Celebrating Friends

Two really wonderful things happened about the time I was getting ready to head to Paducah. First, I received a note from Linda Halpin mentioning that Quiltmaker had published two of her quilts! You can find her quilts in the current May/June issue. Way to go Linda! She is a fantastic teacher. Linda has been teaching quilt making nationally for thirty years. Her classes cover so many spectrums of the quilting world from color theory, hand applique, hand quilting and more.

One of Linda's specialties is scrap quilting using a two for one technique where cutaway scraps from one quilt are used to create a second bonus quilt. I love exploring her scrap quilts. I always find fabrics that I would never have thought to purchase and I am amazed that they work so well in the overall assembly. Read more about Linda on her website.

Flying Geese is the primary quilt featured to the left. Linda machine quilted this quilt in sections using the "Cyndication" quilting technique developed by Cindy Fenster and Cathy Doyle.

The quilt in the upper right hand corner is the bonus quilt. This quilt "Split Rail Variation" was Machine quilted for Linda by Marcia Wachuta. Linda says the machine quilting is perfect and I'm sure she is right. Marcia is an extremely talented quilter.

Linda will be teaching this class at Millhouse Quilts in Waunakee, WI on July 31st. Linda notes this class has just been scheduled so it may not appear on the Millhouse calendar until the next newsletter is published.

A few weeks ago Lynn contacted me and mentioned she had given me an award. Thanks Lynn!!! Lynn is a fellow art quilter that I met in blogland last summer. She is always trying new techniques. Her art work inspires me to do more. I can't wait to see what she will do next!

Here is a description that accompanied the award "This award goes to fellow bloggers who visit frequently and raise my spirits with their kind words of encouragement, their beautiful images and their wonderful outlook on life. They make blogging a positive experience and continue to make my life richer.

I really have a hard time passing awards on to others. I read so many blogs and visit each one because I find inspiration at each stop. (I love receiving your comments. If you leave a return e-mail address I will reply). I've listed a few of the many I enjoy below. Thanks for your encouraging words and your friendships.

Judith at My Cretan Life

Susan who Plays With Needles

Millie's Quilting

Greenmare at Mare's Nest

Karen Fae at Karen's Quilting

Jude at Cariad in Crete

Bindu at Transient Lives

Tagged and an Award and a Treasury

There have been days when I wonder, does anyone enjoy reading what I write?

And then something like this happens....

I received this award recently from Cheryl at Cheryl's Chatelaine Thanks so much for your thoughtfulness. This award is fitting as you will see in a minute. Cheryl has been cleaning her closets lately and I have been enjoying her organization skills, which I strive for, but never quite achieve. I have been noticing the similarities in our stashes and our love of embellishments.

Here are the guidelines for this award:'This blog invests and believes in the PROXIMITY - nearness in space, time and relationships. These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes for self-aggrandizement! Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers!'These are some very wonderful gals to visit. They are thoughtful, friendly and have so many wonderful ideas.

I am supposed to pass this along.One of the best part of blogging is the people you get to know, and I would like to pass this award on to these people that I would not have had the opportunity to "meet" otherwise:

1. Pat at Bell Creek Quilts - Pat is prolific quilter that lends a lot of her sewing time to good causes.
2. Greenmare at The Mare's Nest - She is always leaving me kind words and her blog makes me laugh.
3. Lynn of Getting My Feet Wet - She and I have been sharing ideas about art quilts. Lynn makes beautiful memory quilts for loved ones.
4. The Calico Quilter of It's the Cat's House, I Just Live Here - Who helped me find the perfect gift for my husband, Three Stooges Christmas ornaments (Nyuk, Nyuk, Nyuk). By the way she has most of Bonnie's latest mystery quilt finished so if you don't want to see step 5 you may want to look at older posts only.
5. Gwen at Desideratum - I love reading her blog. It is full of beauty and light.

I owe Jackie of Jackie's Stitches a follow up for 8 random facts about myself. I plan write this post soon with a diet theme. My goal for the New Year is a healthier me and Jackie is a great example of what a good diet can do. More on that later.

I just heard from The Rainbow Girl that she had included my flying geese earrings in her recent ETSY treasury "Hand Dyed Heaven". It is an honor to be included with so many creative artists. Stop by and take a look and leave a comment. The treasury expires late Saturday.

Where Did The Time Go?

Hard to believe that summer will soon be ending, but as eldest daughter prepares to leave for her 2nd year of college this weekend, and youngest daughter is soon headed off for her first year of high school, I have to face the fact that another summer has come and gone. I also have to face the fact that it wasn't at all what I had hoped it would be. There was no dreamy, lazy, day magic to this summer. It was pretty much hustle and bustle, with everyone going in a different direction.

The last couple of days I have been increasingly sad, as I come to the realization that our family, my little family, has changed. The dynamics are so different then just last year. We didn't seem as united this summer. There weren't lots of family dinners, or a great vacation, and only two day trips. There was no time for anything else.

As my children stop being children, and keep becoming young adults, (seemingly all too fast) creating lives of there own separate from the rest of the family, I realize I am going to have to redefine in my own mind what a family is, as well as my role in it. How do we all keep growing, evolving, shifting, yet still stay a close family? Still stay connected, even when our individual lives are starting to feel so separate? I would love to hear some sage advice from anyone who has traveled down this path before me. Not only do I feel like I need direction, but I feel like I need a flashlight and a roadmap and a tool box.

While feeling all blue and melancholy over summer not being what I had dreamed of, I found these lovely photos taken by the very talented artist Irene Suchocki. These beautiful photographic images make my soul sing as they capture what my heart longs for summer to be like.

Start Where You Are


This Way Into Summer


Summer is when ...


The Swing Set"


Letting go of time

To see more of Irene's dreamy images visit her Etsy shop isphotograpy.

In other news, the very sweet and talented Sandra Ree from Bubble Babble, recently choose me as one of several recipients to pass this award on to. Thank you so much, Sandra!


Now, I am suppose to pass this on to 7 other blogs, and as I have mentioned in some past posts, this part always sends me into a tail spin of panic. You are talking to a woman who has a hard time going to the grocery store because there are too many good choices, (I mean come on, 5000 different toothpastes!?! How does one decided!?!) That's why Hubby does 95% of all grocery shopping... but I digress... the point is I can't pick! So I will pass this award onto each and every one of you who gets up every morning, (or night, for those nocturnal folks) and steps out into the blogosphere, connecting with other like minded souls. Sharing bits of yourself, and offering encouragement to the rest of us who are trying to do the same. Thanks, you are all the best!