Handmade story

When my mom was in high school in the 1920s she contracted rheumatic fever.  As a result, she had to stay home, in bed, for nearly a year.  She read, she did jigsaw puzzles, and crossword puzzles, and wrote letters, and did her school work.  Finally, her mother brought her some old dresses and blouses, and a cardboard template and scissors, and showed her how to make a quilt.  This is the result of her year in bed.  She pieced all the squares by hand, appliqueing down all the diamonds which she had cut from her and her mother's old dresses and blouses. Her mother pieced the top together, then showed my mother how to hand quilt the top.  Over the years some of the fabrics have just worn out...they were worn to begin with, and time has not been their friend.  I love the colors and the prints and the hodgepodge manner that the stars are pieced; there is no rhyme nor reason to how she put them together, no planned color arrangement, just whatever diamond she had at hand.  I am too much of a control freak in my quilting to do that, so every so often I have to take this quilt out and look at it to remind myself that randomness works.

The quilt is stained and as you can see below, some of the individual diamonds are falling apart.  I am concerned about washing it, even using conservation methods, because some of the fabrics are in such delicate condition.  I could cut the quilt apart and make a teddy bear out of the better sections, but I always feel like a heathen desecrating a shrine whenever I cut apart an old quilt to reuse it.  I wonder about the fabrics--who wore which one?  What kind of dress was it?  I know that each of those stitches were made by a young teen-age girl, forced by illness to spend days and weeks and months in bed, in a chair, on a sofa, inactive, when everyone else around her was enjoying life to its fullest.  Every stitch tells me a story.

Just not the same....

A sign from a new store in our little town.  I know what they were trying for, but it just doesn't have the same punch, know what I mean?  Drop an S and you lose the attitude...  (makes me think of defective dentures...)

A Tip of the Catkin Cap to Spring

An early, early indicator that Spring hasn't forgotten.  We are having a very mild winter this year, and the pussywillows are earlier than usual.  It is a real boost to the spirits to see them fuzzing the trees and see the little grey colonies of catkins peeping out from their usual hiding places this early.

You would think that pussywillows are just a flat surface--but I love the waviness of these.  I wish we'd have a dewy morning just to get a chance to get some dewdrops clinging!  Or some blue sky for contrast...catkins against grey sky aren't too exciting.

G on the End

This is G, who turns 2 Friday, is 14 months younger than C...(oops! surprise!!)  She is a dynamo--always on the go, always moving, climbing, running, exploring, and wants to do whatever her big sisters are doing.  Her mom thinks that G should've been a boy.  She is fearless and will try things even her big sister won't do (much to her mom's consternation and heart palpitations).  Getting her to hold still even for a split second for a photo is nothing short of a miracle.  This Christmas was the first time Rick has seen her since she was 5 months old.  G took to him like bread to butter...we were all surprised at the instant bond that she formed with her Papa..she preferred him to me or the even more fun Uncle D! (R's health didn't allow him to much more than sit in a chair and watch her play, and still...)  When she gets on the phone she says (unprompted) "Wuv you Papa", which reduces Rick to tears...  Me, too.

E has dark blue eyes; C has brown eyes; G has light crystal blue eyes that are shaped like mine.

my 3 girlies--2 of whom just can't hold still for long....

C in the Middle

This is C, my middle GD.  C of the brown eyes and the sweet, pleasing laid-back temperment.  She is the shyest of the 3, and the least willing to try anything new.  E, the oldest, is the typical 1st child, and a forceful assertive personality on top of that.  C is E's shadow and wants to do everything that E does...so if E has her picture taken, then "Nana, take my picture!"  Twist my arm, sweetie!!

The Amazing Miss E

This is E, my oldest GD.  She has finally gotten old enough to allow us to take her picture.  For years she would hide whenever a camera came out, or turn her face away, or make faces, or just plain not smile.  We have many many photos of E that show the Stone Face, but now she smiles.  But this one, oh....I LOVE this one.  She was on the other side of the room, snuggling with her favorite blanket, and looked over at me with just this hint of a smile.  I grabbed it quickly before it vanished.  Love it, love it.  She has the most amazing big blue eyes and thick dark lashes...

E got her very own American Girl Doll, Chrissa, for Christmas, because she thought that "Chrissa looks just like me!"  Their eyes are certainly just about the same color!  Of course, Chrissa has front teeth...

E even asked (ASKED!) for pictures under the Christmas tree this year.  She thought she looked pretty before we went to Church Christmas Sunday.  I love her "all I want for Christmas" smile!  (Crummy shot, a million excuses, but there ya go..."No flashy thing, NaNa.  It hurts my eyes"  Tough crowd to work with!)

Ahhhhh....

I was out puttering in the yard yesterday and imagine my delight when I discovered that my viburnum was blooming!  I wish you could smell this--they are heavenly!!  Just a couple more gloomy months and spring will be here.  These are the early, early harbingers; they bloom before the forsythias.

Hello Yellow

The Color Challenge this month on the Photography Board I belong to was Yellow.  I've been looking around for some yellows....a primrose center...

a braided rope...

an old bottle cap discarded and rusted, underfoot and overlooked...

but the one I decided on...this time of year yellow to me means daffodils!!  I love doing an abstract shot and focusing just on the rim of the trumpet, throwing everything else into the bokeh

Hanging On

I love pinecones...I love the structure, I love the detail, I love the variation in color.  I'm even more thrilled when I can find some still hanging on the trees.  We've been having some really high winds, with gusts up past 60 mph lately, and there's tree limbs all over the place, not to mention pinecones strewn far and wide.  To find one determined hardly little cone, that hangs in there through all the rough storms, is a reminder for me.  And bonus--look at the wonderful yellow tips on the needles.  How cool are those?

Red, Ice and Blue

I managed to get out one day when the sun was out and the sky was the most incredible shade of blue.  The ice was still there, turning end-of-the-season berries into little bits of wonder.  It was so beautiful out it made my heart hurt with joy!

Embellished

One of Laura's neighbors had put some outdoor ornaments on one of the trees in the front yard; between the ice and the snow, they looked suitably decorated themselves!

Hats..and field and stream

I saw these at the store today and couldn't pass them up, knowing that the theme this week is Hats.  I know they must be warm, but can't decide if they would make you look like a crazed duck wanna-be or a loony ter.....ist, or at least a bank robber.  I mean, seriously, who wears hats like these?   (Apologies to anyone who does--hunters, etc.)

A little vignette through a chain link fence while walking Laura's neighborhood.  It was c-c-cold, but not cold enough to freeze this brave little stream!  I really like snow shots in BW unless I can get some wonderful blue sky in there.  Wasn't happening that day.

Iced Over

Still out playing in the ice storm remains....  These berries almost looked bronzed, between the ice and the cold.

Amazing the new patterns a plain old chain link fence creates with a little filigree of ice running over it!  Look at the "pleating" in the ice.

This leaf has a "hat" of ice, so I guess I'm on theme.  The leaf itself was so neat--it was so weather worn it was beginning to break down, right on the tree, to where it was thinner and more translucent than it should have been.  I kept thinking I wasn't focused in, but it was the leaf that was soft.  Oddest thing I've ever seen--a decaying leaf still on the tree.

I took my macro lens with me on the trip, but it was so blooming cold out (I think it was about 10 degrees this day) that there was no way I could hold still long enough to take a macro shot.  I used my new Freehand gloves that I got for Christmas.  They're PolarFleece, and the index finger and thumb tips on both hands fold back--PERFECT for camera work.  The other fingers stay covered so your hands are warm.  LOVE them and highly recommend them if you are going to be shooting outdoors.

Iced Delight

While I was at Laura's, we were lucky enough to have a mild ice storm.  (I know that sounds sick, but we don't get ice very often in the Pacific NW and I was thrilled).  So, I bundled up on a grey overcast day and went out to see what Nature had embellished for me.  I really liked the contrast of the red berries and grey tones of the sky.

Oh Christmas Tree....

..Oh Christmas tree, how lovely are thy branches...  or should I say needles?

Laura had the most wonderful tree this year.  I think it was a Noble, but I LOVED the reverse of the needles!  It gave the tree the most wonderful frosted look, and added to the magic.

What's Christmas without a project?

Everyone needs a Christmas project, right?  This year Laura decided she would make the girls a felt playhouse--you know, the kind that slips over a card table?  That would be fine, except Laura's motto is "Go big or Go home."  So, the card table-sized playhouse morphed into a PVC pipe framed 40X52X52, tall enough for all the girls to stand up in and almost tall enough for ME to stand up!  Plenty of room for everyone to sit down and play, and for lots of stuffed animals to join in the fun.

The problem was that she started the project after Thanksgiving.  Yeah.  And it's not like she isn't busy--3 girls, works from home with a job that can be high intensity, she's the room mom for E's kindergarten class AND volunteers in the classroom, does a preschool for C and her little friends, and all the other various and sundry things that life throws her way.  Plus, she did all this without a pattern!   She had all the big pieces cut out, and all the small stuff (fruit, veggies, candy and baked goods, basket, squirrel, leaves) finished.  The plan was that once I got there we would just whip it out in a couple of days.

I can hear all you experienced moms and sewers laughing.  Remember--no pattern, and 2-3 girls underfoot.

The minute C and G went down for their nap (E being in all day kindergarten, thank goodness!) out came the sewing machine and we became sewing demons.   Plan plan plan.  Draw draw draw.  Cut cut cut.  Sew sew sew. When David got out to Iowa he said the place looked like a sweat shop.  Of course, everything had to be packed up and hidden away before E got home from school--we'd have about 2 1/2 hours in the afternoon, and then would sew at night until we dropped.  A couple of nights we were up until almost midnight.

Finally, by Christmas Eve morning (yes....) we finally had to take E into our confidence.  We were sewing at the kitchen table and by this time the playhouse is the size of a hot air balloon and can't be hidden any longer.  Laura explained that she was making something for the 2 Littles and could E help keep it a secret?  E looked at Laura with this expression on her face and said-----"Mom, I already know what it is.  I saw it on your blog."  WHAT???  She's only in kindergarten, for Pete's sake!!!!  "I saw it on your blog."????????  Note to Laura:  If you want to keep anything a secret from E, DO NOT PUT IT ON YOUR BLOG.  This kid is too bright for her own good.

The playhouse was a surprise for everyone except Miss Sherlock Holmes, and the Littles LOVED it.  All three of the girls play in it, and love it to pieces.  Great place for their imaginations to run wild.  Kudos for Laura for coming up with the idea and for all the work and effort and dedication she put into this!!!!  Way to go, LO!!!!!!!

Here's the front of the house.  Of course, it HAS to have a pink front door.

The mailbox has removable letters.  The girls have a lot of fun playing Mail.

We used a double layer of netting on the window to make it look like screening, and give it extra stability.  The bird is velcroed and can be moved around.  The flowers can be "picked" and put back in the flower box.

Here's a corner view to the dog house side.

The apple tree wraps around to the back side, where the vegetable garden is.  The apples can be picked.  Laura plans to make oranges and pears so the tree can have different fruit.  We made the door on the dog house big enough for their friends from Build-A-Bear to fit through.  The Littles can fit through, too, we found out.

I made the dog look like one of C's favorite stuffed doggies.  The water dish and dog bones are removable.

Here's the vegetable garden.  Isn't it awesome?  The squirrel is removable--he can frolic wherever he wants.  The goodies in the garden can be harvested and put in the basket that Laura wove and we put under the tree.  Right now there is corn and lettuce in the garden as well as a couple of ears of corn that she wove (no pictures, darn it!) but she is planning on making some potatoes and other veggies as well)

Had to put something on that long branch, so I made a bird's nest and a couple of removable baby birds, as well as a mommy bird.  She flies around, too.

This is the Sweet Shop.  We didn't get the sign made that goes over it, or the drop down awning that will form a tray to hold the goodies for sale.  Laura made a lot of yummy bakery goods, I made some candy and caramel apples, and she found a cake and cupcakes at Pottery Barn kids.  The girls LOVE playing shop at the window.

Here's some of the goodies they sell.  Doesn't that cinnamon roll look delicious?

Anyway, this was the Christmas Project to end all Christmas Projects, and it was worth all the time and effort to see those faces when it was uncovered on Christmas morning, and to see them playing in it.  I know that this is something that will be played with all year long, and won't lose it's luster after a month or so.  Great job, Laura!  I am proud of you.  You done good, kiddo.  Glad I could be your assistant on this.

PS.  Thanks to Laura for most of these pictures.

At the start of the year...

Well, so much for posting while I was away over Christmas!  I took photos, but never had a chance to download any.  I've downloaded them; now I have to go through and edit them...

This one is from the trip.  We took AmTrak from Seattle to St. Paul, and then returned the same way.  This is somewhere in the desolate stretches of eastern Montana.  The snow was gusting and blowing, swirling and covering, then parting like a veil.  I just happened to catch a glimpse of this old shack on the side of the rail line and tried to catch a "roll-by" photo.  Not as easy as it might sound, between the back-and-forth movement of the train and the fact that it's going about 80 mph.  Loved the way the shot turned out though--I haven't done much to it other than a little cropping and some sharpening.  This is about how it looked.

It's good to be "peaing" again!!