Morning Report

It's a pretty morning here.  Later in the day it will be hot, but at 9:00 AM it's nice and cool.  Apparently we had a heavy rain last night, though we slept through it even with the windows all open.  That's our weather pattern right now; cool mornings, hot afternoons, thunderstorms building up during the day, often followed by rain and sometimes hail in the afternoons and evenings, though sometimes there's just a "big blow," which is quite dramatic even without rain and hail. 

All the rain is great for the garden.  The dahlias are finally up and growing fast, the marigolds, zinnias and cosmos are blooming, and our cucumber plant (contained in a pot on the patio) has a flower! 

We had a fun 4th of July weekend, with a series of dinners both here and out.  That Handsome Dog Gus came to dinner with his guardians on a night that threatened rain and heat so we ate inside in the air conditioning.  With seven people in the house and two dogs messing around with each other, things got a bit tight occasionally and we sent the dogs outside a few times.  Here they are waiting in the heat to come back in.  Don't worry; I can assure you they had a great evening!

Right before the big weekend Ben & I went to Corrida to celebrate our 43rd anniversary, and that was a fun and delicious night.  After dinner we headed out to Corrida's beautiful rooftop patio to enjoy the cool night air.

Everything is opened up here in Boulder to the point that masks are only required in a few places and my quilt guilds are starting to plan in person meetings again.  I'm evaluating how many of these meetings I really want to go to nowadays, realizing that I've quite enjoyed having that time to sew at home.  I'm still making scrap blocks and charity quilts and have this exuberant sunflower piece underway.  It's currently about 24 x 40" but I think it may end up a bit bigger, as I'm pretty sure I'm going to add some flowers along the bottom. 

And Paul and I have a little project as well, making a cushion for the window bench in his new apartment.  We're off to a good start, having found this nice grey fabric yesterday as well as a good piece of foam which we covered with batting.  Today Paul is coming here to cut out the pieces.  It'll be an interesting journey since neither of us have done this kind of thing before.  Thank heavens for Youtube videos!  

I took this photo yesterday in nearby Niwot after my SIL, Dawn, and I finished a three mile hike around the town.  It's a mighty cute photo, but I have to ask you:  Does Dawn look like she just finished a three mile hike, half of which was uphill in the hot sun?  It amazes me how fresh she always looks, when I'm dripping with sweat and have wet hair!    

And here's Turbo, having his first taste of an ice cream cone.  I think he was thinking, "Hey, you guys eat this good stuff all the time?" 

Well, it's going to be a calm day spent mostly at home.  I'll do a bit of gardening, work on my sunflower, write up some notes from some genealogy I'm trying to do on Ben's family, work with Paul on the cushion project, get out with Turbo for a few walks, and have a good dinner here with Ben.   

Snow & Sew

We had another good ten-inch snowfall on the night of the 24th.  The next day I had a mammogram appointment and after I was done being squished I waked through the hospital's outside courtyard to  admire the lovely view of Mount Sanitas.        

The courtyard has several sculptures which were fun to see, and I especially was taken by this one.   

The joy of these two dancers reflected the surge of joy I've been feeling this week as we watch Colorado's vaccine numbers increase and the rates of hospitalizations decrease.  Our Governor has made the optimistic projection that everyone who wants a vaccine can have one by early summer, which is a joyous thing to hope for.   More immediately, Ben and I are really looking forward to seeing close friends inside without masks, which should happen by the end of April.   We're beginning to joke about how we'll have to move the "office" off the dining room table. 

Thinking about the state of the house led me to seriously consider how to fit an ironing station in my sewing studio, something that I've wanted ever since I moved in.   I have a small wool pad and iron next to my machine and it is convenient for ironing seams as I create blocks and other small units, but I have to haul the big ironing board out of the closet and set it up in the hall when I need to iron anything larger than about 8x10".   So I thought and thought and finally realized that the old sewing cabinet/table I used with my first sewing machine would have to go.   I just use that machine as a backup and I was using the table basically as a desk, which was not a priority for my sewing space.  

You can see it here, jammed up next to my very useful floor to ceiling built-in bookcase.   The desk blocked access to the bottom shelves and took up a lot of space, but it has sentimental value since Ben bought it for me way back in the 80's,  when money was tight and a special sewing table was a big treat.    

I finally had the idea to move it down to the basement.  Maybe in a few months I'll sell it, but meanwhile it can sit down there out of the way.  We had a rolling butcher-block topped cart that we'd used in our kitchen before it was remodeled and I realized it was the perfect height and size for an ironing station.  It's been in the office but wasn't really need there, so I topped it with a pressing board Ben and I made using Leah Day's excellent instructions and it works perfectly for ironing and holding ironing supplies.  I love having it, I love the pretty blue of the cover, and I love how I can fully use the bookshelves. 

Here's how it sits to the right of my machine.  This shows the two little pressing mats I used for a day or two before we made the new pressing board. 

As I worked in the room I was struck by how shabby my daybed looked.  It was covered with several fleece blankets to protect the upholstery,  a bed sheet and pillow for sleeping, and stacks of fabrics and quilts.  In short, it looked a mess!  I didn't need to protect the sofa as Turbo never hangs out on there; for some reason he stays clear of my studio which is really a good thing.   I don't sleep there anymore since I've cured my insomnia with "sleep aids,"  and I hate having stacks of fabric around.  So I cleared everything off  and it looks soothing and appealing now.   

So what have I been doing in this studio?  Making things from scraps.  I have too many small pieces of fabric and decided to get rid of some by making a few scrap quilts.  

This batik strip piece top is underway.  Not sure how big it will get and what will happen to it; most likely will end up given to "charity."  I think my next step will be to add a piano key border using the same type of scraps.   

And I finished this small top, also for charity.   This one used half square triangles, which I haven't sewn in a million years, so it was kind of fun to figure out how to make them.  The border wasn't exactly a scrap, but I'd had it a while and liked how it gave the top a more modern feel. 

I've had this piece of flannel for a few years and decided to put it on the back.  This quilt needed some "kid like" fabric, and this fit the bill while also using it up.   And how about those thread colors?  Yummy.  They are heavier than what I usually use, so that will be interesting. 

Well, let me end by just saying that snow, cold, and sewing don't stop walking and hiking around here.  

On Friday the wind was howling but we did a four-mile hike anyway, up the Homestead trail, one of my favorites.  This photo of Ben gives you no idea of how gusty and strong the wind was as we started out.  I would have turned back but Ben was really excited about the hike, saying the wind was "exhilarating."  Whatever.  I pulled my scarf tighter around my neck and continued we up, up, up and finally rounded a bend and we were out of the brunt of the raging, howling, gusts.  Then I got my reward with a very pleasant descent back down to the trailhead.   Turbo was a trooper and never complained about the wind, instead busying himself with digging little snow tunnels with his nose whenever I paused for a quick rest.  

 Yesterday there was very little wind and I had a hiking date with my friend Sara.  We ended up doing five miles up and around through the park.   I love hiking with her because we stop and look at things, which is both interesting and gives me a chance to catch my breath.  Here's Sara looking so colorful against the snow. 

And here's one of the interesting things we saw.  It's the Maize Bear, one of the fifteen artist-decorated bear statues now on display in the park for Winterfest.   I hear the bears will be auctioned off this spring and think he'd look great in my yard!

Photo by Sara Tollefson-King

Canyonlands

When Ben and I visit Moab, Utah, we really enjoy seeing the historic rock art, the interesting pictographs that the ancient people painted on the rocks and the petroglyphs they scratched into the rocks.  Our last visit was in March 2018 and I made a point of photographing some of these old artworks, thinking I'd like to create a piece of art of my own featuring them.  

In September of 2018 I chose seven of the rock art images in my photographs and made stencils of them using freezer paper.  Using those stencils and Shiva oil paint sticks, I transferred the images to some cream colored fabric that I had darkened a bit by dying it with black tea. 

I liked what I had made and gathered up some fabrics I might use with them.  They were all "special" fabrics which I loved; some from the fabulous Moab quilt shop, some I had dyed or painted myself, and some dyed or otherwise created by others.  I was excited about this progress but I had other projects going so I tucked them all into a box marked "Canyonlands" and saved them for later. 

Well, "later" finally came a few weeks ago.  I cut the images into blocks and framed each block with fabric.   

 

Then I put the blocks and fabrics up on the design wall and considered them for several days. 

I decided I needed some coordinating blocks so I made some, which you can see on the right side of the photo below. What I really liked about those blocks was the pop of blue I put in each one.  I wanted to make more but I had just a few scraps of that hand-dyed blue fabric left, so I could only make four smaller blocks.  I framed them in the same light fabric I used for the pictographs; you can see those four little blocks surrounding the pictograph in the middle of photo.  

Then it was time to begin connecting all these pieces together into something wonderful.  For several days I stared at the design wall as I moved things around, took photos, added fabrics, and generally tried to make some order from chaos.  

Along the way, I decided to make the small blocks with the pop of blue a bit bigger by framing them with some beautiful batik fabric. 

When you're working on a puzzle like this you have to take your time and just play.  You have to live with the uncomfortable feeling of something not being solved quite yet, and just keep messing around until you start to feel happy about what you're seeing.  All the while you're considering how large this piece might end up and what that means in terms of its purpose.  Some pieces turn into table runners or all purpose mats, some get mounted onto canvas like a painting, but most end up as wall hangings.  This one is looking like it might end up as an "over the sofa" size wall hanging.  

After three days of this, I finally got to a point where I had the basic structure of the main blocks nailed down and here's where we stand at the moment.  I'm feeling good about how the eye moves around from block to block, how the different fabrics are pulling together, and I'm still loving those pops of blue.  Next I'll "fill in the gaps" with fabric but you can see that I'm already jumping ahead to see if I can use another fabric with a similar blue as a bottom border. 

I'm just about to head back into the studio to see what happen next!   

It's a good day to be in the studio since the weather is "quite windy," cold, and a bit damp with snow showers this morning and more expected soon.  I tired Turbo out with a two mile walk up in the park this morning, so we're snuggled in at home for a few hours before we head out again.   

Around Here

Like almost everyone, we're staying home and doing our part to flatten the curve.   The novelty of it has worn off and we're dealing with the pain of losing so much.  Eating dinner with friends, spontaneously dropping by the store just because you feel like it, walking the trails without thinking about where the next person is, sitting down to coffee with a chum, sewing with quilting buddies, popping into the library to check out the new books......well, you know, all the pleasures we took for granted, now gone for at least another few weeks.

Thankfully, so far we've been spared the worse.  No one we love has shown symptoms of the virus, but it is heartbreaking to learn of the travails of others who have lost people they love, who have become sick themselves, or who have lost their jobs and face an uncertain future. 

Still, around here there is much to appreciate and enjoy.  

Around here we are remembering our recent great lobster extravanganza.  Wanting to cheer himself and some freinds up and to help the lobstermen of Maine, Ben ordered several pounds of fresh shelled lobster which he then divided up among some lucky recipients.  

We had a lot of fun hearing about the ways people enjoyed this treat and had ourselves some mighty fine lobster rolls and lobster mac & cheese. 

Around here we are so glad that we found someone who could cut Turbo's hair!  His puppy coat had grown out and was ready to be scissored off, something I definitely did not want to tackle at home.  We were lucky to find an experienced person to do it for us and the results were just what I wanted. 

Before:  

After:

I confess that I loved the "before" shaggy look but Turbo is now doing some trails off leash and getting into the native grasses that can stick to his fur AND and is learning about the pleasures of mud and water so it's good timing for a shorter hairdo.

Around here we are enjoying our neighbors.  When you have a dog you meet a lot of people while dog walking, and in this time of "social distancing" these short friendly contacts are especially welcome.  With everyone out walking more than usual just to get out of the house, we get a lot of traffic by our corner house and people often pause to admire "adorable" and "cute" Turbo.  We've chatted (from at least six feet away) with lots of folks we don't usually see and that's fun.  I've come to realize that the overall friendly vibe of our neighborhood is not so common, and I'm increasingly glad we landed here.   

But a special pleasure has been getting to know the people who are now renting the house next to ours.  They have a wonderful doodle dog, an 11-year old who is polite and calm and reminds us that Turbo will not always be a puppy.  They immediately took to Turbo and we chatted about dogs and gardens and such.  Then one day I made brownies and on impulse sent some to them.  They sent back some homemade soup and a few days later some lasagna, and oh my, can she cook!  It looks like the "beginning of a wonderful friendship."  (Can you tell we watched Casablanca recently?)

Around here we're seeing all the signs of spring.  We've heard a hummingbird or two, daffodils are  blooming, and the irrigation ditches are flowing again.  One hallmark is the return of the turkey vultures, and they arrived late last week, soaring in the sky above the Flatirons.   

They roost in a tree two blocks away but much to my surprise two of them made themselves at home on a rock at our house for a while the other day.  I was glad when they left!  I like seeing them high above, but don't want all their mess in my yard.  

Around here I'm in face mask making mode, sewing them for family and friends.  It's a perfect project for these times, useful but also fun once you figure out the steps for the type of mask you've decided to make.   I love finding fun fabrics to use in my stash, and am enjoying seeing my supplies somewhat dwindle as I use them up.  It'll be fun to restock once we can shop again!

Around here I wish I could say that I'm doing a lot of reading and catching up on Netflix series, but I'm not.  It's still busy here and the days fly by without us needing much distraction, unless you count reading/watching the news.  

But I am enjoying a book that has actually made me laugh out loud....

...and a series that often has me in stitches.

Hope everyone stays well and remember that this, too, will pass.  

Linking to my friend LeeAnna's "I Like Thursdays" at Not Afraid of Color

Around Here

Around here....  

On Thursday night it started to snow and didn't stop until Friday evening, leaving behind 13 inches of beautiful white stuff. 

As the Daily Camera article above notes, only a few inches were forecast, schools did not close, and a sunny weekend was expected with highs near 70 tomorrow.  All this is typical for a spring snow around here.  

Here's a photo a friend took at her house during the storm when she measured 9.5 inches.  See how gray the skies are? 

But within a day the bright warm sun was back along with Boulder's beautiful blue skies. The snow was heavy and wet on the pavement and sidewalks, making shoveling a chore, but light and fluffy on the bushes and trees, which made them look very  surreal.  

It appears that the bulbs and flowering bushes aren't going to be severely affected by the snow, but we'll see.  

Spring break is just starting and the big snow was a welcome event in the mountain ski resorts where many families vacation.  And of course snowfall eventually mean water for us as the mountain snows melt, and that's always a  good thing. 

Around here....

We are hanging out with That Handsome Dog Gus this weekend, keeping him happy while his owners are away.  Although this is a family affair, Paul is the official tender and has been doing a great job putting into practise the dog handling techniques he's learned from Gus's owners and by going along to Gus's obedience training.  Check out this nice "sit" Gus managed to hold for a second or two while being shown a new toy. 

Dog walking is a major activity in these parts and now we've joined the crowd, at least for a few days.       

Gus prefers to break new trail in the snow... 

...even though he occasionally has to take a short break.

Gotta love those snow covered foothills. 

Around here....

The Boulder quilt guild had a Mad Hatter Tea party to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the publication of Alice In Wonderland.   White gloves and fancy hats were the suggested attire for guests and I managed to find the perfect headpiece.  

Freshly baked scones and properly brewed tea were served and everyone had fun. 

You may rightfully be asking why a quilt guild would want to celebrate the publication of a book.  Well, every year the guild issues a challenge to its membership to make a quilt based on a subject or theme, and this year it was Alice in Wonderland.   

Before the tea Guild members showed and talked about the creations that came out of that challenge, and then the art was displayed for members to examine first-hand during the tea.   It was a nice way to showcase member's talents; no voting to choose "winners,"  just a fun exchange of ideas and results.  I didn't participate, but liked this way of handling a challenge so much that I was encouraged to "play" next time.  

Here's one of my favorites, a small piece showing Alice tumbling down the rabbit hole.  (I think the black swirls and Alice's face and yellow hair are painted and the rest of her is appliqued.)  You can see that my guild doesn't just do traditional quilts.  Actually, this whole area is a hot bed for modern and art quilting, both of which are very interesting to me.     

Around here.....

All my own quilt projects are stalled, requiring either hard decisions or hard techniques, so I was happy to spend some time yesterday helping my friend Inger hem up an embroidered table runner she had finished.  Isn't it beautiful?   Love that gold and orange against the brown.  

Today... 

Paul has a Ska band practice, Ben is looking forward to a long hike, and I'm signed up for an Apple workshop about using iMovie.  The sun is shining and it sure looks like it's going to be a good day!