Wonderful Weekend

We had a very nice Labor Day weekend. My nephew Isaac, wife Andrea, and the 7 kids (dwarfs) came to Ash River for the weekend. I was worried at first that we wouldn't be able to find enough to do for the weekend to keep everyone entertained. Not a problem...

We took the kids swimming....
One of the resorts has a raft, and they let us come and use it....

...and even the little kids were VERY brave and swam to the raft (15-20 feet away from the dock) climbed up and jumped off-again and again.....
...and we went to the project where Bill works....

Of course, as cool as everything is, the hard hats were the biggest hits...and the scissor lift....but that was, of course, off limits...

We took Sunday and rented a pontoon for the day and went to Kettle Falls...

(naturally, sideways...)
On the way home, we stopped and had lunch and went swimming at one of the many sand beaches, and campsites on the lake...

Everyone got to drive the boat....Captain, Captain, who's the captain!? (only one was watching where we were going...thank goodness!)

A nap.....and after, we went fishing...no pictures of fish, but Grant caught a nice little bass, and (with my help, I casted, Emile cranked...) Emile caught a nice 3 lb. Northern which we got to the boat and in the net, but the net had a HOLE in it, (wasn't ours...) and we lost it. That is what you get for trusting other people's gear... But, we (he) did get to see it, and that was the important part...we did eat the bass...YUMM...

Of course we ate well, and had great campfires at night. Mason, Emile and Harrison got to sleep in the "silver spaceship" (Airstream...!) and Harrison (he is 4) thought that was AWESOME. He really wanted Andrea to go out there and COOK something. Even tried to bribe her saying she could cook "vegetables"! (I will have to have some jiffy pop on hand for next time....) they were all so CUTE.

The girls got to do a little sewing, there was even some Xbox Kinect going on (imagine that!) and other computer games. I don't think anyone was ever bored! It took me 2 days to recover, but that is o.k. Can't imagine doing this full time! You guys are AMAZING. I missed everyone when they were gone. It was a lot fun...come back anytime...

Thanks for sharing your babies, guys...

Summer happenings... and Design Wall Monday

Why do summers have to be so busy?
In June, Bill's sister Cathy was here for a month. She stayed till after July 4th, and then headed home to be back with her husband. She was here to help with her parents, and got a lot done. We didn't get to spend as much time with her as we would have liked, because well, it is summer. We had plans, and things we needed to do. It has been a bit crazy. But when we did have to do things, she graciously took care of the dogs while we were gone. Thanks again Cath....!

We went to Scamp Camp in Bemidji. That was a fun. Good people, good food, and well, you're CAMPING, and not WORKING, so what is better than THAT?

We are at the fairgrounds, so yes, no trees, but we did have hookups, so we had air, and of COURSE, we needed it! As everyone everywhere did this summer!

We went down to Earl's for his birthday at the end of June. Again, it was fun to see those people we only get to see once a year-at Earl's birthday party...and go figure, I didn't take any pictures of the party! Earl took us to the Art Institute in Mpls., and that was awesome.

At the end of July, Mark and Li came, we went for a boat ride on Kabatogama, and Bill got to try out his new "old" boat. It will be nice to have access to the water now, and hopefully we will have time to use it! They went back to Ely, and I stayed an extra day and had to go to a funeral. Karen came to Ash River to join me, and it was great seeing her, but it certainly wasn't enough time, as we drove to the funeral together and she drove home. She did get to spend one night, and we talked till 3 in the morning. It would have been longer, if we didn't have to get up in the morning!

Yesterday, Bill finished his dock. He has to pull a few more cat tails, but now, we have access. Now, let us remind you that we are RENTING, but whatever. He had fun, (it was mostly scraps) and that is what is more important, as he has been a bit stressed with work lately, so whatever floats his boat-ha! Never mind....Jay, one of the guys from work, (and Maverick's dad) helped. That was great. Thanks Jay...! And I cut the grass, and trimmed trees, so I wasn't just napping....although I TRIED, and got this...

and this....

(hate it when it turns sideways. Don't know how to fix it...) 

Maverick would not stop the obsessive ball thing. But, labs are like that, and many others.

O.K., now for Design Wall Monday and projects....

I got the top done for Jay...this is a free pattern from Hoffmann fabrics, Royal Peacocks. Of course I had to change it and make it smaller.

I finished Mason's quilt, another friend that works will Bill. My design, wanted to use those Real Tree panels....Mason is only 1, so he won't appreciate it for a while....

Almost done with this donation to the fishing contest for Ash River. It is a benefit where the money goes to things like buying defibrillators for the resorts. Good cause, since we are 45 minutes from the nearest hospital...of course, I cut and brought the pieces to Ash river, and I am one piece short, so hence the lack of a border...otherwise, it would have been done. Well, I have to take it back to quilt it anyway....visit Judy's website for more Design Wall Monday projects.

So, that is the latest update for the summer. Things will not slow down for a long time, as we are booked every weekend in Sept. We had to put on the schedule that when we could go shop for a new dishwasher! Not until August 18th! We will drive to Duluth, and make a day of it. I hope it will be cooler, then we could bring the dogs, but highly unlikely this year...
Hope all is well with everyone, until later...!

Quick Update

Summer is blowing by so fast, and all it seems like I have been doing is CLEANING. Campers, houses, cars, whatever...ugh. And we ALL love THAT, don't we? One house, one camper, and one car, would make it a lot easier too! Working on that part...We will not even put the dock out this year, probably never even get out the boat. How sad is that? How does it GET like this?? Before you know it, you have filled life up with SO much "stuff" and God help you if something throws a wrench in, like someone gets sick. So far, we have been healthy, but that could change at any time. Oh well, deal with whatever comes down the pipe...O.k., enough whining, I know, things could be worse...and as I say, our turn will come...

SO, on the quilting front, I have made 2 more tops, one more is almost done. The first one, has been in the process (AKA-UFO pile) for a long time, and needed to be made bigger, so I finally got to that, with a little prodding from the hub, since he loves his batiks! It is a queen, Half Square Triangles, Med. and Dark.

I always like to do something, either in the quilting or the quilt so that I know, when putting it on the bed, which way it goes. These borders tell me right away, which way is up. I hate spinning a quilt multiple times to get it on the bed right. Especially when ones like this are not obvious.

Then, I made a Carpenter's Star to go along with Judy L.'s feather lesson. I have to make the backing yet too, and who knows if/when that will happen...October? It is about 60x80, and will have dark blue binding.

Then I have one that is SO CLOSE to being done, that it ticks me off that I cannot "quite" finish it yet. I hate it when that happens...!

This one has 4 borders (black, blue, black, brown) and those blue, black, cream, black blocks for corner stones, since I had some left over. I have 3 of the borders put on, but need to piece more borders for the 4th. SO close...

The pattern can be found here, at Hoffman. Of course, I had to modify it and make it smaller, but that makes a good sized lap quilt, and a great way to use novelty fabrics. I liked ti so much, I kitted another one with some of my leaf fabric. I have been cutting and kitting a bunch of stuff as I get ideas for my fabric. I am determined to use it before I die, and use some of these millions of patterns I have collected and wanted to do! The bad part is, it makes A LOT more UFOs! Need more retreats!

I have invited the hand quilting ladies from our guild to come over next week, the day before I leave for Scamp Camp, and of course, I REALLY need to CLEAN THE HOUSE. AND the sewing room! Yuck.

We also went to Mpls. because Bill got a "President's Award for Outstanding Service" from the U of M. Great Job, dear. Nice to know he is appreciated, since he works his BUTT off. And for those who know him, know how true this is...he is insane.

 He was allowed to invite 10 people. Katie came in from Seattle and that was awesome to see her. Left to Right-Lee, Bill, Katie, Linda (Lee's wife), Earl, Doug, and Dave. Friends and family, but all family in our eyes...thanks for being there guys!

As I was looking at pictures, I can't believe how much water is under the bridge already! Bill also got a 20 year dream...a John Deere Lawn mower...of course, he would have gotten a real TRACTOR if the budget would have allowed, but alas, it didn't...and the "male" side of MY brain wanted the TRAILER, which, if it would have been in the budget would have been a covered, BIG trailer....but....

so, we got this one, which still will haul 3000#, so should be good for most things we need to do! But again, another thing on the "list", painting and sealing the trailer...

Well, I will stop there. There are a few more things going on, but I will have to wait till later. Hopefully everyone is having a SLOW summer, but why do I think that is not happening....?

They went and Changed the blog on me, now again, I have to relearn where everything is. Sometimes, I hate updates....

O.K., let's get on with it...
First, I did manage to finish another quilt. YAY! It was a big one-96x105, for my queen bed in Ash River, but it fits perfectly, well, for me anyway. Any longer, and it ends up mostly on the floor when we sleep. These bigger  mattress' now are crazy.

The quilting pattern is "Frisky Feathers", and I was worried that it wouldn't fit on my short arm. But it did. I had to tweak it a bit tho. I don't really know what I would have done if it didn't! I already have one sitting in a lump that didn't make it through the quilting process because I used a pattern that was too big...(ya, have to get back to that...)

I have also been working on my B-I-L and S-I-L's "wedding" quilt. Doesn't matter that they have been married for 3 years now...or is it 2?? Sorry guys, hard to keep up...

This is the EQ version. It is 102"x102", or hopefully will be! I have had to change the blocks, since I can't do these the way they are...! I need to easily paper piece. And so far, "easy" hasn't really been one to fit this quilt. But, it is a "challenge" and I knew it would be, so that is why I have procrastinated...

These are the blocks, the one on the left being the center, out, just like the picture...(you can click on them to make them bigger).

I have to make 4,8,4 of each of those. I have 2,1,1 done, so far. First, this happened...

It bled a little when I sprayed it to starch it, and then I tried to WASH it and it bled A LOT. Bummer, but glad I only did ONE. These are all a prewashed fabrics, but they are all batiks, heavily died batiks...so, BACK into the washing machine they all went...and I tested them before I used them. So far, so good...

And I have 14 of the 44 border blocks done, which will have to be WASHED before they TOUCH anything else, since they were done before the compass', but they will be touching white...oh well...at least they are blue on blue!

The center has to be rotated (maybe, haven't decided) and redrawn, since they are going to be 20" (times 4, to make a 40" block) and I now have the tools...but have to get my head around it. I don't think it will be hard, but have to make a block of time to do it without interruptions...or maybe when they are here this summer, they can help! I can guarantee they would be better at it than me! But, now I need a break, and need to work on something fast, so will work on my Carpenter's Star http://www.patchworktimes.com/2012/04/06/feather-lessons-on-carpenters-star/

for this project with Judy. I am running a bit behind, but hopefully will get it done on time. You would THINK, I have a month!

So, that is all on the quilting front.

On another note, we had the dedication for the Nova site project that the hub is working on, yesterday. Fun was had by all...o.k., maybe NOT, but I had a good time visiting with people I haven't seen in a while, and Deb over at Ash Trail Lodge, always does a good feed. The boys worked really hard too, everything went smoothly and I heard a lot of wonderful comments about them. I would give them all bonus' (I think Bill would too...), they are a great crew, but alas, we are not in charge of the money...

Worker Bees switching from chairs to tables...

Ribbon cutting...Look at that Cole, doing such a good job holding up the ribbon, what a guy...

You can catch the news blip here:

http://www.northlandsnewscenter.com/news/iron-range/NovA-Far-Detector-Building-Opens-Scientists-Study-Neutrinos-149311085.html

Bill missed it all! He is in North Carolina at Merlefest listening to great music, but, he REALLY wanted to be there, really. Conflicting schedules, and this was planned after he bought his plane tickets...oh well...I am sure he is not having any fun there...

Chicago, and other travel

Since I last wrote anything, I have been on the road a lot. Mostly this month. In Jan. we went to visit Ben and Bridget and helped them pack for their adventure to Australia. They moved there, at least for a few years. They seem to be liking it, so that is good. There was almost no snow in the mountains, and anywhere, from Minnesota to Chicago and on to Colorado. It was very strange...

Feb. was pretty uneventful. Cathy came and spent 3 weeks with us, visiting the parents and we had fun when we were together. Which wasn't a lot, when she was either at the parent's or I was in Ash River.

March, has been pretty crazy. I met up with Brenda for our own little quilt retreat in Moose Lake, MN. and we spend a few days yakking and quilting. I got a lot of quilting in, but didn't finish anything! And I ask, can you EVER have enough pizza-DELIVERED? I think not...

Oh, and don't let the pics fool you, we had more stuff crammed beside the beds and any space we could. Never know what you will need!

Last week, I just got back from a trip to Chicago with Cindy, to hit the Sewing and Quilting Expo. It was fun, as we hit the show both Thursday, and Sat. with a trip to the art museum on Friday. My body did NOT like this. We drove home on Sunday, and I crashed on Monday, didn't do diddly. I did well, and didn't buy that much at the show, which surprised everyone, mostly me. Does that mean I have ENOUGH stuff? Doubt it, there is ALWAYS something...

My sad lot...that is probably the smallest bunch of stuff I have ever bought at a show, or quilt store. Although once, I DID walk out with nothing...but maybe only once...I don't know if I should be sad, or proud....

My friend Sharon, where we stayed, gave us a trunk show of her mother's, g-mother's, and aunt's quilts she inherited. That was so cool. The next few pics are those. This is a bow tie, and it is now on MY list of quilts to make. I love it. The fabrics were great. I told her she has to find out as much info on them as she can, before it is too late. Her mom is still around.

Her mother made this one. So simple, and yet so fun. Can you imagine with all the "brick-like" fabrics that are out there now how realistic this could be? She said her mom actually went out and measured the bricks! And they had a full size bed, so I guessed that that was where the lines ended up. Hmmm...again, on my list...gets the juices flowing...

Wow. And this lovely was all POLYESTER! Imagine fighting the poly to make those hexies! Not in my blood. I am still working on my cottons! And the weird thing, was that I REALLY LIKED it! Not enough to make one, but there was just something about it that was just "fun". And certainly the colors...maybe that was it!
And a trip to Chicago is not complete without a trip to WHITE FENCE FARM for fried chicken and CORN FRITTERS. Oh man, not in the diet book, but hey, I don't live there so it is o.k., right? And they did not disappoint! YUMM.
This was the first time that I went to the actual "farm", and not the take out place. AWESOME! It was filled with antiques. We didn't even get to see it all before they called us to our table. Gee, guess I will have to go back!

Now we are off to Mpls. tomorrow to see Earl, and catch the Hunger Games. Yippee. I am excited, heard it was good. All for now! Someday I will post some quilt pictures again-mine, that is...maybe I will finally come back to blogland...

Two of the 10 tops that I finished this year...

Well, I think this is the last of the tops for this year. It was at block stage for a while. As you can see, I just used the horse fabric for the border to use it up. That's all I had in Ash River. There is purple in the horse fabric...The rest will be the backing for the other quilt. I was hoping to use up some 3.5" squares, but didn't put a dent in them...BUT, I now have a "spare" quilt! Hope to start racking them up. I find it to be "o.k.", even tho I love scrap quilts.

This one is another horse quilt with the pattern Roy Rogers, from Quilting World. I did a brown one here.

Yes, I know there is a mistake, and I don't care. This one is for me. I am not thrilled with the layout for this either. I tried to find some navy for the checkered border and binding, but couldn't find the right color, so just used what I had, and that is a good thing too... I do love the colors, the binding will be purple...and it is a "maybe", if someone wants it...

I did have trouble with putting it together, which was frustrating, since the first one went together SO easy! got over the hurdle, and I think all will be o.k., but time will tell, when we do the quilting...

On to more UFOs and TONS of quilting...should be a fun week!

YES, Christmas is over!

I am so happy. Although, this year was not so bad. Not NEARLY as much stress as other years. In fact, not very many homicidal tendencies at all! Don't think I will ever get to "like" the season, but I can handle just tolerating it...

I can't believe another whole year has passed tho, and I have to make a new UFO list for Judy's challenge. My last one is here. And what did I finish? Sadly, #10-the Ancient History, and the Bonus quilt. BAD GIRL, BAD! Try, try again....I mixed it up a bit (the old list) and added a couple new ones....
So, for this year, I have on my list:

#1-Carolina Christmas-still at this stage...
#2-Circular Batiks-one where you make circles and make it look like a cathedral window...
#3-Morning Slash-no further along than last year...
#4-Homespun Charms-again, no further along then last year! ( I see a recurring theme here...)

#5-Rhubarb Twist-an Atkinson pattern that was in Fons and Porter-M/J 2006

#6-Sister's Choice- I did do some work on that this year, but far from finished.
#7-Virginia Bound-from Bonnie Hunter's book and new on the list, but not a new UFO...
#8-Green and Purple Scrappy Toes- just have to put rows together, and actually HAVE some rows together! I hate it when I am SO close!
#9-String Pinwheels-yes, this is at the same spot too...

#10-Shakespeare-again, didn't touch it...

#11-Star Sprinkles-new for this year. I cut this one, and it is new on the list. I believe it too is an Atkinson pattern...
#12-Star Struck-Bonnie Hunter-kitted last year and I have it ready to work on.
So you ask, what DID I finish last year? Not much on my actual list, but a quilt for Jenna, baby William, and 10 "tops" done, but need to be quilted...not much actually "finished"...and that is what I get to work on this week....after cleaning the house, hopefully...
Hope everyone had a good weekend...