Last Try

It's been almost two years since my last post.  I guess that I stopped because no one was responding to my posts.  I'll try this one last time and if there are no responses I won't post again.

Seems like I've gotten away from art quilts for the time being and gone back to my first love before I discovered quilting.  That love is pastels.  Sometimes I produce something good, but most times they get put in storage to refer to and learn from the not so good.  I was working on medium size paintings but then went to minis just to practice techniques.  My latest mini, 5" x 7", is of an Indigo Bunting.  They are such a brilliant blue when the sun hits them.  I tried to get that to come through in my painting and somewhat succeeded.  Have a look...

Northern Spotted Owl

While visiting my sister who works for the USFS in Washington state I was fortunate to be able to go out with one of the Northern Spotted Owl researchers to attempt to find one of these rare birds.  I got the call 1/2 hr. before we were to leave so I hurriedly got dressed.  We met and hiked in on snow shoes about 1 mile up a mountain into a fir forest hoping to find one.  Boy, it was a great cardio workout getting there and all that running up and down the stairs the past month paid off.

Once up the mountain to an area where he'd located owls in previous years he began imitating the call of the No. Spotted Owl.  He paused several minutes between calls and after the 3rd attempt I saw an owl fly in and land about 50 feet from us.  I began snapping photos fearing it would disappear but little did I know how tame this species is.  It sat on a bare fir branch gazing at us with those enormous brown eyes.  I can't begin to describe the feeling one gets gazing upon such a magnificent bird.  He looked for and found a band on the owl's leg from a previous year's banding.

                         First View of the Owl

While following Stan up the mountain I'd noticed a plastic tube with holes in it attached to his backpack. I wondered what it was.  Inside he had mice that they raise in their office area.  He took one out and placed it on the ground.  The Owl quickly came down and grasped it flying back up to a fir tree.  He was hoping to get it to lead us to a nest, but the owl quickly ate it.  He figured the owl was especially hungry so he released  a second mouse.  This time the owl flew to a nearby fir broom, a deformed, gnarled mass of fir branches caused by mistletoe growth, where they will most often build nests.  We followed it there and found that the owl was stashing the mouse.  It sat and watched us waiting for another mouse.  A third mouse was released on the trunk of a huge fir tree and the owl immediately came in and grabbed it from the trunk.  Again it stashed it.

                            Mouse in talons

Reluctantly he released his last mouse and again the owl stashed it. Again she waited for another mouse to be released and when one didn't came in quite close to beg.  He said he never gives an owl more than 4 mice since they will quickly relate humans to giving them food which could produce disastrous   results.

                The final mouse caught not 6 feet from us

After the 4th mouse was released Stan got out his notebook and found the owl we were watching to be a female.  They should be on nest by now and it's usually the males that come for the released mice to take back to the female at the nest.  This was not a good sign since it could mean something had happened to her mate and there would not be a nest this year unless she found another mate.  He'll return in a couple of weeks to check the area again.  This particular female had been banded as a chick and was 13 years old.  She probably would have mated the first time at age 3 yrs.  and had been in this area since that time.
He said there are more males than female No. Spotted Owls in the forest.  They just had to find one another and she might have to move from this area to do so.

                     Waiting for another mouse

There are four groups of two researchers in the northwest area of Washington and Oregon who look for, and keep track of the owls and their nests.  They work from 2-10 pm daily.  Stan and his partner cover 100,000 acres of forest usually out alone but in radio contact.  Necessary to aid one another and for safety reasons.  They must constantly be on the alert for the silent Mountain Lion and occasional bear.  (He found fresh tracks in the snow, a bit early, in the area we were at.)  They go out at night and listen for owls.  If heard they mark the area on a map and return early evening and call the owls in as he did for me.  Hopefully the released mice will lead them to a nest.

After the nesting time they work on compiling their data and turning it into a central office.  In his recording notebook he has all his data from the early 90s to the present.  I asked how many nests/pairs they found yearly.  In 2010 they found 12 pairs that resulted in 7 nests down from 75 nesting pairs in 1992.  This does not bode well for this species.  Last year they found a male Spotted Owl mated and nesting with a female Barred Owl which produced offspring called 'Sparred Owls.'  My sister was able to hold one chick while they banded it.

All I can say is a big THANK YOU Stan for an amazing experience and beautiful bird.

Spring!!!

The snow drifts are about gone.  Only a few left in our grove but firm enough to walk on top of rather than sink into.  The grass has a slight green tint to it meaning Richard will have to get the lawn mower out ad read to go in another month and my tulips are beginning to poke through the ground!  The only bad part is that all those noisy, obnoxious grackles have returned from their winter vacation south.  Now, I do love birds but these characters are not on that list.

A busy week.  Tonight I have a drawing class again.  I've always loved to draw but have gotten out of the habit with all that fabric to take care of in one way or another.  So I'm hoping this will jump start my interest in drawing more once again.  Last evening I drew a Sedge Wren singing from his marsh perch.

Tomorrow evening we will attend my grandson's induction into the National Honor Society.  He's a great kid and not just because he's my grandson and well deserving of the honor.  Thursday I have to do laundry and pack.  I'm headed off to Washington state to visit my sister for 10 days.  Ahhhh...

Post Card Trading

It's time to trade postcards with people from all over the U.S. and some abroad.  This happens about twice yearly.  Themes are always given and people sign up for a particular theme, make fabric postcards to fit that theme, and mail them off to the recipients.  This trade I signed up for 'Fruit' and 'Birds'.  The latter shouldn't surprise you.  I finished them today.  For the fruit theme I chose to use a pear and both a red and a black cherry.  Who knows why I chose such a combination.  They're made entirely from fabric scraps of which I still have plenty left.  For the bird theme I dug out my old college (so you know they're old) set of linoleum cutting tools and cut a pair of herons into a small block and then printed them onto a mottled green fabric to represent a marsh.  Always fun to make but even more fun to see what creations I'll get from others on these same themes.

Peekhole On A Winter World

The latest challenge for my on-line group, Fast Friday Fabric Challenge, was issued last Friday, the fourth Friday of the month and was to depict dimensionality in a quilt or Trompe l'oeil pronounced Tromp loy.  Most of this type of work is very realistic and I jumped at doing this. While looking over the links for this challenge I happened to remember a picture I had drawn several years ago and surprisingly was able to grave the correct sketch book even.  But I was even more surprised at just how many 'several years ago' was.  Seems I drew it in 1980!  Still worked...  So I took a photo of the pencil drawing and then printed it onto an 8" x 10" piece of fabric.  The 3 faces weren't as dramatic in black and white so I used colored pencils to give their skin and shirts some color.  I quilted the faces very little so as not to lose their power. Yes, all the pine needles are individually cut averaging about 1" x 1/16" in size.  Only took a few hours one evening.
 Then, since I love birds, I put a lovely little White-crowned Sparrow on a branch for the father and sons to look at.  The shadows are all thread painted.  It's 15 1/2" x 17".

Again, a Long Time Away

I'm not a very good journalist so not a good blogger either.  Since I've last been on we've made a trip to Kansas City to the NCAA Division I volleyball tournament to take my granddaughter and enjoy her for the weekend.  She's an avid fan and great vb player herself at only 12.  Misty Mae Trainer posed for a photo with her.

The first of the year we ventured south to Arkansas to my daughter's wedding.  It was a nice ceremony albeit a bit cool on January 1st.  The day before it had been wonderfully warm.  Too bad it couldn't have lasted.

From there we trekked south into lovely Mississippi and drove a bit of the wonderful Natchez Trace, on to Biloxi and the warm Gulf breezes before ending up in New Orleans and the French Quarter enjoying the food and street jazz there.

Home again and I worked for 2 weeks at the local quilt shop while the owner was away.  While there I made a table runner and 3 throw size quilts for her to display in the store and eventually sell as kits.  I had started a 4th but didn't finish it so brought it home and finished it this morning.  Not my colors but a lovely quilt anyhow.

Autumn Maple

This piece is the latest on-line challenge piece for my yFast Friday Fabric Challenge group.  The challenge is revealed the 4th Friday of each month.  This month we were to choose a Haiku or write our won and then illustrate it using fabric with an emphasis on thread work in the quilt.  Haiku is a Japanese form of Poetry written with 5 syllables in the first line, 7 syllables in the second line, and 5 syllables in the last line and usually about nature.

This is probably the least variety of fabrics I've ever used in a quilt, just 4 different pieces.  A year ago I bought the hand-dyed fabric from Laura Wasilowski at the Des Moines AQS show.  Once home I wondered why, but it worked well as the background for this piece so I'm glad I bought it.  It was shades of light grey-blue, light rose-pink, and light yellow.  The first two reminded me of a dreary fall sky telling one winter would soon follow the loss of leaves.  I chose a maple tree because when I looked out my window the day the challenge was announced, my maples were loaded with gorgeous leaves that were beginning to fall.  Once started the light yellow was too light so I darkened it with a light wash of color with paints and quilting.

I quilted leaves on top of the fused pieces on the ground and then decided to do the same with the tree.  The tree's leaves actually ended looking more like oak leaves, but they'll do.  I decided to add a fence row disappearing over a distant hill to fill the space in the lower left corner.  It ended at 16" x 26 1/2".

The Haiku was written and the quilt over half completed when I decided to change the last line which I personally like better, but others may disagree.  Here are both versions:

Leaves, orange, red, gold
Gnarled maple dropping its crown
Which is last to fall?

Leaves, orange, red, gold
Gnarled maple dropping is crown
Earth's winter blanket.

Eastern Trip

We arrived home from a marathon 10 day east from Nebraska.  We went first to Kentucky.  Of course, whenever we go through Paducah I have to stop at the quilt museum.  Some of my favorites were again hung and lots of new ones, too.  Always an inspiration.  Next stop was Mammoth Cave where we went on a strenuous 4 1/2 mile walk in 4 hrs. through the cave with a very knowledgeable guide.  Last stop in Kentucky was Louisville where we toured the Louisville Slugger bat factory and Churchill Downs.  The latter was our favorite stop the entire trip.  What a great museum they have and informative tours.


Next stop was Cuyahoga National Park in Ohio.  It's quite different from the national parks one is used to seeing in the western half of the U.S.  This one is for people use and use it they do!  Bicyclists and walkers/joggers all over the old towpath.  We took the train ride from the north end to the south end and back.  Great way to be introduced to the park.  Then we visited a couple of spots after that.

Onward northeast.  We stopped overnight in New York state.  I'd hoped to visit the Roger Tory Peterson museum but it was closed Mondays and Richard didn't want to wait around another day.  So we headed on to Niagara Falls.  Previously I'd seen them half frozen in November 14 yrs. ago.  They're much lovelier with sunshine and green surroundings.  They've changed the area lots since I was there before, too.  We chose to pay big $$ to go up into the tower on the hill above the falls to eat and view the area from up high.  Glad we did.  It was awesome to see the falls this way.


After walking around the area for a bit we headed out again and stopped at Niagara on the Lake.  They have a lovely old town with a neat shopping area which we spent time walking around.   I also managed to make it to two of their wineries.

We then drove to the Jordan, Ontario area and spent the night in a hotel along Lake Ontario.  The water was calm and one could see Toronto in the distance across the lake.  There was even an old wrecked ship not far from the hotel.  The next a.m. we drove into Jordan and westward stopping at a few more wineries, tasting and buying.  At one we were introduced to the ultimate chocolate to be eaten with wine, Brix.  Try some.  You'll definitely like it if you like chocolate.

In one parish we found a  small bakery which I convinced Richard to stop at.  We walked in and I was amazed!  I haven't seen that assortment of pastries since a child.  So many cookies, tarts, turnovers, etc. that you can't imagine.  We bought a few things for samples and later when we ate them the delicious taste lingered in our mouths for quite some time.  Good thing I don't live closer or I'd be the size of a hot air balloon!


On to Michigan City, Indiana to visit some friends there.  We met their adorable new Golden Retriever puppy, Moose (aptly named for those big feet), had supper together and a nice visit.  We left later in the a.m. and managed to avoid the Chicago rush hour traffic.  We were able to drive all the way home that day even stopping Madison County Iowa to see the old covered bridges there and which, especially the 'Roseman Bridge', were brought to national fame by the book and later film, "The Bridges of Madison County".

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Stormy Night

It's been an unusual weather year in 2010.  After one of the worst winters I can remember the snow melted and then it turned dry.  Of course, being married to a farmer with dry weather and his crops life isn't the best during this time.  But then the faucet opened in late June and it hasn't shut off.  We had record amounts of rain in July and August is off to the same start.  The heat I can handle.  It's the humidity that's stifling and we've had our share of that this summer.  The worst weather seems to just go around us which is fortunate for the crops but we have 2 months to go before harvest begins.  But, the mosquitoes are here and the worst in 3 years.  They love it!

Late yesterday afternoon the clouds began to form and gradually it got darker and darker so that it was more like 9 p.m. than 5 p.m.  When it began to rain it dumped!  We got over 2" in less than an hour.  The winds blew but no trees fell.  I just have sticks to pick up all over the yard before I can get on the lawn mower yet again.  I'm surprised the poor thing hasn't given up and died after the workout I've put it through this summer mowing every 5 days.  Anyway, we were lucky in the wind department.  All around us big trees were uprooted some falling on cars, houses, and campers in campgrounds along the river.  We lost power shortly but not for long.

The summer of 2010 has already surpassed the summer of 1993 for the most rainfall ever and we still have most of August to go!

Scrappy Stars

I have waaaayyyyy too much fabric stashed away.  I think I could make a queen-sized quilt for everyone in my small town of 1,200 people.  So I decided one way or another I'm going to start using some of it up so I can justifiably purchase some of those luscious new fabrics out there right now.  I have a scrap quilts pattern book and found this lovely stars pattern.  It went together rather quickly and I like the way it turned out.  The only problem is that one has to purchase all the background and border fabrics to finish the quilt.  I decided to make this one longer and wider than the twin size quilt in the book.  It's a dorm size quilt that in the near future my granddaughter can have to take to college with her.  Her friends there can autograph the yellow border strip and anywhere on the stars.  Hopefully she'll like it.  

Spring Thaw

I just finished this 22" square quilt today. An on-line acquaintance gave me permission to use a photo he'd taken. I constructed the Eastern Bluebird way last winter and then put it aside until a few days ago. After I got started once again it went quickly. I decided to try a bit of realism using a real tree branch stitched onto the quilt. Easy to remove and replace later or omit entirely. I will donate it to the Nebraska Ornithologist's Union to use as a fund raiser. Hopefully it will make them some creditable dollars and make someone happy.

County Quilt

Memorial Day weekend a member of the Nebraska State Quilt Guild called to see if I would make a block representing my county to eventually be on permanent display with blocks from Nebraska's other 93 counties at the Nebraska State Fair. Sure, I didn't have anything else pressing to do and how hard could a simple 12" block be? Well, a week later when she sent the specs on the 'block' I found it was to be 28" square! A rather large block but much easier to work with. Next to come up with something that represented Dixon County where I live. The only historical importance I found was we are the only county in Nebraska to lay claim to having had a volcano. But, it wasn't really a volcano just a chemical reaction from iron pyrite and the limestone bluffs along the river. How would I show steam coming from a river bank anyhow? But, we do have the Missouri River as our northern border and there are some pretty spectacular views from those bluffs. So I chose to show the view one might see looking from the oak tree covered bluffs meeting surrounding farm fields and both eventually stopping at the Missouri River below. Across the river is the flat flood plains and farm ground of South Dakota. The area also teams with wildlife. I've included our state bird, the Western Meadowlark, and mother and fawn White-tailed Deer.

I'll keep it until after I do my trunk show for a guild in Iowa on July 20th and then send it off to be framed by wrapping 2 inches of the quilt around a wooden frame. This is the reason for no binding on this quilt.

High on Fungi

The latest challenge for my on-line Fast Friday Fabric Challenge group was to choose a fungi, depict it abstractly or stylish, and choose either a complimentary or split complimentary color scheme. I am usually one who does very realistic art quilts so this time I stepped out of my comfort zone and went completely abstract with my fungi. I chose to do a split-complimentary color scheme and used purple, yellow-orange, and yellow-greens. I decided to look at a typical fungi from beneath. I broke the head into various waves alternating them with the folds seen under the mushroom with spores. I quilted in either a circular design on the center and outer rings to swirls on the middle purple ring. To simulate some spores on the orange and green I added some beads. When completed I couched different yarns along each wave for a more funky effect. I used a simple decorative stitch over the orange/green seams beading on top of them. The binding 'fell' from a shelf and I decided to use it since although black it contained the colors of purple, orange and green. This was left over from a larger quilt I'd made last winter. The quilt was pieced together using freezer paper and registration marks. No fusible was used in this piece. The quilt measures 15 1/2" x 18".

Retired!

As of today, May 21, 2010, I am officially retired from teaching! It was hard to walk out the door yesterday for the last time and know it will be harder still when everyone else returns to school in August. But I'm sure I'll quickly get over that when I realize I can sleep in and come and go as I want anytime during the day and week!

I'm still hindered by my foot surgery. The doctor says I have to wear this lovely, hot, knee-high, steel-framed boot through next week yet. That makes 7 full weeks! Then I'm to try to get into an athletic shoe. That should be interesting since my foot and leg are still swelling. I can't drive until mid July since braking the car would put too much pressure on the ball of the foot and hinder proper healing of the tendon and ligament. Ah well, at least I'm halfway there. But it's not a good time to be dependent on my farmer husband. I'm stuck here at home since he's out farming and doesn't have time to take me anywhere. I'm in desperate need of a haircut and am beginning to look like a shaggy dog!

I did sit outside by the pond and soaked up some much needed sunshine today. Some birds were skeptical about my sitting there but eventually came to drink and bathe. Others scolded me the entire time. I also
took some pictures of my flowers that are so pretty right now.

Surgery

Last week I finally had surgery on my foot to determine what was causing the pain I've had for years but had become more pronounced the past two years. Since inserts, alcohol shots, and taping didn't offer any relief surgery was the last resort. The surgery lasted 2 hrs. and fortunately the cause was found. I've had little pain the past week and get the stitches out next week so then I'll be free to shower again!

I had my foot surgery follow-up appt. today. Once unwrapped I was surprised how little swollen the foot actually was. I also got a better explanation as to what Dr. Eilts did to my foot vs. what Richard 'thought' he heard from him last week after the surgery. He removed the small bunion and then put a pin in the big toe to move it over and get it into better alignment to keep my foot from rolling inward when I walked. But the big surprise was what was causing all my pain in the first place. Dr. Eilts said it's the first time he's ever seen this even though he'd heard of it. Anyway. at some point in the past I stepped wrong and the tendon pulled jerking a 'chunk' of bone about the size of the push top on a ball point pen from my second toe. He said it could have gone un-noticed for several years. The last 2 it's really been bothering me and that's when it probably moved into position to drill a 1/8" hole in the ligament beneath the toe. So, he removed the bone chunk, shortened the tendon, and repaired the hole in the ligament. I get the stitches out next week with a splint remaining on the toe to further heal the tendon and then I should be good to go he said. I still have to wear my lovely knee-high boot for a few weeks and use crutches, but hopefully the pain will be gone in the future. The pictures were really interesting to see.

Sounds like I may be able to travel a bit after all this summer IF I can walk on the 2" incision on the ball of my foot.

Latest FFFC Challenge

Each month I try to do the 4th Friday challenge for the FFFC on-line group. This month's was undersea, thread painting, with a non-traditional binding. Needless to say, the sea is quite foreign to a Nebraskan. So I came across a book I forgot I'd owned, photocopied a page of sea stars, added a batik border that fit with the colors, added color with thread painting and wetted colored pencils. My attempt at thread painting white coral in the right corner didn't show on the quilt so I used Solvy stabilizer and made a new one that I attached loosely making it dimensional. The green plants coming in from the left with a seahorse hanging on helped to add depth to the piece. I rather like the outcome coming from a landlubber.

Winter's Creations

Being snowed in LOTS this winter has really given me time to create different quilts. Once I retire in May I'm hoping to get back into drawing, painting, photography, and whatever else along with my art quilts. Yesterday I finished a 14" x 40" quilt that I plan to give to the elementary for my retirement. The two children are students in my class this year and both very sweet kids. I'm 'hoping' the school will like it enough to hang somewhere in the office area where those coming into the school for business will see it, but who knows, they may choose to roll it up in a drawer someplace. Even though it's completed I won't give it to the school until early August since I have been asked to do my first trunk showing for a quilt guild in southewestern Iowa. I'm in the habit of giving away many of my quilts and will need to keep them now so I'll have plenty to share with this guild in July.

Weather

What a horrible winter we're having here in northeast Nebraska! After 2 major blizzards since just before Christmas and after dropping over 2 feet of snow coupled with the previous 9 inches, daily fog, cold, and an ice storm last week that has left people without power since last Wednesday everyone is hungry for some sunshine no matter how cold it is. Late yesterday the snow started to fall again. Although we only got 2-3 inches we're having 40-45 mph winds which has managed to fill in the roads with 3 foot drifts again and the seventh snow day from school. We'll be going all summer if this continues.

But I have gotten all my UFO's (unfinished quilts) done and started some more. One I even tossed after having it half completed for the last 5 years and decided it wasn't that good anyhow. The biggest quilt I finished was one I'd started in a class with Scott Murkin. I arranged the blocks in a dark to light format putting varied width strips from top to bottom and left to right of purple in-between the blocks. I quilted it in a wavy pattern to complement the wavy blocks. I finally took pictures of it this a.m. and hope to work out something with vining Morning Glory over the quilt to resemble it climbing on a trellis. If I don't get it done it will look fine as is, too.

I also belong to the on-line group, Fast Friday Fabric Challenge, in which we are challenged on the 4th Friday of the month to create a small quilt to fit the challenge in one week's time. Teaching doesn't always give me time to do these but the past two I've completed since I've been snowed in so much. December's was to choose a commercial package from our cupboards and use the colors on the product to create a still life quilt. I used a Jolly Time popcorn package and created the little orange and green 8" x 10" quilt using the package colors. This month's is to choose 3 colors, their shades, values, and tints, use a 'winged thing' as subject matter, and fracture or break up the design. 'Fairy Blues" is the result of this challenge.

Today I'm working on a commercial pattern that I bought several years ago. I've not used one of these for a long time. I'm so used to creating my own that following someone else's design is different. Good thing I have such a big stash of fabric so I don't have to worry about not having a particular color to use.

Poor Blogger

I've never been very good about journaling and since a blog is basically a journal I guess that's why I don't post very often.

Lots has happened in the way of quilts since my last post. At the Siouxland Samplers biannual quilt show in September I won 8 ribbons including Best of Show for my homeless man quilt, "Disheartened Sage." The week after that I had to immediately send the quilt to Paducah for judging since it was juried into the AQS Des Moines show the last week in October. It didn't win anything there but it was an honor to have been chosen to have it hang with so many other wonderful quilts. I even got to see it hang and had my picture taken with him. Right after getting home I received a phone call from a very nice woman wanting to purchase him. So in the middle of November I exchanged 'Sage' for a check. It was sort of like letting go of one's child but I know he is being well cared for and will be for many years to come. I can visit him in Omaha when I want she told me. I just may have to do that sometime.

The wall was bare where Sage had hung and the annual Stuhr Museum of the Prairie annual quilt show was approaching and the theme was animals. I'd had a photo taken by Lynea Hinchman that I'd wanted to make into a quilt for quite some time now and got at it. To her two Ring-billed Gulls I added 3 more smaller gulls that I painted, cut out, fused to the background, and then quilted down. I also added some rock cliffs and water. The background is quite bright from anything I've used before but I felt was just what a pair of white gulls needed to set them off. Looks like a sunrise or a sunset.

Next up will be a simple scrap quilt either enlarged to a queen size or completed as a throw size for some future gift probably.