Bay of Fundy...

We interrupt this regularly scheduled quilting blog to visit with a fellow Bay of Fundy-phile. I'm gonna post a few pictures if you guys don't mind. Nothing quilty. Well... I can't exactly promise that, can I? Here we go, Terri.

This is one of my favorite pictures that I took while in Maine. I can't say why, exactly... The quality is poor- the backlighting on the conservation officer makes the foreground grainy, the rain obscures the view out the lighthouse windows. Maybe I love it because it recalls the place so well. It was COLD. And as you can see, raining. And the wind was blowing so hard you could feel the gusts shake the lighthouse tower. I was completely enchanted. The conservation officer- I have no idea of his name, but it's a small place, bet we could find out... he kept trying to get out of my way so that I could get a good picture. I finally had to tell him that I wanted him in the picture. (I was probably as red as my hair! but my! doesn't he just look like a Mainer! He said he acts like one, too!) He keeps the lighthouse- the fresnel(3rd order?) is kept by the coast guard.

East Quoddy...

is out there... somewhere. Pretty bad when you can't find a light house in a storm! You might not be able to tell it, but it was raining buckets and the wind was blowing so strong, it nearly blew my toboggan right off my head! It did completely annihilate my friend Harriet's brand new umbrella. So I dashed out of the bus, down the path, through a grove of pine trees- which I am sure smelled lovely, but I was too busy trying to stay alive and keeping my camera from getting soaked to notice the smell of the fir trees- and snapped this one and only picture of a lovely lighthouse- (bought a book later, so I'd have a better picture) and ran back onto the bus- thoroughly soaked. It was crazy, man! East Quoddy is in Canada.

Um...might have got a little caught up in detail...

Here are a couple of the postcards that I made up after my trip to Maine. (Did I mention what a wonderful time I had?) So I came home and was all inspired to make postcards. I got these 2 done and ran out of umph. Really, the umph is still there, just the time that runs short. Bummer.

The top picture is of my favorite lighthouse- West Quoddy. It is on the Bay of Fundy and the weather there was incredible. You see why we need lighthouses! It is red striped so that it is easily seen in snow- a Canadian tradition. East Quoddy, in Canada, has a red cross painted on it's side. I did a lot of hunting for the right fabrics from my stash and fussy cutting. Amazing what a piece of fabric looks like when you cut it down to nothing! Or use the reverse side. I put a heat-fix swarovski crystal in as the lights and they do twinkle.

The bottom one is of Pemaquid- it sits on a point with the most incredible stone formations- they look like stripes of wood in the ground. This postcard is kinda tongue-in-cheek. When I got home from my big trip, I was showing the kids my pictures. Eva(8) and Bekah(6) asked, at almost the same time, "Why do they have lights in their elevators?" I was puzzled by what they meant and then it hits me- the lighthouses really do look like our grain elevators(silos!) I had a good giggle over that one and so I moved the stone up closer to the lighthouse so that it kinda looks like plowed furrows- if ya didn't know any better! I had a great time piddling with these and I plan on making a full set, but I'm thinking that they might not ever make it to the mail box.

The little torn strips of fabric are for a class I taught on postcards- they are overdyes from my stash that Sarah and I made for our birthdays. The class was a hit and I even had a couple kits left over that are gonna make it, someday, to my Mom. I have put the post card mess up- worse than scrapbooking- and I am working on getting quilts quilted. Wait a minute, I sound way too responsible. Let me fix that... I am also sewing on a paper peicing project. Fooling around when I should be working. There, that sounds more like the me I know!

Golden days of Autumn...

The sun is shining today. Ya gotta love that. I am trying to get caught up on chores after company has moved on. Hard to get back in the swing of things, when all I really want is a nap! Doing the Flylady thing by getting all the linens washed and replaced for the next shift. Sheets and towels are easy.

This little wallhanging was something I peiced last winter. Just got around to quilting and binding it. It's simple and seems to match my mood, lately. I have been really pushing to get all of other folks' holiday quilting done so that I might have some time to do some of my own... doesn't that sound optimistic? Hope I don't get good and sick of it, and then just take a week off!!

The guys went deer hunting last weekend. DS Jacob(14y) got his first deer- 2 does. I guess that part of the state is overrun with deer. He was thrilled and I am happy for the meat. Seems to be taking me longer than it should to get it all processed and in the freezer. I am going to have to beg the older boys to give me a hand- the little ones are doing their best, but there is only so much you can do with a butter knife- as DS Abe(4) will tell you. But they are happy workers and we are slowing getting through it all. Good enough!

spooky...

"Love is kinda crazy with a spooky little girl like you..."

Growing up, my Mom had an Andy Williams record... remember vinyl records? And I had a crush on him. He would sing "spooky" and I'd get all giggly. "First you'd say, "No... I've got some plans for tonight..." and then you'd stop... and say..."alright."" I loved that song! "Windy" and "My beautiful balloon" was also on that record. Whenever I'm in an elevator or a department store and hear one of those songs, it just makes me smile. This little wallhanging also makes me smile.

Everytime someone sees it, they say, "That's kinda spooky." And I tilt my head to the side and say, "Really?" Then they'll backtrack and say something like, "In a good kind a way." And then I smile. Funny thing about this little piece. I was doing some bleach resist for a friend. I did the usual and when I was running short of new ideas, I had only 2 peices of fabric left and decided to just make a couple things for me. John plopped his hands down on the one peice and said, "spray my hands." Sounded like a plan to me. So we did. It turned out cute so I sent it to my friend along with the others we made that day. Then, of course the girls had to get in on the fun. I only had one piece of fabric left so they'd have to share. Eva got there first so she placed her hand closest to me and then Bekah had to stretch her hand out across the fabric to get it in. I sprayed and we resisted and dunked and washed and dried... surprise!!! the girls' looks dimensional, because Bekah is 2 years younger and smaller- in the distance. Creating depth with bleach resist is just the coolest thing. And the way the bleach puddled in certain spaces... spooky. But they are my sweet girls' hands and so I guess I don't really see it that way. As Bob Ross would have said, "It's a happy little accident." That's maybe a little spooky! I was very hesitant to quilt it as the resist areas are a bit subtle and I didn't want to muddy it up too much, but I think it turned out fine. The borders I made by fan folding the fabric and then spraying the bleach solution on the folds- front and back. I was afraid that it might be too busy for the piece, but the monochromatic color keeps it kinda calm- still letting the hands sizzle a bit.