Sewing Studio/Wildlife Viewing Station

I was just sewing away in my studio...putting the final borders on my super queen-sized top. I was feeling so guilty about being inside on such a lovely day...I was still in my pajamas at 11:30 a.m., when I popped over to my ironing board...looked out my studio window and saw a little black bear sitting in my back yard. 

I grabbed my son, Zack who was in the garage and he threw rocks and sprayed a hose at him but pretty much he was determined to stay and eat...garbage. Seems he had just walked by the front of the our house and grabbed a sack of garbage from our garage. Zack had been in the garage getting ready to ride his motorcycle when he popped back in the house for only a moment...how quickly it all happened. Forrest and Jenny were outside and barking like crazy and I had checked to see what they were barking at but that must have been when the bear was on the front side of the house. 

Our house sits in a neighborhood of about 200 homes. Our backyard adjoins state land that cushions the sides of Eagle River. We sit on a high bluff over the river. This bear is on the edge of our bluff so all of the land between us and the river is in it's natural wooded state. He hung out for about 20 minutes...wandered in two other backyards and went back down the bluff. No one was outside but me...all my immediate neighbors were off enjoying the pretty day.

Two hours later...I was still working on my borders...but I was dressed and had brushed my hair.  I popped over to the iron again and this time I saw another black bear...only this one was bigger.

See that head poking up? I know it was bigger because I saw the entire bear but digital cameras have this completely frustrating delay between pushing the button and snapping the picture!

I thought that was pretty exciting and from my basement studio window I taunted the bear as I tried to get a better photo...but she would have none of it. She gave me a look and determined I was completely non-threatening. She turned her back and looked for the garbage...which the first bear had pulled down the bluff a bit. Then I saw the best thing...two adorable cubs scampered up a very talk spruce tree.

This is the best photo I could get....one of them headed down the tree. I watched the cubs for about 10 minutes in the tree...they climbed all the way to the top...hung out...played with each other and finally came down to tag along with mom. 

I completely expect to see brown bears next...that's the way today has been going! None of my men folk are home or my neighbors so I'm not picking up the garbage until someone else is around to attempt to rescue me. The garbage was very mundane kitchen garbage...nothing exciting like fish guts or raw spoiled meat. I guess the first bear did leave a lovely present in one of my neighbor's yards so they didn't miss out completely.

Green Time

Most of my Saturday was spent outside...dividing perennials. I'm very late getting to it but that's how it goes. Some more of my rock garden plants are starting to bloom.

Creeping Phlox...in a lavender color. It comes in various colors...my favorite ones are bright pink but it looks like they didn't survive this winter. They were beautiful for at least five years so I got my money's worth.

Rockfoil with a fern invasion. Ferns...they rarely cooperate. Every time I pull one I think how futile it is to battle a  prehistoric survivor.

This is the best reference book for perennial gardening in my area...it is written for northern Canadian gardeners. You'd expect the extreme cold to affect our choices but it's the extreme swing in daylight hours that seem to limit us the most. Many plants don't have enough time to prepare for winter without getting the cues to shut down before the cold hits. I feel a lot like that too.

Plucking away on my May UFO...hand sewing the binding. Last night I watched "The Illusionist," while working. A good little movie...period romance type. I have the June UFO loaded on the longarm but there isn't a cloud in the sky so looks like there won't be any activity on it today.

Computers Cause the Disappearance of Time

Yes...this is true...especially if you dabble in EQ7.

But what fun!

I can work with a pretty close rendition of the fabric by importing a photo image of my fabric selections.

I can create original blocks.

I can print up color samples of my blocks. 

I can print up foundation patterns for paper piecing.

I guess it's saving me time but sometimes it doesn't feel like it.

 I just want to get the point where I can actually sew a test block.

 I've been working on this design for over a month.

Will this be it? I'm feeling very close. Remember it all started with these fabrics. (Of course I've pulled in some new fabrics and pulled out two of these.)

There just aren't enough hours in the day.

Adorable and Clean!

This is what I got done today...

Jenny...I know you really don't like baths but you sure look and smell pretty.

Forrest...well he's very food motivated so baths go a little better with him...but I think it wears him out mentally and physically!

I thought Jenny was the only one blowing her winter coat but there was more fur after Forrest's bath. I'll be vacuuming daily for at least a week. We'll be having a little fur with our food too probably! That's definitely the downside of Bernese Mountain Dogs.

Design Wall Monday

Wow...Sunday was Quilt Immersion Day at my house...it was a little rainy outside...it was wonderful! 

I'm thinking Monday will be short on quilting time as I play catch up. Forrest and Jenny are very upset...no walk on Sunday so today's walk will have to be extra long. (Don't tell them but they are getting baths after their walk.)

I pulled my May UFO off the quilting frame and now it is ready for binding...see that pretty mottled green batik? I love that piece of fabric! That's one of those fabrics I have trouble cutting because I don't want to run out of it but it's perfect for the binding.

Next up...June's UFO which just happens to be the companion quilt to May's UFO so I guess I'll keep that stack of fabric out.

I finally started piecing the second side of a border with delectable mountains. I put on a movie last night and cut out all the strips.  It's was great mindless work to end the day with because I spent several hours on Saturday and Sunday on the time sucking machine...the computer. I have been working on another quilt in EQ7. What a wonderful program...but I don't know if I'll every get my current design to a point where I think it's right! For a month I've been "tweeking" it and it keeps getting better. This one has lots of paper piecing but I'm very excited...when I my finished with my design I will share.

Thursday...Get Quilting Already!

Please Santa...send me more hours in a day!

I was still playing with my plexi-glass to work out block quilting designs yesterday...enough already!

Then I thought I was ready to quilt but it was so difficult to mark lines on an already loaded quilt top...so I took it off and spent a couple of hours last night marking it...am I slow or what?

I want to share my tool conversion...this little tool on the left is traditionally used to mark buttons on a garment...gets them evenly spaced. When I sewed clothing all the time I would say this was one of my most prized tools! It's been so lonely for years...but I have re-purposed it! Enter the newest quilting gadget that helps you mark your quilting rows without math or measuring.

I'm gonna go load the top on Marta right now...maybe I will actually make a pass on it today...keeping my fingers crossed. (I really wish meals could be abolished for a few days...they just get in the way.)

Rainy Day...Quilting Day

I'm so bummed I didn't finish my May UFO...it is still patiently waiting on Marta for attention. 

And...I woke to rain! I'm so happy. My plants are getting watered! I paid the bills. Gotta do some cleaning and cooking...and then it's time to quilt. Oh yeah...I gotta walk the dogs at some point. Rainy days mean a shorter walk usually. And I'm even a little excited to walk in the rain because I bought a pair of waterproof pants...no more soaked jeans like last summer!

I have been using my plexi-glass to work out quilting designs. Samplers can be challenging to quilt. I could take the easy way and do a simple...same...motif in every block but I need to practice my quilting too so I must take the harder path. As a compromise I'm doing a very simple border treatment.

Now what really cracks me up is the UFO for June is May's companion quilt...

Another Moda U quilt made with Holly Taylor batiks called Summer Nights. What can I say...I got a great deal...and I really like these fabrics...they were some of the first batiks I bought...so I had to build my batik stash...you know how important it is to have a good stash! I still have enough in another colorway to make another quilt! I could buy their batiks by the bolt...but I do have some restraint...or rather...lack of funds at times for more fabric. I am willing to eat less to have more money for fabric.

Okay...so I gotta go...as you can see I have a lot to take care of today.