Independence Day and a Fabric Sale at Dye Candy

Meet my Independence Day Baby. We brought him home from the hospital 21 years ago just in time to see the 4th of July fireworks. That seems like a lifetime ago.

It has been such a joy watching him grow into adulthood. We are proud parents of this young man. Happy 21st birthday son - Rock On!

It has been a while since I have been able to post. The last two months have been a whirlwind of visitors at the Shady Grove and a few weekend trips to visit friends and family. It was good to see everyone but it is really good to be settled in at home for a while.

I'm looking forward to having enough time to blog again. I have been trying to catch up but my Google Reader stopped counting 4 weeks ago when I hit 1000+ unread posts. It was down to 750 unread posts as of last night. I just can't bring myself to hit the delete button and make the posts disappear into cyberspace.

In honor of many days of independence ahead all of my one of a kind hand dyed yardage is on sale in my Dye Candy Fabric Shop. I also wrote a short post the fabrics I use and the dyeing process here.

Wishing you all a wonderful Independence Day!

Oh The Weather Outside is Frightful

Sorry to start my post with this out of focus shot of Jack but I just couldn't resist sharing this picture of our snow puppy. This shot was taken on Friday morning after we received 8" of snow overnight with a total of 12" by the time the weather broke.





Saturday brought more snow and a choice, do I travel in the snow or wait until Sunday when 30 mile per hour winds were forecast? I chose the snow. The 9 hour trip took 14 hours. It is good to be home safe and warm. Next year my son is getting a bus ticket for Christmas...

As you travel north of where we live the land levels out quite a bit. There are rolling hills and the occasional limestone outcropping. Into the Northwoods the roads are lined with pine trees, oak and birch as far as the eye can see. It was too snowy to capture the distant tree lined hills today. I had also hoped for some pretty shots of Lake Superior but had to settle for this freighter in drydock and a grain storage facility in Superior, WI. Duluth Harbor, located between Duluth Minnesota and Superior Wisconsin, is the largest and the farthest western port on the Great Lakes. The chief exports from Duluth Harbor are grains from the US and Canada, coal and iron ore. Here is a link to the Lake Superior Martime Mueseum's webcam. Not much action today.

Here is a link to some quick facts about Lake Superior. There are so many beautiful places to see along the shore line. More about that on another visit.

Almost Amish

I named this quilt "Almost Amish". It was made for my son and gifted to him on his 17th birthday a few years ago. It was my second attempt at piecing a quilt top when I was a new quilter. There are lots of references of our family life together in this quilt. There is a reminder of the frog pond near our house where many days of exploration with friends took place. The pine and fern patterned batiks signify our walks in the woods with our dog Kodiak and the wonderful wooded places we have lived. The purple fabric is a reminder of many sunsets shared together. The blue fabric signifies the blue skies of our home in Wisconsin and family reunions at the lake. The green fabric is a reminder of the lush land that is home. The black is for the night skies and the incredible view of the milky way on dark nights. The quilt was quilted by Marcia Wachuta with a meandering leaf pattern. I had her quilt 3 hearts into the quilt to signify the three members of our family.