Bear in the Yard

Lets get right to the fun stuff...fuzzy photos of a little black bear that walked around my house today.

Checking out my neighbor's deck. 

It was a quick visit! It's a pretty little bear with a light patch of fur on its chest...maybe just a couple of years old...about the size of a Bernese Mountain Dog!

This is not the bear I took so many photos of last summer. I have seen a coyote several times but other than that I have not spotted any other wildlife. I know they are around...just hiding from me so far. Go figure...the bear is out on one of our rare sunny afternoons...it must be happy to see the sun too!

I am just really having trouble getting to the stage where I feel ready to start quilting my first quilt top of the season...so many design decisions to make! I finally decided I just couldn't go with so much pebbling...

I've committed to this plan...feathered arcs about the outside of the main star.

I made a pattern for the arc using freezer paper...it is about 22-inches long. I didn't have any acrylic templates to fall back on for this one!

The arc outline is drawn on the quilt top with a blue, water-soluble marker. I've been spending hours looking at quilting photos on the internet. Lots of great ideas...just trying to focus on how to get the overall effect I am after with lots of stars inside a biggie-sized star.

I did check off another house project...the basement bathroom is officially done and I love it...but initially I was so upset about a feature in this bathroom...a beam is very inconveniently placed for a vanity light. One day it dawned on me to mount a light to the side, on top of the mirror. 

There is another, more traditional vanity light, that is mounted above the toilet so there is plenty of light for the vanity area.  

Then I struggled with getting glass doors for the shower in this bath. I picked some very nice tile for this shower (Blue Limestone) and didn't want it hidden behind a huge metal frame supporting glass doors and that was the design for the initial bid I got from my local glass place. I figured what I wanted would cost quite a bit more than the traditional application...and it did!

Building your house is surely one of the most expensive things a person can do...anything is possible if you are willing to pay for it! I do love this shower door. Minimal metal frame...floating door handles. Extended height so the little decorative tiles aren't hidden behind the metal frame. I am happy, happy, happy.

Sunday night I was to this point on my latest cross stitch ornament.

Monday night...a bit farther!

I do enjoy having all the decision part of cross stitching already figured out in these little kits!