Autumn at the Black Bear

Here is a photo of Jordyn playing out in the meadow...as you can see, the aspens are at their peak! Fall...my favorite time of year...need i explain? :)
Hope you have a wonderful day!
cheers~
lisajo
p.s. be sure to view the image at its full size to really enjoy the colors :)

Christmas Stars & Solitude!

Well, i managed to put together a few blocks for the Christmas Stars Swap on about.com. I rcvd Christmas Stars for the Birthday Block exchange, but wanted a few more to make the quilt bigger, and the size and specs were the same for this swap, so i decided to make a set and here they are! I am excited to see what i get in return, as there was a nice selection of star designs to choose from. I am also proud to say i used fabric i already had on hand....imagine that! Usually there is at least one color or another that i need to pick up (which always turns into a 50 dollar shopping spree :) boo hoo! ;)
Anyways, the pattern i used is a Cog Block on the quilters cache, and i ended up with a giant pile of HST's...so i sewed those together and have about 70 of those, so that should make a nice wallhanging, or something.

I am feeling a little guilty today...the grandparents took Jordyn for the day and i am having a blast with a little time to myself. Is that a bad thing? I know she is having a great time with grandma and grandpa...in fact, they just emailed me a photo of her in the new outfit grandma made for her...so i know she is getting spoiled with all kinds of attention. Attention i cant always give her when i am trying to get some chores and projects done, so i know its good for her too. Im just feeling guilty that i am enjoying myself so much...but i suppose that is normal. I love the idea of taking a bath or shower solo, without a little one crying to get in the tub too. Dont get me wrong...i love those moments too, and i am missing her today...but i dont get too many breaks like this, and it feels great. In fact, usually the only time i am away from her is when i have to go on an emergency run on the ambulance (im a volunteer EMT), and those calls are not usually pleasant.
They have offered to take her one day a week, and after today, i think its a great idea! Perhaps knowing i have a free day during the week will allow me some more play time with her when she is here. Well, guess i better get back to my projects...i have three Halloween table runners i am working on and would like to finish those up so i can get started on something new! Besides, i need to take some photos for a cookbook cover i am doing, and they want a photo of the Fall leaves with the river and we all know how quickly those leaves dissappear! :)
cheers and happy sewing!
lisajo

Birthday Block Swap for October....Halloween!!!

So here is the October Block for the Bday Swap Kate is running. I didnt do a September block because that person never got around to making mine (which was in July). She has a lot of family obligations right now, so i sent her an email telling her not to worry about making one, and i wouldnt make her one either so she wouldnt feel stressed. So when October rolled around i was anxious to get back into the swap, and created this crazy square. I didnt realize how many pieces were in the square when i first started...what the hell was i thinking :) heheheh This is a beginner friendly group and i was trying to stretch my skills a bit. Im just glad i only had to make one...i couldnt imagine having to make a whole set of these squares....whew!
I hope Becca likes it...the other square she rcvd looked more old style Halloween with more subdued colors...very pretty...but Halloween to me means crazy fun...so thats what i made...a crazy fun star! By the way the color didnt photograph well...the skeleton fabric is actually purple, not blue.
There is another swap going on i wish i could participate in, a Doll Quilt. The woman running that swap posted this photo of someones sewing room covered in doll sized quilts.....it looks awesome! Here is that photo...........
I am totally inspired by this photo and want to do the same to my place! Wouldnt this look pretty on the inside of a log cabin? The one problem living in an old log cabin, very dark and not enough color. This would certainly fix that! Anyways, the swap deadline is coming up and i have too many other commitments right now :( doh! Guess ill just have to make my own until the next swap comes along. I do love the idea of finishing an entire quilt in such a short amount of time...perhaps i can try my hand at applique with a small one. Something ive wanted to try for a while, but on a small scale to start. Well, i suppose i should be sewing instead of rambling! Have a creative prolific weekend!
Cheers~
lisajo

Autumn is Here!

We finally had a chance to sneak out for a beautiful Fall drive. Though wandering in our own backyard is quite lovely, its always nice to get out and see the surroundings :) I cant remember the last time the three of us just went out for some family fun without any other obligations attached to them. It was wonderful and long overdue! We enjoyed the colors, climbed around and then threw pebbles in the water. I got muddy and jordyn got wet...justin, somehow remained dry and clean. It was the perfect end to a very busy weekend! Happy Autumn!
lisa

Monday Recovery...

With the weekend being as crazy as it was, i didnt have a chance to blog about Friday's activities. Justin has been doing some work with Corwin Bell, who had an exhibit Opening September 14th at the Museum of Outdoor Arts. His work was to build and install two heliostats, and also build some circuitry for a zoetrope. His heliostats track the sun all day and shine sunlight onto relay mirrors which then shine thru the building onto some artwork creating light spectrums. It was an exciting endeavor, and great for his business, Helitrack.
I wanted to attend the Opening, but didnt want to entertain a one year old for 8 hours at the musuem before hand (we live 2 hours away so we didnt want to drive home), so my cousin met us at the civic center and jordyn and i goofed off with her all day while the guys set up the show. We had a great time, we dined on mexican food, visited with family, lounged around and even squeezed in a little nap.

The Opening was a huge success, and even Jordyn enjoyed herself. Here she is rearranging the art, thus becoming a part of the show herself :) She decided she wanted to collect all the ceramic pieces laid out all over the floor and then pile them in one place.....hmmmm.....if only i can get her to do that with her toys! :) Corwin let her take one home to keep, so the 3000 blue pieces he had became 2999....well, actually its still at 3000 since she broke one in two :) Anyways, it was her first museum opening and she had a great time! If you would like to read more about the show, or the museum, go to the website......
http://www.moaonline.org/exhibitions.php?page=exhibitions

Hope you had a happy Monday!

2007 quilt show

We had our annual quilt show up here today, and as always, it was fabulous! Every year the women worry that there wont be enough quilts, and every year the show is a stellar success! We are a very small community, so it is amazing to see the number of quilts that turn up. i only took a few photos, but i thought you might like to see what this group of canyon women are capable of :)
I, unfortunately, was not able to show anything this year...but i will have many to show next year (unless of course i give them all away before the show). I have stacks of squares and tops ready to go...im just not ready to go i guess :) Jordyn keeps me running so ill just have to squeeze the time in. Thats okay...shes worth it :)
Well, its getting late, and i have an early wedding i have to photograph, so i guess i better run!
Hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend!
cheers~
lisajo

Its Friday!!!

Well, i wish i could say that i spent the day quilting, but it was just too nice out! Instead, jordyn and i went on a little journey around the island and found lots of cool rocks and sticks.

I have so many unfinished projects, and yet i keep starting more...in fact i just ordered some more fabric today...somebody stop me! :) I have grand plans for christmas gifts this year though, so wish me luck! I started a new christmas tradition with jordyn last year...each christmas i want to present her with some sort of quilt...be it a blanket, a wall hanging, or a table runner, etc....that is my goal, and i think it will be fun to try coming up with something new and fun each year. Her first christmas (last year), she rcvd a blue and green flannel rag quilt with skating reindeer on it. It was the first rag quilt i had ever made, and it was so easy to make. But im getting ahead of myself...right now i am working on some Halloween table runners. I hope to complete a few of them to sell at our local craft fair and quilt show next weekend to help raise money for our EMS. I was hoping to enter some in the quilt show, but i dont think i wil have anything ready in time. I try to enter something every year, though it ends up being about every other year. I always gift out the quilts i make, so i never have any to show.

I am amazed at the amount of work some of you can do in a day...(ex: Kate) :) Very productive indeed! This inspires me, and i hope to become a more prolific artist and quilter too! That is one of the reasons i joined blogger...lots of amazing quilters that are always creating and sharing their works and ideas.

Well, its getting late, so i guess i better run.....stay tuned for more adventures!
cheers~
lisajo