Review: I continue to enjoy the vacation just past!

Hopped a train from Milan to Padua.... Podava to Italians

Faux modern and fantastic dining at Hotel Al Fagiano.  It felt like an art gallery with crazy, sexy modern art everywhere. 

Spires of Basilica of St. Anthony....where the bells tolled on the quarter hour 24 hours a day! 

Near the Basilica is the Orto Botanico Botanical Garden. This nearly five-acre botanical garden was founded in 1545 to cultivate medicinal plants. It is the world's oldest botanical garden still in its original location.

Gingo Biloba circa 1750

Secret Garden Path

Just one view of the bounty within this garden

Padua doors.....so inviting

A town of narrow streets and covered walkways

and a store front window filled with fabric for shirts -  tailor made and expensive.....

We spent three nights in Padua but I needed much longer to ingest the beauty of the town's university, museums, churches, tombs and palazzos. 

Long trip from Seattle to Frankfurt....Frankfurt to Milan.....Milan to Padua.  Arrived safely and here's the first night.  Beautiful hotel.  We slept soundly and are up and ready for the day. 

Walking On The Wild Side:

In The Ravine ~


and found mushrooms



and garden paths

 ferns and bluebells

wood rot and decay.  A micro system at work night and day.

Out of the woods today and on to Milan....Italy.  Not sure what the next few weeks will allow internet wise, but I'll be back soon. 

Window Pane:

It's raining through the sunshine on my window to the world

How to make a quick and easy journal for traveling ~

I'm trying so hard not to explode...with excitement....at getting to make another trip to Italy....leaving on a jet plane early Thursday morning. 

My bags are packed....traveling light....and decided I needed a simple lightweight journal for my day tripping back pack: 

And, since time is of the essence, it had to be made very quickly.....here's how:

Six sheets of copy paper, cut in half lengthwise will make 12 sheets 8 1/2" x 5 1/2".

One sheet of card stock....I had some textural colored card stock so took this sheet of blue and  folded the bottom up 2 /12". 

 Place your 12 sheets of copy paper over the book cover and cut off side excess.  A allowed my journal cover to extend beyond the paper 1/4" on all sides.   After trimming off excess,  stitch up the flap on each side of the journal to make pockets. 

 Find the middle of the journal and mark, then sew through all thicknesses. 
Tip:  A long stitch is best.  Now the journal looks like this. 

Fold in half and press.  Here you can see the side stitches where the flap is sewn in.

 So here it is...a finished journal.  Handy pockets on each side will hold cards and brochures I'll pick up each day to help me remember where I've been.  There are enough pages for me to make quick notes each day to help match up events with pictures after I get home. 

It's simple, lightweight and ready to travel. 

Inspired by Debbie Grifka

The simplest of quilt patterns can make me happy.....I was inspired by Debbie's Rebel Flock so decided to make my rebellious geese in red and blue.   They are flying happily through the trees in shades of green, including chartreuse!    Get happy...get chartreuse ~  then go to Esch House Quilts for the free pattern download. 

Sparrow Babe update:

He jumped (or fell) from the bird house!  and ruffled his feathers just a bit.....

decided he was a big boy now and jumped upon the chair rocker

and immediately fell off! 

as mom looked on in despair.....

I was hiding behind a bush and felt her pain as I heard her mumble something like Lord, help this child! 

From the PhotoHeart: 
Like children learning to walk, birds too have to take a dive, then pick themselves up again.  I wanted to help....but I know that some lessons must be learned the hard way...by doing...by being.  Learning from life's struggles are lessons that will make us strong, allowing us to be. 

Pojagi Patchwork: A shower curtain

I just can't seem to get enough of the machine stitching:  pojagi patchwork - a colorful modern shower curtain for my currently non-color-ful traditional bathroom.   It's 72" x 72" and was a dream to make using my Bali shot cloth from Hannah's Quilts. 

The pojagi technique gives a clean sewn seam both on the front and back of my shower curtain.  Now, I'm off to Lowe's to find the metal shower clips and I'll get this one hung to update my bathroom. 

 

Out of Seattle: Monet's Flower Garden

I'm not sure - but I think I'm easily distracted....you see, I was looking for a picture of a quilt I finished earlier this year - BUT, I wound up with a collage:  Out of Seattle - Monet's Flower Garden.   

Monet's garden started with this picture....well, actually, it ended with this picture too!  Just duplicate, move, adjust blend, move, adjust blend until the garden is filled with flowers. 

 Now....I can go back and look for that picture I needed to find of the quilt I finished earlier in the year!   Hope your Friday started as happily as mine  ~

Pojagi Patchwork......a scarf

From Start:

I had a piece of yellow two sided fabric and it had no particular place to go!

With that in mind, I decided it would do it no harm to cut into more manageable pieces.

Having done that, I decided it needed to be re-sewn....in the pojagi patchwork fashion.

So, on and on we went until I had what seemed to be the length of a proper scarf. 

With both ends sewn together, we can cowl it around....either my neck or the neck of the handy dress form.  HuMan helped me take it outside for a better picture. 

To Finish:

 8" x 46" (92" before sewing the closure seam)

The beauty of pojagi is that (while there is a right and a wrong side) there is no right or wrong side! 

Don't Rain On My Parade....an art quilt

Don't Rain On My Parade
OOAK by Marty Mason
Sold February, 2009

While answering a question to Mary Sue this morning, I had occasion to visit the blog of Edyta Sitar
and discovered that she likes umbrellas too.  Edyta's Dancing Umbrellas is a new quilt pattern soon to be published ....Why didn't I think of that!  It did prompt me to dig into my quilt picture archives and find my art quilt, now in a private collection.  I loved the whimsy of all the brights and it continues to make me wish for an umbrella just like each of these.  Now wouldn't that make for sunshine on a rainy day? 

Just about the time .....

I run out of things to blog about....I walk outside! 

All's quiet on the home front

 when suddenly..........all hell breaks loose!

Can this kid scream I'm hungry any louder?

Look Dear....we have twins! 

 Who dropped their kid off!  They're multiplying ~

and then we start all over again!  A mother's work is never done ~

and it's only Monday morning! 

We aren't the silent type: she and I ~

While doing my (almost) daily exercise (the other day)....I ran across a picture/article about bullying - especially bullying lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender - and the Day of Silence to protest.  This morning....in reflection, I sketched my own poster while reflecting on the act of bullying ~

While I'm not LGBT, I do agree that those who are should not be subjected to bullying.  But, taken further, anyone, regardless of sex or sexual orientation or race or social status or income level or religion or........should be subjected to bullying. 

But, really, now....how is a day of silence going to help?  Shouldn't a bully and/or a bullying action be brought to the attention of all.  Instead of being silent, shouldn't the hurt and harm, the cause and effect  be talked about.  Talked about with enthusiasm and commitment with the expectation  that the why and how and where and when questions be answered.  Talked about at all levels, from a young age, at home, at school, at church, in town and out of town.  The bullying act should be talked about with family, parents, friends, co-workers, committees, organizations......The bully should be made public.  Those surrounding the bully should know who and what he is and what harm he has done. 

 But since I'm not the silent type, perhaps I'm not understanding how stuffing away, ignoring and pretending hurtful things don't happen is going to solve a problem. 

I once had a supervisor who said and did hurtful things.  One day I asked her "why?

 Her reply "just because I can."

Bullying, harassment, intimidation,  and control will continue as long as the power is given to

"those who can."

Down and Out ~ thursday

No matter the perspective.....nobody loves you when you're down and out!

Nobody loves you when you're down and out
Nobody knows you when you're on cloud nine

Nobody loves you when you're old and grey
Nobody needs you when you're upside down

Everybody's hollerin' 'bout their own birthday
Everybody loves you when you're six foot in the ground

Nobody loves you when you're down and out
Nobody sees you when you're on cloud nine

No, I'm not down and out (not yet, anyway), but I had these pictures of this old wheel barrow that I edited and wanted to put a story to.   Thursday! Now, that's a good thing!

The Marley Man

Dale?  When I hear the name Dale I immediately think Earnhardt.  Same thing goes for Bob...just has to end in Marley.

Busting out the Batik

A Moda Bake Shop Recipe:   The 'You Zig, I'll Zag' Quilt designed by Rebecca Silbaugh of Ruby Blue Quilting Studio.   Rebecca has patterns galore in the Ruby Blue shop. 

The cutting directions are given for a layer cake, but I wanted to use some of my batik,, so I just cut 2 1/2" strips across the width of fabric and that worked just fine.....only 35 1/2 inches  are needed for each block.   I used 28 different batiks so had to double up on some since the pattern calls for 41. 

The instructions for sewing together was pretty straight-forward....unless you get confused and pulled from the wrong stack.  Start with two different 2 1/2" squares, then pull a like 4 1/2" rectangle.  Now find a different 4 1/2" rectangle and partner it with a 6 1/2" rectangle.  Now pull the 6 1/2" and 8 1/2" rectangle partners for the last round.  A finished 8 1/2" block.   It'll make sense after you finish cutting and get started sewing. 

 With all 41 blocks lined up, I discovered it made a square quilt......and I wanted rectangle, so I made 9 more blocks so it zigged 5 blocks across and zagged  6 blocks down.... for a 58" x 70" finished size. 

 Another reason for my madness....I didn't have enough of my triangle fabric for the outer border so decided to stop it at this point.  What....I'm de-stashing my batik fabric and did not want to go for more! 

The day was too pretty not to go outside for the final picture...of course, the wind was blowing which explains away the slight blur! 

I like it!  Thanks Moda and Rebecca  for this great recipe.