New Website

Boy, what a difference a month can make weather-wise. It was fairly warm through Thanksgiving but has gone downhill (way downhill) since. We've been in the deepfreeze for the past couple of weeks with temperatures barely getting above zero. Then yesterday we got whalloped with 10 inches of snow when we were predicted to only get 1-3 inches. The winds started blowing before dawn and haven't quit all day. I wonder how long before the plows are able to get out to move the drifts so I can return to my last two days of teaching before winter break begins on Dec. 23rd at 2 p.m.?

I bought a new Apple computer in September and have been learning to use it since. For a few dollars more per year I even got my own website which I finally got published and running yesterday. Check it out when you have the time!

http://web.me./bluebird47

Second project

This one went quite easily compared to the following Christmas quilt. I managed to finish it in about 3 days. Each month my quilt guild has a monthly mini quilt made by a guild member. All who attend the monthly meetings may choose to purchase raffle tickets for that month's quilt. The lucky person gets to take the wall hanging, table runner, etc. home with them that night. The monies raised go into the guild's special projects coffers.
My turn is for the January monthly mini. I'll plan to take it with me next week since one never knows what the weather can be like in January and since I live an hour's drive away I feel it best to get the wall hanging there early. I love watching birds and finally decided to make the quilt bird-related. The Cardinals in the corners were fussy cut from some fabric I already had. If you know anything about birds you'll also know that Cardinals won't go near a nest box but their coloring went well with what I'd chosen for the border fabric so I used that.

Fall Projects

Back at teaching and I don't have as much time to do much of anything. Second grade students have a lot more energy than I do and it takes a lot to keep up with them most days. With Christmas approaching they have only one thing on their minds and it's not much on learning so I have to try to make the lessons exciting enough to keep their attention. Phew!

My quilt guild did have a Christmas challenge for "Christmas Around the World" in which we were to choose a country and make a quilt to depict Christmas there. I chose Czechoslovakia for two reasons. The first was because my grandparents, although German, emigrated from there to the U.S. in the early 1900s. The second reason was that I felt no one else would choose this country.

But then came the challenge for me. The Czechs believe that on December 6th Svety Mikalas comes down from the heavens on a gold rope accompanied by an angel and a devil. He carries a book listing all the children's names as having been good or bad. Those who were good get a back of treats and those who were bad get a bag of coal. Nothing I found mentioned the devil or angel after that but I'm guessing that they passed out the bags to those children in the good or bad categories.

I had a hard time putting a devil on a Christmas quilt but in the end came up with a way to do this without hurting the image of the quilt. I chose to make the devil 2-sided using a very heavy Pellon batting. Then I simply pinned him onto the rope. He can easily be removed later and I plan then to replace him with another angel or just leave the quilt as is without him.

Breaking Traditions

Finally my computer is working again with a new computer! So I can upload and share my entry for Breaking Traditions sewing expo in Michigan. I chose to honor Hospice. They are a wonderful group who cared for my mother in her final hours. They understand so well what the family is going through. I placed a Hospice worker caring for someone encircling them with not only their hands but all of the Hospice workers. Their hands help to brighten a person's final days but in the end must fade away but are still there for the remaining family members as needed.

Neil Diamond's World Tour 2008

Neil Diamond has always been my first love and always will. Don't tell my husband that, though. He was wonderful to take me to my second Neil Diamond concert in the last 3 years last night. The first concert the seats weren't so great but last night's were 9th row center! I could count the wrinkles around his beautiful brown eyes. He still has less than me, I think, and he's older. ND's voice hasn't faltered a bit from his early years. He still has some great, but not as hard, hip movements. I tried to take some illegal photos last night, but with the stage lighting and the photo police constantly moving around looking to snatch my camera and me and exit us from the show, it was a difficult task. My other camera would have been better but this one fit in my purse so these photos will have to do.
Boy, do I love this man. I could enjoy his show nightly.

Quilt Guild Grabbag Challenge

Not only did I participate in the Quiltart Grabbag Challenge but our local guild also sponsored a grabbag challenge. WOW! Did I get a bag of neat oriental fabrics and embellishments! Lots of orange that needed some toning down so I added some purples and a bit of yellow. I then found some of my own oriental fabric with cranes, cut them out and fused them to the quilt to come up with "Following the North Winds". Tomme Fent turned out to be the owner of the fabric and resulting quilt.

We exchanged them last Monday night and oh, did we have some great quilts! Mine was made by Catherine Grigg and was definitely the brightest. I love what she did with the fabrics. She titled it "A Postcard from Quilter's Beach'. Isn't it great and wouldn't you love to have it hanging on your wall?

Grabbag Challenge

I recently participated in the Quiltart Grabbag Challenge. My first and it makes one both nervous and excited. I wondered who received my fabrics and would they like them. Once finished with the grabbag I received I wondered if that person would like the quilt I made for them.

What a relief to finally get mine back. Maureen Lardie did a wonderful job making "Beaded Curtain" from my fabrics and I would not have thought to use them this way ever! I do enjoy looking at it and see new things each time.

I made "Green Mile Squared" for Franziska Gruenig of Switzerland. Lots of greens and purples in this quilt. I added some orange squares and paint to get more color.

All in all it was a great learning experience forcing me to construct something in a short time using another's choice of fabric. Something everyone should do occasionally.

Another Rare Bird Here!

I can't quilt but I can enjoy the birds. I've been an avid bird watcher since high school when it was a required biology unit of study and I found I enjoyed it. Anyway, we came home from my granddaughter's 11th birthday on Sunday when I glanced out the window and saw a dove on the farthest feeder. Something different about him and then I realized it was a southwestern species: White-winged Dove. He flew before my husband could see him but he flew over twice afterwards when we were out looking for him. I got my camera out just in case and an hour later he finally came back to the feeders. I quickly took several photos of him through the window again digi-scoping. They're good pictures but not as sharp as they could be not shooting through the window.
This is the 3rd southwestern/western species I've had in my yard. The first was a Black-throated Sparrow in 1993. The second was a Say's Phoebe in 1997 and now the dove. Too bad digital cameras and digi-scoping were unknown then. The sparrow was the 3rd documented record for Nebraska. The phoebe is a resident of the western area of the state and appeared here for several years but were never able to establish a long-time residency. The doves appeared in Kearney several years ago and have been seen sporadically in various areas of the state since. This is the farthest northeast reported. He is pretty bird with the bright red feet and blue around the eye extending up from the bill.

Trigger Thumb

Thi a.m. I had surgery to fix my trigger thumb that developed quite suddenly in March. Not only was it catching badly (difficult to turn a page in a book) but quite painful the past couple of weeks. I worked to finish up most of my 'need to be done' quilt projects since I can do very little with it for two weeks and then gradually work back into doing things. I've discovered I can type fairly well, but slowly and only one-handed, but I almost get dizzy watching to make sure I hit the right keys and then still have several misses to correct. You can see from the photo that it's well bandaged for the next 3-4 days.

My new sunroom was finished just in time for me to sit in and read while my thumb heals. Lovely views of the surrounding farm ground, too.

Washington D.C. Trip

A lovely time of the year to visit, especially when my only cost was my airline ticket and food. I stayed with my sister in her hotel since her room was paid for by her job. For two days I did the usual tourist things. I always enjoy visiting the National Archives to see those documents that gave rise to the United States. Clear blue skies made for wonderful monument viewing and photographs. My only complaint was the hordes of high school students there on a supposedly 'educational' trip. They are rude in small groups but in great, mobbing numbers awful. They didn't listen to their sponsors, nor were they in any of those wonderful places to learn. They were obnoxious and purposefully disrupted others' viewing, interests. The Holocaust Museum was one of the worst. They had no idea what had happened nor did they care to learn about this atrocity.

After visiting the National Art Museum we walked up a different hill to catch the Metro back to the hotel. We came upon a wonderful little art gallery that had large fiberart figures inside. We decided to go in and were fortunate to meet the artist, Chris Maloney, and had a very informative talk with him about how he made his figures and some of his past. See for yourself by visiting his website: http://cmaloneyart.com/ . You won't be disappointed.

On a whim we made a visit to Alexandria, VA and although there were lots of people there they were polite and non-rude because of course, they weren't high school students. It's a lovely old town with lots of history (shopping, too) and I would suggest anyone visiting the area go there for a more relaxing time.

All my airline connections with Northwest were early and on-time so my flight was great, too.

Birds Out my Window

Nothing new to post in the way of quilts yet but since I am also an avid bird-watcher I thought I could post some photos that I've taken. Once the apple trees finally bloomed after a late start due to such a cold spring they were hopping with birds. I've had both Baltimore and Orchard Orioles along with Ruby-throated Hummingbirds drinking the nectar from the blossoms. Cedar Waxwings were actually picking off one at a time the petals from the blossoms and eating them! Robins, Red-headed, Downy, and Hairy Woodpeckers, Brown Thrasher, flycatchers and warblers eat any insects in the trees. American Goldfinch, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, and Indigo Bunting sit and wait for a spot at my near-by feeders. With all the Orange, Blue, Yellow, Black and White with a back drop of white apple blossoms and green grass makes from a lovely, colorful yard. Besides their color, their song fills the yard with melodious sound. We've even had Wild Turkey in the yard one evening.

The first picture is of a male Baltimore Oriole, the second a male Rose-breasted Grosbeak, third a male Orchard Oriole, fourth a male Indigo Bunting, fifth a male American Goldfinch, and last a gorgeous Cedar Waxwing taken during a rain shower.

To get these pictures I digi-scoped using my small Sony Cybershot camera placed against the lens of my spotting scope. This acts like a zoom lens for a larger camera. I think they're not too bad considering they were also shot through 2 panes of glass.

Rejected

My Quilting Arts calendar entry was a reject so guess I can post it here for comments. Ah well, it will hang on the wall or become a gift to someone so all is not lost. Maybe next time...

I've always enjoyed coming home in the evenings when it's warm and sitting in my swing with bare feet and enjoying the wildlife and flowers. I live in the country so the beauty can sometimes be breath-taking especially in spring and fall when colors are at their height. My only wish is that I could do this year-round instead of seasonally. It gets too darn cold here in winters! And this year winter just doesn't want to leave. Spring has been darn cold, too!