House Quilt Block 4

I've been trying to find time to work on the new hose quilt block. I hate getting behind. It really discourages me - so ...

City Centre . . . downtown Elmhurst

Since I posted a picture of our little plaza a few days ago, I thought I'd post an artists rendering of the proposed improvements being planned for this year.

There is a caveat - "some details illustrated will be different in the completed project". That seems to leave the door wide open, in my opinion.

I'll be watching - and will photograph the end result.

The plaza is in the top right picture of the Elmhurst scenes. You can kind of see some umbrellas and awnings. There is a fountain already, and - during the holidays a Christmas Tree stands there. One of our favorite restaurants, Fresco's, has al fresco dining on the plaza.

Illinois Spinal Care

Well, my visits to Illinois Spinal Care are paying off! My shoulder is pretty much pain free and I have almost my full range of motion back. There's just one small spot that needs work. The fringe benefit is that Dr. Darrin fixed the ache in my lower back when it was so sore from coughing all night, and . . . yesterday he fixed the ache in my jaw and I didn't even tell him about it. Somehow, he could tell. It's like magic!
Dr. Darrin Redinger is on the right in center picture. Dr. Travis Bertke, on the left is his partner. They are both so nice, and friendly, while also being very professional.
I thought I had pretty good posture, but the x-rays they took show otherwise. I'm glad to be working on this now, before it gets really bad.

Yesterday winter, today . . .

it's summer in Elmhurst! I walked across the street to the bank and saw . . .

this



and this!


What happened to Spring?

Testing
I sent this text from my Raspberry! Yea, I learned a new trick! I also sent a picture of Joey, but it is taking longer to get here.

Two of My Favorites

Sally Fields is my favorite actor. I remember her speech when accepting an Academy Award to the effect that 'if Mom's were in charge, there would be no war'. Amen!

For Better or For Worse has been my favorite comic strip 'from the beginning'. I have corresponded with Lynn Johnston, it's creator. She is a nice, 'regular' person who does not 'take on airs' as my grandmother would have said. I admire her very much. I still have some of the old strips that I saved because the 'spoke to me'. This is one - enjoy!

Thread Painting Class

Beginning thread painting is another IQF class that I enjoyed a lot. It's so much fun to learn new techniques. Bonnie Langenfeld is a very good teacher and, if she wrote a book on Thread Painting, I'd buy it!

I haven't finished my project yet. It was an all-day class, but I got there 10 minutes late, with very little caffeine, and never quite caught up. My first mistake was to start out in the wrong direction. It was supposed to be a horizontal not vertical layout. I was planning to keep working on it, but maybe I should start over - and get it right in the first place.

Another Fortune Cookie, another fortune

Yeah right. Do you think we eat Chinese food a lot?
'To truly find yourself you should play hide and seek alone.' Huh?

Silk Screen Class with Maggie Weiss

This is Maggie Weiss, my favorite teacher! She was so nice, and always smiling, even though her laptop had been stolen. I have always wanted to learn to 'silk screen' and she made it easy and fun.

She's holding two finished projects from another class she taught. Look familiar? I think the whole class used the same face, and then finished the project any way they wanted. The results were amazing.

Some of the samples Maggie brought to inspire us. It worked!

This is my screen and picture I used to make it

and here is the finished print - ready to do something with. I love the sepia look of it. I want to take more classes with Maggie, if I can. She's in Evanston and has a 3-day class scheduled, so maybe . . .

International Quilt Festival - April. 17, 18, 19, 2009

Wow!!

If you're not familiar with the Rosemont Expo Center, I have to tell you - the 5 story garage was full! It's the first time I have ever found it difficult to park. So - imagine how difficult it was to get in the elevator or walk the show floor. I've never seen anything like it! My friend Cheryl and I decided to car-pool, she picked me up at 8 a.m, we parked and walked, and walked, and walked . . . The classes were in a different hotel than usual - waaaay behind the expo center. Going back was easier, because the show floor was open and we shopped our way back.

The show made my head spin. So much to see, I was soon on sensory overload. I didn't buy anything the first night, but have no fear - I made up for it the next day!

There was a wonderful display of award winning art quilts! It took a few pictures of my favorites. Many quilts had signs on them stating that photographing them was not permitted ... sigh ... I'll just have to remember them. The one at the top was made in panels by 10 different quilters in the same club. The one below left has vintage photos of people on each little building. I like the way the one at lower right is connected, and the bright colors used. So many ideas, so little time.

Quote of the day

There are some people so addicted to exaggeration that they can't tell the truth without lying. Josh Billings

I don't know who Josh Billings is, but he sure hit the nail on the head. I have known people like this. I don't understand why a good (really good) story has to be 'enhanced' - it's good as it is . . . just tell it - don't exaggerate.

The Quilt Show is coming, the quilt show is coming . . .

Aren't these quilts beautiful? My favorite is the one on the left. I find the differences in color very interesting.

It's finally (almost) here. International Quilt Festival! Last year I just 'shopped'. This year - I'm a quilter! I'm taking 3 classes - none of them strictly quilting - just stuff I've always wanted to try. Thursday, all day, is Thermofax Basics (I think that's printing on stuff); Friday is Woven Copper Jewelry in the afternoon. I'm going with a friend, so I'll shop in the morning while she is in a class; Saturday (I'm giving up strawberry crepes for this so it better be good) is Beginning Landscape Quilting with Thread - I have no idea what this is either - it just sounded interesting. I went to the web site to see if I'm supposed to bring anything and got side tracked by tips from professional quilters. Thought I'd share.

BTW, my philosophy of life is "If one's good, twos better". I think Charlotte and I would get along, except maybe that 'red' thing. I don't like to mix yellow reds and blue reds. It's kind of like chalk on a blackboard to me.

Five Top Tips from Charlotte Angotti
1. All greens go together just as all reds and all blues go together and so on. After all, they have the same name. Hence the reason for them to be in the same family. We all have relatives that don't match. They still belong to the family. They give it spark and make us smile.
2. While sleeping under a quilt you really can't see that isn't perfect, so don't waste time worrying about those points while you are awake. Get as close as you can to perfect but just remember the next quilt will be better. You have to leave some room for improvement. Seriously.
3. Buy at least a yard of fabric when you think you only need a 1/2 yard. This will keep you from searching for the last piece of that fabric on earth. Trust me on this one. It will save you years of woe.
4. You really don't have to match up the fabrics in a quilt. Well, let's say if you use four fabrics they really need to love each other. If you are using 20 different fabrics not so much matching...more like melting together. So, it is easier to melt 20 fabrics into a quilt than to match just four fabrics. Really.
5. This is your hobby. Relax. Breath. Enjoy the quilt as it is being made so you can sit back and love it when it is finished. You have all that fabric to use so don't stop because you are too tense! And besides, there is a show coming up, more ideas, classes and fabric are just around the bend.
It might not be the party we wanted, but we are here so we may as well dance.
To visit Charlotte Angotti’s web site: http://www.charlotteangotti.com/

Gift in the mail - for me!

And then I got this 'gift' in the mail. Some great samples of a new product called Sparkle 21. It's kind of a glitter paint, to use on fabric, plus bags full of sequins and gems! Some of the sequins are butterfly shaped and the gems are pink hearts. Pink is my favorite color!!

I can't wait to paint stuff! Where will I start? my shoes? jeans? jacket?

Raspberries

We got new phones this week! I think they're made to last about as long as the service contract. My Razor was good for one phone call per charge, and Amy's was the same. We got 'Raspberries' (Some people call them Blackberries, but ours are bright pink, so . . .)

Weeping Willow

I took this picture from our kitchen window last Saturday just before sunset. The sun was under the clouds and, when this occurs, the lighting makes everything seem magical.

The next day, we had snow. grrrr And, it's April!



I'm kidding - sort of. We did have snow on April 5th, but Bob took this beautiful picture of our home on New Year's Eve last year.

Garry Meier is back!

Funny thing - I never listened to talk radio until we moved to a new office and I could hear Joey's radio. I found it interesting to hear people talking about 'stuff'. Some I liked, some - not so much, but still I listened. Couldn't help it. Last year 'they' brought Garry Meier back, then, a few months later they changed to an 'all music' format and he was off the air again. And I had just started to like him. I switched to WGN because Amy said to, and they just made the announcement that Gary will be doing the 1: to 4: time slot left by John Williams when he went to mornings. I like him (John Williams) a lot, too - he sounds just like Alan Alda.

What Happened?

Something happened while I wasn't looking. I got old. . . older? This picture is from 1956. My friend Dorothea is standing next to me. She's one year older and was always the person I looked up to. If she did it, then I did it, too, a year later. We met when our parents were young adults and good friends, around 1944. She passed away last year, of Cancer. I miss her a lot and still 'talk' to her all the time. I didn't start out to write about this - it just sort of 'came out'.

My right shoulder has been in pain a lot lately. Last Saturday, when we met the Easter Bunny, we also met two nice Doctors from Illinois Spinal Care, who were giving free consultations in the back of the Fruitful Yield Store, along with a mini massage. I told you that we got lots of free goodies. The meeting was very opportune, because I also have a permanent knot in the back of my neck from sitting in the same position all the time (sewing and typing) - and trying to focus on the screen makes me push my chin out - tri-focals, you know. Back to shoulder - sometimes I get a sharp pain in the center of the shoulder that wakes me up at night. I'm not getting much sleep, so I decided to 'go for it'. Made an appointment and had an evaluation, complete with x-rays yesterday. Later this afternoon, Bob and I are going to meet with the Doctors, to hear their recommendations. I'm sure it will involve some PT. Through the years, I've had other aches and pains taken care of in that way, with great success - hope it still works. Re-reading this, it sounds like I'm falling apart - maybe I am. It's time to do something about it!