Summer and it's perfect!

      

 



Cathy's Corner





Delphiniums



  

  





Backyard pathway

 Summer is here and the flowers are happy!  So far, the deer have enjoyed astibles, Black-eyed Susans, daylilies, asiatic lilies, bee balm (Monarda), coral bells, columbines, roses, hostas, my beautiful Glowing Ember hydrangea, and of course the nasturtiums, and geraniums.  But the rhodies were beautiful and the peonies are doing very well!

New used for Grandma's old treadle sewing machine

Our guest bathroom was a wonderful project and it turned out beautifully!.   

Carl and I tore out the old vanity, large plate glass mirror, and vinyl.  I tiled the floor, replaced the lighting, and refinished the sewing cabinet.  Carl and I put up the wainscoating, which I really love.  

The new "vanity" is special, as I spent many hours as a child learning to sew on my grandmother's treadle machine.  My first project, at the age of 6, was a doll blanket from an old white pillowcase.  I was so proud and my doll looked so pretty wrapped in her "new" blanket!

Also, the "honey pot" was very appreciated as a little girl, as it kept me from having to go outside at night to use the outhouse.                                      
                                                                       

Watercolor class with Stella Canfield

 

Our workshop lasted 4 days and Stella was amazing!  What an incredible passion and spirit she has towards life and her art. 

She opened the workshop with a freeing splash of color painting and this was by far my favorite experience.  Just experiencing the color, shape, direction, and value without the structure of a photo, etc. to limit me.  This was fun! 

Then we tried our talent with a landscape followed by a street scene.

I found the water to be extremely difficult and also trying to get intensity within the shadows of the buildings in the street scene.

An invaluable workshop and would do it again.  Thanks, Stella! (and Kim and Sue)

A Quilt for my Dad

My dad is 86 and he loves to feed the birds.  So when I saw the quail embroidery pattern, I knew it would be perfect for him.  This is my second attemp at creating a quilt on my own.  It was a challenge, but all in all I have a true rectangle 60"X48" quilt. My father is so pleased and it will be used regularly when he is in his recliner.

Nathaniel's Memory Quilt

My daughter asked me to make a Memory Quilt of Nathaniel's first year outfits.  This was a project of love.  As I fussy cut each outfit, it would remind me of special moments in my grandson's first year.  The quilt fabric reflects the colors in his nursery/bedroom.  It's hard to see, but on the far right of this photo is a matching pillow with the feet of his pajama.

 I will be giving this to my daughter at Christmas and am so excited to see her reaction.  

Snow Lady Quilt

Completion of "The Snow Lady" quilt is extremely satisfying.  It took almost 2 years to complete and was "embroidery" intense.  I did change a few of the sayings on the bottom of each panel and also finish with an attic window design instead of basic sashing, etc.  I like the window pane framing which accents each block.  Lots of fun to do and a great project to take with you on trips, etc.

Now off to work on "Susan's Dresden Garden"---more embroidery, quilting, baking,and holdiay crafts.  I love this time of the year!

Daughter and Grandson's trip to NYC and Boston

In October my daughter walked her first Marathon---26.2 miles!  Amazing!!! But to add to the excitement she and our 18 month old grandson were getting on a plane and flying across country to NYC the next day to visit with Uncle Geoff (our son).  Since they had to travel lightly, I created this little "travel chalkboard".  It is approximately 8" X 11", so it fit nicely in their carry-on luggage.  Wishing them a great flight, a fun visit, and a safe trip back home. 

Project Finished----Yeah!





Before

  



Seating near the water feature

  


Finished-now just adding plants and flowers!

 


Lots of digging, hauling stones, pavers, sand, etc., but the end result is wonderful.  We love it and even our dog, Dudley, uses the pathway on his way to running the fence line-it's pretty cute.

My daughter's "Garage Sale" chair

When my daughter was relocating and single, I was helping her paint, etc. her first home.  We went "garage sale shopping" and found this treasure for only $5.00.  It has been with her for probably 7-8 years.  Now married and living near to my husband and me, the chair was retired to their garage.  Well, one of the things I love to do is to try and turn overly used furniture into revived furniture, so she asked me to help.  She found this beautiful fabric...and away I went.


Dudley, my King Charles Cavalier, found it very comfortable.



My husband loves to golf!

  A special quilt for my golfing husband.  He only had to wait 37 years for this quilt.  I wanted to make sure the marriage would last, as you know a lot of work goes into making a quilt! 
Love you sweetie!

Barb is becoming a great grandmother!!! Yeah!

 

A beautiful flannel quilt made for my beautiful friend and her future great granddaughter!

A quilt for my mother

Knowing my love of snowmen, mom purchased this kit for me last year.  In September of 2010, she was diagnosed with cancer and passed away so quickly on October 4th.  Mom inspired me my entire life with her incredible artistic talents.  She loved to create and decorate.  I miss her valuable remarks, even the negative remarks that were always meant to "learn from".   Every time she discovered a mistake she would remark, "only God is perfect" and then continue to scrutinize my project.  But thanks to mom, I love to quilt, knit, crochet, garden, upholster and refinish furniture, watercolor, and so much more.  I, too, love to create!  Thanks, mom!

First Quilt

Here's my first quilt that I did from start to finish. This was cut, pieced, stitched and quilted by me and my HQ 18 quilter. Mistakes are there but the overall quilt is beautiful.

New Lawn Art

This is the newest addition to my garden/lawn art.  Purchased in Kalispell, MT at Redneck Chic!

Inspiration

I just watched a video clip on this amazing woman:

Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot, one of America's leading educators and author of THE THIRD CHAPTER: PASSION, RISK, AND ADVENTURE IN THE 25 YEARS AFTER 50. Lawrence-Lightfoot envisions a much needed cultural shift in our attitudes toward youth and age. About 76 million Americans are now in what Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot has dubbed "the third chapter" of life. 

"All of us at this point, to some degree, are on a search for meaningfulness, for purposefulness. And we want to find what this next 25 years, this penultimate chapter of our life, is going to be about. And we're ready for something new. For a new experience. For a new adventure. And I think all of us, to some degree, experience some burnout. Burnout is about boredom. And so, I think in some ways this is about sort of moving beyond the boredom to compose, to invent and reinvent the path that we're on.”

 I’m headed to Barnes and Noble to get her book.