yourself a light.~ Buddha

 

From our home to yours,

Wishing you a very

Merry Christmas.

Nana