Plug the leak!!

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....

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.....

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

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!!

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!

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!

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