Shared Journaling

My favorite quilt shop in the Anchorage area, Seams Like Home, brings in national quilt teachers. Saturday morning I spent three hours with Angela Walters doing some hands on with rulers at the quilting frame.  Angela is demoing at the machine and I am in the turquoise T-shirt.

As usual, when I talk with national quilting teachers...it is always the stuff that isn't included in the official class that often gives me the most memorable learning moments. I would jump at the chance to take another class from Angela. Fantastic, personable teacher with so much knowledge that she gets out so efficiently.

The day before the class...I finally shot my first picture of a bear in our yard this summer. I've seen black bears in the our yard about a half dozen times this summer. I know there are two Grizzlies with cubs in our area but am really hoping I don't see them in my yard...just saying...

I didn't crop the bear photo...I took it from my car since I saw the bear walking down my driveway on my way home.

It is summer time so I have been spending as much time outside as the weather and my schedule allows. I started the rock outline for a perennial flower bed last fall. It was such a delight to plant it this summer!

On those evenings when I have a little bit of energy left, I've pecked away on cross stitch...

Finished a Bucilla ornament set, Snow Garden.

And just this morning I finished making 54 blocks for a log cabin inspired patriotic quilt. Only 16 blocks on my design wall right now. I am so in love with this fabric line in this pattern. It was a batik line from Moda last summer called Fire and Ice. I would never have put all these together and then added black...but it really looks sharp! It is going to be challenging to sew all these blocks together so I might wait for a few rainy days.

I wanted to show how my rock and metal tub wall is fairing after its first winter.  I lost one tub from the top due to the snow plowing of our driveway but I got it easily replaced and filled with a red twig dogwood which is what is in the other tubs along the top row.  The six purple fountain grass plants did not survive. Not too surprising. I replaced them with gold potentilla which I know will winter over as the three orange potentillas are thriving!

The firepit is getting lots of use but of course...I have plans to make it look grander...I don't know why I do this to myself...remember...I have that problem in quilting...making everything  bigger.

What the heck...I'm going for it...adding a rock border...and maybe a little walk way through the grassy area to the rock stairway...

I think of my blog as a journal that I share with others. I keep doing it because it really helps me keep track of what I accomplish. I had a couple of days last week when I didn't feel too peppy and I was feeling overwhelmed. (I even took a nap one afternoon...I never take naps!) I know everyone has those days. Looking through my blog makes me feel so much better. I do accomplish a lot... sometimes it takes months or years until there is a final result. Maybe with some of Angela's tricks added to my quilting knowledge...I can make a bigger dent in my quilt top pile.