grandma time

We just returned home from a trip to South and North Carolina.  In South Carolina, we were met by Brita, Ben, Ian, Jack and Leo at a VRBO rental on Folly Beach, just south of Charleston.  It was a great 4 days there!  We played mostly indoors because it was windy and cooler than normal.  But the boys had playtime at the Pirate Playground every day, if you are in that area with kids, be sure to visit there!  We also walked on the beach every day, found new places to eat out, and went for a driving tour of old Charleston.  I really want to go back there when the weather is nicer, there is far more beautiful historic area that I want to explore.

That's me with Jack(3) on the left, Leo (10 months) and Ian (5). 
They all 3 have birthdays coming up in March.

Here's a great shot of happy little Leo when he was swinging at the playground!

yes, I'm still here!

I know, I've been a bad blogger here!

But I do write the blog for Bear Patch, and that has been more of a priority lately!

So, I've neglected my little frayed edge account.

Today, Christmas Eve, I have some minutes available to update here!

First, I love this picture of my son-in-law, Ben, with Jack (left) and Ian (right).  They were visiting the Atlantic Ocean shoreline of North Carolina.  Baby Leo must have been napping.  It makes me so happy to see their happy faces!

Next, here's a big beautiful barn quilt hanging on my house.

Specially made by Jarry and Mary, my brother and sister-in-law.

They make quite a creative team!  I love it!

I got a new rug for my living room, after an unfortunate incident with some red wine on the old one.  I was really actually glad that happened, because I needed to replace it, anyway!

This turns out to be a good replacement.

And I've been sneaking in a little sewing, too, but not so very much.  I did make this contemporary Christmas wallhanging, called Shining Star, from a pattern by Sandy Gervais.  It's part of our Christmas display at Bear Patch for right now.

And here's my only other Christmas sewing, a runner called Crazy Christmas Trees.  It's one of the Cut Loose Press patterns and uses a special ruler called the Spiderweb.  I did a little tutorial on it last fall for a retreat group, and there were a lot of Crazy Christmas trees made that day!

I have been slowly working on some English paper piecing.  This is a block from Sue Daley's Round We Go block-of-the-month.  We're supposed to be making 4 each month, but I think I have made 8 now when I should have completed 16!  Oh well, I might be making a smaller version!  This block is a reminder of my recent trip to Kauai, with turtles, seaweed, bubbles and sunshine!

 This stack of fabric came home with me from Houston Quilt Market in October.  It's called barkcloth, a heavier fabric than our usual quilting cottons.  It's like the old curtains my grandma had, and usually had some large floral motifs.  Most of these prints are on a small to medium scale.  This fabric comes from a company called Ella Blue, and if you click on the link you can read a story about the designer and what inspired her.  I saw a quilt made from these with just a scrappy assortment.  Looking at them like this makes me realize I need to add in some lighter colors.

the kids are here!

It's that glorious time of year when the days are extra long and the world is a riot of growing things.  It's hard to imagine that life could get much better than that, but it did!  The kids are here!

Brita, Ben and the 3 little boys flew from Charlotte, NC, for a nice long stay.

They said it was the best flight they have ever made with kids, so that's a great way to start the vacation!  If you have ever traveled much with little people, you know that it takes a whole different kind of wrangling to get to your destination!

It's been about 2 months since we saw baby Leo, and what a change!  He is almost identical to his 2 older brothers at the same age.  There is so much more of him to love and snuggle!

He interacts now, has developed a little smiley face, holds his own head up, likes to be upright so he can learn how it feels to support his weight on his feet, and can be happy spending some moments on his playmat alone.  He's just amazing!  I imagine he's thinking "oh boy, my grandpa and grandma are back, I remember their arms and scent from my days as a baby!"

 Ian and Jack are growing into such wonderful little boys, and they LOVE Superheroes!

They have these great little shirts with capes on the back, so they totally have awesome super powers!

We have a deep window well that often is home to some frogs, 

and they were looking to see if any needed to be rescued.  

Yesterday our pastor performed a baptism service for Leo, so that makes 3 for 3 that he has baptized!

The big brothers and 2 of their best Minnesota friends had ringside seats, and they even poured the water into the basin!  It was fun for them to help and they stood so nice and still during the important bits! 

We arrived at church just as a severe thunderstorm hit, so actually we were all baptized by the heavens above on our dash into the church!

We love having the Burkes visit, and I'm sure we will have many memorable moments while they are here.  Sometimes we get photos, but just as often they are images that pop up in our conversation weeks or months later that are vivid reminders of our family life together.  We are so blessed!

this is all about the grandkids

I spent the last 2 weeks of March in Charlotte, North Carolina, (actually Ballantyne, a southern suburb) at the home of my daughter and son-in-law, Brita and Ben.

But primarily, it's the home of my 3 grandsons, Ian (5), Jack (3) and Leo (1 month).

It is such a busy, lively, happy house!  There's a lot going on within those 4 walls, and it takes a whole lot of energy just to keep up!  I got to do so many fun things with the little boys!  Here's a sampling:

Leo the Lion in his full regalia!

We celebrated Jack's 3rd birthday!
Although they don't always get along (typical brothers),
there are moments of clarity
when the brotherly love really does happen.

I had the privilege of being the "Mystery Reader" and surprised Ian at his preschool!  It's been a long time since I had to read a book upside down and show the pictures.  Then I got to answer questions from his classmates.  Such friendly teachers and kids!

Tree climbing with Papa--this was as high as it got, but I know there are some nervous moments ahead as they grow up and tackle bigger trees!

And here's the 3 of them on Leo's 1-month-old day.

I just want to cuddle them!  Ian and Jack like to know what's going on with Leo at all times.  Or Buster, which is what he was called before his birth.  I tried to squeeze in as much time to help keep up the house as I could during those 2 weeks, helping with meals, sweeping floors, doing laundry, walks to the playground, driving to/from the Y for preschool, getting groceries, etc., etc.!  It was hard to leave there.  It's such a happy but stressful time for Brita and Ben.  Brita has had to cope with postpartum depression after each baby, and that can be rough for both of them.  Things seem to be on a pretty even keel now, and I know they are more than capable of raising up these children.  But I can't wait to see them all again!

mother nature never fails

I've been putzing around with growing succulents indoors this winter.   The plants that had flourished outside last summer mostly became weaklings during their period of meager sunlight.  A few, like the jade plant shown below, didn't seem to mind.  So a couple days ago I rounded up my various pots and plants and did some dirty work.   I should get my fingernails dirty more often!  I'm always poking around stores for some new and interesting shapes and colors in succulents, and I had stumbled across some good ones, although itty bitty pots, at Lowe's last week when I was supposed to be looking at garage shelving.  Here's one of the re-potting samples that I put together:

There are several more specimens to accompany this one, and it won't be too much longer before I can put them outside again.  New plants and fresh dirt always make me happy!  An appropriate activity for the Easter holiday.

Just 2 weeks ago, I was in Charlotte, NC, for active-duty grandparenting.  And it was fabulous to be in an area that was actually in full-bloom-spring-mode!  These were a few of the plants and trees that brightened my days there, and gave me hope that once I returned to the tundra, spring would happen again!

On my last day there, we participated in an Easter Egg Hunt organized by neighborhood volunteers for all the kids.  It turned out so nice, with a lot of families present at the little playground area, just mixing and socializing.  It really is a good community of people.  My kids have lived there a little over 2 years now, and have become familiar with many of the people in the few blocks around them.  I was impressed with the friendliness and support I saw and felt.  When little Leo was born March 2, he had a bit of a struggle and had to stay in the NICU for awhile.  This was a lot to handle for 2 young parents already working to keep up with the other 2 boys at home.  The neighbors rallied to help them with keeping Ian and Jack happy and entertained while mom and dad were needed at the hospital.  They even went as far as organizing some meal deliveries, which extended through the whole month.  That's the kind of neighborly response I would maybe think to expect after living somewhere for several years, not just 2 years of residence!  I'm really happy they have a good community there!

The Easter Egg Hunt was a treat for me, because that's not something we normally do back at home.  The day was warm and sunny, a sharp contrast to many Easter holidays in Minnesota.  We probably had indoor egg hunts more often than outdoors.  And cute little spring outfits were generally worn under a winter parka!  But now, back in MN, the leaves are starting to show green and the yard is changing from brown to green rapidly.  The rhubarb is pushing bright pink stalks through the dirt, and garden plans are being discussed.  As for that garage shelving I mentioned earlier, it is still in the planning stages but we did actually find a good day to haul a lot of stuff down from the old garage shelves and sort and clean out there.  Plenty of stuff found its way to the garbage, and some things to be donated.  I'm still pushing for a garage makeover, it could really use some "sprucing up"!  The temporary rough construction steps leading from the garage into the house have lasted 30 years now, and I'm aiming for an upgrade!  Wish me luck!

what have I been doing??

Last time I was sharing here, I was on vacation, and now that seems like so long ago even though it hasn't really been that long!  I have been trying to make the most of my time at home for sewing, but that has become more limited as I have been working more at the store.  We have needed to rearrange some hours and duties there, and some of that has come my way.  It's all things that I enjoy doing, I really love being a part of the quilt shop.  

We are adjusting to the absence of one of our key players, as she recuperates from a devastating injury.  This is the kind of injury that strikes horror in the heart of anyone who loves to work with their hands.  She took a bad fall on her stairs at home, and ended up with multiple fractures of wrists and a shoulder.  For weeks, she was incapacitated for anything involving upper extremities.  Now, 4 months later, she is in the midst of constant therapy and exercises.  She has regained limited use of her hands, and can sew on her machine for brief periods and slowly knit with big needles and chunky yarn.  The physical ramifications are a huge challenge, but also the mental and emotional hurdles.  Loosing the ability to do what you love to do (sewing and knitting), loss of independence (unable to drive until a week or so ago) and just feeling like everything has changed without wanting it to change!  We all express encouraging words, but can't truly identify with her situation.  We just want her to get better!  It takes a lot of determination and work for her on a daily basis to do even some of the basic things that we take for granted.  

So, as I share with you about the things I work on, it is good to be reminded that I am lucky to have the ability to enjoy this big part of my life and creativity.

In January, I started making blocks for Urbanology by Sew Kind of Wonderful.  It's a 12-month plan to create interesting shapes and designs with the Mini Quick Curve ruler.  I've used the ruler before, and now I'm a big fan!  These feathers and arrows are my favorites from the whole quilt.  I still have to make the last section, the antlers.  And then, of course, put it all together and quilt it!  I would love to teach this at the store starting in the fall, so I hope I get it all together by then!

My little grandsons, Ian and Jack, like to help with a little stirring and mixing in the kitchen.  So I am making them some little chef aprons with a Mickey Mouse theme.  I found the fabric at the JoAnn's store, they have a lot of licensed fabrics of all kinds to choose from.  I know these guys like Mickey, so this should be a good fit.  I had enough fabric to make 4, so that's what I'm doing, and they can share with friends.

The directions are from Mom and Me Aprons by Atkinson Designs.  It's a straight forward and well-constructed design.

One of the things I do for the store is help with designing and organizing the little make-and-take projects that we use for retreats.  I altered a free online design to make this bag, and have written up the instructions for my modifications.  I get inspiration from all kinds of places, but with something like this, I always feel it's important to give credit to the source that I took that inspiration from.  We make up little kits to hand out to the 54 women at the retreat.  I'm calling it My Tiny Treasure Bag!

I'm also preparing for Grandson #3, arriving in March!  The nursery has the colors shown below in the chevron, arrows and feathers fabrics.  I just spent a little time pulling out some colors of solids in my stash to go with them.  I have some more work to do to get the combinations just right, and then do some sewing.  I'm thinking sheets, changing pad cover, boppy pillow cover, name pennants, diaper storage box and a couple other things if I can.  Better get busy!  Glad I just have to deliver these things, not the baby!

I've had little time for my English Paper Piecing project, Glorious Hexagons.  But I whittle away at the blocks and eventually I hope to have enough to make a quilt.  I have decided that I am going to simplify things a bit and instead of making several of each of the 54 blocks, I am going to make multiples of the blocks that I really prefer.  Those are the blocks with less pieces!  Here are 6 that I have basted and ready to hand stitch together.

And that's all for now!  Have a great day!

growing things

 I think I owe you a little more about that new grandson that I mentioned!  It's so exciting, and so hard to keep it to myself until I had the go-ahead to disclose!  So, the Burke family of 4 will become a party of 5 next year!

March, to be exact, since that's when the other 2 boys have birthdays!  I guess the birthday decorations can go up for the whole month now!  We all found out it was a boy when they were visiting here in late August, and neither Ian nor Jack had been let in on the secret until then.  Because there is nothing secret in their world!  Ian, who is 4, was pretty astounded when Brita told him about the baby inside her -- "Really?  Is it there inside right now?  Can I see it come out?"  Jack, 2, didn't seem that impressed, but he did like playing the new game of "Jack, where's your baby?"

This was his answer every time!  He's a child of few words!  And it's a good thing he still wears a diaper because otherwise those pants would be on the ground!  I think he might need suspenders soon, because he's on the verge of moving into underwear.

So, of course, a new grandson needs new quilty and knitty things, so I'm working on some of those ideas.  With the fact that they live in Charlotte, NC, there's not much need of warm wooly things, so I have to think beyond the little knitted hats, mittens and sweaters.  But it is still cool there in March and April, so there's still a need to keep a little guy cozy!

But back to what's happening at home--

I'm experimenting with sewing on something new.  It's called Kraft-tex, and it's a papery fabric crossbreed.  I'm first making just an easy tote bag from a free pattern on their website.  Then, together with Leisl, we each want to make a new tote bag from a pattern we saw last week.  You'll hear more about that!

This is as far as I've gotten with my first bag because I forgot to pick out the webbing for the handles when I was at Bear Patch Saturday.  The brown part is the Kraft-tex after crumpling and wetting and mashing it around during sewing.  I sewed a bit of a decorative stitch on it with red thread to echo the chevron design of the fabric.  Next time I would do more of that, but for my first attempt this is fine.  The bottom looks like an old grocery bag!  I'm hoping it gets better when I get it finished!  It's strange to sew, because it has stiffness like real heavyweight paper, but it doesn't tear or rip.

Yesterday I had some time at home to take care of some plants that have been outdoors this summer.  Thanks to a birthday gift card from Dan, I was able to buy what I needed to make this little arrangement of assorted plants and rocks.  I don't know the names of the individual plants, but each is different.  Dan has nurtured some succulents indoors because he doesn't have a suitable outdoor space, so I'm hoping mine will do OK in the house, too.  A couple of these had to be repotted, and some leaves were broken off during that process so I am using them to try to propagate more plants.

Here's hoping the scant winter light will be enough to keep them happy!

preparations

I'm attending a quilt retreat with members of my quilt group, the Ham Lake Piecemakers, soon.  Actually, today I realized that it is 1 week from today!  That really snuck up on me!  I have to move it up on my mental calendar and get my gear lined up.  I am taking mostly projects that are already started and really need to be finished.  But I do have one new project that I just started, and plan to teach for a winter class.  It's called Mini Rings by Sew Kind of Wonderful.  It requires a special ruler, the Mini Quick Curve Ruler.

I'm making mine with a different color combination--

Strip sets to be cut into arcs.

Lots of scrap curves.

All of my pieces cut and organized for a ride to retreat!

A sample block sewn to test the pattern and my skills!

Last week I shared some pictures of the squirt gun art.  Today I had time to play with an idea I had to use some small pieces of the paintings.  This is a frame that floats the paper between 2 sheets of glass.  Place on a painted wall in a medium gray shade, it looks like something very likeable!

Thank you, Ian and Jack!  Love you!

artwork by grandsons that I'm sure Picasso would admire!

Not a lot of sewing has been accomplished lately.  Other things have been keeping my attention focused elsewhere.  I've been missing my sewing time, and when I've felt like sewing, there hasn't been much time.  I have found myself up in my sewing room, removing papers from half square triangle blocks that I have stacked up for a quilt that has been inching along slowly.  So at least I can do the papers and press the blocks when I need a fix of fabric!

I do have a fun little art project that I did with my 2 grandsons.  They are visiting for 10 days from their home in Charlotte, NC.  They are 2 and 4 years old.  My friend, Debbie, had done this with her grandsons, and although they were older, I borrowed her squirt guns and water color paints and gave it a try.  It's an outdoor project, but it was rainy the day we did it, so the garage had to do.  I draped a big sheet of plywood with a plastic drop cloth and leaned it up against the wall.  Make sure the drop cloth runs all the way down to the floor with a little room to make a "gutter" at the bottom.  Tape up some sheets of watercolor paper, pour the paints into squirt guns, and stand back!  They quickly got the hang of pulling the trigger, and I just helped with a steady hand to keep the paint going in the right direction!  They liked it, and any paint that got on our hands came off during bath time.

After drying, I cut the papers into pieces to fit on some blank cards.  I glued them in place and pressed them between heavy books to keep them from curling.  I have to say, I think they turned out great!  Without even trying or thinking of a plan, the painting was wonderful.

As soon as the rain stopped, we were outside.  So much energy packaged in these 2 little guys, especially when cooped up inside!  Digging in the garden was fun, I had planted some beets but had a crop failure with them, so we pulled up the tops that survived and dug around.  I did get 4 little tiny beets, and some greens, to add to our "Super Juice".  I don't know what I should have done differently with those beets to get them to grow better, most just had a fat root under the ground and not even nearly beet-like.

Jack did have one day feeling under the weather with a mild fever and attack of irritability that was only helped by being cuddled.  This followed a bee sting, so we aren't sure if it was related to that, or just one of his frequent little viral episodes that pop up.

Sad face when a little guy doesn't feel good.

Bob and I took care of the boys while their mom and dad went to a wedding in Lutsen, MN.  They had a great time up there, riding the gondola up to the chalet for the wedding and reception.  We had a great time back at home, in spite of the rainy weather.  Grandpa dook the boys out to pick kale during a shower.  They were wearing their little black hats that I got at an Amish store last spring.

The kale went into out Super Juice, and the boys got to help drop things into the chute.  We have been preparing the juice for a supplement to our normal diet, although sometimes I have it instead of a regular meal.  This batch included: 2 varieties of kale, beets and beet greens, romaine lettuce, apples, oranges, pineapple, carrots, celery and cucumbers.  I started this juicing after watching a documentary called Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead.  There is a short version of the video on that website, or a longer one on Amazon and it's free with Prime.

Just a few more days with these little boys before they have to leave, so we have many things to do!  I hope everyone reading this can feel the joy of time spent with little kids.  It's a good thing!  And then I'll get back to my sewing and quilting!

summer fun

What I've been doing this summer:

1.  Admiring the beauty of nature!

I only wish these gorgeous flowers could last longer!

2.  Quilting for a customer, a hand-embroidered quilt from a pattern by Crabapple Hill.  There are many beautiful designs from Meg on her website and available at Bear Patch.  

This one is called Vintage Tin.

I took this picture to show the little wireless speaker that I attach to my handlebars to listen to recorded books while I work.  It's called the Buckshot and is made by Outdoor Tech.  The holder is intended for use on bicycle handlebars, but it fits right on my machine handlebars, too!  I get most of my books through the Anoka County Library as digital downloads on my iPhone.  With this little speaker, I can still hear the recording and the sound of the machine at the same time.  I have to have an ear to the machine to pick up on the noises and sounds that alert me to a problem.  Headphones don't work as well for that.

3.  Visiting North Carolina to get some playtime with my little guys!

Happy Jack!

The best selfie I could get of the boys and Brita together.

We had something fun to do every day, and I learned all about the favorite books, videos, foods and anything else you can imagine in the life of a 2 and 4 year old!

4.  Starting a new quilt design for a new pattern.

This is for the Quilt MN fabric and shop hop starting 7/29.  So I need to keep pushing to get this done!  I have it all done in my head, but that doesn't really count!

I'm using a row quilt layout again, with the border print cut and place between rows of pieced blocks.

It's coming along, but there's still a lot of work to be done.  The top row of spool blocks is pretty straightforward, that's a block that's been made many times.  The row of chain blocks was something I pretty much had to invent to get the right size and shape that I wanted.  So that took awhile.  The bottom row of fish blocks was a block design that I found in my EQ program, but had to modify.  It was made with diamonds and Y-seams where the orange points are.  That type of construction is not easy, and I want this pattern to appeal to any quilter who looks at it.  So I re-drafted it to incorporate half-square triangles instead.

I have one more row of different blocks to make, then assemble the rows with borders, get it quilted, bound, photographed.  And write up the directions!  And get them printed and packaged, too.  And kits cut!  But hey, I've got 24 days to do it in!

What are you doing this summer!