Christmas Recap

Not many pictures to show from this Christmas. We went to an early Christmas Eve service at the community center, celebrated by the Rt. Rev. Cabby Tennis, and notable for its relaxed atmosphere including wandering dogs. Afterwards, Boo and Evan played guitar while Brent cooked dinner. Then we watched White Christmas, all of us on the sofa gathered around the laptop.

The stockings were hung on the closest pillar to the woodstove, and Christmas morning they were full! Brent and I use our childhood stockings, made by Mom. This picture was prompted by Ann sending a picture of her stocking recycled for her new grandson, Noah.

Boo has her childhood stocking made by her grandmother, and Evan has a patchwork one I made when he was a baby.

We opened present after present, ate lots of bacon, eggs and sweet rolls, and enjoyed the day. That evening, we had a wonderfully tasty and laugh-filled dinner at the Kings.

Thanksgiving Recap

Another Thanksgiving in Mazama is past. There was so much snow this year that it looked like Christmas. Nikki really loves rolling in the snow, but it was so deep and heavy that she had a hard time plowing through it. Arthritis in her hind legs is starting to slow her down.

 

Thanksgiving afternoon (and all day Friday) it rained, and then it got really cold, so the snow hardened up and the dogs could walk on top of it.

 

Jon Fewster carving the turkey (cooked by Victoria) while Evan checks his phone?

 

The feast spread out, ready for piling on plates.

 

Brent and Evan.

Norsk Quilt

In high school, middle sister Jill spent a summer in Norway as an AFS exchange student. A couple of years later, the older daughter from the family she lived with came and lived with our family for a year as an unofficial exchange student. Aud has always kept in touch and still calls my mom for Mother's Day and on other occasions. Aud became a grandmother last year and I finally got around to making a baby quilt. Red, white and blue are not only USA colors, but of course also the colors of the Norwegian flag.

The strips are alternately 3 inches and 1 1/2 inches wide, but I played with the color proportion and placement.

It's quilted in variegated red, white and blue thread, in rows of different designs that run perpendicular to the pieced strips. I just didn't want to be locked into following the seams.

I liked how the thread isn't noticeable from a distance, but the variegation gives a lot of interest close  up.

The back is pretty wild compared to the front, and the fish fabric may seem an odd choice. But the family name is Koi...

Linking up to Finish it up Friday, where there is lots to see and inspire. It's also such a good motivation to get things done, and blogged. 

Mother's Day

Time to come out of hibernation, blog-wise. First, to wish my mother a happy Mother's Day. She raised 4 happy, healthy, close in age kids and did a great job. Love you Mom!

I have been quilting but still haven't finished anything since late February. This medallion featuring a feathered star had been on my UFO list for many years, as I couldn't decide how to finish it. I finally added a last border and now it's quilted but not bound. When it's really done, I'll try to have more pictures and tell you more about it.

This strippy quilt is on the frame now. It should have been pretty quick to quilt, but my back was hurting for a few weeks. I'm starting to make progress again now though.

Thanksgiving Update

So what happened to November? Slipped away in a daze of rainy spells alternating with clear, frosty spells... ending in a trip to Mazama for Thanksgiving. Nikki and I rode over with BT and Boo, enjoying a rare early winter sunny day with the North Cascades pass still open. Evan and David had driven over the day before, to spend some extra time with Annie.

Diablo Lake from the lookout.

Mountain at Washington Pass. BT and Evan met to ski here. The flare is from the camera's flash reflecting off the car window.

David making pie crust.

Annie relaxing.

Annie's hearty salad, before being tossed together.

Pies!

Trip to Door

October's almost over, so I'd better post some pictures of the trip to Door County that I made in the middle of the month. I flew to Chicago this time, and met up with my sister Ann coming from Stockholm. We spent what was left of the afternoon driving out to St. Charles and seeing what's changed and what was still the same. We stopped at Potowatami Park, where we spent many, many hours learning to swim, practicing with the swim team, and eventually teaching and lifeguarding. The stone building, built during the Depression by the WPA, looked the same, but the pools had been modernized and added to, with water slides and basketball hoops.

We also drove through Geneva. The Gift Box had this display in the front window, honoring Lennart Jonsson who passed away in August. I worked at the Gift Box for a couple of years while going to school, but our family's association went beyond that. I remember Dad buying a Swedish tent from Lennart when we were kids, a big orange job that the whole family slept in on car camping trips through the west. And after I moved on, both Mom and Dad worked occasionally at the Gift Box during their retirement years, especially during the busy Christmas season.

After spending the night in St. Charles, we drove out to the Turner farm in Lily Lake and visited with our aunt Doris and cousin Dan. It was great to see them. Then we had the long drive north to Wisconsin and Sister Bay. The weather was beautiful, about 70 degrees and sunny. It felt more like summer than fall, but the leaves were starting to turn. Jill and Bob drove up from Iowa the next day and we had a nice few days together. We had lunch at the Chef's Hat one day, and went to a performance of Victory Farm at the American Folklore Theater on Saturday. Monday we went to Al Johnson's for lunch. 

A country road in Door County. Ann picked bittersweet.

I distributed the remaining 2013 family quilts, for Ann, William, Martin and Mom.

Family Time in Mazama

Spending a long weekend at my brother's cabin in Mazama. In addition to Brent, Boo and Evan, my sister Jill, BIL Bob are out here from Iowa, and their daughter Annie is just down the road in Twisp. We've had a couple of nice dinners out at the picnic table.

One of the things I wanted to do this summer was make room for making new quilts by giving away some of what has accumulated. I brought this stack over, and we looked them over last night.

Then, for fun, laid them all out in the grass. The grass is uncut, so the quilts look a bit lumpy, but it also kept them off the ground. Boo got up on a ladder for the birds' eye view photos.

I had come up with a picking order, and Jill got to go first. She chose the September Light quilt, which was just finished this year. 

Brent chose this older, traditional looking quilt. He said they were looking for a light weight summer cover.

Bob picked the Autumn Braid quilt, which has such nice color blending.

Boo picked this medallion. She like the huts on one of the borders and also on the back. Plus it looks really good on the sofa here.

Annie got Blue Ridge Mountains. Blue and white are Luther College's colors, and she said a lot of the fabric prints reminded her of India.

Jill and Bob picked this one out for David, who is currently enjoying playtime in Alaska. The Amish colors should remind him of Kalona and Iowa, now that he is a convert to the northwest.

Evan picked this jungle kaleidoscope lap quilt. I think the designs will keep him intrigued.

The group with their quilts.

There are still some left, and the Swede Turners will receive theirs later this summer.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving in Mazama this year. Leaving the rain behind in Seattle, it snowed on both passes, but cleared off by Wenatchee. Thanksgiving day itself was dry, with a few sun breaks. A day of constant activity in the kitchen, as people and courses rotated in and out. Dinner was around 6.

David and Annie making pies.

Annie's hearty salad, before being tossed.

Brent carving the bird.

Boo's rolls.

The feast displayed.

Pie-makers and their  results.

Catching Up

It's been a busy two weeks. I can't believe it's September already, and really almost the middle of the month. Two weekends ago was the big regional quilt show, Pacific West, in Tacoma. I had asked a few friends if they wanted to go, but it seemed everyone was busy. So I went by myself on Sunday. It was very good, but overwhelming. Fantastic quilts, but now that I've been admiring the simplicity and usability of modern quilts, they seem a bit over-done. I did take pictures of the ones I liked best, but I haven't had time to go through them and identify the photos.

Because the next day, I was getting ready to fly to Wisconsin and visit my mom in Door County. After a long day traveling, I was picked up at the Green Bay airport by sister Ann and her son Martin, who had driven up from Chicago. We had a good time catching up, and then a day or two later, my other sister Jill came up from Iowa with her daughter Annie. And then later Bob came. So we had a good group for activities, including playing Mexican Train Game in the evenings.

The view at the cabin. The light rocks at the water's edge are normally under water. The lake's water level has been going down for several years, and even more so this year. A combination of the drought conditions and communities using Lake Michigan water as though it's an inexhaustible resource.

We were there for the full moon rising over the lake, but I only had a camera phone with me that night. So you have to take my word for it, that is the full moon, with a nice reflection.

The next night I brought over my other camera, with good zoom.

I think it was Saturday that Jill, Ann and I went to galleries: Fine Line, Hardy Gallery and Edgewood Orchard. This piece at Fine Line definitely caught our attention, in a 'oh my, what was he thinking' way. It's made of one or more old braided rugs, reshaped and laced together over a form. Since we all grew up with braided rugs our Grandma Denker made, we recognized that the fabrics were of that era, and showed the same kind of wear in places. 

Also at the Fine Line, the current exhibit featured quilt/textile art by Sue Benner. Among a number of pieces featuring her trademark layered florals (now more simplistic with paint creating some of the layers), was this larger, more abstract piece.

Family Dinner

Last weekend, I went over to Brent and Boo's house for dinner. Evan had just gotten back from the Junior Olympics that afternoon, and David had come back from Oregon as well. It was nice to see them all.

David was first to the table. He got a haircut and shaved his beard before coming out for his grad school interviews. He looked really good.

Brent and Boo.

Evan and Boo. Probably should have found a close-up or portrait mode for my camera.