Spectacular Maui Sunset

We were at Jeff and Debbie's for dinner last weekend, and this is a picture of the sunset from that night with the reflection on their pool. Beautiful.
Then, I took a picture of the clouds right over head. This reminds me of a piece of fabric that Claudia Peterson sent me from Australia.


It was a beautiful summer night.

Kona Winds

I finished the quilt! This is the project I've been working on for the last month. It's for this year's Kona Coffee Quilt Contest. Sorry the picture isn't better quality.

I sent the entry for the juried show just in time for the deadline. I'll let you know if it gets in and post a better picture at that time.

I also sent off the turtle entry for PIQF. Will have the finish the Road to California paperwork soon. It's due on October 1.

But first, I need to catch up on some long-neglected items on my To-Do list that were set aside while I worked on this quilt.

Night Bloomer

It's night blooming cereus season again. There is a great bunch of it on the road near my brother-in-law's house, so we stopped and I snapped these pictures after dinner there the other night.


I'm thinking of making another quilt with this flower. But not until after several other projects are done.

Ginger the Gymnast

Ginger loves to chase the rats and mice that run in the hedge (on the right) at night. She has to do a pretty good balancing act to get over there.

Head Hunted

I never thought I'd see the day, but I actually got a call from a head hunter last week. For those of you not in the HR-know, a head hunter is someone who calls people and tries to lure them away from their current job to work for their client. This service is usually reserved for those in very high-level positions...not something I'd ever consider for myself, but I AM flattered!

Turns out a very desirable employer wanted to talk to me about an open position. But, alas, I am very, very happy in my current job and not looking to change.

Really.

Unless, of course, someone wants to pay me full time + benefits to work in my quilt studio.

It's nice to be wanted, just the same.

Summer Shower

Our shower tree is blooming.

We thought it was going to die, but it tricked us. Just a few weeks ago it was nothing but sticks. Bruce took this picture yesterday - its now ablaze with color. I actually prefer the variegated variety (kind of peach/salmon/cream), but this is pretty, too.

I've been sick with a cold, hence the lack of posts this week. I've barely been able to keep up with the project I'm working on, which is due Sept. 1.

More posts coming soon!

Better than Wonder Under

aka How to Attach Chiffon to a Quilt Top.

I am creating "wind" with chiffon on a quilt I'm working on. It took me a little bit, but I figured out how to manage the swishy stuff and get the look I wanted.

First, lay the chiffon down on your ironing board/surface, then cover with a layer of Misty Fuse (I used white here). Cover the Misty Fuse with a layer of parchment paper (you can see all three layers in the picture below), then iron. When I fuse to cotton I use a very hot setting, but I was careful to use a cooler setting so I didn't wreck the chiffon. I think the parchment helps, too


Leave the parchment paper attached to the chiffon. The Misty Fuse has enough "stick" to stay on the paper for a little bit. Lay the chiffon "sandwich" down on top of your pattern with chiffon on top. You'll be able to see through the parchment paper - see my "swoop?" Trace your pattern. I used a fine tip Sharpie - FYI, you are going to need to cut off the pen or pencil marks, so trace just on the outside of your pattern piece, then trim just on the inside of your mark with your scissors.


Here are the completed "swoops." The parchment paper stayed attached while I cut out the pieces, then easily peeled off for placement on the quilt top.


I've already fused them down, but I'm not ready to show the quilt yet. I'm very happy with the Misty Fuse because it's invisible under the chiffon, has a nice hand, and isn't gummy like WU.

Coming Along

I got what is obviously lava stitched down last night. There's still a few more smaller flames to add, but it's almost ready to quilt.


Here's another ocean-front view. Just a couple more weeks and it will be done.

Not a Real Chicken

Cody's favorite new toy. A rubber chicken from Walmart. It used to squeak, but it was driving us crazy so Bruce "disabled" it.

Painted Timtex

I bought a Sherrill Kahn travel paint kit from Teri Austin last spring. It had everything I needed to paint the Timtex. I diluted the paints and spread them on the Timtex with a cosmetic sponge. The sponge worked great - can't remember where I heard that tip, though.


Here's the finished piece. At least I'm finished with the painting. The rest comes later.

Cody Love

I guess Cody's not a puppy anymore! This 100 lb moose sitting on Bruce's lap weighed only 13 lbs when we brought him home last October.

His birthday's coming up soon. We'll have to do something fun to celebrate!

I'm Gonna Paint Me Some Timtex

This fabulous book, by Larkin Van Horn, arrived via the postman from Amazon yesterday. Serendipitous to be sure, because I was just wondering recently how to go about painting Timtex for a little project I'm working on. Turns out that Timtex makes a great base for beading, and there, right in the book, is the How-To! And none too soon, since I want to get this project done pronto.

But about the book...what a great reference guide with inspiring photos of beadwork. I'll gush more after I've had time to completely digest it.

Terry Made Me Do It

Well, not really. It's been a long time coming. I was tired of the old "calico" look of my blog and wanted something simple and clean. Then I read Terry Grant's post about what she prefers to see in the blogs she reads and decided to take the plunge. It WAS easy!

I especially like the nice little border around the pictures. And Terry, you were right! The photos show up so much nicer on a white background.

It will take awhile for me to update my links and get everything else back in order, but this is a good start. Maybe someday I'll get even more creative and change the background on my title bar. We'll see.

More Sneak Peeks

Here is a little peek at my new quilt. I don't want to show the whole thing because, well, I am a bit superstitious and I don't want to jinx it. It's an entry for a juried show that is due September 1. Once I know whether or not it gets in, I will post the whole thing.

This kind of reminds me of that old game show, Concen-
tration, where you uncovered the matches then solved the puzzle. It was one of my all-time favorite rainy day games as a kid, too.

Baking

Bruce picked up a box of mangoes from Costco - we were desperate because Maui's mango season was dismal. Luckily, the ones he picked out were sweet and flavorful! We wanted a dessert, so I chose this recipe from Gourmet Magazine. It was a very good summer dessert. Make sure you use very flavorful mangoes if you make it.