January 2018

It's been exactly two years since I last had a new post, and a lot has happened in my life. If you recall from my previous posts, I had to shut everything down to care for my gravely ill husband. Five months after my last post (January 2016), Andy passed away, leaving me and our five kids and six grandchildren heartbroken and devastated. I feel like I've been "lost" for all this time, and I'm still struggling to figure out who I am without him.

Andy truly was/is the love of my life - I couldn't have asked for a more loving, funny, caring, man to walk with me through life. We met in 1973, when I was 21 and he was 29. We started here, in Carmel, California

and ended here, at his "After Party" 

Not all of the kids and grandkids are in this photo, but they were all there. Andy's brothers and their wives (and some of their kids) made it out from California for the service, and it was a bittersweet reunion. I have that large wood sign in my studio. It quotes one of Andy's favorite songs, and I can remember it with reassurance every time I see it - even if some days I'm not totally convinced.

I know some of you won't want to read this...but I'm still not ready to commit to the monthly desktop calendars. Yet. I'm sorry. So much change, so many demands on me and my time, responsibilities, and a need for simplification and prioritizing, leaves me trying to come to terms with the difference between 'needs' and 'wants.'

My first priority has to be me - and figuring out who I am as mother, grandmother, quilter, musician, retreat owner... is at the top of my 'need' list. 

Speaking of the retreat. Last May, on the first anniversary, I sold my house, and closed the Cabin Too to retreaters, and moved back into it. You know how people say, "Don't make any big changes during that first year?" Well, don't schedule anything important on that first anniversary. I speak from experience. The movers, my kids, my son-in-law, the neighbors, and the dogs, were treated to a noisy, embarrassing meltdown in my front yard. Don't do that.
Don't think you're different. You're not. 

Back to the retreat: So now I'm back to just the one retreat and it's almost completely booked for 2018. 2019 is filling up, too! If you've got a group, even a small one, check out the website calendar for open dates, and nab one quick.

Now. It's the New Year, and with that comes at least one resolution, right? I don't usually go for those, cuz really, what's the point? I won't remember it by Jan 3rd, so why add to my frustration? But this year, I'm making one (1). Prelude: a few months ago, I was given a mug rug by my good friend Reeze Hanson (of Morning Glory Designs ), and I've decided to hang it in my studio where I can see it and follow it every single day.

And speaking of happy - here's to a Happy New Year for us all, complete with cookies - from my favorite bakery in Chicago - and they ship!

Quilt Catch-up

This year has gone by so quickly, filled with drama, deadlines, decisions and discombobulations. (Is that a word? ::Pause to check:: Yes, it is. And it's spelled correctly.) Did I mention, that in 8 years of elementary school, I only got 1 word wrong on a spelling test? In 8 years. No medal; no certificate....cheapskates.) Where was I? Oh yeah.
With Andy's numerous and recurring health issues, the demands of expanding the retreat, quilt deadlines missed and missed again, trying to get the last 2 kids through their senior year, meeting college deadlines, running the household... there hasn't been near enough time to devote to my personal quilts. So, as far as the 2012 Finish Line goes, it's pretty slim pickins. But I do have a couple of quilts to show for it, and even though they're small, they still count! First up:
Cameron's Baby Quilt, made for my little great-nephew in Southern California. It's small, and is sized for his car seat or stroller. It gets chilly there at night, and I thought it might come in handy.

This one, similar to Cameron's, is made for my "great-nephew" Hudson, the son of my "wish-she-was-really-my-niece," Casey, in Prosper, TX. All the nine patches are identical to the first quilt, but the snowballs and borders are different.

Both quilts were made with leftover floral fabrics from the ones I used to make duvet covers for the retreats. Those 9-patches are 3" square, and I made them as leaders/enders while sewing other projects.

And Hudson has a big sister, Audrey, who also needed a quilt, so I made her one for herself and/or her baby dolls. It started as a pretty little panel, and all I had to do was add a few borders and quilt it up.

Next up is a tote I made in my Scrap Therapy class.

It fits 4 Scrap Therapy bins inside which, theoretically, are all my scraps, cut into 5," 3.5," and 2" squares, ready to go into any number of ST projects. Yeah. In theory.

Also, from Scrap Therapy is this little wallhanging. I took a Jacobean hand applique class many years ago from Pat Campbell. Since I knew I would suck at it, I did it on crummy, unbleached muslin. *Note to self: on the off-chance that it might actually turn out ok, don't use crappy fabrics for your workshops.* I didn't know what to do with this little flower, til one of the Scrap Therapy sessions called for applique. Well, screw that! It'd never get finished, and that'd leave me with yet another unfinished project. I already have 50+ in various stages of completion - or not. So anyway, I pulled out this little project and used it for the center of the wallhanging. Done. Whew! That was a close one.

Pat called it Jacobean Silky Sapling, but I think I'll call it Flame Tree since I quilted it with a variegated yellow/orange King Tut in kind of a flame pattern. 

Let's see...what's next? Oh! How about the little wallhanging I finished last month while I was on retreat at SkyVue Lodge in Winslow, Arkansas. It's from a workshop I took with Debbie Bacon, when she came to our guild. The project, called "Celebration," was supposed to be in RWB, but since I still have tons of retreat duvet fabric left over, I decided to make mine from those, instead. I changed her pattern a little bit to make it the size I needed to hang in the Blue Room at the Cabin Too. I really like the way it turned out!

(And it'd make an awesome emergency baby quilt!)

Being as we're only 7 days from the end of the year, I'm pretty sure I won't be adding any more to 2012's Finish Line. That being said, I'm looking forward to 2013 being a) calmer, and b) more productive!

January 2012 Desktop Calendar

In recognition of the opening of our second retreat, the Quilters Cabin, the 2012 calendars will all be log cabin variations. This first one is a representation made in EQ7 of our original log cabin which we lived in for 25 years. In another week, it'll be opened to retreaters and I can take a break from remodeling, painting, shopping(!) and not sleeping!

Click on the calendar to expand image to full size, right-click and choose Set as Wallpaper or Background. To really jazz up your desktop, right-click on your background and choose a color that coordinates with the calendar - you'll be the envy of your cubicle!
I'm looking forward to a quiet and peaceful 2012 and hope that you get one too...if that's what you want!

Cabin Too Underway!

Thanks to my Super-Son-in-Law Alex and my youngest son, 19yr old MJ, the renovations at our log cabin are starting to show some progress.
First on the agenda was the 26 year old in-ground swimming pool. We'd been pondering having it remodeled for the last few years, and I'm glad now that we didn't. First, the cost: $20k for starters. I don't have that kind of moolah laying around the house, so that was a big fat "No!" Second, I was a little worried about the liability involved with retreaters circumnavigating their way up and down the deck stairs balancing their margaritas and wine bottles. Scary.
We decided that it wasn't worth the risk of potential lawsuits or, for that matter, loss of life, so demo-ing it was the only way to go. MJ voted for dynamite, but we settled on jack-hammering it. We rented the biggest jack-hammer we could find and found out that they don't just throw it in the back of your truck. It's powered by a giant compressor that we had to tow home.

That's Alex and his little boy, my grandson Jackson, unhooking the compressor. After the pool was drained, Alex and MJ started jack-hammering the flagstone around the deck and saving the big pieces to make a new front porch.

Took a while to get that much of the decking torn up, then they decided to start tearing up the bottom of the pool. We didn't want to just fill in the pool, cuz when this drought ends, you know we're gonna go straight into hurricane weather, and we didn't want the pool to hold water like a giant bowl, sucking unsuspecting retreaters, deer, and god-knows-what-else into a man-made Slough of Despond, never to be seen again. Remember "Poltergeist?" Geez - that's all I need!
Anyway - there was still about 2 feet of water at the deep end, all black and murky with things moving in it, so neither Alex nor MJ wanted to get down close to it without making sure nothing was going to slither out after them...like a water moccasin. So, they decided on this solution. In the middle of a Burn Ban. Using diesel fuel.

Nothing swam, crawled or slithered out. They spent the weekend making holes through the bottom and turning it into a landfill.
Let's see...what else...
Oh yeah! I started ordering furniture and cool stuff for the Cabin Too. For the sunroom, I decided on a neat indoor/outdoor wicker set. It's a little plain vanilla, (more like café au lait) but I'll jazz it up with prettier cushions.

And I'm waiting on the rug that'll go under the kitchen table

Then tonight (this morning?) I saw these over at Smak Parlour. I couldn't stand it! I ordered 4 sets of them. Aren't they FABULOUS?? I think I need some for my house, too.

Ok, even though I'm on a roll, I need to hit the sack. "It's a quarter to three..." as the song goes...and I've got a date with a couple of antique-y/junque stores in a few hours. Oh crud. Andy just woke up. Gotta go.

Speaking of New Homes...

We were, right? Well, we were a few months back, anyway. I'm still getting my studio in order and it should be picture-perfect in another week or so. I hope.
But for now...I've got two other moving-related things to share. Guess who's moved in with us? No, not any more of our grown kids (for a change).
Mr. Collins and Angelique!


Mr. Collins is wearing the blue collar. Angelique has a pink one, which she promptly lost outside somewhere. They were strays living at the quilt shop in town, and after a week or so, they came to live with us. They're Snowshoe cats which are a relatively new breed, a cross between the American Shorthair and Siamese. He's full grown, but she's an older kitten. They don't talk nearly as much as Siamese do, and are very, very cuddly. Neither is afraid of Libby, our 150lb English Mastiff, and they taught her to back off in the first 30 seconds after meeting. They walk right under her chin to antagonize her, and she struggles to ignore them. They've settled in nicely!

Moving-related item Number 2:
Remember I said my oldest daughter and family moved into the log cabin? Well, they moved out again...and into their own house!

They bought a beautiful 3 bedroom, 2 bath, 2.5 car garage that's just perfect for them. Lots of wood flooring, 14' ceilings, formal dining room, state of the art appliances, and an attic that has a stairway not a pull-down ladder! Oh! And a Christmas Closet! We had no idea that it was anything other than an oddly-large hall closet (the size of a bedroom), until my friend Shirley saw it, and told Megan that it's for storing your fully-decorated Christmas tree, along with tons of shelves and cubbies for storing wreaths, garlands, and ornaments. Who'da thunk it?!
And look how big Baby Sofie's gotten! And that Jack is such a cutie! It's not as much fun not having them in the cabin, but it's a good move for them, so we're happy.
Anyway - almost all their stuff is out of the cabin now, so Andy and I have been pondering what to do with it. It sits right in the middle of our 16+ acres, so we don't want to sell it.

Sooo....we've decided to fix it up and make it the retreat annex, the "Cabin Too." (Name subject to change depending on what I can come up with - suggestions welcome!) Some of the logs need to be replaced, and the inside needs some spiffing up, but we're hoping that a year from now, we'll be able to handle more retreaters. As it stands now, our calendar is almost totally full, including weekdays. Usually only holiday weeks are open. And most of my retreats are repeat bookings, which makes it really difficult for new groups to squeeze in. We're thinking we'll just use the downstairs for now (since nobody really likes to haul their luggage upstairs), and we'll be able to sleep a max of 5-6. That'll still give plenty of room for sewing, scrapping, beading, etc, and some of the smaller groups can book it without worrying about the 6 minimum required at the Quilter's Cabin. I'm considering not having a minimum number at all for the Cabin Too. So, rather than settling into a predictable schedule, we're back to planning, budgeting, working with tradesmen, redecorating...the same thing we were doing almost 3 years ago. I'll post updates and photos when we actually get started. And we really hope a year is a workable goal. Wish us luck!