"Take A Picture..."

"... it will last longer!!"

We all know that playground taunt when one is stared at. But today I have a very real need for that advice! I'm making another wedding quilt! Spencer and Deborah are getting married on November 12th!

I asked them for their color choices and received an answer that "I can live with"... BROWN & GREEN! Oh my, how I love that color combination. It may be hard to part with this lovely when I'm finished.

My problem comes in the fact that when I want to make a scrappy-looking quilt, you know the kind that looks totally random, I'm not able to just approach it in a random way. What would happen if two block of the same color got positioned together? No, NO, NO... that will never do for an OCD girl like me.

So out comes my design wall (read- a large flannel sheet tacked up on the wall) and hours of careful placement and arrangement. But when you are talking about 336 pieces of fabric do you know how easily that design wall plan ends up in a muddled mess... I speak from experience here... it happens with too much regularity to suit me. So after having a minor anxiety moment I devised a plan. Not a new plan, of course, I've used it before with great success.

TAKE A PICTURE... IT WILL LAST LONGER...

I took photos of the design wall, from left to right of the first half of the quilt (yes, it is king sized), then uploaded them to my computer. Luckily I have a laptop, so I brought it in, set it up on the end of the ironing board and referred to it for careful RE-placement of my design. (Notice that my design wall has to turn a corner... that's what happens when you think sew big!)



I take one row at a time and stack the pieces on my ironing board, still arranged in my carefully placed blocks. I chain piece the three sub-segments together.  This is an offset block it goes together in two steps. When I get to the second step where I sew segments A & B together I pin their companion segment C to them to avoid more confusion!



Now you may wonder why I'm writing all of this out so carefully. Yes, I love to share good ideas... but mostly it is because next time I get into that minor anxiety moment and I'm thinking "I sure wish I could remember how I solved this problem last time" I will have the answer right here on my blog.

C & K Wedding Album

Last week I got an email from one of the companies where I've published my books. They offered me a 40% off discount if I'd get my act together and finished an existing book. Well... how can a girl pass up a deal like that?

I started working on Camille and Kevin's wedding album a couple of months ago when we finally got the photos they had taken (deep sigh!). This was the impetus I needed to get serious. This is one of my favorite pages.



And here is another one...



If you'd like to look at the whole album click here.

(I had fun with more textures from Kim Klassen!  I talked about her when I was working on this photo of Camille for the album.)

Jessica's Poppy

Several years ago I was at Jessica's house and saw the MOST BEAUTIFUL poppies ever! They were tall, huge and PINK! I knew I needed some of those.



Funny thing about poppies, they come with their own little pepper-shaker-seed-dispenser! So Jess kindly gave me a couple. I brought them home, put them in my kitchen drawer and then forgot about the until this spring.



Mine aren't tall, their stems are all disfigured like an osteoarthritic old woman but when you look at their happy little faces you see that they are trying to gladden just one corner of my garden. Maybe next year I need to find a sunnier place for these beautiful flowers.

Healing & Bugs

Healing is one of the most wonderful things that we have been blessed with. We know that there are so many different kinds of healing: physical, emotional, mental, social... I've been the recipient of so much healing but the one I want to address today is the physical healing.

Three months ago today I had my hands *surgered* (carpel tunnel release). I couldn't have guessed how that would effect me. I didn't realize how much I used my hands until they were out of commission!

Yesterday, I had my first *I'm finally getting back to normal* day. It was wonderful! I made baby Chloe a raggy-row quilt (and didn't take a pix... what's up with that?). Those raggy quilts take lots and lots and LOTS of clipping. I'd given up making them because my hand would go numb after about 2 rows of clipping. I was smart (how's that for a change?) and took two days to clip this one but never did my hands hurt or get numb. I CAN LIKE THIS!

But as if that wasn't enough THEN I went outside to do some yard work. I picked peaches, did a little weeding AND mowed the lawn! My hands never hurt once! What a wonderful blessing. I thank my Heavenly Father daily for my recovery.

What does all of this have to do with bugs? Umm... nothing!

But I love this feisty little fellow and his long shadow!

Beautiful Camille

I'm working on Camille and Kevin's wedding album presently! I've had lots of fun using some wonderful templates from Simply Sarah. (Sadly, she doesn't have the link active any longer for these.)

But today, TODAY! I decided to try my hand at some new textures from Kim Klassen (my niece, Cindy, turned me on to her blog and fabulous textures!!)   Today is TT (Texture Tuesday) and since I worked like a happy-dog in the yard (my hands DON'T HURT... my back DOESN'T HURT!) I decided I could use a little creative time playing with one of my favorite shots from Camille's wedding.  PLUS- Rita, over at CoffeeShop has out a new action that is fabulous!



What do you think? I just love it. I can see that I have a whole new creative outlet goin' on here!


TEXTURES- kk_dream, kk_autumnBurst (These are free textures when you are signed up for her Texture Lovin' List)

ACTION- CoffeeShop 2 Minute Miracle (Rita is so wonderfully generous as well. You can go to her blog to get the 2 minute miracle and read her tutorial!)

Mutant Grape Tomatoes!

Sing it with me!

♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸♥ ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪ Teenaged-Mutant-Ninja-Tomatoes ♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸♥ ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪

... that is what comes to my mind every time I go pick my grape tomatoes. Are you all familiar with the yummy, small, sweet grape tomato? I thought I was too, until this year! But this... THIS is what I found the first time I went out to pick...  (and frankly these are smaller this time since the weather has cooled off a little).



Now I ask you... doesn't this look like a small Roma instead?

They are tasty, but not as tasty as the small ones. Do you see this heaped bowl?



I've picked this amount, or more, several times this summer (let's all hear it for the water walls!). You know that means I've been on several *Drive-by Fruitings*. I even used them to paid-in-kind when I got Beatrix serviced last. (OK, so I paid the bill and gave Elisha some tomatoes... let's not get technical!)

I'd be interested to know if anyone else ended up with any mutant fruit or vegetables this summer.

Pink Clouds

Tonight the phone rang at 7:13pm and shortly thereafter my timer went off reminding me that I needed to move the sprinkler. I walked out the front door and this is what greeted me.



"Bobbie... run outside right now and look at the big pink cloud!" Can you believe this? She was in a room without a west facing window, the door closed, and on a CORDED phone! She couldn't go look. Me? I would have said, "Hang on! I gotta go see this!"

Is it just me? Or am I strange? (Don't answer that!)

I will never get tired of beautiful sunsets, beautiful clouds, beautiful... anything! And I will run rabbit-fast to see it!

Golden Sunset

One of my favorite things is a that rich, golden light that we sometimes get at sunset! It turns the whole world that same vibrant colour!

These are the mountains just north of my house.



But here is the western sky...



I am so lucky that my office window looks to the west.

Double Rainbow

Fancy Meeting You Here!

August brings thunderstorms, hot weather and $2 Tuesdays at Thanksgiving Point. I went for the first time several years ago with my friend Diane but it didn't take long before this became another Joanie and DeLoris tradition. (If you want to read about prior escapades click on the DeLoris tag.)

I'm always pleasantly surprised at how different the gardens are from year to year. This year the theme seemed to be lots of hot orange and hot pink! Always a hot combination for me (see the last photo in the post). But this beauty is what stole my heart this trip. I've never seen a more beautiful yellow rose! Proflowers says the meaning of yellow roses is joy and friendship; which is very appropriate since this describes my time with DeLoris.



But here's the funny part... we'd just parked the car when up pulls Jessica and the kids! "I was just thinking we might see Grammie here today!" They needed to park but we both met up at the front desk. They were ready to be off and discovering while DeLoris and I waited for a golf cart to become available. I walked out with the family to get this sweet shot of my fam.



Roxie- "Mom, can I roll down the hill?"
Jess- "Sure."
Grammie- "Christian can you move to one side so I can get a photo?" At which point the previously uninterested roller (Christian) joined his sister for the photo op! bwahahahahaha.



DeLoris and I had to wait about 15 minutes for a cart to become available. But soon we too were off and exploring. We'd been cruising for about half an hour when we worked our way up to the top of the Acropolis when I hear, "Grammie, Grammie!" There, toiling bravely in the heat, is my little family from Lewis Zoo.



I grabbed the camera to get that shot and when I turned around who do I see? Heather and her parents! We had a little visit way up on top and then were off in search of some weary travelers!



Let me tell you! They were happy to see the Grammie with her golf cart! What you can't see is Roxie and DeLoris hiding on the front seat. Jess sat on the back and dragged the stroller... they were pooped and flushed!  We ferried them past the waterfalls and up the steep hill one has to climb to get back to the parking lot.



After sweet goodbyes from my family DeLoris and I took another turn around the gardens. This time around I saw these beautiful purple flowers. I thought they might be ranuculus but upon further investigation I don't think they are. Does anyone know what this beautiful plant is called?  (Sheri tells me these are LISIANTHUS!)



It was a lovely day made more wonderful by meeting friends and family unexpectedly. And you know what? There is still one more Tuesday in August!