Crystal Clear (as it turns out) Memories of Home

A few days ago I posted that a nice lady had contacted me, online, because she had run out of fabric on a quilt using the blue and brown surf and sand fabric.  She couldn't find any, so did an internet search, found a photo of the quilt I did using that fabric, and tracked down my e-mail in hopes that I might still have some scraps.  I was really impressed by her initiative and now I am blown away by her generosity!  Look at the two YARDS of fabric she had sent from the quilt shop directly to my home:

It is called Colorado Batik and is utterly gorgeous.  With the Christmas season on the way, I might be able to find something scrumptious to use it on.  There is a hint of purple in the cream colorway that really sets it off. 

Thanks, Vic!!  As  I told you, you are WAY too generous. 

I spent a bit of time out in the barn, yesterday, working on the latest 12 x 12 inch art quilt from my group, (We are) the Baker's Dozen.  The theme of this project is "Symbol" and I had a sorta whimsical notion of what I wanted to do but wasn't sure I could pull it off.  I am still not sure but finished the quilting part, yesterday.  We don't reveal for nearly another month but here is a peek of the back:

I first spent a bit of time straightening and cleaning the barn now that we have the bathroom and sink plus my Barbie Doll workbench.  OMG, all that made working out there a dream.  I didn't have to take breaks to go back to the house and the tall workbench made pinning the quilt top to the zippers so easy.

The weather is gorgeous and I had the doors to the front and back open, which made a nice breeze flow through. 

Back when we lived in Virginia, I had begun to believe I had simply imagined that Oklahoma has day after day after day of sunny blue skies.  But it does.  After months at a time of overcast and rainy days, in Virginia, it is hard to fathom going 5 - 6 months at a time with maybe ten days of cloudy weather the way we've had this year.   And this is pretty typical of Oklahoma.  At this point, we have sunny forecasts for the foreseeable future.  These cooler temperatures and low humidity are marvelous but I sorta miss the hot summer.  I have said, before, I feel like I will live forever when it is summer in Oklahoma.  This may have been the best summer of my life.  I am so glad to be home.  I don't want to ever miss another one. 

Husband had a quick business trip to Kansas City, last week.  He normally hates those types of trips but was impressed with downtown Kansas City.  But what I wanted to say was that when they returned from a nonstop flight and landed at Will Rogers Airport, he heard the man in the seat behind him breathe, "Ah, Back to God's Country!"

Indeed.

Yesterday after he finished working, Husband came out to the barn and brought the girls with him.  He spent some time filling the hole for the shutoff valve. 

Thread in the window:

Pearlie:

The girls love being able to explore the yard and wander in and out of the barn where I am.  Nice to have a sink handy to fill their water bowl. 

 Pearl is not looking at a bird or an airplane.  She is burping:

After I finished quilting my Symbol project, I stumbled on a box of quilt tops I've been looking for.  I am going to try to make some good progress on my weave quilt, today.  I began it back in Virginia:

I may even attempt to do some feathers.  It is my hope that I will be proficient enough to feel like I can put some on my son and daughter-in-law's wedding quilt that I STILL haven't finished.  Ahem. 

Next up might be my Fiery Stars quilt although I need to finish up Lady Melinda to see if it is show quality for the next Winter Art Show.  If so, I need to submit it fairly soon.

While I was out in the barn, I set up all my Bernina stuff to take pictures for Craigslist or perhaps Ebay.  Now that I have the new Janome with the embroidery function, I am going to let my little backup Bernina Activa 220 go.  She is a sweetheart and in great shape.  I still have the original box, manual, 19 bobbins and foot pedal.  In addition to the feet that came with it, I have a walking foot, a darning foot (for free motion quilting) and my quarter inch foot.  I learned to quilt with her but only used her on occasional weekends for about a year before she went to backup.  I got her at Christmastime in 2003.

I have an acrylic extended table that I spent a fortune on but Husband is going to see if he can adjust it for the new Janome.  It might end up tearing it up, sadly, but we're going to give it a try.  I have no idea what to ask for all this and need to do some research.  There is a Bernina dealer in town and I might see what they think.  

My Art Professor handed back our first painting assignments, yesterday.  It was just paintings of some Styrofoam shapes and we were limited to using two colors, plus white.  I used red and yellow.   I will share it just because I thought you might like to see it - not because I am proud of it:

Yesterday, he had us painting paper bags with just a palette knife, using two colors plus white.  No brushes, no drawing it out ahead of time.  It is pretty much a disaster, trust me.  He is going to let us work on them again, next week, so I left it at the school to dry.  I sorta hope someone will steal it but I can't imagine anyone would want it that bad.  It is REALLY ugly.  I went with green and yellow colors.  It looks like a blob, so far.

What has happened to our daylight????  Just like that, it is dark at 7:30 and I can't keep my eyes open by 8:00 at night.  Moreover, the sun is not rising until it is time to get moving so I have to hurry to enjoy it:

The leaves are going to turn on us, fast, I think.  Already, they are thinning out and I can see flashes of cars driving on the road on the other side of the trees that lie at the far end of the pasture.  Two weeks ago they were all lush and green and provided a complete canopy.  Now, many are just this side of yellows and browns.

I am looking forward to having dinner with friends on the far side of town, tonight but am a bit worried that I won't be able to stay awake to drive home at about 10:00.  I can't see well at night in the first place and when I eat so much as a cup of cottage cheese I fall asleep.  How pathetic.  I am looking forward to seeing them, however, so perhaps the adrenalin will kick in enough to keep my eyes open.  Another friend who is an artist is having an opening for a show beginning at 6:00 p.m. so I hope to swing by there on the way. 

Off to get the day started.  It is just about half gone.

Happy Quilting, Penny, Evelyn and Pearl