projects in the works

 Hi!  A little re-cap here and some new, too!
I finished up this tote bag as my first encounter with Kraft-tex.  It's that brown stuff on the bag bottom portion.  It's a papery fabric alternative, and something I have wanted to try for quite awhile but never made it a priority.  Not very long ago, I saw a purse/bag pattern in a shop that uses Kraft-tex, and their sample was appealing.  Knowing that this was in supply over at Bear Patch, I immediately wanted to make it!  But first I found this free pattern over on the C&T website and thought I would start with something easy.  So here's my first project!

I have continued to whittle away at my Mini Rings quilt (shown below) and as of bedtime last night I now have it 2/3 done, with the first 2 vertical rows all sewn together.  I do like the color and design style of this.  But it also is made with some different techniques, and I'm not sure I have mastered those!  I'm not sure if it's my sewing, or just the nature of the beast, but a lot of my seams and corners do not match, which is not my norm.

On a whim, I took a few spare minutes and glue-basted these 2" hexies from a pre-cut pack of Tula Pink's newest fabric line, Slow and Steady.  The colors are happy!  No definite plan for these yet, but I'll cook up something from those ideas running around in my brain!

And I've picked out fabric and supplies for the next little bag project--

Since I have a couple of sewing retreats coming up this fall, I want to be prepared!  This Sew Together Bag has been simmering on the back burner in my sewing room for quite awhile, just waiting for me to pay attention and pick out the fabric!  I love picking out fabrics to go together, but I often can't be rushed with that.  I just like to take my time, I guess!

out standing in the field

This is the best time of year to take a trip in my little area of the country.  It's many shades of rich green, crops thriving, everything's growing in the sun.  I love the long views whenever I am on a little rise.  Sometimes the best viewpoint is on a bridge at an interstate exit!  I was out at "the farm"-- it was owned and operated by my grandparents when I was a child, then my dad, and now my brother and his wife, Mary.  They do a wonderful job of maintaining and improving the land with their forward-thinking farming methods and conservation.  I caught this picture of the soybeans and the area set aside for wildlife.

And the roads are set out in neat grids, so they are often straight.  In this picture, I can see the trees way down the road that are a couple miles away.

Mary loves roses, and has developed a nice rose bed with several varieties, these are just 2--

They have to be very hardy to survive the wind, storms, snow and cold!

On another note, this is a quilt that my mom just finished.  It's about 80" square or thereabouts, made from 5" squares.  It's for her great-granddaughter, Aurora.  She has hand quilted it, with a shape or letter or number or object in each square.  The dark pink in the star and border is a paisley, which she quilted following the lines of the paisley shapes.  Now she just has to get it out to Washington for Aurora!

And I've done a little hand-stitching, too, working on a UFO that I wrote about here last year.  I basted the whole works to a background fabric, and I have been stitching the outside edge to the background, like an applique stitch.  I'm over halfway around.  Then I need to decide what to do.  I think I want it for the center of my dining room table, so I might put a very thin batting (or heavy flannel) under it with a backing fabric, then do some big-stitch hand quilting to hold the layers together.  I'm in no rush, so I will give it a bit more thought before I land on what I want.  The directions for the hexagon design were part of a sew-along from Sue Daley's blog over at suedaleydesigns.com.  It was called the Forget-Me-Not Sew Along, and you can get the instructions there at no charge.  I only did a portion of the sew-along, deciding that I didn't need a huge project!

birthday pancakes

I am still plugging away on my most recent hexie project.  English paper piecing is something I enjoy doing, although it can seem tedious at times.  I used to do counted cross stitch and that was the same deal.  It was neat and orderly, every stitch in just the right spot to make the picture complete.

I am on the downhill run with this project, I've decided what I'm going to do to call it finished.  After I complete the green and gray florets at the bottom of this picture, I'm adding one row of hexagons around the entire piece.  I think they need to be primarily dark shades of purple/pink/green and some gray to balance out the dark in the center.  Then I might applique this onto a square background, I think it would be about the right size for the center of my dining table.

When I was on retreat a week ago, one of the things I did was to take a guided driving tour around the Amish communities near Augusta.  One place we stopped was at an Amish General Store and I picked up these little hats for the little boys.

That was such an interesting opportunity to learn a lot more about the culture and society of the Amish.  Such different lives!  As an example, the little store had shelves loaded with all of the kitchenware and hardware and naturopathic remedies and clothing they would ordinarily use.  But there are no electric lights, so the windows give the only light.  But you can buy all the parts needed for your gas-powered lights there!  Very nice people, we had a good conversation with the shop lady, she patiently answered our questions.  She is also a midwife, so she shared some interesting information about that role.  They really value their privacy and separation from the "English" world.  But they are friendly, waving to us from their buggies and finding ways to co-exist.  In close proximity there is a large mining area for the silica sand used in fracking for oil.  It has become a big problem for the Amish community because they have lost land in the deal, and the underground blasting shakes their buildings, and they had been led to believe that this new industry would not effect them.  I don't see much hope for them stopping big investors and big business.

Meanwhile, back at home, I enjoy this visit with my 2 grandsons.  Ian turned 4 on Friday, and it was just the 2 of us for breakfast so I made him a stack of birthday pancakes with a candle on top!  In a couple weeks, little Jack turns 2.  This picture of hugs is so special.  They aren't always that enamored with each other, believe me!

a birthday blog

I haven't really dropped out of sight, just away from this page for a few days.  I have been posting daily on the Bear Patch blog with pictures and information about the Quilt MN shop hop.  That has taken my attention away from "the frayed edge" for just a bit.  Also, finishing up 3 patterns with lots of directions, diagrams, getting pictures and printing everything.  And right in the middle of that, I had a chance to pause and celebrate 60 years!  No earth-shaking reflections, other than realizing I've switched to a new category (60+) on forms that get filled out!  Actually, I'm pretty sure this will be the best decade yet, and I'm happy to be here!

Brita, Ben, Ian, Bob and I went to a new restaurant, Spoonriver, in Minneapolis.  It is right by the Guthrie Theater and the Mississippi River, and I hadn't been down in that area since it became respectable!  There is a great park area along the river, and we walked there aways.  It was a beautiful summer afternoon with fluffy clouds.

Below is a picture of an iconic local sight, the stone arch bridge.  It is open to pedestrian and bike traffic, and we walked across and back.  It's interesting to see the lock and dam structures there.

Stone Arch Bridge in Minneapolis

Looking in the other direction, we had a view of the new 35W bridge.  Sorta new, anyway.  This is the location of the bridge that collapsed on August 1, 2007.  A tragic event, and not far removed from thought.  Each time I drive across that bridge I am reminded.

35W Bridge in Minneapolis

I knew one of the 13 people that died that day.  She was taking a class that I taught at Bear Patch, and was scheduled to be at class that evening.  But she had left a message for me earlier in the day that she would not be coming to class that night because she was going to an activity at her Temple.  She was on her way there via the 35W bridge when it collapsed.  A sad and strange twist of fate.  She was a bright and vivacious woman that I enjoyed knowing, and wish she was still with us.  

But I don't want to dwell on that sadness, because now I want to share something fun that involves another woman that I have come to know through the hexagon class that I taught at Bear Patch.  Her name is Alice, and she is an admirable lady, handling serious health issues that would slow down the average person.  But not Alice!  She completed the most English paper pieced blocks and went on to other shapes and sizes.  A few days back, I found a little gift bag and card with my name on it.  It was from Alice, and contained the neatest little ice cube tray shaped like.....

HEXAGONS!

So thoughtful of her!  I had to hurry home and get some water freezing, and then enjoy my hexie ice with a little dab of Godiva Chocolate Liqueur, a birthday present from Bob.  So nice of Alice and Bob to take care of my beverage needs!

My wonderful son and daughter planned a birthday surprise for me that was so special.  It did involve some sneaky behavior, which they accomplished very well and leaves me wondering what other kinds of sneaky things they have managed to do without my knowledge!  Probably I don't want to know!  Anyway, they contacted a bunch of my friends and family and collected birthday wishes and memories of times with me, all printed up and assembled into cards and letters.  It is a wonderful stash of goodness, and brings laughs and tears each time I look at them.  There are days when we can feel disconnected from others, but this collection of memories reinforces the fact that we are all in this together.  I know I'm lucky to be 60!