Wednesday, June 29, 2016

Green Mountain Goodness

40th Anniversary, Ruby Jubilee Vermont Quilt Festival 2016

Best of Show - Christine Wickert - Shellabration
I try so hard to remember to photograph the card, but I missed this - here is what it said:

"Inspired by an antique quilt in Kaffe Fassett's "Museum Quilts".  I was particularly taken with the mirror imaging of the fabrics in the diamond blocks and the applique' strips separating the blocks.   Hand Quilted.

Christine's work is always lovely and so is she.  Congratulations.
This was my favorite quilt so fresh and fun!  Pineapple of my Life.
The card said:  This quilt was primarily made during the snowstorms of 2015.  Every block tells the viewer something about me:  where I lived, my love of sewing, hippos, foods and peas.

Halloween block.  What an incredible use of low volume prints.
I was incredibly honored to receive a Blue Ribbon and Best Hand Quilting.   A life goal!  (sorry, cel phone photo)
Can I share that one of my goals is to receive a Purple Ribbon of Exception Merit?  You need a combined average of 98 points from 3 judges.  I've missed it by 1 point, not once but twice.   Still on the goal list.

I spotted these 2 women discussing it and have the opportunity to chat with them.
My blog buddy Wendy's (Constant Quilter) potholder quilt -
Here are the others that I really like and had an opportunity to photo.
 Literally brought me to tears....
I missed the card again - this is two sided quilt - and was a delight to study front and back.
Hooray for applique!
My friend and roommate won a Yellow Ribbon - first time entering a big show - Congrats Norma.
I've come home very inspired.....tired, but inspired.

I'll share the antique quilts soon.
xo


Thursday, June 23, 2016

Summer Sewing Stuff

Welcome, Welcome, Welcome....  Just time for a quick recap of the week.....(from John Oliver's HBO show)

My Center Block on my medallion quilt.  I have all the stems, birds and berries sewn down - yay!!
Last weekend Andrew and Sig came up from NJ and the boys worked on a project together.

You can really sense the brain power here.
 Love to see those power tools in use.
They turned this
Into this - 2 sets of Corn Hole!  wee what fun
I made 16 corn filled bags with duck cloth.  Andrew had 2 themes:  Green & Yellow for John Deer; and Blue and Orange for the Miami Dolphins.
What a great action shot!  The tables still need their paint, but are definitely playable. 
Coco was confused as always.... Silly Pup.
Kelly of Pinkadot sent me this adorable handmade bird pin.
She also sent this fabulous Cowboy themed Toile' - I only need about 6 more yards of this!  Thank you, Kelly.
Pat, from Midland Texas sent me this wonderful tea towel.  When I was there in March I tried to find one.  How sweet of her to think of me and send it.  Thank you Pat.
I am making a Rainbow Heart Quilt for a victim of the Pulse Tragedy.    You can find information here on the Orlando Modern Quilt Guild site if you are interested.  They are taking blocks, quilts, supplies, etc.
And now this......an evening picnic of Chipotle at the beach last night.  Summer zooms by so fast, I'm determined to slow it down a bit.
I love the late day shadows on the sand.  It was low tide so it was fun to watch the kids looking for gifts from the sea.

I'm off to the Vermont Quilt Festival Saturday morning.  If you see me walking around say hello!
xo

Thursday, June 16, 2016

Alaska!

What a Week!  Thank you all for the Bon Voyage and Birthday messages and comments.  Alaska was just as I had hoped.

Mainly I loved the majesty of its natural unspoiled beauty.
Here is an IG collage of our funny start.  A flight on a Beechcraft prop plane to Toronto to catch our flight to Vancouver. 

No services at all - in fact the bathroom is right behind Hanna's seat, lol!  I did have nice natural stitching light as we flew by Niagara Falls.
Here is a few photos of our floating home:  The Volendam.
After a day at sea, I had a fabulous 54th Birthday Aboard.  It was the first of 2 Gala nights.
Most people hate the the funny photo opps....not us!   We had to buy coats on the ship as it was a lot colder than we expected.
I was very excited to see my first glacier: Mendenhall in Juneau.
It is very hard to capture the size and scope of the glacier.  It is about 12 miles long.
We also went Whale watching in Juneau.  If you have ever gone whale watching you know there is more "watching" then "seeing".

Here is a baby humpback trying to breach.
We watched a Mama and baby for a long time.  While the Mama was below feeding, the baby was fooling around and kept trying to breach.  

Mama came back and showed the little one just how to do it!  The ranger on board said this was very rare and he was thrilled to see it.
I won't bore with a million that look the same, but it really was a life's dream to see this in wild.
I also was thrilled when we got a peek at her flukes.
In Skagway we boarded a narrow gauge train for a ride through the White Pass & Yukon.
How fun!  This is family camping in this old rail car.  They came out and waved.    I must get dropped off and picked up.
I have to thank my friend, Shaula, in Clyde, Tx for recommending we not miss this incredible ride.  The views were stunning.
 Here we are at the top of the pass - our train looks like a toy.
Our excursion stopped at Liarsville - I can't recommend it, but we had some laughs.
Here is an IG at the Canadian/US border and Liarsville.
Back in town we met these 2 huge dogs.  A Tibetan Mastiff and a Leonberger.   That is a full grown man standing behind Dervish....
Most photographed building in Skagway.  It is covered with driftwood.
It rained the day we visited Glacier Bay National Park.  We saw 3 different glaciers.  It was rainy, cold, rainy and did I mention the all day rain?
The boats in the foreground give you an idea of how big that glacier actually is.  It is huge.
 A panoramic view from our stateroom balcony.
We saw lots of birds and some eagles, but no whales.  We heard other people did.  Isn't that always the way?

We celebrated Hanna's 23rd Birthday aboard on June 6th.  What a fabulous double birthday week we had.
We graduated from a Grey Goose Mixology Class learning recipes for 4 different Vodka cocktails.
We took 2 of our drinks to Bingo where I finally hit it big.  I won $260. on very last bingo game of the cruise (a coverall on the yellow card).
Last stop
We took a Cultural Tour in Ketchikan which was fascinating.   I loved seeing the Totem poles and learning more about them.
 Did you know that each one tells a story?
 they are such great examples of regional folk art.
As we sailed slowly through the inside passage, we saw many hauntingly beautiful views like this one.
Back in Vancouver we spent the afternoon in Stanley Park.
 Roses just love that climate.
 This rose had about a dozen different shades on one bush.
The air was scented with roses.
Before leaving for our trip I told Hanna I hoped to find a nice Inuit Dolly and I sure did.
I've named her Bird Song.  Isn't her fur costume cute?  At some point I'll make her a special doll quilt.
 Yay!  I also pressed 2 pennies.
I stitched almost all the stems and berries on this trip and will share progress next week for sure!
If you are still with me, thanks for letting me share my trip.

I went very far from home and found what I was looking for:
Wonder.
xo