Wild Irish Rows Quilting

Oh, Happy Day!

2012-01-27T14:12:00.000-08:00

At last the snow is gone, and the sun is out!! How great is that?? After a week of cabin fever, we finally have some sun and it looks bit more cheerful. I did get some snow dyeing done, and finished lots of quilts and projects, including some digging out! I hope your week was good in spite of the weather wherever you were.

My Friday Girls just left...we have fun sewing and yakking most Fridays. Today Stephie and I worked on a block that is on lots of blogs called Swoon...check out her blog...kwiltzbystephanie. I think she is going to post it later today. We had to change the block around a bit as we didn't have enough fabric with her flea market collection. We all decided we might even like it better.

I have been working on cutting squares for a blue quilt for my friend's son. It will be done with a collection of all blue fabrics. I have also done one with reds and one with yellows. They are fun and easy to make.

My Koi quilt arrived today via UPS with a pretty badly messed up box....with the quilt nearly falling out. I was worried about their packing it for return, but it did make it and still in the box. It came back from the Road to California Show. Even though I didn't get a ribbon, that is fine...I don't quilt for ribbons, only for fun, or to share with others through a show.

I am also going to include my recipe for Eija's Cookies.....they are so yummy, you can't eat just one!

Eija's Lemon Oatmeal Cookies

2 Cups Butter

2 Cups sugar.....cream together well and add

4 tsps. lemon extract

Add 3 C flour 1 tsp baking soda and a pinch of salt

Mix well and also add 2 C old fashioned oats

Mix all well....then drop onto cookie sheet, ungreased, and shape into little balls...I use a small icecream/cookie scoop.

Bake at 350 degrees 9-12 minutes....bake till lightly golden brown...EAT. They are sooooo yummy. Thanks for sharing Eija.

Well, with that happy note, I guess I will close and run some errands....have a great day. Judy

The Blackbirds have flown in!!

2012-01-17T09:23:00.000-08:00

This was the snowy bird feeder from yesterday's snow...no birds!

I love my thread colors...use these smaller spools for my classes!

I am loving to quilt peacock feathers....the girls in my classes have done some beautiful ones too.My friend Sue Utt loves Ruth McDowell style quilts...this is her latest, of Bear, the dog. Who couldn't love that sweet face??

Good morning all....we are SNOWED IN! Well, only about 6" at this point, but the snow is falling in those luscious, lacey flakes...the big fluffly ones. I am just about to get to the studio and work. At least we still have power so the long-arm is operational. I was so amazed to see a big flock of red-wing blackbirds stop by for lunch yesterday. This morning they are still back. I want to get a picture, but they fly away quickly. Guess I will try again this morning.l

Well, just a quick report, and will write later with some snow pix....have a great day...judy

January Greetings

2012-01-14T18:10:00.000-08:00

Hi all....well who could guess that January is nearly half over. I wish I had more time to write in my blog, post pictures and work on my website. Time is too short, and so are my computing brains. It takes so much to figure all that computer stuff out. Lately I have been trying to post some pix to that flickr site, thats to dear opal...ha....Now my password is all kerfluky....I think one password is a great idea, which I try to do, but with so many things needing passwords, I often think I should change them up a bit. That is my undoing. HELP>>>>HELP!!!

Well, tonite I want to write a bit on my blog, and then try to work on my website. I have a little book with hints how to do it, but that may not be enough.

Today's weather has been about the worst weather we have had this winter, except for a few days of very freezing cold temps. We had a dusting of snow, sleet and cold. Some people got a few unches north of us.

I am not missing the cold morning run to feed the goats and alpacas....but I do miss my critters talking to me. The fish are pretty well at the bottom of the pond, altho I did see a few of them up the other day when it was a bit warmer. I guess they were hoping for a snack.

Tommy Boy is doing very well after his diabetic seizure and getting off the insulin altogether. He is running around like a kid again.

Today was meet the teacher day at Aunt Mary's, but the bad weather kept the gals away, I think. I taught for my Quilters' Anonymous Guild on Thursday...machine quilting...it was soooo much fun and the gals did a fabulous job, all 24 or so of them.

I have just entered my pieces for the QA quilt show in March.....one is completely done, one is in my imagination...the challenge...and another marked and ready to quilt. It will be a great incentive to get cracking and finish them in time for the show. It is a great thing that I work well under pressure.

A visit to the LaConner Museum to see the Thom Atkins exhibit proved truly inspirational and mind boggling. I hope many of you in the area get to see this show. My mind is still reeling from the Ann Fahl exhibit. No excuses for not getting inspired if you live around here.

Well, guess I will try to post a few photos, and then move on to the website....have a great week....judy

OK.....I goofed again, but that is ok....the first quilt of the snowy trees with the ravens is by Thom Atkins as is the bird....they beads are just loaded on these quilts, you have to see them to believe them....I LOVE the ravens in the snowy trees...so you get two chances to enjoy them! One of the pictures some how did not get posted...I will show it next time. Thom will also be teaching at Quiltfestival 2012, so you have a chance to be taught by the expert....I know I plan to sign up!

Merry Christmas or Happy New Year???

2011-12-27T09:21:00.000-08:00

Judy and Tommy Boy....He is such a good boy!

Ann Fahl's quilts are on display at the LaConner Quilt Museum....look at her website and check out her books...she is WONDERFUL!!

One of Ann Fahl's quilts....looks like my Tommy Boy...except he is all black. When he started to drink out of the toilet a lot, I thought maybe he was diabetic, and he was!

My seahorse quilt just finished, and a detail of the movie fabric Lonestar below.

Greetings, Friends.

How can it be that it is nearly January 1, 2012??? Where does the time go? I guess hours of quilting, pondering new quilts to be made, yardwork (in the summer), teaching quilting, and on it goes. It has been a wonderful year for me and my hubby, and hope your year was great too.

We did decide to un-adopt our alpacas and goats. During the summer we started thinking about winter coming, and getting up and out feeding all the critters in the cold winter mornings....too much work for two old fogies! We found great homes for the goats....they have llamas for friends, and a new home for the alpacas....with a donkey to play with! I am glad they are happily adopted by loving new parents. I do miss them, but we still have our fish to keep us busy during the warm months. They are all hibernating nicely now.

I am busy making a few new quilts for samples for teaching. I posted the seahorse one above. It is from Kaffe's new book...Quilts from Sweden. Soon Sara Nephew will have another book out. I am getting a couple more quilts ready for her January photo shoot. She always comes up with great ideas based on her 60 degree ruler and diamonds.

So far our winter has been quite mild, with a few well below freezing days. No snow yet other than a sprinkle and some very heavy frost. That makes me really happy!

I am going to get started on a new challenge for my guild...a color challenge, and I picked blue/green.....sooooo, guess that means another koi quilt. We can use the complementary color which means orange.....great for koi! I am collecting fabric for that at the moment.

I saw the hoarding marathon on tv, and that keeps me inspired to keep cleaning out stuff in the studio. Gosh, how does one person get so much stuff?? At least there are no dead critters or bugs to deal with. Just a zillion unfinished projects and lots of fabric etc. etc......I am determined to make a dent this winter. I will post some pix as I work along....I need some accountability.

Hope you all have a great week, and are ready to usher in the new year with lots of creative projects. I will post some of mine as they develop.....have fun this week. Judy

Boo Boo Kitty

2011-11-22T08:12:00.000-08:00

Tommy Boy with his bandage after his IV from his seizure....Me with Tommy Boy...he is sooo cute!! Where it was shaved, he looks like a poodle...so now I call him Poodle Paw!

What about that Hawaiian quilt made by Geoff Hamada of Seattle...he is a pro at Hawaiian quilts...all by hand....amazing.

Tommy Boy was hiding under our Edison victrola...he thinks he is sooo clever!

Greetings...it has been way tooo long since I have written. Between trying to get some quilts done and nearly losing my Tommy Boy cat to a diabetic seizure, it has been a hectic few weeks.

One rainy night we had to rush our cat to the all nite vet....he had a terrible seizure from low blood sugar...12....we got him through the night and to our regular vet the next morning. Now we have taken him off the insulin altogether and are just feeding him his regular food...for diabetic cats, that is. He loves it and has done very well. No more insulin shots, just his food. He wants to go outside again and runs through the house like he used to, so hopefully we can keep him in good shape with just the diet. The vet said cats will sometimes reverse and stay in control with just their food....gosh, just like people, I guess. He sure did scare us with that adventure. We still watch him to make sure he seems ok....he is a very nice cat, and has been a great pet! I love my Tommy Boy.

I have done quite a few customer quilts these past few weeks, and have just 2 more Freddy quilts left to do....more coming. She is sooooo prolific....I love to quilt her quilts. They are always so cheery and happy, too.

I have begun two more lone stars, and mostly finished one small Christmas one. Just a few borders and finishing off to do.

Saw a fabulous exhibit at the museum of Ann Fahl quilts....oh, WOW....what a masterpiece collection that was...plan to go back again and again. You can take pictures, so I will try to post a few for you all to enjoy. I would love to take a class from her some time.

Can't believe Thanksgiving is day after tomorrow. We have soooo very much to be thankful for. Hope you have a wonderful holiday, too. I plan to make a cannoli cheesecake. If it turns out good, I will post the recipe. I LOVE cannolis. I used to make them from scratch when I lived on the east coast. I had lots of Italian cooking coaches back there. Well, enough about cannolis....gotta go quilt, and piece some more on a lonestart....I hope you all have a most wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving....love, jude

Frogs in the Filter

2011-10-31T09:17:00.000-07:00

One of the great and colorful lonestars being created in class. THis one from my class in CT.

My very organized shelves of color fabric! I do have some method to my madness!

Leftover binding pieces in a pile...you can use them for other quilts...they don't always have to match.

SOme of the pond pipes etc. that the frogs went through....our new UV filter is there too.

One of my 16 lonestars...this one is chickens, of course!

Good morning all.....

Another gray day in WA, with no sun in sight. Thankfully I am not still in CT where my friends and family are buried in a foot of snow with virtually no power or phones. I remember those days only too well, and am so glad I have moved out here, where snow is not such a problem!

We have been getting ready to put the fish to bed for the winter....they are no longer fed, and mostly just hanging around below the surface in suspended animation! I cannot feed them till next April or May. It is quite amazing how they hibernate all winter long.

My hubby was checking the pump filter last week, the water was running slower than usual.....imagine his surprise when he opened the pump filter to find 3 BIG frogs packed in there! It gave him quite a shock, and when he dumped them out, off they hopped. That had to have been some wild ride for them....over the waterfall, down the stream, another waterfall, to the bottom of the big pond, then into the bottom drains....known as the koi toilets!!, and then through the 4" pipes, up about 5 feet into 2" pipes and through the flapper into the filter....wow. I get worn out just thinking about it. I cannot believe they survived. They were only in there no more than a week, as we checked it a week before finding them. I hope they don't do the same silly trick again. Now we will disconnect most of the equipment and put it in the barn for the winter. Maybe this coming spring we will get some baby koi at last. I would love to have some "born" in our pond.

Well, other than frog stories, I haven't got much to report...just finished the last of the Kaffe Fassett books, so you can be on the lookout for them in the near future. I still have about 5 more to do for Freddy Moran....bright and colorful, of course, and then all the others lined up. Right now Stephanie's big pink elephant is nearing completion....she has been enamoured of the block letters pieced into quilts of late. This is a totally fun quilt and BIG at that. I have started 3 more lone stars, and taught a class Saturday with 11 gals. They had great fabric, so it will be quite a collection of lonestars when they are all finished. IT would make a great show.

In the meantime, today more quilting and making some applesauce for the freezer is on my schedule...hope you get lots done today, too....love, judy

Back from MQX

2011-10-25T20:39:00.000-07:00

This quilt was done on a Bernina and Best of Show....little tea pots quilted in, tiny little stitching in the background areas...applique and a3-D bows on the little spoons...how cute it was...ILOVED this one, even though it is not my type as a rule....The quilter did a fabulous job.

This piece was very wide and not so tall, with all little people appliqued and looking at quilts which were all little mini pieced quilts...what an effort...wow....I can't believe people can make such creative and wonderful pieces. I can't get into the applique thing, but sure am impressed by those who do.

Close-ups of Dusty's dragon koi....so neat....small but threadwork was fantastic. He also taught the class on glow in the dark thread. That was fun to see, too.

Hi all....finally back to business after spending 4 days at MQX...the machine quilting conference in Portland. Saw a few old friends, and took about 5 classes. I especially enjoyed the one I took from Norma Riehm....she makes fun pieces with black tulle on top and fun stuff in between the quilt and tulle. Even better if you like to embellish!

Sue Patten's ZenSuedles was fun....I even had to mark a quilt..yikes. I never mark, but now have a piece to quilt when the opportunity presents itself. It gave me some inspiration to get going on my own pieces, and some ideas for Asilomar when I teach there in June.

I stayed with my friend Desma in Rainier, OR. We had a great time at the conference, including buying some yummy donuts at VooDoo Donuts near the convention center.....way too yummy, and fattening. I couldn't eat them too often.

THere was a gift show going on next to our conference, so I got some great scarves really cheap, and great watch...red, white and blue, of course! I hope they are there next year, too. It reminded me of all the great gift shows I went to at Jacob Javitz in New York City with my boss at Connecticut Memories. Lots of goodies there, and so much eye candy!

The quilts at the show in Portland were fabulous, and beautifully quilted...some on domestic machines, including the best of show. It surely does make you want to go home a create your masterpiece. I will try to post some for you to see...I likely won't know the maker, but rest assurred...I did not make them! Hope you get some quilting time in this week, too.....love, jude

Off to Portland and MQX

2011-10-11T07:41:00.000-07:00

These are views of Freddy's latest quilt....I have about 5 more to do, and they make me soooooo happy to quilt...so cheery!

Hi all...this morning I leave on the train to meet my friend Desma in Kelso/Longview....we are going to spend the week taking classes for machine quilting at the big MQX machine conference. This will be the first year I have not taught....but it is a new conference so should be interesting.

Our Kitty boy Tommy is doing well, and poor Ken will have to take him to the vet at the end of the week...but he is good and just sits in the car and behaves very well!

I am still playing with quilting on the featherweight which is great fun, and will have time today on the train to work out some things for Asilomar this June. I will give you all a report of the conference and hopefully bring back some pix of all those gorgeous quilts. Have a great week.....jude

Good check-up

2011-09-28T09:40:00.000-07:00

This is my Tommy Boy...isn't he a handsome fellow? He can be quite a character when he feels good....
The Lion Brand yarn store in NYC had these crocheted cannolis made up for a display....no pattern, but a clever crocheter can make them!...or how about a bowl of crocheted salad??? Pretty clever. The colorful quilt at the right is from the Bumblebeans gal...they had some on display in Manhattan when I was there...Enjoy!

HI....well, we just got back from the vet...that would be Tommy Boy and me.....his blood sugar is now 394. That is going in the right direction since we started over 600. It is amazing that cats can get diabetes and have to take insulin. The vet cat is a pretty one....white, grey and black with long hair. He is 20 years old. Well, our old guy is starting to feel better....he hangs around us more now, and wants to go outside more.

Well, just mailed Kaffe and Liza's last book quilt....I think it is the last one....Rice Bowls...pretty neat, too. I can't wait to see this book. They are always so beautiful with exquisite photos. It will be out pretty soon I think. The last newest, Quilts in Sweden is pretty neat....check out the bar code quilt. I think I want to make that one among others!

oday we have sun, unlike yesterday when the rains gushed down for a couple hours. I felt like there was a giant water faucet over my studio, on, off, and on again. Gosh, It was a gullywasher! Pretty soon we will have to drain the pond down if this keeps up.

Today I will put up Freddy's Gee's Bend style quilt in red, black and white. It should be a graphic one for sure. I am teaching this afternoon at Pacific Fabric...the Lone Star. I am also starting another lone star for me! I don't think I have enough. This one is in blacks, pinks, lime greens and white. I will post a picture next time so you can see those FAB colors, too. For today I think I will post a few more quilts and such from my New York trip...I think some of them will be from Bumblebeans....check her website. I don't remember how to do links, so you will just have to check for yourself. Where is my guru, Sharon??? I got a notice on the blog about some new picture stuff. Guess I will try to figure that out. Oh, my.....that could be interesting.
Well, gotta go and pin up Freddy's quilt and also do a small baby quilt for a shower. Hope you all have a great day and some quilting done, too......love, jude

Fall is in the Air

2011-09-22T08:50:00.000-07:00

Freddy's lone star tablecloth...pretty cheery, eh?

another of Freddy's tablecloths.....that should brighten up any meal!
This quilt was by Jo Baner of Evergreen Quilters in Bellingham's show last week. It was really much nicer than the picture shows.

On of my students from CT.....Martha Quizhpi....made this piece....this is a closeup of the quilt, as is the other picture as well. Martha does some beautiful work.

Hi all....today it is raining and the past week or so it seems like it is getting much cooler in the mornings and evenings. I guess all that hot August and September weather will soon be over, and fall will be in full swing.

This last week I took my Tommy Boy kitty to the vet as he was drinking LOTS of water and using his litter box way too much....the vet said his blood count was 600 and it should be about 100 for cats....so he is now a confirmed diabetic. I am giving him shots twice a day. I guess it is a good think we gave our alpacas and goats to great new homes so I can concentrate on the cat! He is a great patient and doesn't fuss a bit when I give him a shot. It seems like he is perking up already, but I am sure it is way too soon for that. I hope he gets back to his perky self. I am not sure of his age, but I think he is about 14.

Well, finished and mailed two of Freddy's table cloth quilts yesterday and am working on my friend Marilyn's 30's quilts now...she loves the 30's fabrics! I have had her pieces way too long, and with the books all finished, I can get back to the other quilts waiting in line. I almost pinned up one of mine yesterday, but realized I better not...I want to do my Ooooh La La quilt...it is beautiful Parisian pin-up girls...eiffel towers and other French designs. It is a great lone star.

I am going to get some more machine quilting samples ready for Asilomar, and try to post some of them. In the meantime, guess I better feed the fishies and get to work....more later...Judy

Quilt Shows

2011-09-15T09:05:00.000-07:00

My challenge quilt for the Leavenworth show....Mountains of Fabric! I made this one while on the cruise....we were rocking and rolling pretty good that night!

I got this picture at a show in New York while I was there teaching.

Our annual outdoor quilt show and barbecue...It is always fun. You should try it too.

One of my chicken quilts made without a pattern...cut and paste!

This summer was a great one for quilt shows. In July we had our Busy Bee Quilt Show. It is always a great one...as our guild has so many creative and talented quilters. Our challenge this year had to be a quilt with a spiderweb some place visible.....soooo, I used one of my woven pieces and added koi, of course. All in all, it turned out pretty good. Now I have another sample for my woven quilt classes!! Sadly, attendance was down, as it seems to be in all of our guild shows. I think the economy has had an impact, as well as the quilting world in general seems to be slowing down a bit. I still have some classes to teach each quarter, so I am grateful for that, as I really love to teach quilting and get new people involved in this wonderful world.

In August was the APWQ quilt show in Tacoma. That was a first for this show, as in the past it had been in Seattle. The quilts were just beyond beautiful.....so creative, and many were of the "artsy" variety, which I LOVE. Got lots of pictures, and visited the vendors. My little challenge quilt was in the show, and I later learned it took a second place ribbon with the viewers. That is my favorite kind of ribbon.

Today I will be taking 2 quilts to the La Conner Museum for their up-coming show. That always proves to be a great weekend....check the web to see information about that show the first weekend of October.

My quilting buddy Liz and I went up to Leavenworth, WA to see their show last week....another collection of great quilts. I never cease to marvel at the creativity found in the quilt world. I ideas are endless, and the craftsmanship so meticulous and stitched with such love. I am so glad I am a part of this wonderful world. Well, speaking of quilting, I have a beauty on the frame this morning that needs to be finished before I leave for the Museum....happy quilting to you all.....jude

Pictures of the Kids

2011-09-13T09:03:00.000-07:00

Bye Bye Goat Girls and Alpacas

2011-09-13T08:48:00.000-07:00

We made the big decision and found new homes for our sweet critters. I guess with winter coming and the thought of tromping through the mud and snow to feed everyone got to be too much for these two old fogies. We found great homes for the goats, our neighbors' friends....they even have llamas, so the goat girls are right at home and have settled in nicely with a new pecking order, yet. Seems our bossy goat is now at the bottom of the new pecking order at her new home! The alpacas are back on Camano Island, with some donkeys for playmates. I miss them a lot, but now we have the neighbors goats grazing in our yard when they want...we opened the fence for them to go back and forth. Well, enough about the sad story of giving up or critters. Now we are just concentrating on our Kitty Boy and the Fish!
We are still trying to figure out the flow on our pond through the new UV filter, but I think with the very hot weather, we are growing algae faster than the UV can kill it off.
I tried to take a 3-point landing head first into the stream a couple days ago. Just trying to pick a few weeds out and lost my balance. Boy, I found muscles I didn't know I had after that episode. I did not get a bath...lucky for me!
Since the cruise I have been trying to finish up as much as possible for my customers...just sent off the last of the book quilts to Liza Lucy yesterday....at least I think it was the last. This should be a great book, too.....photos will be taken in Bulgaria I think....wow, wish I could go along and be a gohper for them.
Today my little Goof Balls group comes over for sewing, and hanging out. I got some fun new ideas to show them, and hopefully we can finish up some things as well.....I will have to share about the Raku beach party we had last weekend on the next post. In the meantime, hope you all are enjoying the fall days and great weather before we have to snuggle up for the winter season. Will write soon.....judy

More summer news!

2011-09-01T08:53:00.000-07:00

I had beautiful red poppies in my garden again this year. It was the second year for them. I hope I can get them to bloom as well next year.

Freddy Moran's quilt. I always have fun quilting her quilts. They are soooo happy and colorful. I am doing a huge lonestar tomorrow. She has given me permission to post her pix, so I can let you enjoy them, too.

I had fun taking pictures of some of my thread. I LOVE thread.

more thread.

Hi again...I cannot believe I am writing two days in a row. This one will be a little shorter. I want to post a few pix from some quilts and my lovely red poppies.

I had a scarey moment a couple days ago when my Gammill was dead as a door nail, so to speak. After trying everything I knew to do, I called Jack Boersma....a Gammill dealer in OR...also a great quilt shop....and he suggested I change out the back switch...when I opened up the switch, there it was...a wire disconnected...so after soldering it back, re-attaching the switch....just like magic...my motor was humming. Ya gotta love that sound. Thanks, Jack!

Today I will quilt a large batik for my friend Becky in CT. Then back to Freddy's pile! We have a great sunny day here today, so that will make it pleasant. I can enjoy that when I take my fish feeding breaks. My fishy-boys look so beautiful and healthy. They sure can eat.

Well, gotta get going for now. Judy

Some more Pix

2011-08-31T08:44:00.000-07:00

All of these quilts were from my guild in New York...the Northern Star Quilt Guild. I even got to do a trunk show for them at their show. It is quite a large regional show, and the gals make great quilts as you can see.

I guess I am rusty. I have some more pictures to post, so will try now. I just did not want to lose all that writing. I still cannot figure out why there is so much space between my paragraphs with a blog...when I write it, everything is all close, with no spaces between....gosh, blogging is too complicated for my brain!! Judy

BACK TO BLOGGIING!!

2011-08-31T08:25:00.000-07:00

Greetings to anyone who is still out there. Can it be that it has been so many months since I have written on myblog.?? I don't think I have ever been this busy in years.

I had been working on Kaffe and Liza's new books, and it seemed that the pile of quilts only got higher the more I quilted. But, finally, the first week of August, I got the last one in the studio out to Liza....still a couple more coming I think.

I hope you will have a look at the new one...Quilts from Sweden....anyway, the quilts were all photographed in Sweden, and there are some great projects to make, not to mention fabulous settings for the pictures.

Well, my trip to CT and NY was great fun, especially hanging out with all my quilting buddies. And teaching at the City Quilter in New York City was fabulous. I met some great people there, and they did a wonderful job at machine quilting. Cathy has opened a great little gallery in part of her shop as well, so you might look them up on-line...the City Quilter in New York City. The gallery changes the exhibit so you get a really great look at some creative quilts by master artists.

The one day we went to the City to hang out was the biggest rain of the century. We looked like a couple of drowned rats, and it did not make walking around New York much fun, so we took a cab everywhere. I most sadly missed the big Red and White exhibit by one week. I hear that it may be a travelling show in the future, and if it is....you MUST see it.

My friend Becky owns the Quilter's Corner in New Milford, CT. You can check it out on-line too. I love her shop with all its bright and funky fabrics. I miss stopping in on a regular basis. On a sadder note, two shops in CT had to close while I was back there. A sign of the times I guess...so we have to support our shops as much as possible. I think they are all struggling a bit these days. I am happy to have some local shops near me where I can still teach. As a matter of fact I am teaching at one today, The Quiltmaker's Shoppe in Arlington, WA. Today's class is on color. It should be fun, since I don't get technical with color wheels and such!

Our summer was slow in coming to WA, but finally we have been blessed with some sunny days. My weeds were as tall as me this year, but some of them have finally been pulled.

I hope your summer was fun....I will write about my big exciting Featherweight Cruise on the next post. For now, gotta go and quilt on Stephie's quilt....she has a fabulous blog. I will try to get her blog to you next time. Have a great day.....judy

Off to the Big Apple and CT

2011-04-27T09:21:00.002-07:00

This is my second try...the first time I bumped a key and boom....blog posted....I just can't get the hang of this blog stuff. I have totally given up on

facebook. This is my kitty ....Tommy Boy. What a handsome fellow, and a real character, to boot. He came with the house, and the older he gets the lazier he is. He mostly sleeps and eats...except when he takes a notion to whine to go outside at 5 in the morning. He does catch gophers, so he is a good hunter. I wish I could train him to pull dandelions and other weeds.

Today I leave for CT and New York. I will be teaching at the City Quilter in New York, so will be sure to get some pix of that fabulous shop.

It looks like the cruise to Alaska is moving along fine. I hope some of you will be able to come along with us. It is a featherweight cruise, and you can check it out at the Parkland Parish website. They are a great shop in Tacoma, WA. Sorry, but my blog skills are not good enough to post a link. I did once, but that was when Sharon was here to help!

I have been madly trying to get the book quilts out before leaving, but still have several more to go. Freddy Moran sent several and Kaffe and Liza too. They are really neat ones. Freddy is using lots of Kaffe fabric lately. I am starting a new kaffe quilt from the Provence book....it is called Mexican Party...and very fun and colorful. JUst my style.

I have begun to feed the koi once in awhile. Our weather is still pretty cool, but the water temp is up around 50, so that should be pretty safe for them to eat. I hope by the time I get home from back east, the weather will be warm enough to feed them daily. I love to feed and watch them.

I am working on another lone star, cowboy style this time. I will post a picture of it as I finish it. I plan to use it in CT when I teach the lone star there. I am also working on another lone star with funky Paris fabric....it is very fun...Timeless Treasures I think. It will give me a chance to put lots of funky fun colors together in the star points. I think I will make more pieces in each segment of the star, and use the Paris fabric for the background pieces.

Well, guess I better get back to packing for the big trip. FLying can be such a hassle these days. I am taking the red eye, so I don't waste a day flying. In the meantime I hope you all have a fun couple weeks enjoying spring, if ever it gets here.....judy

Off to the Big Apple and CT

2011-04-27T09:21:00.001-07:00

Studio, Quiltshow, and Stuff

2011-04-07T16:56:00.000-07:00

See, some of my Kaffe stash. I had to sort it out some after finishing the diamonds last week. Now I plan to do one from the Provance book...Mexican Fiesta....it should be pretty and fun. Nice and cheery fabric. Who would't love that Micahel Miller Orange and polka dot fabric...that is one of favorite all time pieces. I guess I should have bought the whole bolt. But I still have some in reserve for a couple more projects. Next is Stephie...holding some of her things, and smiling. She is such a great friend to have come and sew. I hope you checked her blog about her last trip. Stephanie Kwiltz. She will give you lots of inpiration. Well, today we worked on getting our Camano Quilt show hung for today and tomorrow. We got the studio sale ready. That is our flea market so to speak. You bring stuff, and change it for other people's stuff! Oh, I even swept the floor the other day in my studio. As you can see, it got swept, but still needs to go in the garbage can. Another thing I have been doing is quilting on my featherweight. I am practicing for the cruise where I will teach quilting on the featherweight. All you need to do is put an index card over the feed dogs...just poke a hole for the needle, and use a free motion foot....and quilt away. It works great as you can see. Well, gotta go and quilt on Kaffe's quilt for an hour or so....will write more about our quilt show. Hope you are enjoying your local quilt shows and getting lots of inspiration from them....have a great day. Judy

Quilt Show Coming

2011-04-05T09:09:00.001-07:00

Good morning quilters...it looks like the rain has stopped for the moment here. I was just about ready to get the ark built. The rivers are high and everyone's yard is a big pile of mud and water. My poor critters are slogging through the mud like crazy. I will be so happy to see some sunshine and warm weather. Our Camano Island quilt show is this weekend. It should be great, and the vendors and quilts will make for a great weekend. I have to get things loaded into the car for my part. Hopefully the rains will stop long enough for that.

I hope the diamond quilts cheer you up....I just got that one pieced. It is from Kaffe's last book about stunning quilts from simple shapes...I will be teaching it in Woodinville, WA this quarter. I had a chance to use lots of my Kaffe stash...you can never have too much Kaffe....by the way, they are starting a new book. I just got about 5 pieces to quilt. They are going to do a lot with stripes and shot cottons this time around. I decided to use foundation muslin to strip piece my diamonds instead of just fabric and spray starch! It is a little heavier, but it does make it fast and easy to piece.

The Alaskan quilt is for the cruise to Alaska. I hope to be teaching this August on an Alaskan cruise. It is sponsored by Parkland Parish Quilt shop in Tacoma, WA. You can check their website for more information. Since I can't figure out links, I can't put one in my blog...so sad....and for all of you who are kind enough to leave comments...I don't know how to respond the them either. Yikes....I was never meant for this electronic age. My buddy Opal is trying to get me to text...don't know how, don't want to figure it out. Besides, my phone is way old, and if it goes kerflooey, I am in big trouble. I don't like those new skinny phones with pictures flying all over the screen. I was looking at electronics yesterday for a new tv remote....all I saw was i pods, iphones, some kind of games thingies, and more stuff than I knew existed for computers and phones...oh, and those funny new electronic books....as for me, I like turning real paper pages....and smelling the smells of a book. I still have not gone into libraries since they did away with card catalogues. Something about those cards and smells....but I did buy a card catalogue at U of Washington when they sold all theirs from their libriaries. I love it and use it for all my small threads and goo gahs.

Well, gotta slog over to the pasture and feed the critters and then work on a Kaffe quilt. I hope to mail it today.

Have a great day, and for all you local folks, hope to see you at the Camano show this weekend.

Happy quilting.....jude

Sewing Day and QuiltShow

2011-03-20T22:28:00.000-07:00

Well, this week was busy with museum board meetings and our big guild quilt show! The quilt at the left was made by Deborah Haynes...who makes phenomenal quilts. This was inspired by Sara Nephew. I can' believe all the piecing, and it was a HUGE quilt to boot!
I was helping my friends Linda, Carol, and Danielle do the lighting at the show, a pretty big job. This is our last year to do that job...yippee.....We are going to let the young kids do all that hard
work in the future. We don't want them to feel cheated out of such a fun job.
There were lots of great quilts at the show, and our challenge this year had over 5o pieces. What clever and creative artists we have in our guild.
Our show lasts for 3 days, and we have quite a lot of vendors too. I did try to restrain myself and did a pretty good job of it if I do say so, myself!
Our next show will be the Camano Island show in early April. That should also be a great show. We only do that one every other year. It is smaller than the QA show mentioned above, but the fabulous quilts are still there in great number. We will have a smaller number of vendors and quilts, several demos of quilting techniques, and a studio sale where we bring our "treasures" to sell to raise money for the guild.
Then we are finished with shows for awhile.
We had fun sewing at my studio last Friday...that would be Opal, Susan, and Stephanie. Stephie made the cute little house in the picture from scraps of Freddy Moran's pillow we made for her. Stephie is soooo creative, and she even put her little heart inside the box.
As you can see Opal likes to take pix of what we do, including the Flat Stanley clothes we made for her grandkids. Opal made a couple little quilts to go with Stanley and they will go home to CA in Monday's mail. I was working on my new Kaffe quilt that will be a sample for a class next quarter. It is from his newest hardcover book...Stunning quilts for Simple Shapes...I think that is the correct title. There are many great quilts in that book, and several more that would be fun to teach.

Here is Opal hard at work as our official photographer! We really enjoy our Friday sew-ins and come away with many new and creative ideas. Everyone needs a little group to sew with, and hang out for creative refreshment. It seems like there is lots of creativity exuded from our little groupl
As you can see from the photo below, Stephie has done it again. I am so blessed to have these gals in my life. We are thinking of a group project to start in the coming months.

See the dapper outfits we made for the 2 Flat Stanleys. They even have hats! Well, we couldn't send them home without a proper wardrobe.

I think I will look for some good recipes to post in the future.

I think spring may be coming to our neck of the woods at last. Just lots of mud and rain now and then. Hopefully the snow is really gone for good.

We have much to be thankful for, and I hope we will remember those in Japan and other places who are suffering with earthquakes, floods, and wars.

Let's keep those creative juices flowing! Till next time.....judy

My cute little house made by Stephie. If you take the roof off, there is a little heart hanging from the roof....such a clever girl!

Second Try

2011-03-02T20:36:00.001-08:00

Okay...why won't the image thingie work on this blog???? I am not meant for the computer age. I have tried signing in again, and that still won't work...so if I don't get any pix...I will just post my sad story without. I will never understand the computer world.....and to think some folks think I should send pix by phone and do texting.....now there is a nervous breakdown waiting to happen!! Well here goes again.....Well, no luck...will try again in the morning......judy

OOPS!

2011-03-02T20:24:00.001-08:00

Okay....how did I get all the same pix???? Stephie said I should try to post a little something every day....see, that is why I don't.....I can never figure out why I goof up so much....anyway, I will try again...the oops was for all the junk that fell over in my studio when Opal was over sewing with me. Luckily it didn't land on us or her sweet Cinda Lou doggie. I am working on the quilt to the left. It is a challenge, and the challenge now is to put all those beads and buttons etc. on for embellishments. I am getting tired already, and have lots more to go. I tip my hat to those who sit and hand sew or do all that fancy stitching and embellishing. I did get the sleeve on my koi threadwork quilt, which I think I got posted....I actually quilted the sleeve so the stitching would match the back better than just a piece of black fabric. I rather like how it turned out.

Tomorrow I am hoping to finish a client quilt and then maybe another one of mine. Our quilt show is coming soon, so the embellishments need to get done right away. Well, since I need to go and work on that piece...guess I better get going....good nite, Stephie.....this one is for you!! Judy

Oops..double oops....I don't know what button I pressed, but I posted a title before I was ready.

OOPS!

2011-03-02T20:23:00.000-08:00

Bronchitis Bug Bites

2011-02-22T20:07:00.000-08:00

Hi All....gosh, I just lost 2 weeks with the bronchitis and asthma bug.....He got me good! And I hate having to be so down I can't even quilt....and worse, nothing tasted good...by taster was broken! Finally I am back in the saddle, having quilted 2 tops yesterday for about 7 hours total. The picture to the right with the moons was from Barbara Shapel's workshop in Oregon, where I also got bitten by the Bug! I was still ablt to finish my piece, I think it is the one on the right. All the gals had very neat fabrics and different looks to their pieces. I also included a picture of one of Barbara's herons. She is the most fabulous quilter and colorist. I hope you can take her class some time.

I also posted the unfinished piece I have to embellish for our QA quilt show next month. I have a bunch of beads and french knots to make on the piece, and some big stitches to do in the border. We are expecting snow tomorrow, so I cannot get out to get the special pearl cotton thread for some of my stitching.

There are also a couple photos to take of the koi stitched piece for APWQ show and the Quiltfestival at the LaConner Museum. It is hard to get a good photo for jurying, but I will give it a try.

Today I taught one of my patterns, In a Hurry quilt. It takes about 4 hours to make the top. This Friday is another class, machine quilting, freemotion. THat is always a fun class to teach, and I love to get the girls over their fear of freemotion!

We had crazy weather today, hail and snow, rain, sleet, and whatever else came along. Tomorrow there is supposed to be 5" of snow. I can't wait for spring. See the handsome heron there....that is Barb's! Well, I hope you are all getting lots of great things pieced and quilted.....in the meantime, I am catching up with all my projects after the big bug bit me!

Happy quilting....judy

Play Date with Stephie and Opal

2011-02-01T20:18:00.001-08:00

Greetings to all our fellow quilters. We...that would be Stephie and Opal, have been trying to get together and play on as many Fridays as possible. It is fun to just let our little creative brains percolate and come up with fun things....not that they even get finished, as that is not the point. Last time we just did some of Stephie's chunkin....just sewing pieces together and squaring up eventually! That is some fun, and a great way to use up those itty bitty pieces all over the place, including the floor and waste basket.

I also have been working on the thread play koi at the right. I think I may try to enter it into a show. I really like to play with thread, so that is what I did with this project. I started with a Barbara Shapel mystery quilt which was pieced, and then added a few raw edge collage, as well as painted water lilies....I think I like it pretty well so far, but have learned some things for next time! The project in progress to the right is one with crazy piecing, and lots of fun.

Then, at the bottom is one I call Kaffe meets Freddy! Freddy Moran inspired the Lone Star, and using Kaffe fabric and lots of scrap strata I had lots of fun putting this one together. The reverse side is another Lone Star with all Kaffe fabric, too. This is about my 13th Lone Star, and I have lots more in mind to do. I guess you could say I was smitten. I am going to try to keep my website more up to date, with the help of my friend Jan...today we worked on it but loading some pix presented a problem. I think the site was having problems...so we will try again tomorrow.

I also should try to be more faithful in posting on my blog.

This weekend will give me something to write about next time, as I am going on a mystery quilt retreat with Barbara Shapel teaching. She is a fabulous quilt artist, check out her website.

Well, the arthritis in the baby fingers is getting aggravating, so guess I will stop for now...thanks for tuning in, and more later about our retreat in Oregon with Barbara Shapel......Judy

Spring Cleaning

2011-01-13T19:11:00.000-08:00

Freddy inspired my black and white collection. I am changing out the blue and yellow fabric for some of my Asian fabrics. I have way to much bright and funky fabs, but they are just about my favorites.

Hi all...thought I would post some pix of my studio. Actually some of my stash shelves don't look half bad...the other jumbled up mess with the stuffed animals is on the living room floor....yikes....I need to open a zoo. Most of those bears were made by me, and I hate to give them up. Plus, there are about a zillion quilt magazines all over the place. My newest sorting method is to flip through the magazine really fast...if nothing catches my eye...boom...GONE!! I make copies of what I want to save and hopefully use one day. That seems to work pretty well, but I am getting behind in making the copies...of course I have to live nine lives like my cat to get all this stuff used up and made. But I hate to tear up magazines. Then I give the magazines to my guilds for sale. We use them to raise money.

SOme of the gals actually are surprised at my organizational skills. I only need a warehouse to get it all stored, and a ton of shelves to pile it up. Oh, well, I am making progress...friend Stephie is getting nervous with all my cleaning. I think she is worried I am losing my mind.....like the sign in my studio........I have lost my mind, and nobody cares.!

Well, I will take some pictures of my classroom tables so you can actually see bottom. It is quite nice. I just have to find some more beads to embellish my QA challenge quilt. I never do hand stuff, but feel challenged to make the plunge on this one. I will work till I run out of ambition, time, and/or beads. Gotta go eat some dinner.....till later, Judy

Lunch at the Koi Diner

2011-01-11T14:38:00.000-08:00

I finally finished (almost) my latest piece. I took this class from Barbara Shapel...she is great, and you should take any class you can from her.

I knew I wanted to make mine koi circling around the food! I am pleased with it, pretty much. I still have to add water lilies, and do some painting on the fabric. I may get brave and try to enter it in a juried show.
We had some more snow last week, and it is still mostly here. THe temperature has been so cold the rain has not been able to wash it away. I feel bad for all my friends in CT with 2 feet of snow, and more on the way. I am glad to not live there anymore.

Two of my Goofballs just left. They are a small group of gals who come the second Tuesday of the month. Dana was working on an Asian type jacket. We like to try new things and play around with some funky new ideas whenever we can.

I hope your new year is wonderful, filled with lots of great quilting projects and creative new ideas.

There is so much new fabric out there that it makes you head spin! I am definitely trying to NOT buy too much, as the more I clean my studio, the more I know that I don't need one more thing.
I just got a note from my friend Betsy...in KY. She helps birth foals....what a fun job to be around all those beautiful animals, and she is a FABULOUS quilter to boot. I have one of her fabulous leaf quilts.

Check my website, as I have posted this quarter's classes with the help of Jan, my website guru. I am going to post classes for the East coast in a few weeks.

In the meantime, as we try to thaw out, happy quilting.....judy

Four and Twenty Black-birds

2010-12-31T12:23:00.000-08:00

Greetings from freezing cold WA....we have had freezing weather the past few days with a dusting of snow....my bird feeders are getting a workout with all those cold little birds looking for some lunch.

We have had hundreds of red-winged blackbirds in the yard...they fly in a cloud, all in unison, and eat bugs on the ground....then fly to the feeders for sunflower seeds for dessert. It is quite a sight, with the red of their wings flashing brightly as they fly around. I have been planning to make a quilt with red-winged black birds and flowers...but they flew so quickly I couldn't get a good picture.

Our Christmas was interrupted with Ken's cold...so we stayed home and I quilted and dug around in the studio. He is all better now, so we leave shortly for my brother's to spend New Year's. The sun is shining brightly even though it is very cold, in the teens.

The fish pond is frozen over, but the critters seem to take it all in stride. They don't even go into their little shelters.

We have much to be thankful for over this season, and hope you all have a wonderful holiday and bright and healthy new year. I hope to have some new quilts to post next week.

The quilt pictured is from my friend Lori. It was huge, but I got to quilt lots of my designs in....it was a fun quilt.

In the meantime...HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL. judy

Where's the ARK??

2010-12-13T09:25:00.001-08:00

This Saturday was our Longarm meeting and we had the pleasure of going to Jo Ann Blade's beautifully decorated for Christmas home. I posted a few pix including a sideways teddy...I don't know how to flip things....sorry. Where is my guru?? This past weekend was flood zone here in our area. My friend Liz had to call the fire department and get them rescued by boat....they are safe and dry in a motel in Darrington, WA. I didn't even know Darrington had a motel...I think they will get back home today, and thankfully the water just missed getting high enough to get into the house. They did move their cars to higher ground.

The rains finally have stopped, and our pond is way down since Ken had to pump out lots of water. It was just a couple inches from the top, and with the rain and warmer weather the fish were getting a bit active. It will be raining all week off and on I guess. Tomorrow my Goofballs come and we will make a field trip to OVer the Rainbow shop on Camano Island...be sure to check it out on the web...overrainbow.com I don't remember how to link, so you will have to do it the old fashioned way. They have such great fabric. I am following my guru's advice and putting the pictures on first....I need to put more but wonder if everything will get all messed up...so guess I better just send you all this little note for now, and more pix later. IN the meantime, I hope you all have a safe and dry winter, at least for awhile....and minimal snow for those of you who live in the snow belt. I guess it is hard to escape totally in those climes...I remember from MI and CT.....

I am trying to get my schedule ready to post on my website as soon as Jan gets back from her lovely trip down the Danube for a Victorian Christmas. Have fun quilting, and will write more later...judy

It's freeeeezing!!

2010-12-06T08:35:00.000-08:00

two more lone stars...one out of some great Christmas fabric and the other from a newer line of grapes in fall colors...pretty neat. I want to make one with oriental koi fabric and some more with Christmas fabric.

The flag was frozen the moring we left Graham, WA at my brother's ....the Saturday after Thanksgiving.....

HI to all you hardy souls out there....seems like all we get here is freezing weather every nite and frosty windows and ground every morning. THe critters are all huddled up against the fence waiting for their breakfast. Poor Brooklyn is as the bottom of the pecking order, and she gets the leftovers!

I am working on my winter teaching schedule which I hope to post on my website in the next couple weeks....with the help of my website guru Jan. She loves to do that stuff...good thing, cuz I hate that stuff and don't know how to do it anyway. I have a beautiful quilt of hers to do soon....it is a raw edge floral, and will be fun to decorate with thread. Watch the blog and I will post it when it is finished.

We are right in the swing with all the guild Christmas parties...2 down and 3 more to go, as well as our museum board lunch and big meeting this month. Otherwise pretty quiet and time to quilt some of my stuff I hope.

Then, I plan to dig out the studio...I guess I should post before and after pix....it just seems like getting to the after is always so hard.

Guess I will post a couple of my latest quilts on today's blog, and then get on to some more lone stars. I am totally taken with that block, and have been collecting any lone star designs that catch my eye, especially if they are a bit more unusual. Just hope I have time to make all the ones that intrigue me. Hope you all have a warm and happy day.....till later...judy

HAPPY THANKSGIVING....a litle late!!

2010-11-30T09:18:00.001-08:00

Moe will definitely need to get to the beauty parlor after this bad weather!
Some Thanksgiving day pictures....we have much to be thankful for. I am grateful to live in such a wonderful nation and that our armed forces are there to protect us....I am thankful for family and friends and of course, my wonderul husband. And thankful for the many blessings God has given us over the past year.....even the snow!

Happy Thanksgiving a few days later....we had an interesting week with about 4" of snow, icy roads, and our area tied up in traffic jams and accidents. My studio had frozen pipes, and we were just trying to keep things perking along in this storm. The critters did fine, and probably loved the cold weather, especially the alpacas.

Soooo, I had a hot dog for Thanksgiving Day dinner, and we waited till Friday to take our bird and trimmings to my brother's house south of here a couple hours. Ken did a masterful job of baking the bird....it was really pretty roasted to a golden brown. I tried a new creamy type pumpkin pie......I think I will go back to my standard recipe off the can of pumpkin. I think that one is still the best! All I care about is the mashed potatoes anyway.....I have to laugh as yesterday some guy was interviewed on the radio who went on a 60 day potato only diet...he even lost 20 pounds and his cholesterol dropped 40 points or so....he was from the Washington potato board or some such thing. Now we need an icecream only diet...I will be happy to research that one!

Well, the one good thing that came out of our belated Thanksgiving was that I did quite a lot of sewing. I am nearly finished with my bordered diamonds and a couple other quilts as well. I even did some of my quilts on the longarm!

Well, that is my holiday report....on to Christmas and NO SNOW, I hope.....have a great week...judy irish

It's About Time!!

2010-11-04T13:01:00.000-07:00

mystery picture....ha....this was 13 years of thread that had wound around the wheels of my long-arm...Ron Paul said he was glad to see I actually used my machine....now, I am watching closely to see that I don't get thread in my tracks and around my wheels. It sured gave the gals in the class a big laugh!

our snow protector over the heat pump by my studio.
This sunflower quilt was my favorite in the Innovations show...I have lost the name of the artist, but will find it and give her credit. It is painted and stitched....TOTALLY FABULOUS.

HI all....I did try to post last week, but something crazy happened to my nice long letter, and it disappeared....so I will try again today. I hope you are all enjoying a great fall and getting lots of quilting done. Ieven quilted two of my own tops yesterday and the day before. Even so, I did lots of customer quilts and am doing a very nice paper pieced block of the month. Boy, some teeny tiny pieces there. It is made by Sandra Chadwick in CT. Also received a Baltimore Album that took three years in the making...from my friend Pat Jennings in CT.

Well, after the great Leavenworth show I got busy with Innovations.

It was a great show, although not so big as usual, and there were fewer classes, too. A sign of the times, I guess. There were some really great pieces in the quilt show, and I took a class from Ron Paul on machine maintenance. I brought the head of my Gammill, and discovered I most probably needed a new motor. Well, it did sound like a cement mixer with marbles inside. We took the machine to Oregon and a great Gammill dealer and quilt shop, where I did get a new motor, my needle positioner switch replaced with a more modern new-fangled thingie, and a check-up. Guess I have to go back this spring for new gears. I didn't realize I had put that many miles on it.

Cindy Roth asked me to help her do a little program/trunk show one evening at Innovations. It was fun...question and answer and trunk show. I think it will be posted on her website...you will have to check it out. I hate to see myself on film, so likely won't look!

After Innovations I did a couple trunk shows for guilds...one in Anacortes for the Fidalgo Island Quilters...a great group of folks...and then for Bellingham, the Moonlight Quilters...another great group. It was fun, and I hope to be able to do workshops for them some day.

More teaching of quilting and woven quilts, and tomorrow I teach from The Bold and Beautiful book at Aunt Mary's at Smokey Point....then Saturday for a group of gals....machine quilting. It should be great fun.

Yesterday we had a great time giving the alpacas a pedicure...the hard part was catching them!

Our neighbor breeds alpacas, so we called him to do it....they were good boys once we caught them. The goats were curious as usual. Speaking of goats...we have two little bitty goats that live next door now....they are the cutest things, and cry like babies. I just had to check them to see if they were ok...they were! But they were sure crying like babies. They are small enough to pick up and hold and cuddle.

We have had sunny weather for 3 days. I am glad of that. We have been getting the pond plants out of the ponds and putting the lawn mowers into the barn...so I guess it is defnintely winter.

We also had to build a cover over our heat pump top keep the snow off the unit...it got pretty demolished 2 winters ago...just trying to be prepared. I don't think the insurance company will give us another one!

Oh, goodie.....chocolate cookies coming....Ken is going to make cookies later for my class tomorrow. YUM....

Well, that is about all the news for this time...I will hopefully be a little bit better about writing in the future. In the meantime, have a great weekend.....Judy

Leavenworth Quilt Show FAB Event

2010-09-14T07:52:00.000-07:00

LOoking down the main street at Leavenworth.

The Gazebo!

One of the Hoffman challenges...it was beautiful. Don't know who made it, but it was great.

Another Hoffman challenge...all the little squares had designs quilted in them. What a job!

HI all...we are back from the quilt show in Leavenworth, WA. It was wonderful. It is too bad that there were not more people there to enjoy it. If more people knew about that show, I think they would realize what a great opportunity they have in that area to see some really great quilts. They even had the Hoffman Challenge, and, if I do say so, I think it was the best one I had ever seen...WOW....some spectaular pieces there. See it if you can.

The other guest artist was Susie Decker...she was the yo yo queen!! All her quilts are so happy and colorful. I think we needed to hand out some sun glasses to the guests...between her quilts and mine, it was a cheery show. If you ever get the opportunity to get to Leavenworth, be sure to go.

When we got home all the critters were in the right spot, although the neighbor's goat spent some time in our pasture apparently....oh, just when we got in the car on Wed. to leave for Leavenworth, we noticed our goats in the neighbor's yard...so we had to do goat patrol and fence fixin'. Then we thought we better get the fish next better secured over the koi since our not so friendly heron is back....guess who was there this morning and last evening....I wish I could figure out a way to scare him off for good...any ideas??? I guess it is illegal to shoot them!!

Then, on our way out of town we noticed our car dripping again....OH, NO! We thought our new heater core was still not fixed right...but we went ahead anyway hoping it was just some leftover drips from before the heater core was fixed...off we went, and the car worked fine, with temperature just where it was supposed to be. I love my old suburban, so hang onto it!

Today we, (Des and I) leave for Tacoma and the Innovations Conference. That is the machine quilting conference. I will be teaching and taking some classes, including one to learn how to up-keep my machine. I am bringing the new wheels I bought several years ago, and maybe can get them on at last.

Well, that is all the news for now....just packing for Innovations and our 2 hour drive to Tacoma....will write when I get back....judy

The Heron is back.....

2010-09-08T00:03:00.001-07:00

Lunch time...almost for these poor, unsuspecting guys.....our new waterfall....

HI all.....we have had a couple pretty rainy days here....proof that the fall weather is really here. Hopefully we will have some more sunny days before winter really arrives.

We finally figured out the pond problem....it seems the liner in the old pond was enough below the new water level created by our new, powerful pump....therefore some water was overflowing the old liner in a few places.....thus leaking enough water to bring our total water level down. Now we have that fixed, but with the liner not giving us enough extra to rock in, we will have to put a whole new liner in the old pond...just like a house remodel...you never know what you are going to find when you try to add something new to something old. It will be great next summer.....we will change out the liner in the spring, I think.

Well, the pesky heron came by today....TWICE.....we have not seen a heron for a couple years...maybe he noticed out new waterfall in operation.....or just happened to take note on a fly-over. We had to make a quick mercy run to the pond guy and get another new net....the neighbor's dogs jumped on our nets and put holes in them, so we had jury-rigged up a couple of old nets....now we have 4 layers of new net, hopefully the bird will give up and move on.

We leave tomorrow for Leavenworth and my big adventure as the featured quilter for their quilt show.....another reason why we didn't want to leave the fish exposed to that pesky bird.

The quilt show should be lots of fun. I am bringing 50 quilts for my part of the show, and will do machine quilting demos during the day....as well some piecing so I don't get bored.

I will have to write about my adventures when I get back....hope you all have a great week ahead, and enjoy these last weeks of summer....judy

Plug the leak!!

2010-09-03T10:46:00.000-07:00

A quilt from my last visit to CT....how great is that??

more fun piecing!
My new painting on the barn door...from an idea from PA barns.

Well, here we are still trying to find and fix our pond leak...we think we have it this time, and are adding water to give it another try. Hope this time is the charm...the old pond had one side so low under the edge rocks, that water went over the liner with our powerful new pump and higher water line...it forced the water to run under everything and underneath our stream liner...probably should have emptied the old pond and re-lined and started over...if this works, we won't have to do that, at least for awhile we hope.

Oh, I forgot to tell the tale (tail) of the garter snake that nearly got his tail chopped off when I was trimming liner from the old pond....snip, snip, and there was this tail hanging out from under the rocks...will have to say that it made me jump a little....I didn't expect to see a garter snake tail hanging out from between those rocks! Ken got a good laugh. I think it would have made a great funniest home videos entry.

I am looking forward to my visit to Leavenworth and their quilt show. I plan to demonstrate machine quilting and also do some piecing while I am sitting there during the slow times.

I have several samples to finish.

Well, the weather is fabulous today....just perfect, sunny and in the sixties and seventies.

I think it will be a great fall if this keeps up. I am glad I don't live near the hurricane belt! I don't do well in the wind. My sister-in-law and her hubby were waiting with baited breath to see if they could make all their connections to and out of JFK for a cruise they are supposed to catch in Italy....I think it is ok.

Well, off to see if the leak is fixed....have a great weekend. judy

Fall is coming....

2010-09-01T09:10:00.000-07:00

This beautiful quilt was made by Janet Goad for the Busy Bee show...it was gorgeous....I loved the bright colors.
THis was another of my thread painting attempts. The silk unravelled like crazy...

SOme of the plumbing for the new pond pump...looks like spaghetti!

Greetings all...it is beginning to look a lot like fall around here...it certainly feels like it, anyway. When I feed the critters in the morning, there is a mighty cold layer of dew on their feed buckets...still better than snow and 40 below!

We had a day of steady rain yesterday. We did need it, but it was a cold, gray day. I got a quilt finished for our American Hero quilt project. You can check on line for that group...so worthwhile, and some very moving moments as we can serve our service people in such a small way.

Well, we are still trying to figure out why we have a leak in the stream/pond area where the new stream hooks up with the old pond. We are stumped, but not giving up! More investigation today. At least we have the pump working in tip top shape.

This weekend is our big estate sale at the La Conner Musueum...actually for the museum and held at the Dakota Art Center in Mount Vernon, WA. I have been helping with the pricing. We got some great junk and stuff for sale. Come check it out if you live near by. THe sale starts Saturday morning.

I am getting some samples ready for my classes this fall, including making one round quilt. It is made with a wedge ruler. Also working on another one block wonder with hollow cubes. Then I am having great fun working with the Bold and Beautiful book and painting on a quilt.

The Leavenworth quilt show is coming a week from this Saturday. I am honored to be the featured artist, and have 50 quilts to take up there. I have some sleeves to sew on about 20 quilts. I think from now on I should put the sleeve on to begin with!! Then, the week after that is Innovations in Tacoma....a busy few weeks coming up. I hope you all are keeping busy too. It will soon be time to really quilt full steam ahead. It seems like quilting is more fitting in the cooler weather for me!

I hope to see many of you in Leavenworth and at Innovations in Tacoma. Stop by and say HI!!

Judy

Cool fall weather.....

2010-08-26T08:12:00.000-07:00

One of the gals in Houston guild did this piece in class!

Another student fish! They are so talented and do such great quilting for beginners.

The quilt above is made by my hostess Bekah....is is a beautiful cathedral windows with all the royalty portrayed...and the lovely embellishments really make this a work of art. The picture does not do it justice.

From the plane I saw this great landscape...I think it could make an interesting quilt!
My quilt...Out of Hibernation. I started and finished it about 15 years ago, I think...one of my earliest quilts when I started quilting again in the 90's. Back in the 60's, quilting was virtually dead! I like this one, but I think I should do it in polka dots. Fabrics back then were not so fun.

Oh, my! Can it be fall already. This morning there is no sun, yet, and the weather is in the 50's. It is a bit of a welcome relief with all the HOT weather this past few weeks. It should be warmer again tomorrow.

We had our pond/pump guy visit and check out our plumbing job...seems that is ok...we just needed more water to get the skimmer up to snuff...and somewhere I think we have a leak...yikes. Probably where we joined the stream to the old pond. So, I guess we are back to the drawing board so to speak. Can't just stitch it up like a quilt.

Speaking of quilts, I just got a great lone star from Freddy. It is black and white with little bitty squares all scrappy pieced in the squares and half squares around the edges of the star.....it is really neat. I am going to get it going this morning.

I tried to post pictures last time, to no avail....everything disappeared....I don't know why I am so computer challenged. SO this morning I will try to post a few pictures again. I have a few from class in Houston, and my pinwheel star I painted on the barn door. It was like the one I found on-line painted on a barn in PA.....those gals didn't know I loved red, white, and blue and STARS....so thank you girls in PA for the great barn design.

I saw Eleanor Burns new book with barn paintings, so will have to get that, I guess. Anyway, gotta get info into the shops for my classes next quarter. I am also going to teach out of the Bold and Beautiful book. It is quite inspiring and great fun. Check it out.

Well, gotta go pin up Freddy's quilt and check the fish. Have a great day....judy

PS we had great time at my outdoor quiltshow and barbecue. As usual the girls brought some really beautiful quilts to hang on the fence. Of course the weather was HOT.

Back from Houston

2010-08-24T11:19:00.001-07:00

Hi all....I am finally back from my teaching and trunk show in Houston for the guild there...what a GREAT time I had with the Texans! Thanks Bekah....Linda, and Vickie as well as the others who made me feel so welcome. Just a warning....if you order food in Texas, bring some friends along to help eat it all....everything really is bigger in Texas.
Oh, rats...I couldn't even wear my new cowboy boots...it was tooooo hot....I decided to leave them home....I was so sad...they told me cowboy boot season is a few months off yet.
I stayed with my friend Bekah....I have quilted for her over the years, and she is a Kaffe and Liza fan to the max....she treated me to a show of her quilts piled up about 4 feet deep....Kaffe even named one print after her!!
I was welcomed into her beautiful home and got to play with her 2 dogs, meet her lovely mom, and rancher husband....he helps with their son's cattle ranch. I hope I can go back again.
One morning I went out onto the patio and my glasses got all fogged up...so much for the humid weather in TX...I left Michigan because of that humid weather, and if you have not experienced it, it really can hit you right in the face!!
But....the Painted Pony quilt shop is near Houston, and what a shop it is...check it out on line, and if ever you get to the Houston area, be sure to visit....wow....what a lot of fabric. There was a huge patriotic type area with eagles and such....then, a HUGE Kaffe section....so had to get some of that....and other fun things...oh, and not to forget the massive wall of batiks. Well, you get the idea. I had to help the TX economy a bit.
Ken worked on the pond while I was gone...still some technical problems with the pump....or something. He rocked in most of the stream, and it looks really neat....one of these days we will get it going perfectly.
Fall is here, and time to think about classes for teaching....any ideas??
Exciting news...I was asked to teach at Asilomar in June of 2012....a long way off, but it will get here before I know it...in the meantime, I have to get ready to go to the Leavenworth show in September, and then Innovations....hope you are all are keeping busy too.....more later...jude

Machine working, and water running!!

2010-08-03T10:10:00.000-07:00

One of my thread play quilts....inspired by Mexican designs!

My Out of Hibernation quilt...started over 15 years ago....they didn't have many bright colors back then...I made 58 bear paw blocks, and this is all I used...I better get busy!

our stream in process....and our bridge over the river Koi!

Hi all.....well, after some phone calls and tweaking of the poor old Gammill, the old girl is up and running again. I got my last quilt, Out of Hibernation, finished in time for the Busy Bee Show.

In the end, I bought a new bobbin case, and some new tension springs for inside my old bobbin cases....all seems well, except for the needle position switch, which is still temperamental. My in-laws (mom and sis) come Wed for 5 days. So, the machine will get a bit of a rest for a few days.

We did our plumbing for the pond pump....it certainly looks impressive....I hope it works as good as it looks!! We are now filling the ponds as max as we need to, and then will hook up the final loop of pipe into the bog to make the circle for pumping. We still have the unveiling coming!

Well, gotta clean house for the company! Will post some pix of the pond and such next time....have a great day....judy

Machine Woes!

2010-07-22T08:29:00.000-07:00

Oh, dear......my long-arm is sick.....it keeps spitting out the bobbins as I sew....thunk...the needle hits and breaks. It is a mystery...and an aggravating one, at that. I couldn't figure it out yesterday, so gave up finally. This morning I will call Gammill to see if they have any ideas. I know it is in the bobbin...maybe worn out springs...those silly little things are $4.50 each....wow.

I ordered some, so I can check that out. And of all times...I have 3 quilts to finish by Monday, one being a king size. At least they are my own for the show, so if I don't finish, not a big problem.

My friend from CT/NY came yesterday. She and her hubby are out here visiting so we went to museum to see the Japanese exhibit. It was a gorgeous sunny day.

Tomorrow we get the pump for the pond/stream.....it will remain to be seen if all this whole process will work. Hopefully there will be some pix next week of our stream connecting the 2 ponds...and flowing...ha....we will see!

Couldn't resist the beautiful waterlillies in our old pond...hope you like the pictures. Have a great day.....will let you know how the machine turns out, too!! Judy

The crazy days of summer!

2010-07-19T08:20:00.000-07:00

Hi all....it is a cloudy and grey day here today...we have been blessed with lots of sunshine lately, so a cooler day will be nice. Today I am working on a beautiful applique quilt...small wall hanging, actually. It is a floral. It will be lots of fun to quilt with funky threads and such.

I have been working overtime to get all the quilts done for our Busy Bee show in a couple weeks. I may not get mine done, but got everyone elses finished, and that is the most important thing. I am working on a thread play one now for me as well, and have a huge old bear paw quilt to do yet.

The Japanese show at the quilt museum is simple smashing. Those women sure do know how to work a needle....and everything is hand pieced and quilted by hand. One gal did a machine quilted piece. We had fun taking them around, and at a picnic right on the water at SuSan's beach house. I only wish I spoke Japanese. They are so soft spoken and kind....always bowing, and very humble. When they take classes they keep the same teacher forever, and she is their mentor....the instructor also has some assistants who also stay with her forever! It is a whole different mind-set there compared to here. Whatever, they sure do make beautiful quilts.

The antique kimonos are spectacular...and some wool muslin they used was fabulous. I don't think I have ever heard of wool muslin.

Be sure to see a Japanese exhibit if one ever comes your way, you won't be disappointed...I will post a few pix of our adventures...oh....I took a handsewing class to make a beautiful scarf...I am aiming for Christmas to get it finished....it will be beautiful, if ever I get it done.

Today, more quilting, and as always working on our pond/stream project...we are making slow progress....had to re-set our waterfall rock 3 times...the third time being the charm we hope!

Have a great week, whatever you do! Love, jude

The Japanese Quilt Show is Coming

2010-06-23T11:56:00.000-07:00

Melinda, Diane and SuSan model their jackets.

Melinda, SuSan and Judy working on projects and modeling their handiwork!

Hi all....time goes by too quickly...but I thought I would mention the up-coming La Conner Quilt Museum's next exhibit....the Japanese exhibit will start the first of July....The girls are coming all the way from Japan to bring their extraordinary quilts, usually handpieced and handquilted.

You have to see them, to believe them. It is a fabulous and once in a life-time experience!

Check out the website at the museum to see all about it...also classes the Japanese gals will be teaching. I don't quite have it down to put a link in the blog yet...what else is new??

Monday a few of us from the museum board got together to make kimono type jackets to wear for the big occasion...we look pretty good, I think. The jackets are all the same pattern, but so different in look. It took us about 5 hours to get them nearly finished, including the lining.

The pond project moves along slowly, but if the weather holds out, I may be able to get the stream bed fixed so we can lay the liner in and think about the landscaping around the edge.

Then we can put the pump in and plumb it for the big grand opening....to see if the stream will actually work!! I will post some pix either way! It may be a ditch with liner, or it may be an actual stream!....well, gotta go get a quilt up on the frame. It is due for the Busy Bee Quilt show at the end of July....happy quilting and gardening....and WEEDING, TOO. judy

Bath Time again.....oops.

2010-06-11T09:31:00.000-07:00

OK>>>>why didn't my bath time picture get posted.....I am sooooo dumb with these computers. It was on the blog before I posted "publish blog", so where did that 3rd picture go? I am just not meant for the computer age...so here goes....maybe just this one will post.....happy days...jude

BATH TIME!!

2010-06-11T08:56:00.000-07:00

My orange-a-licious quilt....still have at least 3 more lonestars to make.

My orange-a-licious quilt...still have 3 more to make.
Liz Theaker's Wildflowers....Liz is director of the Quilt Museum.

HI all....how does the time get away from me.?? I imagine you all are as busy as I am, so will understand that I have not written for way too long.

Since the last time, I have taught a couple classes, taken a great rope wrapped tote bag class, and worked on quilts and in the yard on the great pond project.

I taught some of the gals from the museum how to do collage quilts, and they came up with some really great "paintings". A few of us made a field trip to the La Conner Quilt Musueum and enjoyed the Hardware exhibit. The Japanese exhibit is next, and promises to be a stunner as always. They are masters at teeny tiny perfection.

Our neighbors have finally moved everything, including the cows, to Idaho. They had been letting their cows use our pasture for grazing....I will miss them, especially in the morning when they come mooing for oats when I feed the goats and alpacas. It was quite the trick getting those cows in the trailer for the move....they weren't having any of that! I couldn't even coax them with their favorite oats. The new neighbors will be coming soon. One is a doctor in town.

I had a big laugh last week when Curly, the suri alpaca decided to take a bath in our little mini-pond. It dries up in the summer, but the puddle is pretty sizeable in the rainy weather.

That is Curly in the picture posted, along with his pature mates. They all get along pretty well now, but Curly is the BOSS.

This weekend I am going to my brother's to try to sell some things at his garage sale...I hope I can get rid of some things that are still stored in our barn.

We are getting ready to form our stream between ponds so we can get the liner in and ready to try and pump our whole system in a circle with 2 waterfalls. It will be interesting to see if it works in real life as well as in my imagination.

Tomorrow we have a long-arm meeting in Everett....they are fun, and we share lots of great techniques and business ideas.

Oh, I finally finished my 9th lone star...Orange-a-licious...named by dear friend Stephanie Davis...well, gotta get going to finish a quilt and start one for Roberta Horton for the next Kaffe Fassett book....have a great day. We are supposed to have some sun today...still not here yet...Judy

off to teach!

2010-05-15T08:04:00.000-07:00

Quilts from Dale Fleming's class....if ever you get the chance to take her class...grab it!

The butterfly is from the cover of Dale's book.
The crow...oops, sideways! is from one of my students in the woven class....pretty neat.

Good morning friends....a sunny day here in Arlington! Yeah! It seems I can never find the time to write anymore. Shame on me. Today we are loading up 6 or 7 duffel bags of quilts to take to Longview,WA. I do a machine quilting class on MOnday with a trunk show Monday night. It should be loads of fun. I am working with Lady of the Lakes guild. They have over 100 members.....a smaller guild compared to some. I think I have about 16 students in the class. I love to teach machine quilting....the girls really surprise themselves with great quilting.

Well, in the last couple weeks the calf got loose....we got her back inside the fence she jumped.....the alpacas and goats are just their ornery selves. Jessie bonked me on the temple accidentally one day when I was bending over near her...ouch! They are doing fine, and grazing away.....of course the goats beg anytime you come near the pasture. And the fish are always begging. I am feeding them every day now with the warm weather. I even saw the big catfish for a second yesterday. He comes up and eats the fish food. Usually he will stay up a bit longer. I still have not seen the baby catfish, but I know he is down there since no one is doing the back stroke!!

I took a fun class with Dale Fleming Thursday, and will post a few pix of her quilts.....she works with circles and curves. It was fun, and another technique for my brain to use in the future. I used Australian fabric, and will turn my samples into a little wall hanging I think.

OUr shop hop is in about a month here...over 60 shops. Enough to keep your head spinning and car going for 4 days or so.

Well, guess I better get going and load the car with all those quilts.....not much other news anyway.....have a great week.....Judy

critters and quilts

2010-05-04T12:19:00.000-07:00

Another one of Freddy's quilts....watch for her new book!

Friday Harbor....so beautiful and perfect weather.

Snow geese on the way to La Conner Museum.

HI Friends....I cannot believe it has been so long since I have written...does that mean my life is dull....or am I just too busy....maybe both! In the past weeks we have chased alpacas and goats...escapees from our attempts at fencing them in....got some new koi...and I have been teaching and quilting up a storm. Yesterday was a wind storm with winds nearly 50mph.....wow....the power went off and I couldn't work, so we went to the mall and walked around and added another koi to the pond....a pretty lemon yellow and white spotted one. I hated to put her into that cold water, but in she went.

I am all finished with Freddy Moran's last 18 quilts....for another book...lots of string quilts that are really neat. So be watching for the next book!!

As for Freddy, my friend Stephanie Davis has started a brown nose Freddy Fan club on facebook...if you love Freddy, see if you can find it on Facebook...I am not much help there I am afraid. It should be fun to see who signs up.

I am teaching this Saturday for my guild....the woven quilts....and in 2 weeks I will be teaching at Lady of the Lakes in Longview, WA....I am teaching quilting and doing a trunk show for them at their guild......maybe I will see some of you there!

It is a cold and wet spring and this morning I think it was hailing, too. I am looking forward to more teaching, and meeting more gals in guilds. Last Saturday I did a trunk show and demo for the Northwest Quilting Connection. What a great group of gals. I think I will join them. It will be fun to learn from more quilting friends.

I had a great time teaching in Friday Harbor....I took the ferry there, and taught a couple of Kaffe Fassett's quilts. The girls did some beautiful pieces....and they sure did feed me well!!

Well, today I am expecting a new quilter to come by the studio...new to me....his name is Luke Haynes and you can see his work on the web. It will be fun to work with a guy quilter...there are a few out there....Scott Hansen is another guy from my guild who does great quilts, too.

Well, gotta eat some lunch and get busy on the longarm...one to finish and mail today, and another one to mail to CA.....yet this week.....so, hope you are all quilting and enjoying your moments of creativity....judy

Too Many Catz!!

2010-03-16T14:14:00.000-07:00

The daffodil field in La Conner...it is soooo pretty each spring.

My feathered star....this is what I taught the Goofballs last month....it is fun...red, white, and blue for me. My favorite.

OUr new kitty....I call her Cat.
The river in LaConner....a great place to go walking and shopping. After you check out the exhibit of quilts, of course!

Hi all....well, today started out nice and sunny, but it looks like the clouds have moved in. I still have to feed the critters their orchard grass....now that we are getting more spring, they can start eating the blackberries and grass. They have to earn their keep!!

We have a stray Siamese type kitty. I had decided to take her to the local Animal center...NOAH, and get her fixed. She is not a wild cat, but I couldn't quite figure out if she needed to be spayed or not. Soooo, got her appointment all set, grabbed her last Friday morning, and popped her (?) into a cardboard cat box....I wasn't in the car more than a few minutes...out popped her little face, she had poked through the box....I stopped and got her the rest of the way out so she wouldn't choke to death! She sat right beside me really nicely, but sang quite a song the whole way. The end of the story, no micro chip, and a shave job on her belly showed she had been spayed already. I think she must belong to someone, but she seems to have landed here permanently along with the neighbor cat who spends a lot of time here too, especially when the food is put out. So, I guess we have a new cat...outdoors strictly.

I am including a couple pix of my trip to the museum and the daffodils. The tulips will be early I think, but they are not out yet.

I finished my feathered star, and am getting ready for another lone star. Well, guess I better get busy in the studio.....in the mean-time, have fun with your quilts and other projects. Hopefully, you will not have any cats land on y0ur doorstep. JUdy

the Big Experiment

2010-03-02T08:34:00.000-08:00

This is an experiment..... I will try to post Marsha's link for her feathered stars.....

http://www.marshamccloskey.com/ Hey, I think it worked. Now all I have to do is figure out how to add it to my favorites with the proper address. Have a great day, all...judy

For an extra treat, this closeup is from my friend Sheryl's quilt. She took a class from Reynola Pakusich and created this work of art. She did some pretty tricky piecing in the quilt, not shown here!

Feathered Stars

2010-03-02T08:09:00.000-08:00

Made by Jennifer in our Lone star class. Jennifer is a young gal of about 24, and it thrills me to have girls start out in quilting at such a young age!

This one is also Jennifer's quilt...it was in my mystery class, which turned out to be a feathered star!
This feathered star is made by Kim, Jennifer's mom....she is a perfect piecers...you should see the back side of her work...I could take a lesson!!

Cindy's quilt...she changed out the original feather points for the dark strip, which looked fabulous and better than the feathers. African fabric made it really sing!

This landscape is mine, made for our guild challenge. All will be donated to the LaConner Quilt Museum for a fundraiser during the tulip festival. I hope we raise lots of money!

Hi all...today is a strange weather day here...sunny with a mist falling, and now it is very cloudy....typical for here in the spring, I guess. But it is much better than snow and cold.

Our trees are blooming, the forsythia is nearing the end already, and I have daffodils in full bloom. The koi are looking for lunch, and I think all are accounted for, but it is hard to take a nose count while they are swimming around so fast, and switching spots. I still have not seen the 2 catfish, but I imagine if food starts to appear, so will they!!

All the other critters are fine, even our new stray cat that is still hanging around. I will have to post his picture soon....he waits to be fed every day, breakfast, lunch and dinner...his little belly is getting pretty fat. I wonder where he came from.

Today I am working on a really neat applique quilt, and will post a picture when I am done. It belongs to my friend Lorraine Jones who owns Seawatchfabric.com...check it out some time. She has great fabrics...asian and batiks mostly. THis quilt will be available by kit I think.

NExt up will be Freddy's quilts. She is at Asilomar this week teaching with Gwen Marston. I bet everyone is having a ball. My friend SuSan is there as well taking classes from Lura Schwarz Smith...I posted one of her quilts last time.

I am going to post some of the feathered stars the girls made in my class last Saturday....they did a great job. Cindy used African fabric and did one without all the little feathers...it is great....Marsha McCloskey has a new book and ruler you might want to check out. Check out her website.....MarshaMcCloskey.com I wish I knew how to do those link things. I will have to experiment with that, or get my guru here again.

Well, gotta eat some breakfast before I forget, and get to work. I have a long commute!! I will feed the goats and alpacas on the way across the pasture. Have a great day. Judy

Still too busy.....!!

2010-02-25T10:44:00.000-08:00

Hi all....well, I have not written for some time again. I had a couple classes I taught in the past couple weeks....one was the Kaffe Fassett Hat Boxes from his book Passionate Patchwork. It is lots of fun and gives people a great chance to use up some fun fabric. It looks good in many different styles. Be sure to check Kaffe's book. His newest one just came out as well...can't think of the title, but it is posted on Amazon for a good price. The photos were all taken near his home in London....fabulous as usual.

Freddy Moran's new string quilt book is still in process, but the quilts are all fun ones, and should be great in another book.

We have had some fabulous weather...except today is cloudy and colder. We had quite a few sunny days in the past week. The koi are looking for lunch, but I am not feeding till the warm weather is really here, and the water temp stays up. They all look healthy and one looks like she if full of eggs...maybe we will have babies this year.

Alpacas and goats seem to have made their peace, and get along pretty well. Now we have two stray cats...a grey tiger and little siamese type one.

Well, guess I will try to post a couple pix, and get ready to go out.....Liz is coming by for a trip to Pacific Fabric in Everett, and then lunch.

I am working on my tulip challenge which will be donated to the museum. I should finish it today, except the binding. Will post it on the blog when finished. I really like it and decided I really love to do collage on the longarm. It is almost like painting in thread. Well, have a great day all, and I hope none of you are still caught in the storms back east....judy

Toooooo Busy to Blog!

2010-02-10T11:28:00.000-08:00

Barbara Shapel and her spiral and fabulous owls......what a wonder!

Front of the quilt.

My brightly colored koi pond...plan to quilt it really neat with koi, lillies, and lilly pads.

Back of the owl quilt. Great use of thread of both sides.
Haystack Rock on the beach in Cannon Beach, OR. A fabulous quilt shop there, too. It is Center Diamond Quilt Shop. Be sure to stop by if you can!

Hi all....well, guess life just gets too, too busy to get to the computer to blog. Since my last lone star posted, I have made 4 more....notice the operative word....made, not quilted!! I am really smitten with the lone star pattern in every shape and size. Then, last weekend I went to Oregon for a mystery quilt workshop with Barbara Shapel. If ever you get to see her work or take her classes.....run, don't walk, and treat yourself to some beautiful quilts and fun times. We made a type of spiral...I did mine different from all the rest...mine represents my koi pond and the fish swimming in a circle for food. I don't think I have ever experienced nicer Oregon beach weather, either. I remember a beach trip there with my hubby....I thought I would water color on the beach....I spent the whole time chasing paper up and down the beach, and trying to keep warm. I was young and spry in those days!

Today was my bone density test....I have come back to above normal with the test....for several years I took Fosamax....I only share this as an ecouragement to prod all you gals to watch for osteoporosis. My mom had a horrible case, and and could barely hold herself up in in last years...her bones were like corkscrews. So, please, even you young gals....be sure to be aware of this insidious disease...it creeps up and does you in before you know it. It could sure cut into your quilting energies and stamina.

Well, girls, a big paper-pieced quilt is calling, but I just wanted to check in and post a few pix from our big Oregon adventure.....have a great day. Judy

Long time, no Hear!

2010-01-11T20:53:00.000-08:00

Hi all...seems like forever since I have written. I just can't seem to sit and get to the blog. Well, not all my fault. We had bought a new computer right after Thanksgiving, but it would not hook to the internet....we messed around about 3 weeks and it still wouldn't hook up. Then we finally took it back, got another one, and it wouldn't hook up either. The lap top would, but not the new one. Finally, we decided to call the trusty Geek Squad. That took another couple weeks...so now it is Jan. 6....anyway, the geek guy finally figured out the problem...he had to trick the crazy thing to read the modem or router or something. Way too complicated for me. No one had a clue what the problem was. Now, you see why I prefer quilting to computing.

Anyway, then dear hubby had hernia surgery, which turned out great, so we are back to normal and here I am at the blog.

Thank goodness the only little snow we had melted by the next day. We did have some zero weather, but no snow yet. It has even warmed up enough so the koi are swimming near the top of the pond.....not good, but they are not getting a crumb of food from me. I hope they don't get too active before spring. they do look great, tho.

As for the goats and alpacas...finally they are getting along pretty well. At first the alpacas had the goats on the run. Then, they started stealing each others' food, and yesterday, the goats were butting the alpacas. They are funny little critters. I had to clip the goats' toenails yesterday. It is quite a job. They actually stay pretty still. My neighbor helped me. She has 5 goats she has rescued. So we have quite a menagerie in our neck of the woods.

Tomorrow the Goof Balls are coming to sew. I am going to show them an easy version of the lone star. We have guild meeting tomorrow nite too. Reynola Pakushich is coming. She does beautiful ethnic type quilts and works a lot with circles.

Well, I hope you all are having a wonderful new year and quilting a lot. I am stuck on this lonestar binge...I am working on number 4. Well, kids....gotta go, but thought I would write a few lines, since I have not done so lately. Have a great week....judy

Giving credit...

2009-12-21T13:10:00.000-08:00

Well, one more try... I want to be sure to give credit to the beautiful quilts I posted. The one of the little girl belongs to Sue Utt...it is of her mom as a child. She takes Ruth McDowell classes quite often. then, the beautiful Asian quilt is by Diane Watts of Whidbey Island. She takes classes from me occasionally....the full quilt uses a panel with a geisha girl....I took a close-up of the edge of the quilt with the cranes stitched in gold thread. They are both beautiful.

MOre pix to fix the boo boo...

2009-12-21T12:55:00.000-08:00

Hi gang...well, I did it again and posted two pictures of Moe...or Nosey...can't quite decide what to call him for sure. I hope he doesn't get a split personality because of all the names. I don't think he pays any attention, anyway.

The first picture, is a field of snow geese...when I opened the car window to take a picture, the noise was unbelievable. They really can sing. The fields near us are covered with snow geese this time of year.

OH, NO....more critters!!

2009-12-21T12:41:00.000-08:00

Hi all....so long since I have written. Guess too much is going on at this time of the year. A week ago Saturday we got two new critters......2 alpacas. They are soooo cute, but love to steal the goats' food. It is quite a feat to get them all fed without the alpacas stealing the food.

Our friends at Over the Rainbow fabric....check out their website on my favorites...don't know how to put the link in the body of the letter!!.....gave us two little alpacas. They had names, but I think I will rename them Curley and Moe....or maybe Moe will be Nosey, which he is!

I feel sorry for them out in the rain. And we even had zero weather for about 3 days, but all the critters did just fine...I even found water buckets with heat in the bottom so the buckets of water did not freeze. It is amazing the fun stuff you can find at the farm store!

I will post the pix of the boys...the alpacas.

Now I am working on Christmas cards and some quilt projects. Hopefully, over the holidays, I will have time to do some really heavy organizing and cleaning in the studio.

Our new computer would not connect to the internet, and after much ado about nothing, we finally gave up and got a different one. Hopefully my hubby can get this one hooked up. I think the first one was hexed.

We had 3" of snow, but it melted off in the rain the very next day....yeah!! Then the weather warmed up and the koi started to come up to the top of the pond. Well, those poor guys will be waitng to April to be fed....no matter how sad their little eyes are.

I still hope to do some baking yet this week...have you ever heard of banket...a dutch almond pastry yummy. I should post the recipe. Ken made 17 pounds of fruitcake...he is famous for it. We have used the recipe for almost 45 years. I found it in the newspaper when we were first married.

Our big treat was to go to the Mannheim Steamroller concert here in Seattle. They are so great.

Well, guess that is all the news for now...have a wonderfully blessed Christmas season. May you have a joyful and peaceful Christmas. Hope to write again before the big day.

Love, judy irish

photo captions for latest blog....

2009-12-05T23:05:00.000-08:00

Well, since I cannot figure out how I got two of the same picture, and could not delete one...there are two....that is my new rack for all the rolls of batting in my studio... I really like how it works. I got the rack at Costco. The teddy bears are some of the ones I had for sale this weekend at my cousin's sale...she was selling her beautiful wooden plates and bowls she does on her wood lathe. I sold nothing and she sold some bowls and such. This was a slow year even for her! Oh, well, it is a cuddly inventory to be stuck with...judy

Brrrrr....it's Cold!!

2009-12-05T22:45:00.001-08:00

Hi friends....it is COLD in these here parts! Lots of heavy frost and cold weather. I even dripped the faucets in my studio tonite. My poor goat girls are pretty chilly too...I put more straw in their little house so they can snuggle up and keep warm. I think I should bring them some hot chocolate tomorrow morning. As for the koi, they are definitely down now, and there is ice on the pond. Ken put the pond heater in so there is a small opening on one end of the pond to let the air in. It worked real well last year.

Today we had a long-arm meeting. They are always fun, and we get to chat and do show and tell...share tips, and learn from one another. It is so great to have such a giving group of gals willing to share their business tips. We take turns going to each others' studios and enjoying how each one works.

We got some Christmas lights up tonite over our living room windows...inside. We will get the tree up and our outside deck light going soon, too.

I hope to make a few placemats for gifts and quilt on some more of Freddy's quilts this week, too. Other than that, this week will be a couple more quilt guild parties and work, work, work.

I hope you are enjoying this time of the year as much as I do. I LOVE the Christmas season and especially all the great carols. Then, there is always the baking and cooking....don't do so much of that any more....it makes me FAT!!....ha....well, hope to talk to again soon.....judy

Chocolate Chip Cookies...yum yum

2009-11-23T09:05:00.000-08:00

Trying to get the pictures posted....why is computing so hard??

Chocolate Chip cookies...YUM-YUM

2009-11-23T08:32:00.000-08:00

Greetings on this Monday morning. Rain again today...still better than snow. I have a quilt to get going up on the frame today...yellows and blues. My dear friend Stephanie is coming to sew with me, too. We always have a good time working on things together. I think one thing I must do is get the binding made for our guild raffle quilt. I plan to sew different jewel tones together for the binding. That will pick up the jewel tones of the stars on the front of the quilt. I will post a picture as soon as I finish.
The best thing I want to do today is post my favorite new cookie recipe. It makes gazillions of cookies too, and they are yummy.
I got this recipe from a mystery novel...I got hooked on Joanne Flukes little Hannah Swenson mystery stories. They are great airport books....but the best part is all the recipes she puts in her stories. I think she is working on just a recipe book for the future, which would be great. Anyway, I hope you try these out. They are fabulous.

DESPERATION COOKIES

2 cups melted butter (4 sticks) 5 C flour
3 C white sugar 3 C chocolate chips or combination of chips
1 1/2 C brown sugar peanut butter, white chocolate etc.
4 tsp vanilla 4 C chopped nuts or combination of
4 tsp baking soda nuts, coconut, crushed cereal, potato
2 tsp salt chips or dried fruit
4 beaten eggs

Melt the butter you can use the microwave
Mix in the white sugar, brown sugar...mix slightly, add the vanilla, baking soda, salt, and mix. Add the eggs, and mix it all up.. Then add half of the flour, chips and chopped nuts. Stir well to mix thoroughly and add the rest of the flour and mix thoroughly.
Drop by spoonfuls onto greased cookie sheets. (12 per sheet) I use a little icecream scoop. (I also did not grease the cookie sheets) If the dough does not handle well, chill slightly first.
Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes or till lightly browned. Let cool 2 minutes on the cookie sheet--which I did do! Remove and finish cooling. I put my cookies out on clean newspaper to finish cooling....I have done this since a child...I guess my mom did it this way, and it hasn't killed me yet! It works great. Yield...about 10 dozen I always put in coconut which makes these the greatest cookies ever! I hope you enjoy them too......

Well, guess I better get to the studio, so I can meet Stephie and get busy sewing.....love, jude

Happy Friday!

2009-11-20T08:58:00.000-08:00

Good morning all! No pictures today, as I am on the lap-top and can't access pix.
Today is Friday and next Thursday is Thanksgiving already. Where does the time go....it seems like only a few days ago I was moving the koi from the old pond to the new, and that was back in August. With all the rain we have had, I will be glad for the sunny days of summer to come.
I hope you are all getting ready for Thanksgiving. We will have a quiet one with just my brother and his wife. My hubby will brine the turkey and then use the barbecue to cook it. THe turkey tastes great prepared that way. I should include my favorite salad recipe for you all too.
I always use it for the holiday potlucks as well.
We still have the goats..I hope they can stay permanently. They are doing fine in all this rain and chilly weather. Even the koi come up a bit when we have a warmer day. I will be glad when they stay down for good, then I don't feel so bad not feeding them. I even have a fish on lay-away at my fish place. So I brought them some food last week to keep him happy. He is in a tank with some friends for the winter. I did not want to add a new one so late in the season...he is a pretty yellow koi. I will have to come up with a name, since my other yellow one is called Sunshine.
I am still trying to figure out how to answer comments to my posts....I wish I were much more computer literate. Now our big computer is on the way to the junkyard, and we have my lap-top in the house and are using it instead. I have the keyboard hooked up though, as I think it is hard to use a lap-top keyboard with my old arthritis fingers.
I am getting 19 quilts from Freddy, and working on one right now. It has cute little girl figures and is done in Australian fabrics. I am quilting some really cute little kiwi birds in here and there.
Well, speaking of that, I have another hour to quilt on that one, and need to put in some fish and tropical plants yet....hope you all have a great day....judy
I will post my salad recipe next time along with a great chocolate chip cookie recipe. I want to get a picture of the cookies to post, too. Talk to you later, again! Judy

My Lonestar Quilt top!

2009-11-16T20:10:00.000-08:00

Somehow my lonestar did not get on the blog...but I did get 2 of the same....I guess it is hopeless with me and the computer!

Rainy Day...again!

2009-11-16T19:49:00.000-08:00

Hi dear quilters....

It is already nearing Thanksgiving, and I am soooo behind. It has been way too long since I have written....this time of year not much goes on except quilting. It is too wet and cold to work in the yard. The fish are supposed to be sleeping, except today I noticed about half of them were near the top and looking for food. They have a long wait till May, or if they are lucky, maybe April. I miss seeing them and feeding their happy little mugs. The Goatgirls seem fine....when I try feeding them, they are good at knocking the scoop out of my hand and wasting their food. We fixed their shelter to try to waterproof it a bit more. But since they are critters, I have to remember that they are probably pretty warm even in the rainy weather. I fixed their house with some nice clean straw, which they promptly dragged outside onto the grass.! Goats are silly litle critters...but I am definitely attached to them.

I taught a couple classes recently...one my Asian pattern, or I should say a pattern designed with Asian fabric in mind...but anything would work. The girls did a great job. One new quilter got her top all pieced in the one day class. Then, my mystery quilt was great fun, with 11 gals all hanging out and piecing. We did some funky techniques and the girls put their own blocks together in their own way. I love to teach things like that...no pattern, and no plan. I know it can drive some people coo coo....but that is my favorite way to work.

I also did a couple more Freddy style pieces...bright colors, of course. I will post my last one, and get the others done, so I can post them, as well. My patterns are for sale, and even some of my quilts. I should post some of them, so you can see what is available.

I hope you all are having a great fall, and thinking about Thanksgiving. My brother and his wife will visit us....other than that, we have no family near by. You should feel very happy and blessed if you have a big family to share Thanksgiving with this year.

My goal is to get busy and dig out a whole big section of the studio. I plan to put in a rack to hold several rolls of batting. It is getting way out of hand...all the batting, not to mention all the scraps. I have to get busy and donate some more. I use some of the off-cuts for wall-hangings and small projects. I want to make a few more lone stars....I think I have a bee in my bonnet for lone stars right now!

Freddy and Gwen are sending more quilts for a new book, so that will keep me busy. I have been trimming 1 1/2" selveges from fabric to use in a selvage quilt. Freddy inspired me to finish one. I have been collecting for a few years, and better get busy. I did do one block.

Well, not much other news. Just have to get busy and plan classes for next quarter at the local shops. Of course, machine quilting will be one class. I have some other ideas, like maybe lone stars!

Will try to be more faithful with the blogging...and trying to figure out if someone writes me. I am having a hard time figuring out the Facebook thing. I just don't have enough hours in the day to do all that computer stuff! Have a great week, and I will write later....Judy

Fun with Freddy Moran

2009-11-03T08:08:00.000-08:00

Freddy teaching at Aunt Mary's.

Freddy's string quilt..it is fabulous!!
Me with Freddy! I plan to use this green leaf as an inspiration for my challenge quilt. I took lots of leaf pix at Fred Meijer Garden Center in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Hi at last......where does the time go?? Too much work to do and not enough time. We have been trying to get all the winter chores done...getting the fish ready for bed and the goats a little better shelter for the winter. I think everything is pretty well battened down for now. We have even had several good frosts...scraping the car windows type frosts....which I don't like, but that means spring is just around several corners!

What a great time we had with Freddy Moran when she came to teach at Aunt Mary's Quilt Shop. Freddy was her usual sparkling and fun self. We had three days to play with lots of techniques from her new book, Freddy and Gwen Collaborate Again. In fact, Gwen is with Freddy now in CA where they are creating some wonderful new quilts for another book....maybe string quilts or who knows what wonderful surprises they will come up with. They will surely have fun in the process.

I made a whole lone star quilt, as well as parts to two other quilts. I am working with a lot of orange in one, and can't wait to get that one done. I found the most fabulous Michael Miller fabric with oranges and polka dots...what a find!!! It will be perfect for a border...I wasn't planning much of a border originally, but this is too good to pass up, and will look fun and happy in the quilt.

Now I want to make about 3 more lone stars. I have the fabric already picked out, and it is from my stash...even better.

Freddy inspired me to apply to teach at Asilomar, which I must get busy and do. There are always those pesky deadlines to deal with. I would also like to apply to teach at The Road to California. That would be great fun I think. So, I have to get on the ball and get going. There is also a Machine Quilting show on the east coast I would like to try for, and now they are going to have a show in Portland....MQX. Check it out on the web.

Well, time is a flying by, and I have to get into the studio...shame on me for not writing sooner, it just seems like finding time for everything is getting harder and harder. I am hoping that after vacation, Quiltfest, and Freddy, things will even out and my old routine will return. I hope you all are finding time for everything, especially creating some new quilts. This year I hope to get at some projects that have been in utero for some years! I will post some pix from my recent activities....have a great day! judy

LaConner Quiltfest 2009

2009-10-14T09:16:00.000-07:00

Beautiful seacape...not sure of the artist...but is was spectacular!

Kathy McNeil's sea otter quilt....so cute. This is just a detail!

A detail of Anna Fustino's Fisherman's widows quilt. Partly painted and beautifully pieced!
Check out her book....Simply Stunning Woven Quilts

This quilt was truly unbelievable...the last name of the artist was Thom. What a masterpiece!

Well, the show is over! We had a smashing success at the 2009 Quiltfest in La Conner. We are soooo blessed to have this great museum in our midst here in the Pacific Northwest. There are only a dozen or so such museums in the whole country

The quilts on display were fabulous and certainly gave each viewer plenty of inspiration and enjoyment. These quilts had all been ribbon winners in a juried show, guild show, or regional fair. There were some by Kathy McNeil.... I especially love her monkeys and the sea otters. Then some great comtemorary type quilts that were ablaze in color and texture with threadwork and other embellishments. One seascape was especially fun and loaded with embellishments and such.

Not to mention the two with geckos or lizards....I am not a biologist! But suffice it to say, the beadwork was truly unbelievable. Next year we will be celebrating applique. If you get the chance to take classes or come see the show, you must come!

I was privileged to teach 2 classes at Quiltfest this year....one on weaving fabric/collage, and another called Bag of Tricks, with some fun things and products to try when making contemporary/art type quilts.

The vendors had the usual wonderful array of goodies....marbled fabric, beads, Hawaiian and other applique, and fabric, of course. Even the weather cooperated.

I can't wait for next year!

SuSan Reidel was our show chair, and her wonderful husband prepared a yummy lunch for the vendors, volunteers, and students....just so we wouldn't starve! Cheesecake anyone???

Check out the LaConner Quilt and Textile Museum website for next year...they are already beginning to post things for that show. In the meantime, happy quilting.

And even more excitement!! Freddy Moran is coming to town. She will be at Aunt Mary's Quilt shop teaching and inspiring us with her colorful and whimsical style. Welcome, Freddy!

Back From Michigan and Arkansas

2009-10-09T10:40:00.000-07:00

The Grand Hotel on Mackinaw Island.

Ken and Judy by the lake...Huron.

THe 5 mile long Mackinaw Bridge.
Lumberman's Monument

WOW!! how can it be that September is gone and Oct. is nearly half way gone as well. It seems like we just left for our big trip to Michigan and Arkansas, and here we are home again with noses to the grindstone. (By the way, there is a city in the "thumb" of Michigan called Grindstone City...or was....my I have a picture of my mom sitting on a huge grindstone in about 1940 or so!) Just some trivia. The grindstone is hard to push, with all those quilts hanging onto it!

Have a quilt to finish today, one of my first customers from 12 years ago, and very cute baby quilt from Bekah Lynch in Houston....she does the most phenomenal applique, and then another Freddy quilt....Freddy will be at Aunt Mary's Quilt shop next week for 3 days...yeah!!

Our trip was great...even the reunion for my hubby's 50th highschool...Grand Rapids Creston High School. How did we get this old?? There were almost 100 returning grads and spouses...finished off with a fabulous fireworks, too. It was interesting to see how all those young lives turned out. We felt so blessed to still be alive and well, and have had such a great life all those 50 years.

A trip to Traverse City, Mackinaw City, and Mackinaw Island, of course.....just reliving old time places we like to visit. It looks pretty much the same. Mackinaw Island is always fun for walking, and the weather was absolutely fabulous. I had to pick a few rocks from the lake and bring them home for my pond and stream. I love the Great Lakes. The water is always so blue in the North part of the state. We had to go to East Tawas where I spent lots of time as a kid, camping and then visiting from our cabin later. We now have no cabin...the new owners have torn it down and it is a bare lot. It was sad to see, since we built the cabin when I was just a wee kid! And brick by brick...using old Saginaw bricks...I remember chipping off all the old mortar. They were free! I even brought a couple home one trip..heavy to carry and get up on the check through for hand carry. (The days before 9-11) No trip to our old cabin area would be complete without a stop at the AuSable River and Lumberman's Monument. THey also had some information about the CCC camps. My dad served when he was a young guy before he met my mom. That was interesting to see.

Had fun visiting friends and family in Saginaw, a depressing town with all the lack of work, and a downtown that is virtually empty. It could be such a great town...right on the river and beautiful old mansions from the lumber era of Michigan.

After visiting in Michigan, we headed for Arkansas, to see my sister-in-law. I had been asked to do a trunk show for her Northwest Arkansas guild and then a workshop...what fun!!

And what a great group of talented gals, too. Actually several men were in attendance, too. Well, I had not been in Arkansas for any length of time before, so it was interesting. Lots of trees, and some rolling hills. Had to stop at Lamberts, house of throwed rolls on the way down...I had eaten there once before and had to take my hubby. It is fun, just watch for flying rolls!! You better hope for an extra stomach to hold all that food, too.

We had great weather, and lots of fun. But now it is time to get back to work. I actually started to get a little bored near the end...not when I was in the quilting mode in Arkansas. I guess I will have to find something to do for handwork. I never really like handwork too much, but I mayhave to give in and try to find something that I will enjoy.

In Grand Rapids Sue Spargo was doing a workshop, and then, when I got to Arkansas, there she was again. I don't do that kind of work, but it sure is beautiful, and the wools are great colors.

Guess I better go check the applesauce...my hubby picked the remaining apples from our trees, so I have been making a batch of applesauce every morning. Hope you and yours are enjoying this beautiful fall. We have already had a few frosts. I will write about our big Quiltfest at the LaConner museum next time. Have a great day!! Judy

runaway goats and horses!... BON VOYAGE

2009-09-08T20:31:00.000-07:00

Well, after moving day, chasing fish around a pond, what more could we have loose? I think I told you about the ducks....that was one exciting adventure chasing 16 ducks into a cage so they could go back home where they belonged......then a week later, coming home from church...there it was!

A tree leaning on the hood of my poor old Suburban. Thankfully, no damage to the car, but the tree is now firewood. We don't have many trees in our yard, proper. They are all down in the pasture and around the perimeter. So, even tho this was just a scrub alder, I hated to see it go. It had grown about 20-30 feet tall just since we moved in about 7 years ago. ....not to be outdone, out of the corner of my eye are 2 horses running around our back yard and orchard. It seems the neighbors' horses had escaped their fenced in pasture. I bet they had some tummy ache after eating all those apples and plums.!! It was quite a trick to lure them back inside so we could re-attach the fencing. Let's see, missing goats??? Well, after the horses were put back....then the neighbors goats got out...seems they finally chewed their way through 10 feet of blackberry hedge and into the neighbor's garden....home again.....let's see, I don't think we have any more critters that can escape for the moment. I certainly hope not, as we leave in an hour for Michigan.

Hopefully, that will be a most uneventful trip...just fun visiting family, friends and old familar places. I am looking forward to seeing Mackinaw Island again...one of my favorite place. I also want to see if a new cabin was re-built on our old cabin site. Last time the whole cabin was gone, and all that was left was a bare lot. It was quite sad to see.

Since I am doing a trunk show and class in Arkansas at a guild, we are lugging lots of quilts. With our up-grade to first class, we can each take 2 suitcases, so that helps with all the quilting stuff. Well, I guess I will have to write when I get back and post some pictures of the sights we see....hope you all have a great beginning of this fall season. It is hard to believe it is already September. I will sadly miss Innovations this year. That is all for now...but will write when I get back....judy

PS...the pictures are of the run-away ducks....my attempt at landscaping around the pond, and from the Ricky Tims seminar....me with Ricky and Libby Leman....they are so gracious about their work and pictures. What a fun 3 days that was. (Got saddlesore, for sure!!)

Moving Day and more!

2009-08-31T08:05:00.000-07:00

Hi friends! It has been way too long since I have written you on my blog. Too many things seem to have gotten in the way of my getting time to write. But here goes....

The pond project took lots of time in the past month. We finally got the liner in and the fish moved. It was much easier than I thought. With the help of several friends, we rolled out the liner, lined it up side to side and front to back on the ground...each took a spot and walked it right over the hole and dropped it in. There you have it, the liner was in!! Of course, nothing goes right the first time...the liner was fine, but the koi toilets (bottom drains) ended up leaking. When I checked the water level the first morning after adding some water, it had gone down quite a bit....oh, no....a problem...We finally figured out we had a leak, so had to drain all the water, take out the koi toilets, and re-seal them....we added lots more silicon sealer, and tried again. This time the water didn't leak! YEah....

It took several days to get the pond about half full, and thanks to our neighbors letting us use their water and ours, we got the pond full enough to add the fish...

My hubby's boss lent us his waders and a special net for catch and release....it worked really slick and didn't hurt the fish. It was a great rubber net. THe waders were amazing..you don't get one bit wet. What an amazing invention. So I caught the fish and hubby ran them over to the new pond and dropped them in. Surprise!! There were two new fish in the pond that we had never seen....a baby catfish about 3" long and a little butterfly fish, that I hope is a koi. We cannot figure how they got in there....maybe the butterfly is a baby from eggs the fish laid, but the catfish is another story. We only have one catfish in the pond and he is about 1 foot long and 3 years old...what a mystery. I named the baby catfish SPike, and the little orange butterfly is Pee Wee. They come up and try to hold their own eating food with the big fish.

Well, we have been busy working around the edges of the pond, and trying to figure out about the waterfalls and stream. It is still a big job to come, but we are so happy to just have the fish moved for now. By November we will no longer be feeding the fish, and they will begin to hibernate till spring. For now it is such fun to watch them. I think they are growing already in their new home. I posted pictures from the big move. Next time I will write about the RIcky Tims' Seminar, and the case of the missing ducks....till then....have fun in your neck of the woods...judy

A COOL Day!

2009-07-24T07:44:00.000-07:00

Hi All...It is a cool day here today, weatherwise, that is! It may be a cool day too, of working on the pond. It is always "cool" to do that. I can remember when I was first teaching that the word "cool" was in, so to speak. Everything just gets recycled, even before it was the thing to do!

Today my hubby is home, tax season over, means Fridays off sometimes. YAY!! We will work on the pond, but first I have to finish my quilt for the show. I am using a pesky metallic thread which keeps breaking. I don't know why, as it usually sews forever without breaking. Anyway, I keep forging forward. I am glad it is just a small wall-hanging. I have to bind it and another quite large one yet before WED. Yikes, I better get going. Then I can start Liza and Kaffe's remaining quilts for the new book.

Our pond project is nearly ready for the lining next Sat. Today we have to finish leveling the edges and get the pipes all covered with dirt. I can't wait till that is all done so I can finally plant my plants around that area.

Yesterday we went to the LaConner Quilt Museum...my Goofballs and I. The Goofballs are my little group that comes once a month to sew. We have a great time. Anyway, there is a great museum exhibit of contemporary quilts mostly made with hand dyes! It is great....check out the website to see if there is any info on it. We could not take pix, so I can't share, but suffice it to say, it was inspiring, and gave me some ideas for my 3 tubs of hand dyes.

I plan to have a dye workshop here at my studio on Aug. 14, if you want to come, and live close enough! Well, gotta go, my hubby is making pancakes with sour cream and strawberries...one of my favorites! Talk to you all later....Judy

Quilt and Garden show a smashing success

2009-07-20T08:28:00.000-07:00

Hi All....

We had the Mukilteo, WA quilt and garden show this last Saturday. It was a smashing success. The garden I worked in had 29 quilts displayed. We had a huge garden, and it was begun 40 years ago when the homeowners built their beautiful home on the Puget Sound looking toward Whidbey Island. Ferry boats and freighters ply up and down and back and forth. Not to mention all the sail boats and power boats. Anyway, it was great fun. I even met a couple from my hometown of Saginaw, MI. What a small world.

I only got to visit about 3 other gardens on my lunch break, but one was really packed every square inch with flowers and shrubs and greens of every kind. The secret is to pack it in to keep the weeds out! He had a couple little boardwalks across the dry creek as well. It was great for ideas that I can use in my pond project. Maybe you are in a group where you would like to try a quilt and garden show. It was well worth the hard work.

Since the last time I had trouble with getting titles by my pix, I will just say that the pictures in this post are from the quilt and garden show, with one of our pond project at the end. We hope to put in the liner on August 1...yeah!! Then we will slowly have to fill the pond and move the fish. It turned out to be a much bigger and longer project than we imagined.

One of the goat girls figured out how to escape through the fence. After two escapes, we finally figured out she was slipping between two fences that didn't have enough closures...these goats are way toooo smart. Well, now they are in for good, we hope!

I have to quilt a show quilt today. Hope to finish, because the next Kaffe and Liza quilts are waiting for completion for their next book.

Hope you all are having a great summer. Judy Irish

HOME FROM SISTERS

2009-07-15T08:00:00.000-07:00

Gee's Bend challenge quilt made by one of the gals from the Stitchin Post in Sisters. I think it is a great one!

Gee's Bend quilt made by one of the gals from Gee's Bend.

What do you think of this quilt? I think I need one for my Suburban! I
Only one of the many beautiful views as you drive towards Sisters.

Freddy on the right, me in the middle, and Gwen Marston on the left. Pretty exciting!

Hi All!

We are back from Sisters. What fun. THe weather was a bit hot in the high 80's, I think. I have been there in much hotter weather, so it was ok. We got there in time for the Friday night picnic in the park. Freddy and Gwen spoke, and the Gee's Bend quilters did some singing. It was great. I think Freddy and Gwen could go on the road as two broken down comedians. They were funny, and the quilts fabulous. Freddy even introduced me as her quilter and had me stand in that huge crowd. That was pretty exciting. She is such a great lady.

I met one of my clients, Linda Jenkins, from Oklahoma. She is a fabulous applique gal. What great work she does. I am hoping she will come to the Quiltfest in La Conner in 2010. It will be all applique. Ellie Senkiewicz will be the featured artist.

We spent the day looking at most of the 1300 quilts hung around town in Sisters, and I did a little bit of shopping. Got just a few half yard cuts and a book or 2. I have enough fabric and stuff in my studio it is downright shameful!! Anyway, I don't need a snitch more of fabric.

We left and went to Salem, OR for Saturday night where we visited with friends we knew from the Bay Area. They have retired to Salem. It was fun to see them and their beautiful yard. Bill is a master gardener. I got some more ideas for my little garden near the pond.

Our ride home took about 2 hours longer than it should have...traffic, traffic, and traffic. We got home to our critters and everyone was fine.

One exciting adventure, more water/well problems. It turned out we needed a new tank in our pump house, so that is now replaced, and hopefully some of our water problems will be solved.

The goat girls are begging as usual. I am looking forward to doing some landscaping in my new pond area, and we have set Aug. 1 as pond liner day. Yeay!! Then we can fill the pond and move the fish!

I hope you all have a great week. Today I teach machine quilting in our local shop. This weekend coming is the Mukilteo Outdoor Garden and Quilt show, so I will be working at that.

I will get some pictures to post next week. In the meantime, gotta go quilt for an hour before teaching. Have a great day, and I hope you can get at least one visit to Sisters. It is such a fun experience. Judy Irish

Sisters, here we come!!

2009-07-09T08:52:00.000-07:00

Good morning...what an event couple of weeks....my last post somehow disappeard into outerspace....how annoying. I was going to re-do it, but never got back to it...I don't know what happened. Here I was trying to edit something, and boom....gone, forever....Oh, where is my blog guru when I need her. I am thinking how to change the colors on my blog so you can read things more easily, but I need help with that. I would probably lose the whole thing...

Well, tomorrow my hubby and I leave for the weekend in Sisters, OR. The big show is this weekend, and it will be only about 80 degrees..which will be great. Sometimes it is way toooooo hot there. Freddy Moran and Gwen Marston will be there, so I can say hi again to them in person.

I have another Freddy quilt waiting and 4 more from Liza and Kaffe. That is the end of theirs for the next Rowan book. I am still trying to get my whole cloth quilt finished and off the frame. I am using a hand dyed fabric and just stitching all kinds of things into it. It will be interesting, if nothing else. I can use it for a sample, too. Our Busy Bee show will be here soon, the end of the month. I still have 4 more quilts to do for that. Two are mine, so if they don't get quilted, no big deal. We have an outdoor quilt and garden show in Mukilteo, WA a week from Saturday. It is really neat to put the quilts in gardens. I think you could find it on the Mukilteo Lighthouse Guild on line. I will not try to make a link, or everything will disappear, or you will get a whole page of nonsense.

The pond project moves along, and with the heat last weekend, we almost passed out in the heat. We got most of the bottom drain plumbing done, so now we have the bottom contours and such to smooth out. Then we have to level the sides all around and other things, but on the last weekend of the month we hope to get the lining in. Oh, happy day. My fish guy is keeping my new fish in his tanks at the shop...they have their own apartment....thank goodness he is not charging me rent!

Well, guess I should go to PO and stop the mail, finish my whole cloth and plant my last few daisies....I love daisies. Have a great day, and I will post some pictures of Sisters next week. In the meanwhile, don't forget to enjoy summer where you are! Judy

Bedtime

2009-06-25T21:57:00.000-07:00

Well, here I am writing at night which is rare for me. I usually do the blog in the morning before starting work. I did finish the snowmen for my friend Pat in CT....and now I do her daughter's dresden plate in 30's fabric. It is really nicely done.

Today was the first day of our WA shop hop....soooo many shops and so little time. I just stopped by Aunt Mary's and got some polka dots and came back home....I need to save my money for the fishies....all that pond equipment is my big goal now. Besides, I have enough fabric to sink 5 battleships.

Today Stephie came over and we sewed on our quilts....we are each making a large 9 block piece...inspired by Freddy Moran. I think we will turn it into a class for the fall, and try some things out on the class. Stephie is sooooo talented and creative. We have a blast sewing together, too. I will try to post what we have been working on, as well as the snowmen going to CT. Not much other news....goat girls are fine, and the fish too. Tommy-boy has not caught any gophers in the past few days. I hope we have good weather for the pond project this weekend. I love working on that. Tomorrow a field trip to the La Conner Museum to see more of the Karen Franzin quilts...they are so spectacular. Till later, happy sewing...judy

BUSY DAY!

2009-06-24T09:14:00.000-07:00

Look at that beautiful Freddy Moran quilt? No one has the sense of color that Freddy does? remember...RED IS NEUTRAL!!

Some scenes from our area of Washington....mistakenly posted a duplicate, and could not figure out how to delete one of the...but hopefully have figured out how to add script to the pictures. I learned yesterday, so better keep in practice.

Today is a busy day....but aren't they all?? A couple friends are dropping by to help me figure out some landscaping, and how to use my Round-up. I really hate to use anything strong for the weeds, but it's them or me....and I refuse to keep giving in to those rascally weeds...some of them of taller than I am now. I hope to get some weed cloth down and then get some ground cover going...maybe I can outsmart them.

I gave my Tommy-boy a good brushing this morning. He loves to go and roll in the dirt around the pond under construction. Then he drags in all that dirt and dust...so when I pet him, I get a big dust cloud! Tommy-boy is my black kitty...he is a sweet boy, and a great hunter. He has been catching little gopher mole like things...and proudly brings them to me for praise. Then I snatch them so he doesn't eat those critters...you never know the germs they may have.....besides, Tommy has plenty of MIaow mix to eat!

I am also going to a guild board meeting tonite, but first a visit to a new pond place near there. I may get some inspiration. It is always fun to see how different ponds are built and landscaped.

I am looking forward to doing a trunk show and lecture for the Stray Threads quilt guild next Thursday in Woodinville, WA. That should be lots of fun. Well, I am trying to link to the guild, but can't make it work...see, without my guru, I am lost!. For some reason I cannot minimize the screen to get to the website and link it. Oh, gosh, what a dunce I am with the computer. I guess I could try again. Well, I tried, but not sure it it worked....anyway, if not, check out the Stray Threads on line.

Well, guess I better get to work...have to finish some snowflakes today, and get ready to get rid of those pesky weeds....hope you all have a great day.

By the way, our Western Washington Shop Hop starts today...over 60 shops...can you believe that??? When I lived in CT, we had about 6, and that was in 2 states...ha.....have a great day...judy

MY GURU is HERE!!

2009-06-23T11:09:00.000-07:00

This is part of our last weekend's work. We are trying to get ready to landscape between the old and new pond...and never have another weed ever!! Any suggestions. I think weed cloth is the only answer.

Some of the rocks...tiny ones. These will go along the edge of the stream.

Our new neighbor goat....they are cute. They don't make much noise like the girls!
Aren't I toooo cute???

Oh, Happy Day...sharon, my blog guru is here to help me with comments and editing. Everyone needs a blog guru, but you cannot have mine!

Sharon also heads up our American Hero Quilt Project in this area....in Stanwood, WA. I will try to put a link to that for you as well. The main word here is TRY.....Check out the site, and if you can make a quilt....even better.

Our Busy Bee Quilt show is coming the last weekend of July. Check out our guild website.

We spent lots of time on the weekend working on the pond project. It is fun, but lots of work. We have a ton of rocks to move, and I do mean a ton. I hope I can get my neighbor to move a couple big ones with his tractor. I took some pix of the new neighbor goats...brown Swiss Alpine. They are cute boy goats, with horns!

Well, I hope you are all enjoying the sun...I know I am!

Mystery Photo

2009-06-15T08:10:00.000-07:00

One of the many really cute houses on Mackinaw Island. A Victorian Paradise. Don't forget to try to see the movie Somewhere in Time....filmed on location here.

Well, since I cannot figure out how to edit, I just thought I would let you know the photos were from Mackinaw Island, Michigan.....one of my favorite places in the world. NO cars...just horses and bicycles. Lots of fudge too. I grew up in Michigan loving to go there, and whenever we go back, we always take a visit....as we will again this September. There are several great quilt shops in Michigan...especially the Ice House in Grayling. Well, I will see if I can post a couple more pix from Mackinaw Island....I hope you can get there some day, too. Judy

Still quilting!!

2009-06-15T07:56:00.001-07:00

Good morning!

Today should be a great day, even with the overcast. THat means it may be cooler with NO rain. Hopefully the weeds won't grow quite so fast. That makes me happy since I must have pulled a ton of weeds on Friday. Some of them are taller than I am. Got lots more to pull. I think I am going to resort to weed cloth to keep them at bay, especially around the pond area.

I finished a quilt for Liza and Kaffe, shipped it, and still have for tomorrow. I finally got my whole cloth up to work on. I will take it down if I don't finish today...too many other things to do.

I see the goat girls are trying to climb the trees in the pasture. THey like those tender little leaves on the alder trees...which are more weeds than trees. We managed to fence them off from my big, old cedar tree. I will have to post pictures of my neighbor's goats....theirs are brown with horns, and pretty cute, too.

This week is our guild and I will show the day group how to piece backs on quilts....so easy and fun. Otherwise, I mostly have quilts to do for our show at the end of July. We are holding it at the Monroe, WA highschool. I still have a couple tops of my own to quilt. Then there are the samples for the fall classes to prepare. I am glad I never run out of things to do!!

Guess I better find a picture or two to post for today. I have to get some pix out of my camera, so next time I may post pond pictures. Have a great day...Judy

GOAT PATROL

2009-06-06T19:52:00.000-07:00

Hi all....well, today we had a big, fun time on goat patrol....those little rascal girls got loose, at least one of them. Our neighbor was trying to get his fence up so his cows can use our pasture, and, of course those rascal girls had to get nosey.....One hopped right over the fence. She outsmarted 3 adults trying to capture her. In the end, the old food trick got her back on the right side of the fence. We had to reinforce and make some fence higher. Her real momma got more fence around the cedar tree, so that won't get any more damage from chewing. Tomorrow the neighbors get their two goats from the goat rescue. I think this neighborhood is going to the goats. Have to admit they are cute.

Check out the cute goat quilt I just finished by Tanya Pedroni of Lafayette, CA....it is absolutely terrific. I think I will have to make a goat quilt too.

I had a great time at La Conner Museum meetings. I am now the member in charge of securing vendors for our Quiltfest in October. I wish you could all come to the Museum. It is fabulous.

We are having some famous applique folks come in 2010, but more later on that.

I have to get going on my whole cloth quilt for our guild show. Have other things in line as well.

Well, guess I will post the goat quilt and go give my arm a rest. I hope you all have a great weekend, and I will continue the saga of the goats next week. Hopefully all will be quiet on the western front. We don't need any more goat escapees!! Judy Irish

Instant Insanity...finished

2009-05-29T09:35:00.000-07:00

I finally got my Jacqueline de Joong quilt finished...it was really hard. It was the hardest thing I have ever pieced, but then you have to follow a pattern and that is hard for me. It was really wonky on the bottom, but I managed to quilt it into submission pretty well....now I can make some funky, no pattern, fun things. I will enter this into the Busy Bee show, which was why I was trying so hard to get it done before deadline!

I finished Freddy Moran's selvage quilt. That was totally fun. She had a great collection of selvages, especially Marimekko. I am not sure if it goes in a book yet or not.

Finished some more planting in containers yesterday. I have a better chance of keeping the weeds at bay if I put things in pots. They do look so pretty, and I can move them around, too. Well, gotta go to the La Conner Quilt and Textile Museum for a meeting, so better get busy and check on the goat girls and koi.....hope you all have a great day, too...the weather is spectacular again.....judy

What a beautiful weekend!

2009-05-26T08:52:00.000-07:00

Good morning all!

What a wonderful weekend...weatherwise. We put up my new flags to celebrate all the freedoms with which we are so richly blessed. We thank all those who have so selflessly served our nation both now and and in the past. They are true HEROES.

It is cloudy this morning, but over the weekend we had lots of beautiful weather for mowing, weeding, fencing, and working on the pond. We got the back part of the waterfalls built up with chunks of re-cycled concrete and dirt filled in as well...it is finally starting to shape up there. As for the hole in the ground, we are still trying to pump dry so we can install the koi toilets...I think that is such a funny name, but actually the name of the product which works as the bottom drain to keep things flushed and clean. We still have lots to learn, but have a very good teacher north of us where we buy our equipment.

I finished Freddy's quilt...very colorful, of course. One more to go for her. It is a fabulous collection of selvages. I hope it goes in a future book. As for me...I finally got my paper-pieced project up and began to quilt on it. I hope I can quilt out all my wonky piecing. It was a definite challenge, and not one I plan to take on again for awhile. I do have some more similar patterns, but I think one a year of those is enough to make me totally nuts.

I will post a few pictures and get to work. I want to finish my quilt today so I can get to some others by tomorrow....have a great day. Judy

Back Again! Janet Fogg Quilts...WOW

2009-05-22T08:19:00.000-07:00

http://gatheringfabric.com/OH, MY! It has been way too long since I have written....too many irons in the fire. I have been busy teaching and working on quilts. The spring weather occasionally pokes its head out here as well.....and the weeds are calling way too loud! Hopefully today I can get on the mower and cut grass as well as plant more of my annuals which are lined up waiting. I LOVE this time of year when the nurseries open with all the colorful flowers and such. I also like to collect succulents, which I can grow very well, and love the unusual little plants with funky "leaves" and little flowers on occasion. I always plant everything in red, white, and blue.....altho blue flowers are the hardest to find!

JANET FOGG came to our Camano Island guild to speak and show her quilts. If ever you get the chance to see her work, you MUST run, not walk, to do so....it is beyond fabulous. And be sure to check out her quilting as well. She works on a long-arm and does spectacular work. Her cat quilt won at the APNQ show.....and her other pieces are prizewinners as well. She has a retreat in Oregon....which some of us hope to attend some day. I hope you enjoy the couple pix I posted today.

The house quilt belongs to Trish Van Slageren and Elena is posted with her Christmas quilt from Laurel Burch fabric. She used my Creative Detours pattern....
I taught a couple classes of the woven quilts and the gals really made s0me beauties. Also taught Kaffe Fassett's Red Diamonds at Gathering Fabric and the quilts were fabulous as well. Okay, what happened??? I thought the link should appear near the word Gathering Fabric....oh, I just can't get this stuff......and now I got on Facebook because some friends have been encouraging me to do that....more hard stuff....can't get it. I think I just need my old Hermes typewriter from college. It was state of the art at one time.

Last night was my first board meeting with the La Conner Quilt and Textile Museum...check them out on the internet....won't try a link here, who knows where it will pop up? The 2010 Quiltfest will be fabulous....this year's too....I will even be teaching! All the applique folks will ove the 2010 with all the stars coming to teach....La Conner is working on a new website and it should be going within the month, so do check it out, and if you are around the area go for a visit.

The goat girls are doing well as are the koi. I wish we would have baby koi, but the fish don't seem to cooperate in that area. All they want to do is EAT!

The quilt shows are a bit quiet for a while....we have the Busy Bee show in July. I am looking forward to my little homegrown outdoor show in August. It will be even bigger this year, and with all the fences we added to keep the neighbor dogs out, we can hang more quilts....ha...

Well, guess that is all the news for today...amazing how boring life can be, but the day by day little things we do are blessings for sure. I love to get up and feed my fish and visit with the goats, and even mowing the lawn...which I really love to do. I will try to post some pictures of the pond project in the future if ever we can continue. Maybe in June the weather will dry things out a bit. In the meantime, hope all is well with you all, and I will still try to figure out how to check your comments....still have not got that figured out....happy quilting and gardening...judy irish

Houston, here I come!!

2009-05-05T08:56:00.000-07:00

OK....I just lost my first efforts at posting for today....I just cannot figure out computers and programs and such...tried to put some pictures and edit...name the pix....next thing I know...it is all gone.

My exciting news for today is that the greater Houston quilting guild has invited me to come and do a trunk show and teach machine quilting. I can hardly believe it. What a fun thing that will be...not till Aug. 2010.....so that will give me plenty of time to prepare and get some more things made for the trunk show.

Today I am working on a quilt for Christmas....a block of the month with santas and trees made by my friend Pat Jennings in CT. Then, if the weather should clear up, I can plant some more flowers in my pots...including some interesting new succulents that I got. They are one plant I can never kill!!

I will try to post again the pictures from before. If I am lucky...the bridge is the GW in New York. The sunflowers from a garden in CT, and the quilt from a show I saw in CT as well....if it doesn't work...it will be potluck!! Have a great day...judy

back in the saddle!

2009-05-02T20:50:00.000-07:00

Greetings...shame on me!! I have not written in at least a week...what has happened? Too much work, and not much news, I guess. I did finish 2 quilts for the new Kaffe book...one by Mary Mashuta, and one by Roberta Horton. They always have quilts in the Rowan books. They come up with some great things.

The goat girls are fine, eating everything in sight. Hopefully they will keep the new blackberries mowed down. They love their alfalfa pellets and I love to give them extra snacks! They are pretty loveable. I hope I won't mind giving them up when they go back to their real "family"

My hubby is doing very well after his adventures with 5 stents, and working like before. We have been working on putting up some gates and fences to keep the neighborhood dogs out. So far we have put up one gate, and some slightly tilted fence posts! One of the dogs climbs straight up the fences like a monkey....so time will tell if these will work.

Our pond project is still on hold till things dry out some more. We need the bottom to be dry to install drains and liner. Maybe by July??

My brother and his wife were here for a few days, and I got some help with cleaning and sorting books in my studio. I will have to send some pix of some of the organized areas some time. I think it may be hopeless!

Oh, today we had fun at our longarm meeting. We have great gals and each is a star in her own right. One has a statler stitcher and some have mid-arm or other machines for quilting. Some do only charity quilts, and others quilt for customers. But we all have a great time and enjoy sharing about our work and how and where to get supplies quickly and for good prices.

Well, guess that is enough for tonite. Hopefully will have more to report next time. I hope you and yours are well and enjoying the spring weather in good health. Till next time, happy quilting...Judy

My Studio

2009-04-20T08:35:00.000-07:00

Greetings from sunny WA.....is spring finally here?? Today is sunny....although not real warm yet. The koi have been pretty active which is always a good sign of warm weather. I can feed them and say hi and take a nose count. I finally saw Fluffles, my big U.S. born butterfly koi. He isn't worth so much since he didn't come from Japan, but he is sure beautiful...orange, black and white spots. I will try to get pictures up some day.

Today my friend Opal will be coming over to hang out and sew. We always have a great time. She has some web things I will have to post...sites or blogs or twitters or something. You can look at her things. She did journals every week for 2 years...what an amazing thing. They are wonderful.

I thought I would post pictures of my messy studio. One is of my big sewing table..originally it was going to be a cutting spot...ha....all it does is collect stuff...one day my girl-friend came by, looked in the window and left...she said she couldn't even see me...the junk was too high...yikes...who has time to clean.??? I do have a great design wall where I hung barn doors...they go in front of my storage shelves, which, by the way, are pretty neat and organized by color and theme. I always say I am going to charge a fee for the gals to bring their husbands through....then they will never complain about their wives' stashes again! Ha...I thought that was a pretty good idea.....till next time....judy

busy bees tonite

2009-04-16T08:19:00.000-07:00

Tonite is our guild meeting as well as the day group. Klota and I will be handing out our materials for the 2010 raffle quilt. We decided to do jewel tones and stars on black background with an applique border. We also have Lynn Majidimehr as our speaker tonite. If you type her name into search, you should be able to find her site and quilts. She does really great stuff!

I think we may have a sunny day at some point....yeah. I am getting pretty antsy to get into the garden and yard work. We will have to outsmart all the dogs from our neighbors who like to play in our yard and pond. We are working on a fence system. Maybe we can get it right and the dogs will be on the outside.

Gotta go feed the goats and check the fish...hope you all have a great day. I will post some of Lynn's quilts on tomorrow's blog. Have a great day! Judy

Another quilt show!

2009-04-13T09:01:00.000-07:00

Hi to all!

This morning I can get back to the usual quilting. I will be starting a new quilts for Kaffe Fassett's next book. They are always so fun to do.

THe past few days we had another quilt show, this time the Camano Island Guild. It was a fabulous show, with so many great quilts. It only has about 150 or so quilts, but such a great variety. The pictures posted are from that show. We had a Studio Sale....donations from members....books, fabric, patterns, etc. What a great time shopping I had. I donated about 8 garbage bags, and took home about 2, so I guess I am ahead of the game. I love to check out the donated books, as you often find something you really NEED. Got some great fabric for collage, and a couple old, worn out tops, but they are still really neat.

This week I will be teaching machine quilting again. The gals do such a great job...better and better. I guess machine quilting has finally become OK!!

Check out the pictures from the show. Oh, the one with the little snowman and red background was a postage stamp a few years back. The snowman was one I had made and sold at craft shows....a stamp photographer in New Milford, CT used it and it was chosen for the Christmas stamp series...what a fun thing to happen... I got paid a whole dollar to give up my rights. I am just picking some picutes at random. I hope you enjoy them...gotta go check out the little goat girls. Oh, I wish I had a picture of the neighbor's dog climbing straight up my gate using the chicken wire as steps....I have been outsmarted 3 times by this dog....trying to keep her out of my yard and away from the ponds and koi. She is a lab, and loves the water. I have another plan....will let you know if that works. Have a great day...Judy

Sun, at last!

2009-04-06T08:39:00.001-07:00

Good morning, Sunshine!

Happy days...it is sunny today. Yesterday was sunny as well, and the pond temp was 50, so I fed my fish just a tad to get them in the mood...as if they need to be in the mood to eat...kinda like their mom! (Except I don't like fishfood) The fishy boys looked very healthy so far, and pretty fat for a winter spent at the bottom of the pond in the ice and snow, and with no food since October. I have a few more new ones on hold, so it will be fun to get the pond things going again and to work on the new pond. I hope they like their new home, if ever we can get it done.

I am going to post a picture of one of my student's quilts, with an African theme. She took my class a few weeks ago, and sent me a picture of her finished top. I think it came out FABULOUSLY beautiful....so I am sharing it with you as well as some pictures I took at sew day with Linda and the gals last Friday. I spent the whole time cutting my kaffe fabric for a new pattern I designed...I am calling this quilt Krazy for Kaffe! I will post it when I get the top finished.

I hope you all have a wonderful day...I am off to quilt a chicken quilt, and hopefully send it home to Oklahoma. Have fun...judy

Rain, again!

2009-04-02T08:37:00.000-07:00

Good morning....seems like the only weather we know here is RAIN. It is supposed to be sunny this weekend, but I will believe that when I see it.

Yesterday was great fun...Liz and I took our friend Klota on a birthday shop hop day. Got some great fabric...more chickens, some kaffe fabric for my new design, and some supplies for class. This time I got both white and black mistyfuse...be sure to try this fusible if you are working with lightweight fabrics. It is like fusing with a cloud!

I think I will dig through my tubs of kaffe fabric today and add some to my pile for a new design I am working on. Tomorrow we sew at a gal's house that will give me a chance to work on things. I will post it when I finish the top. Notice, I did not say get the top quilted!

Tonite is our guild meeting on Camano Island, and next week we set up for our quilt show. They put on a terrific show.

Hope some of you got the lemon bar recipe and will try it.

I guess that is about all the news for now...I better get to work for a bit before running a few errands in town. I think I will check out the goat girls, too. They will need water wings before long. Have a great day. Oh, Sharon told me how to write to people reading my blog. I will have to try it and see if I can figure things out. Have a great day! Judy

A note to those who read my blog!

2009-03-31T09:20:00.000-07:00

Just so you know, if you are following my blog....I still don't know how to get to you. I need my guru Sharon to show me how to respond to folks reading my blog...pretty sad that I don't know that yet....thanks for your patience. I would love to write some of you, and as soon as I can figure that out, I will.....love, jude

Lemon Bar Recipe

2009-03-31T08:47:00.001-07:00

Good morning......rainy again today. Our neighbor girl fed the goat girls, so I will sneak them a treat later this afternoon. Tonite I teach machine quilting, so I have to finish one quilt and start and finish another. Good thing it is small. THese are for Sara Nephew, an author near me. She has sold her business but still works with Marcy Baker the new owner. Sara has written many books, the last one was all about log cabin quilts...Not your Mother's Log Cabin.....she is great with 60 degree diamonds and triangles.

I will have to post my chicken quilt I did with one of her patterns. It is called Hollow Cubes.

Try this yummy lemon bar recipe. I am sure you will love it.

LEMON BARS

1 1/2 Cup unsifted flour

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

1/2 cup butter

Combine above ingredients. Pat down well in buttered 9X 13 pan.

Bake in 275 degree oven for 10 minutes.

FILLINGg.....2 eggs

1 Cup brown sugar, packed

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1 1/2 Cup coconut

1 Cup chopped walnuts

2 TBS flour

1/4 tsp. salt

Beat the eggs; stir in sugar, coconut, nuts, flour, baking powder, salt and vanilla. Spread on top of the baked crust mixture. Bake 20 minutes at 350 degrees. While warm, spread with FROSTING made by combining:

2 TBS. melted butter

2 Cups powdered suga

Juice of 2 lemons (You might add some lemon zest too!)

This recipe came from my friend Annette Austin via Marcella. Annette made a quilt with all yellow squares, and used the recipe on her back label....really neat. I wish I had a photo of the quilt. But I hope you love the lemon bars! Judy

Right Side Up!

2009-03-30T08:56:00.000-07:00

Well, as you may have noticed, I posted a picture upside down yesterday....ugh...I cannot figure out how to do so many of these technical things. Where is my Guru??

I had my dear hubby right the picture so I can re-post it today, right side up. This piece was made by Elaine Colvin, a longarm quilter in my guild. This was a challenge piece using apple fabric as the challenge. All of the pieces entered were great.

This morning I will be sewing with Roxanne Carter and working on one of her patterns. I have to make at least 12 more star blocks and some more sections of seminole piecing. I have been working on this over a year off and on...mostly off!

I have that great chicken fabric to start on as well as a new pattern I am figuring out where I want to use all Kaffe Fassett fabrics. Just orded some more to put with my stash.

Gotta go feed those cute goat girls and get packed for my class. Hope you all have a wonderful day. PS....my fish are starting to wake up more and more. Maybe spring is coming after all. Judy

Longarm Meeting

2009-03-28T20:20:00.000-07:00

Hi quilters!

Today was fun. We had a longarm meeting and it was very well attended. Nearly 20 longarm quilters from the North Sound area near Everett, WA and surrounds......of course we had a great lunch as well, and lots of gabbing and sharing of tips. We have more and more new quilters each time....all you need is to have an interest in machine quilting. Some have large machines, and others small or mid-arms and some still are just dreaming of getting their machines. But we all love machine quilting.

One of the tips we discussed was oil on a quilt...which may happen if you get an oil drip from your machine. Many of us have had a lot of success with cornstarch...it sops up the oil quite well. You may have to leave it on overnight, but you should have quite a bit of success with this trick. BUt ahead of that...be sure to wipe down your machine and watch for oil drips in and around the table and head of the machine.

I shared my love of Marathon Thread, especially the gold and black twist and silver and black twist metallics. I LOVE them. Check on line for Marathon Thread.http://marathonthread.com/ They also have great rayon variegated threads in some unusual colors and are priced very reasonably.

Oh, the goats have names...I guess they came with names...Brooklyn and Jerry. I am getting pretty attached to them, so I hope they stay for quite awhile! The pictures posted are from today's meeting. I hope you enjoy some of the quilts we shared. Will post again tomorrow...Judy

The Goat Girls!!

2009-03-27T11:16:00.000-07:00

Good morning to all you quilters out there....hey, I have 2 girl goats in my pasture...on loan, of course. Unfortunately, I may be pretty sad when they leave. They are pretty cute, and talk to me....baaaa.....baaaaa...I have them on loan, hopefully to eat my blackberries which are taking over. I think we need names for them. Any ideas??

I am experimenting to see why I have so much space between paragraphs. My Guru Sharon is here..yeah......oh, she will make a link to her blog from mine. Ain't technology grand!!

PS. I got the greatest chicken fabric yesterday on a mini-shop hop. It was at the Keepsake Cottage in Bothell, WA.

I hope you enjoy Freddy Moran's colorful quilts posted above, and my cute little goat girls!

Back in the Saddle!

2009-03-25T08:27:00.000-07:00

Good morning quilting friends!

Anaother rainy morning in our neck of the woods. I wanted to take pictures of my cute goats, but want to wait for a sunny day. They talk to me everytime I go to the studio or they get within earshot. I hope they get busy and eat some of those blackberry vines and all that grass. When spring comes and it gets warmer, I think they will eat more!

Well, it seems good to get back to a more normal schedule....my poor hubby, I am always asking and checking on how he feels. I am sure he is happy to get back to work too. I guess that is a normal reaction....even he says so!

Today is Freddy Moran day again. I want to finish one and try to finish another...they are small, and then there are at least two pretty large ones to do as well. I think after these I will do this really neat LARGE chicken quilt made by my friend in CT....if I don't get this one done pretty soon, it may be my X-friend in CT...ha...

I will post a few more pix from our quilt show last weekend, a smashing success. I even got invitations to speak and teach at two guilds...one in Anacortes, WA and another south near the ORegon border. I love to do trunk shows and share all my quilt memories with other quilters.

Well, guess I better get to work and get a few pix posted and head to the studio. I hope you all have a wonderful and sunny day, wherever you are....oh, my friend and blog guru Sharon will be here Thursday to help me on the blog. Maybe I can figure out some links and a calendar. I wish I had a computer brain! Happy Quilting!

Life Happens...with a happy ending

2009-03-24T08:46:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends...it has been a few weeks since I have written on my blog. I am still new and still want to learn some other things about posting on the blog. I think this week my friend Sharon will help me with more blog stuff.....

It has been a most eventful few weeks...About two weeks ago my dear hubby was getting ready for work, and informed me he had pains and tightness in his chest. This was after he had been up over an hour and thought they would go away....soooo, I rushed him in the car to our little local hospital where they stablized and ekaygeed him, and gave him some nitro etc.....he was fine at that point and went by ambulance to the major heart center at Providence Hospital in Everett, WA...which happens to be one of the top hospitals for cardiac care in the U.S....

He did very well, and by the time I got to him they had put in one stent...followed by 4 more on Monday. He was to go home Tuesday, but he had a few more tests and was able to go home a day later, on Wednesday......the heart care is nothing short of miraculous. He had 95% blockage in about 3 arteries and a bit less in others. We are so grateful for God's healing hand and the wonderful doctors who cared for him. He was not the typical profile for this, so I guess the way you are made may have more to do with things than what you eat and how much exercise you do. Well, the end of the story is happy, and we are so grateful to be all right. Ken has even started back to work, and will slowly get back to all the regular routines. I am quite a nag...but I guess this is normal. I just want to share this and hope it explains my not "blogging" for some weeks....

on a happier note....

BIG QUILT SHOW....The last few days was our local Quilter's Anonymous quilt show at the Monroe Fairgrounds in WA....It was a great show, and I even was honored to be the Featured Artist....what a blast. I got to meet the nicest people who came through the show, and demonstrated machine quilting so I wouldn't get too bored sitting there. I even got a few people to try quilting. They said it was fun to boot!!

I will post some pix from the last few weeks and hopefully life will get back to our regular routine. I trust you and yours will have a healthy and happy spring, if ever it does get here....oh, I have 2 new guests! Watch the blog for photos....2 of the cutest black and white goats are here to eat my blackberry vines. That is the plan, anyway. I have 2 goats here for awhile till their owner can get a place for them. Happy quilting!!

Today is my meeting of the Goofballs...a little group of us who get together for lessons and sewing and fun.

Fun with Threadplay and machine Quilting

2009-03-07T10:19:00.000-08:00

Well, I see I missed posting one of Barbara's quilts, and posted two by mistake....I just don't get how to edit or fix my boo boos yet...so will add a part of her Heron Quilt, and some of my students' efforts at machine quilting...they did GREAT....and we had a really good time. I hope you are all trying some new things with machine quilting as well. I just re-printed my design book, and the girls use some of the designs from that....enjoy! Judy

Barbara Shapel Class FUN

2009-03-07T10:06:00.000-08:00

Hi Quilters!

This week I took a workshop from Barbara Shapel...you must check out her work and take a class if ever you can. I took the class through my guild with 2 friends....Liz and Klota...we are the Shapel Groupies....ha....we worked on 2 sided quilts and I hope to get going on the actually sewing and finishing yet this week.....check out some of her things and drool!

Is spring coming??

2009-03-03T12:30:00.000-08:00

HI folks...here it is noon, and the sun is finally coming out. My husband says with the weather, in like a lion and out like a lamb.....It has not been too bad here in early March, but back where we lived in CT the lion was definitely out, as in New York and Boston, I guess. Glad we are not living there with all that cold, snowy weather. I am optimistic that the remaining March days will be much better.

The Picture is my kitty boy....Tommy....he came with the house! He is quite the character, and a pretty good hunter, too. He also is a good nap-taker! The other quilt is one I made after taking a class from Jackie Robinson on folded piecing. It is a fun technique. She does a fabulous program on Frank Lloyd Wright...the best I have ever seen....if ever your guild has the chance, ask her to come and do a program.

It is time to plant my sweet peas, maybe this weekend. According to all the gardeners I may be late already. I also bought some neat multi-colored sunflowers. I hope they will grow well here. We should have plenty of sun. I have to start getting rid of all those weeds soon.

I finished a great Asian fabric quilt yesterday for Roxanne...she is such a fabulous designer and teacher. Today I am doing another Asian style fabric with a big heron and dragon flies...also some beautiful lotus. That is for my friend Lorraine....check out her website at http://seawatchfabrics.com/ She specializes in batiks and Asian fabrics...I hope you enjoy her website.

Our big quilt show is in a couple weeks. That is for the Quilter's Anonymous Guild here in Edmonds, WA. It is held at the Monroe, WA Fairgrounds.

Yesterday we planned my classes for the Fall Quiltfest at the LaConner Museum. I will post them in a bit, once everything is finalized. I will be teaching 2 classes, and they should be lots of fun. Maybe some of you can sign up!!

Not much other news here, so guess I better get back to work on Lorraine's quilt. Hope you are all having a great time in your gardens or working on quilt projects. Will write again tomorrow....Judy

The Eagles Have Landed!!

2009-02-27T08:15:00.000-08:00

Oh....this morning I was looking out my front windows when I spotted several eagles soaring. We live about one mile from the Stillaguamish River, so don't often see them, but there they were!! I watched them and then one huge guy landed in the top of a huge, tall tree. There he sat for some time...I couldn't get him to fly away for a good picture, in spite of the neighbor's dogs barking like crazy. I thought it would be so great to be sitting up there surveying the countryside as that great and majestic bird was doing. He finally flew away, but dropped to the far side of the tree, so I couldn't get a good picture. Maybe they will return. I guess it is eagle season here.

As for quilts, yesterday I finished Klota's paper-pieced beauty...in golds, oranges, yellows...and then a smaller birthday cake quilt...very cute and cheery. Last night I pinned up one of mine!! It is a funky little chicken quilt that I made at the retreat. I made it up as I went, so there is no set pattern. I love to piece that way.

Today my sweet friend Stephanie is coming for lunch...she is the most creative gal....we make a great team with her piecing and my quilting. We are both Freddy Moran groupies too.

Well, gotta go eat some breakfast and get to quilting on my chickens....more later...Judy

Gloomy Day...Perfect for Quilting!

2009-02-24T08:52:00.000-08:00

Good morning, Friends. Today is dark and gloomy outside, not like the brighter day of yesterday. I peeked into the pond yesterday afternoon, and some of the fish were having a swim near the top. That is not really too good, as they cannot be fed for a number of weeks, yet. Hopefully they will go back to "sleep" for 6 weeks or so. I am getting pretty excited about working on the pond and weeding in the garden...still too wet and gloomy for that yet.

Today I work on Klota's quilt. It is a bright and sunny piece in yellows, oranges, and reds--a huge paper-pieced creation. I am still working on my paper piecing project as well as getting things ready for our up-coming show in Monroe, WA....the Quilter's Anonymous show in March. I will post pictures after so you can see our wonderfully, creative quilters in that guild. In the mean-time I better grab some breakfast and get to work. Judy