Catching Up

At Wheeler Farm where I work (for one more week), we got a call from a guy (sorry I don`t know enough to give proper credit) who bought the largest pumpkin grown in Utah this year.  That would be the bottom pumpkin in the photo below.  He also bought two other huge ones, and made this pumpkin snowman in front of his house.  Pretty cool, eh?  Well, he is donating it to Wheeler Farm, and they were setting it up today (think cranes, bobcat loaders). I hope to get some more pictures of it in situ at the Farm. 

If the bales of straw don`t help you appreciate the scale, notice the can of coke sitting near the stem of the middle pumpkin. The snowman is over 10 feet tall!  It will be placed inside our pumpkin patch and hay maze compound where people who come to enjoy the fall festivities there can have a photo opportunity!

* * * * * * *

Late flowers from my garden. The leaves are falling quickly now, and we had our first COLD north wind today. Hang on, autumn, HANG ON!!

* * * * * * * *

My Facebook page has a couple photos on it of Bruce and I with our new granddaughter Remi (short for Remington).   Bruce`s daughter Stacy and her husband now have a boy (Hunter, age 2 ½) and Remi.  His other daughter Emily and her hubby are in town visiting for about 10 days. Their children are Deacon (3 ½) and Abbie (turning 2 this week).  We will see everyone at a birthday party this weekend for Abbie, so we will get lots of updated Grandkid pictures. Fair warning!  LOL

In the meantime, we still tend DGD London every Tuesday. My son Shane had a “challenging” morning with her before he dropped her off.  Not unlike a typical 2-year-old, she first got some maple syrup in her clean hair, then INSISTED on dressing herself.

She looked like a little waif when she arrived:

Fugitive from the Fashion Police

So, I plopped her into the bathtub, which is easy-peasy if you say the word “Bubbles”.  We washed her and her hair, played with bubbles and gave each other Bubble Kisses, and just generally had a fun time.

Dressed with a new outfit from Grammy, plus a hair bow. Things are looking up! 

 A clean new “mommy”, London tucks her “baby” into its crib.

The next couple pictures are blurry (she never holds still), but I wanted you to see how darling and curly her hair is when it dries.

She will probably hate those natural curls as a teenager, but at least for now, she`s my darling little Babycakes!

* * * * * * * *

And finally, check out my Etsy (link on sidebar).  I have added some new Christmas-themed venice lace appliques.  I am having trouble keeping the shop stocked, which is a good thing.  Sales are good, and I am grateful. Thank you to those of you who stop by!  :-)

And in my next photo session (as soon as I clear up the lace mess, LOL), I will get pictures of some of my current CQ projects and estate sale finds.  Must make room in the studio, which I THINK is still there, buried under piles of fabric, lace, holiday decorations, supplies.  *sigh*.  I need a maid!

Hugs,

Of Hail, Colors and… my favorite subject

I will start out with my favorite subject, London. This is another Shameless Granny picture-sharing moment.  The pix are from Tuesday, when London (DGD) was over to hang out for the day.

We discovered that London loved watermelon.  When she saw one on the kitchen counter, she cried “WawaMELon!!” and jumped up and down.  She was NOT happy that she had to wait until after her nap in the afternoon, but thank goodness it’s easy to distract an almost-two year old.  (She will be two on August 31).

The only pic I snapped BEFORE I realized she needed a bib!

London eats watermelon like a Big Girl

Looking and laughing at Grandpa (PAPA)

“Papa" eats watermelon too!
“Dammy" never touches the stuff...

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The picture below was taken a few days ago.  We were having a perfectly beautiful, hot day and my fabulous rose bush was blooming its brains out again.  And then the hail struck and ruined it all. Sometimes Mother Nature can be a b****.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

And finally, I thought I’d share with you Pantone’s predicted hot colors for Fall 2011.  For the most part, I really like the pallette.  The bamboo could go, IMHO.  And why is Quarry in there? I get the icy blender Orchid Hush (sort of),  but Quarry?  Just asking….  Pantone says

                      Orchid Hush, a unique tone of gray with complex orchid 
                      undertones, blends well with any other color in the palette. 
                      Quarry, a reliable medium gray, remains, as always, 
                      a practical, dependable staple.

Is Quarry a “staple” in your wardrobe? Tell me what you think about these colors!  And if you would like to visit Pantone’s site, you can visit it here.

And now, back to the sweat shop making purses!

Hugs

Who is Lina Cavalieri?

So, who IS Lina Cavalieri?

Well, to start with, she is the lovely lady pictured in my blog header and background artwork within the picture frame.  Lina was an Italian opera singer who lived from 1874 - 1944 and in her time was known as the most beautiful woman in the world.

But she was much more than just (just?!?) a lovely opera singer.  She was a world figure who dated tycoons and famous men.  She was orphaned at age 15 and went to live in a Catholic orphanage run by strict nuns.      

But she was too much of a free spirit, so she ran away to Paris,where she began using her lovely voice (and good looks, no doubt) to sing in cafes and open other doors of opportunity.

Oh. And she loved pearls.  Pearls with everything, even with diamonds. She preferred her signature pearl choker with longer strands.

Yes, she looked innocent, but she could also be very naughty!  Read about her on Wikipedia here.

During World War II (when she was well into her sixties) she did volunteer nursing.  In 1944 she was killed in her Florence home when the city was bombed.

I hope you enjoy (and will use) these images of beautiful Lina Cavalieri.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *




Check out the current issue of Sew Beautiful Magazine!  Our friend Marsha Greenberg of Hankie Couture is featured!  And you can get a free pattern for the square-necked sundress free from Marsha and Sew Beautiful at:
http://www.sewbeautifulmag.com.  Just go to Web Extras, then Articles & Projects, then click on Hankie Couture.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
And just in case you have not had your quota of beauty today, I must throw in some of nature’s finest handiwork, courtesy of my garden.  LOL.

My daughter says this frog statuette (below), which I bought at Tuesday Morning, looks like it is giving an obscene gesture.  Personally, I think he’s doing his imitation of Rodin’s The Thinker.

Diane M, these delphinium close-ups are for you.  :-)

Wouldn’t it be nice to be as beautiful as these roses when WE are old and withered and faded?

And Stacie, this one is for you!  :-)  My “repurposed” birdbath...

Must try this in silk ribbon:

Red Yarrow

 Have a wonderful weekend!

Sendai Block Finished

The deadline to finish the Hearts and Hands for Sendai block was June 30.  Here it is, July 5th, and I am finally done.  As usual, I am juggling too many balls.  But at my age (over the half-century mark), things aren’t likely to be changing, LOL.   This block will, however, be in the mail to Leslie (who is coordinating this effort and assembling the quilts) tomorrow.

I have had the lace Geisha for years, and knew this was the perfect piece for it.  The blue brocade on the right side had swirl patterns in it that reminded me of waves (as in tsunami), so I added the blue scroll lace in that area to represent the water.  The other blue section is stitched with a traditional Japanese pattern which also signifies water.

The two pink fabrics were patterned with cherry blossoms, so to the bottom I added a spray of white lace flowers that I painted pink. A little center, some stitches representing stamens, some leaves... viola!

The trim that goes across the top had the perfect colors for the block, except the edges were red. So, I just stitched over them with pink metallic Kreinik braid.  The fan in the top corner was made from lace that Hideko donated to the auction at our Crazy Quilting International Retreat in September last year.  I bid on it and won. It is a cherry blossom pattern, and I love that I was able to use it to make a lace fan for this block that will benefit Japan!

The kite was the last motif I added, and it seemed appropriate since the shape of the fabric it rests on is roughly a kite shape.  There are two layers of fabric for the kite; the background pink with red is a piece of silk from a vintage kimono, and the top blue butterfly fabric was a recent (maybe 10 years old) cotton print here in the US.   The green and blue fabric the kite rests on (also in left bottom) was the first fabric - from a vintage dress -  I selected for this jewel-toned block.  Everything grew from that.  I wanted it to be a colorful, cheerful piece.

And speaking of colorful and cheerful, my sweet friend Wilma from the Netherlands send me this wonderful gift of fabrics she had left over from her Austria wall hanging.  You can see her lovely quilt here.   Wilma had recently visited Austria, and we talked about that beautiful country when we met at the CQ Adventure in Connecticut last April. I had spent a summer there going to school while I was in high school.  I only had one scrap of fabric left from my trip , and lots of ribbons in red, white, black and green. They will be lovely trims on the crazy quilt block I make with these.  Thank you, Wilma!!

The Austria Block will move up on my priority list for this year!

And now I will leave you with some pictures from the front yard today. We had our new living room window installed today, which made tending London rather interesting.  She thought it was so cool after they removed the old window, and we could stand there waving through the hole at everyone!  I did take before and after pictures of the living room window, but I am not posting them (they are, after all, just windows).  You’re welcome.

Flower pots are growing nicely. Delphiniums blooming!

Delphiniums and yarrow. Soon the daylilies and friends will join them.

An old birdbath that no longer holds water is still useful as a decoration.

I’m off to bed with high hopes that the neighborhood delinquents that were shooting off fireworks last night until after midnight will not be giving us an encore.  I don’t want to turn into the cranky old lady who has the police on speed dial...

Hugs,

Happy First Day of Summer

Some vintage images for you....

 And some not-so-vintage images for you...

Fairy Swimming Pools

It was a gorgeous day today, mid-seventies and sunny.  The sky was so blue..... and puffy clouds drifted by on the occasional breeze.  What a great day to be outdoors!  We deserved it after it poured rain all day yesterday.

My roses are thriving.  A couple posts back I showed a picture of my happy rose bush in the front yard that was just beginning to bloom. Well, it hit its peak today so I decided to take photos. I love taking pictures of the flowers and other garden elements throughout the year, but mostly I just file them away in my picture files and only share them occasionally. Until this year.  Please bear with me!  It’s not that I plan to turn this into a gardening blog, LOL, but I believe most of us stitchers, sewing, and other needle artists all seem to have a deeper-than-average appreciation for beautiful flowers.

Looking North

Looking West

Looking South

Looking East

This is a hybrid tea rose called Daybreak.  I’m sure it was named that because of the apricot to pink shading of the blooms, which brings to mind an early dawn sky.  While I was outside taking pictures, a lady walked by and said that it was the most beautiful rose bush she had ever seen in her life!  That just made my day!!  I love making our front yard look nice so that passers-by can enjoy the beauty.

And the “Fairy Swimming Pools” from the title?  My sweet hubby Bruce was outside with me while I was snapping pictures, and he requested that I capture close-up pictures of the dew on the roses because they looked like Fairy Swimming Pools.

Click once or twice to “embiggen” the pictures.

Can you see the Fairy Swimming Pools?  It was easy finding the pools, but I did not catch sight of a single fairy out for a swim!