Summer of 2013

I have been having so much fun and delightment this year due to joining  the Ohio Butterfly Facebook page .   https://www.facebook.com/groups/187696631361914/It has made me go out on long walks and to open my eyes to look for all the many different butterflies I could find, then look them up in a reference guide and try to figure out their names.  I didn't realize that there are so many butterflies in my area,  Next year I will be planting more flowers that butterflies like, but my most successful bush for bring them in to watch and eat is the "butterfly bush"  

Many people have been asking about my fiber art and what have I been doing all summer. As you know I have been bless with living on a lake.  This is the view from my living room.  It was taken early spring and the pink dogwood was not in bloom yet.  But I took this pic and I am turning it into a landscape wall hanging.  I have been experimenting with curved piecing.  I will post it when I am finished with it. I think it is starting out quite well. 

The other thing I have been doing is finishing up my double quilt for my granddaughter Adeline. This quilt is taking me longer than I thought.  My sweet sixteen has been giving me trouble ( the timing is off) and has been in the shop twice now.

 So the quilting was pushed back, but I have been encourage by a wonderful quilter who does most on her quilting on her home machine. My facebook friend, Rhianon Taylor My friend Rhianon Taylor  @ https://www.facebook.com/rhianon.taylor    She just purchased a long arm, but still is returning to her home machine (Bernina) because she can get more control with it at this point.   So I have been quilting Addy's quilt on my Bernina.  My goal is to get it done this week-besides she's been asking for it.

Another technique I have been trying to learn is Confetti Quilting.  (Very trying project for me.)  It is using little cut up fabrics as your paint colors to transform into a pic.  Yeah right!   Here is a professional one done by the lady who is famous for it - http://park19.wakwak.com/~noriko/ Take a look, now look at my start.  

Ok, you can tell I have a long way to go.  Oh well, This really is not my cup of tea.  Way to tedious.  And one more thing, I have been having a great time dying my own fabric about 10 yards of it.  Sorry no pictures other than the piece above.  So I will be using a plain background for this confetti quilt and same this great orange/yellow piece for something else.  

Only as a sidelight: I also had a beautiful grandson, Colin, born 7/2/13, 10lbs 8 oz to my daughter and son in law.  My granddaughter, Adeline, also had 2 operation to save her 3 fingers which were severed in a accident, but they are all healed and working now due to some very fine doctors in Toledo Children's Hospital and Michigan Children's Hospital.  So this has been a busy summer.  

Coming up flowers!

A lily for my mother in law!

A hibiscis for Lee!

A Rose of Sharon for my Mom!

August is coming to an end.  The weather is perfect 70-85 degrees.  Slight Breeze, Blue Skies, but soon Fall and Winter will appear.  And thoses are special times of the year too, but I love summer and this one in Northwest Ohio has been very hot, hot, hot.  But I just came back from a short trip to Florida and it is much hotter, humid and plain icky.  Flowers were few there but the were lovely tropical plants with a lot of color.  I love flowers.

Stenciled composition of roses.

Quilted, inked and gold sprinkles applied.  This is my Creative Challengers 2010 project that I am working on, Stay tunes and I will show you the finished project.  I'm not sure as what this will turn out to be.