Rabbits Eat Quilts

An Awesome Set Of Wheels!

2012-01-29T16:17:00.000-05:00

Man, oh, man! Wait till you see what my buddy Mickey has done! He is a totally amazing Bungineer. Not only has he made us this nifty vehicle, but then he put together some spare parts that The Boy and The Big Guy had lying around, and made this great rolling thing for our snack box. That bun can really weld!

We are on our way now to New York City, to pick up the Biffster. Jade has packed us some tasty snacks (can't wait for our first rest stop), but I'm wondering if maybe Lisa will cut up some of that Big Apple for us to take along, too. Guess we'll see when we get there. Catch you later!

Hitchhiking Would Be Easier If I had Thumbs

2012-01-27T17:22:00.000-05:00

It's a good thing I'm cute, or I might never get a ride!

Should be to your house soon, Mickey! I got Dad's emergency car tools packed in here, so I can help with the wheels.

***********HEY, EVERYBODY***************
Somebunny special is having a Birthday! Go here to wish my buddy Biff a Happy Birthday!
Thanks,
Weasley

Binding The Harry Potter Quilt

2012-01-27T12:06:00.004-05:00

What better way to spend a rainy morning, than underneath a quilt on which you are in the process of handstitching down the binding? OK, I admit, you can probably think of several better things, but overall it was quite nice. Got the quilt finished up, and it's into the washer to remove stray rabbit hairs. (Don't tell Weasley). For a quilt made of leftovers from the stash, it's pretty darn cheery. And that suits it's purpose.

I enjoy stitching down the backside of the bindings by hand, so I rarely do that part by machine. It's generally the last time I spend really communing with each quilt. I attach the front part of the binding by machine. Generally that goes pretty well, until I get to the end, where I have to join the beginning and ending parts of the binding. Over the years, I've probably tried every method out there for this. Some have worked better for me than others. Last year I found a method that I thought I would probably stick with. Then, last week, we had tool night at the Quilt Guild meeting.

Now, I'm not a gadget person, but I found this little binding ruler very interesting. It takes all the measuring out of the process of joining binding ends. The demonstrator made it look easy, and as you can see, there are instructions right on the tool. I plunked down my money, and brought it home. If you can't read it on the ruler, its called The Binding Tool, by TQM Products.

I tried it for the first time on this quilt, and I LOVE it! Definitely using this technique from now on. OK, true admission here. At first, I couldn't make it work. Despite having seen it demonstrated, and reading the instructions that are right on it, I was off by several inches. So, I went searching the 'net, and found this video.

Apparently my error is quite common, I was just working in the wrong direction from the line. Easily remedied, and a perfect binding followed.Yup, this one's a keeper.

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If you are wondering about what's up with Weasley's wish for wheeels (and a motor), it looks like his friend Mickey has gotten right on the project. Check it out here.
This looks like trouble!

I Wish This Thing Had Wheels

2012-01-25T18:30:00.000-05:00

I love hanging out in my litterbox, but man, I wish this thing had wheels! And a motor, too! Wouldn't that be cool?

If I had wheels, I'd head west, and pick up Mickey, and then we'd stop for the Biffster. Maybe Sogna would pack some broccoli and bananas for us to take along. Then, we could head out to the Super Bowl.

What's that, Mom?
Oh. Mom says I'm being a chauvinist. I'm not sure what that is. I think maybe it means that I get to drive. And our Mom's have to pack the snack, not Sogna. Whatever.

Anyway, once we get to the Super Bowl, which I'm sure is filled with carrots, I know we can get seats on the 50 yard line. They'll have to give us the tickets, 'cause they won't be able to resist our cuteness. And if they try, well, that's where Mickey comes in. He's tough, like The Rock. He'll make sure we get the proper respect.

Yup. That's my plan. Anybody know where I can get some wheels? And a motor?.

Yet Another Zentangle Rabbit

2012-01-24T17:57:00.000-05:00

For some reason, everything around me seems to end up being about Bunnies. Why is that, do you think?! Let me show you the latest example.

My Quilt guild runs a workshop once every month, and this past Saturday, we had Pat Ferguson, the Zentangle Quilter as our instructor. If you get a chance to have a class with her, take it. She is terrific. Very organized, and very clear. She had everything we needed in a kit, and took us through the steps in a thorough, yet entertaining way.

We started by drawing a Zentangle, then we enlarged it and quilted it. She gave us tips on what patterns would transfer well to sewing, and tips on overall design, also. After the pieces were sewn, she had us go back in with marker and pencil to add shading. Some of her quilts that she brought as examples were colored with crayons. I thought that would look good on this little guy, so when I got home, I added crayon. This is heat set with an iron. Remember to put paper between the quilt and your iron, to absorb the wax.

This is the back. You can see the corners that she had us attach to the back. A dowel can be inserted into two of these for hanging. The trick is, most Zentangles (obviously not this one!) are non-directional, so having corners on all four sides lets you change how you hang it. Isn't that a great idea? This was so much fun. I feel a few more might be in my future.

UFO Update

2012-01-20T17:28:00.000-05:00

Unfortunately for everyone who was hoping that I would be working on the Bunny UFO first, the number pulled at last night's guild meeting was Number 6. That means that I have until next month's guild meeting to work on the Butterfly quilt. I'm trying to decide if I want to quilt the black corners in black thread, or a colored thread. If I use a colored thread, I will have to be much more careful with my stitching than if I use black thread. That will slow the process down, but it's a small quilt, so that shouldn't matter much.

Also at the meeting, we got a surprise. They decided to extend the challenge through next holiday season into January of 2013, which gives us time to do 12 UFOs. I had to go rooting around in the piles for two more projects. Here they are.

11. This dragon quilt seemed appropriate for the Upcoming Year of the Dragon (but only because the Rabbits are Humoring them). It was started for a challenge put on by Keepsake Quilting over eleven years ago. I know it is at least that old, because I started it before we moved to this house.

12. One of my more guilt ridden projects. In elementary school (maybe first or second grade, maybe even kindergarten) the Youngest Daughter did a 100 days project. For each of the first 100 days of school, they had to collect an object, that they would have 100 of on the 100th school day. She chose fabric squares. I said I would make them into a quilt for her. These are small squares, and it's a small quilt, and she's in college.... Sorry, sweetie. You'll get it sometime this year!

And that's it, the end of the list, for real this time. And yes, there are still so many more hiding upstairs. Yikes!

UFO Challenge

2012-01-19T16:16:00.000-05:00

Like so many other quilter's who you may have seen around the internet, I have a lot of UFO's. That's "Un-Finished Objects" to any of you who might not know. The Material Girls Quilt Guild, which I belong to, recently decided to have a UFO challenge for the year. We each made a list of ten UFO's that we would like to finish, and turned that over to the leader. Each month, starting tonight, she will pick a number. During the following month, we must finish the quilt on our list that corresponds to that number. Apparently there will be prizes. I'm just happy for a little incentive to finish these projects.

I went digging into the piles to find my UFO's. Ugh! Not fun! The dust was really flying. Some projects that I want to finish, I couldn't even find. Some project I don't even remember starting! A lot of them are group or class projects. Over the years, I have stopped participating in these, for the most part, because I realized that I rarely finished them. Now is the time. So, here is my list.

1. A stack and whack quilt (you can see the book in my picture) started in a guild workshop, the very first time they offered this project, probably ten years ago or more. There are some borders to attach, and then it needs to be quilted.

2. A quilt with cat/koi, inspired by the center panel, which had sort of an asian feel to it. This panel came out of a pile of fabric donated to make comfort quilts. I think this might be too delicate for that purpose, so I will have to make a substitute for that. This is mostly quilted.

3. This was inspired by the fabric on the right-hand side, which was part of a guild summer challenge many years ago. The giraffes were a piece that was designed and screen printed by my friend, Chriztine Foltz. I don't even remember where I was going with the design on this one, and I didn't make any notes. Could be a problem.

4. Christmas blocks from a small group exchange. We each made one block for ourselves, and one for every other member of the group. I couldn't figure out why I had doubles, then I remembered that the Oldest Daughter had participated, also, and I have her blocks. These were made sometime within the last eleven years. Don't laugh. I have some UFO's (the ones I couldn't find) that are around two decades old!.

5. A very small landscape made with a another friend when she was trying out a pattern that she had bought, and was unsure of. I don't remember the designer. Since this is small, I may do another small UFO the month that this is chosen. Or maybe I'll just enjoy having an easy month.

6. This quilt was part of a guild Round Robin project. If you don't know what that is, let me tell you. I made the center block (at least I guess I must have. I really don't remember doing it.). Then the quilt is passed from person to person, each one adding a new border around the center. I really like this one, but for some reason. I never quilted it. It's not too big, and should be fun to finish.

7. This quilt top (table runner sized) was made at a quilt retreat in Maine that I went to with my Mother, over eleven years ago. The retreat was sponsored by Heartbeat Quilts. I used Thangles to make the triangles. No idea why I never finished it, because the colors really make me happy.

8. This Arizona (or maybe Utah?) landscape was started in a class at Ralph Jordan's, which no longer even sells fabric, and hasn't for a long time. The photo was taken by either my Mother, or youngest brother, not sure which. If Mom could figure out how to leave comments, she could let us know, but.... I don't remember the teacher's name, but the main focus was on sewing curved lines into landscapes. I've seen the technique attributed to several different teacher's around the web, so I don't know where it started. I've used the technique many times since then.

9 .This dragonfly quilt is another Round Robin project, but it turned out much larger than Number 6. It was made within the last eleven years, but probably earlier in that time. Not sure. It has a lot of open space, so it will need significant quilting. I'm afraid of this one.

Here is a closer look at that goofy dragonfly. The wings are a sheer fabric, under tulle. They definitely need some bling.

10. And last, but certainly not least, is my collection of bunny blocks, made in another guild block exchange. I might add blocks representing all the bunnies we have had here, but if I do, this will be a huge quilt. There are a lot of funky embellishements on these blocks. I really love them, and I'm worried that I won't be able to do them justice.

So there you have it. My collection of blocks for the guild UFO challenge. Oh, boy! I really have my work cut out for me. The really scary part? There are so many more quilts that could be on this list, but aren't! I'll let you know tomorrow which quilt will be up first. I hope it's an easy one....

Weasley On Wednesday

2012-01-18T18:06:00.001-05:00

Hi, everybun! I had the day off from work today, 'cause Mom said that she didn't need my help sewing the quilt ( you might remember that from yesterday).I decided to spend some time napping. Mom cut down my forest, which makes me sad, but at least I can get at this warm metal thing more easily. My toes love it! And as you can see, Mom did save me some branches.

After my nap, I had a little snack. Mom thinks it's weird that I like broccoli better than strawberries. I think it's weird that she prefers the strawberries, so I guess we are even.

After my nap, I decided to help Mom with her sewing, even though she said she didn't need help. I went over to where she was sitting, and sat on top of her foot, so she could do a better job of pressing down this thing called a foot pedal. Without me, she wouldn't have been able to sew as quickly. I don't know how Beans without Bunnies manage to do this at all. Mom's lucky to have me, don't you think? She probably should give me some banana for working on my day off.

Your Right, It's Not Wednesday

2012-01-17T10:53:00.000-05:00

Just think of this as bonus Weasley.

Yesterday I pieced together a backing for the Harry Potter quilt. Since most of my quilts have been small applique projects, when I have purchased fabric over the years, I have mostly bought small pieces. If I am going to make a back for anything crib-size or larger from my stash, I need to piece it. This is the back.

Next step, put the layers together. I usually do this on the floor of Weasley's hangout room, otherwise known as the computer room. First I lay down the backing, wrong side up, and secure it to the carpet with t-pins. Then I smooth the batting on top. Here's The Old Man, checking to see if there are any wrinkles.

Once Weasley gave me the go-ahead, I spread the quilt top over the batting, and basted the layers together with safety pins. T.his will hold the layers together for machine quilting in my old home sewing machine. No fancy long-arm machine here, unfortunately. Of course, the quilting can't start until Weasley OKs the basting.

Now, its off to the sewing machine. I have to do that part without Weasley's assistance. And if you are wondering, yes, my quilts get washed before heading off to new homes. Wouldn't want to trigger anyone's allergies.

See you tomorrow, with more Weasley.

Getting Back Into Creating

2012-01-13T10:27:00.000-05:00

Even though most of this week is focused on the Younger Daughter and her friends, I've managed to work on a few new projects. Yesterday I did something a little different when I was doing some volunteer hours at the Leominster Art Center. Instead of taking along a sketchbook and pens, I took a piece of PDF fabric, and fabric markers. I spent my time doodling on the fabric.

I want to add some color to this. Not sure whether to color in the shapes, or just brush color over the top in an abstract way. Then what I'd like to do is applique something (not sure what) over the top. I do have trouble with layering, though, as I get too attached to the individual layers. That's why I'm not much into art journaling. This will be a struggle.

I finished my block of the month for the Quilter's Way project. Amazingly, there were no mistakes on this one! I managed to turn the block and the ruler in the right direction each time, and got the correct result.

I also pulled out some Harry Potter fabric that has been sitting around for a long time, waiting to be made into a donation quilt, and got started. At least one Harry Potter fanatic approves.

This weekend, I need to count up and catalog some UFO's, as my guild is starting a UFO finishing challenge. Could be scary, digging that deeply into the piles. I just might end up buried under a fabric avalanche. I hope your weekend is filled with excitement, of the not so scary kind. Have a great one!

Music Soothes The Savage (?) Beast

2012-01-11T21:14:00.000-05:00

She spent a large part of the morning in front of the computer in her PJ's. She looks up lyrics and music charts (I'm not sure if that is the right terminology), and plays her guitar and sings.

She may shake her head and roll her eyes at me, but I still enjoy hearing her. So does somebunny else. See him there in the background?

When she starts to play, he bumbles his way into the room where she is, and stays put while the concert is on.

Aaaahhh...the music sounds so nice.

We are both going to miss it when she heads back to school in a few days. What do your furry friends like to listen to?

It's Very Cold Here, But

2012-01-04T14:46:00.000-05:00

the Old Man has still been able to find his way to the sunny spots and warm up.

Not much has been getting done around here.

We only have a couple more days before the Older Daughter heads back to Pittsburgh, and we are spending as much time with her as possible.

That's the way it should be, don't you think? Weasley certainly agrees. His feet almost never need to hit the floor!

Happy New Year, and Congratulations!

2012-01-01T17:46:00.000-05:00

Well, I was a bit slow getting going today. Not, I assure you, because I overindulged in the libations. I fall asleep to early for that to happen. I am wondering, though, if it is possible to suffer from a garlic hangover? We went out to eat last night, and I'm pretty sure that I consumed enough garlic to keep the vampires away from my entire neighborhood for several days! But it was soooo good! I hope you all had a fun evening, with no aftereffects.

This afternoon was so beautiful around here, that it just had to be spent outside. Let me show you what I mean. We went for a walk at Barrett Park in Leominster, Ma., the same place we went walking last year at this time. Last year, a stream entering the pond looked like this.

This year, there was no snow in sight.

Last year, the view from the beach included an area for skating that had been freshly swept clean of snow.

This year, we still weren't swimming, even though there was barely a skim layer of ice over most of the pond.

It was truly a beautiful way to begin the New Year.

And now, what you've all been waiting for. We drew numbers out of a hat (the Husband did the honors), and Gina of Clay and Fiber is the winner of our Blogiversary Giveaway. Here the Younger One kicks up her heels in Celebration!

If you haven't seen Gina's work before, you need to go check it out. As the name of her blog suggests, she works with both clay and fiber, in separate projects, and in really amazing work that combines the two materials.Interestingly, Gina just recently posted about wanting to sketch more, so the contents of the bag should come in handy. Congratulations, Gina!

Final Project of 2011

2011-12-31T21:49:00.004-05:00

I decided to finish up 2011 with a project that will make 2012 a little greener around here. I made a stack of new cloth napkins. These are everyday, utility-type napkins, not anything fancy. They are actually made from a cloth used to make diaper liners, which makes them very soft, and of course, absorbent. That was an idea that I had seen around the web sometime in 2011, but I don't remember exactly where.

Here is how the project went. First I cut a bunch of 16 1/2 inch squares. Why that size? It was what fit on the material, and it looked like a useful size.

Next, I turned the edges under 1/4 inch, pressed, and repeated, so the raw edges are not exposed. The corners were turned in and mitered, and then held in place with a pin. Sorry the picture is so blurry. I didn't check the photos until the sewing was done, so I couldn't retake it.

To add pizazz, I stitched the edges down using a decorative stitch, and green thread to match my kitchen walls.

And here you have it, a nice, big, stack of basic napkins to use in 2012 instead of the paper napkins that I have been using far too many of. I'm really loving the softness of these.

Now Weasley is demanding some snuggle time, so I am off to cuddle him (and the Husband, if Weasley allows), and watch the ball drop in Times Square. I hope you are all having a fun and safe New Year's Eve.

See you tomorrow for our Giveaway (check it out here if you have missed it).

Still Here

2011-12-28T19:49:00.001-05:00

Just chillin' with friends and family!

We had a fine Christmas, and are enjoying a relaxing time with each other. Hope all our friends out there in Blogland are also enjoying this time.

If you haven't entered our Blogiverary giveaway yet, check it out here.
See you again, soon!

I Have A Forest!

2011-12-21T18:00:00.000-05:00

Want to see what Dad got for me? Come on!. I'll show you!

He got me a forest! See?

Mom says it's just a tree, but I know it's a forest. That's because every time I try to go somewhere, I bump into a tree. There has to be a whole forest of them.

There are two things that I can tell you about the forest. One is that the forest tastes good. And the second thing is that it makes weird jingly noises when I bump my head on the things that hang down. The only part that really matters, though, is the taste thing..

Want to see what else Dad brought me? Look!

I'm so glad the Cuddly One is home!

And in a couple of hours, Dad is bringing me the Other One, too. Its been a long time since she has petted me. She will be very happy. Mom better have something great planned for Christmas if she is going to top what Dad has done!

I'm wishing everybun out there a VERY HOPPY Holiday Season. With lots of bananas.
Love you all,
Weasley

Blogiversary Giveaway

2011-12-20T19:58:00.001-05:00

Yes! Finished my project, at last! What do you think of my Zen(tangled) Rabbit Grocery bag? I made it using the Fold-n-Go Green Grocery Bag Pattern (I notice that their website says the pattern has been redesigned to be easier) from Oak Street Quilts and Embroidery. If you want to try making it, I'd just like to say that as long as you stay focused, and follow the directions step-by-step, you probably will have an easier time than I did. At this time of year, focusing was a little difficult. I really like the result, though.

You may remember my little screen-printed rabbit, that I made when I took a Thermofax screen printing class from Linda Branch Dunn, with some friends. He is actually on what the pattern calls the back of the bag, but I prefer to think of it as the front.

And, on the other side of the bag are these flaps, and piece of elastic.

These allow the bag to fold up into its own little storage pouch.

What am I going to do with this bag? I'm going to give it away, in celebration of my two year Blogiversary. Yes, it's been two years since my Daughters grew tired of hearing me say that I'd like to have a blog someday, and that if I did, I would call it "Rabbits Eat Quilts". They conspired together (long-distance) to create the blog for me. On Christmas morning, I opened a package with all the information that I needed to sign into my blog and start posting. It was definitely one of the all time best gifts that I have ever received. Not to get too sentimental, but I feel doubly blessed, both in my Daughters, and in the friends that I've made through this blog.

Do you like this bag? Want a chance to win it? Leave me a comment on this post. In your comment, tell us something about a favorite gift that you have received. Just keep it G-rated, OK? On January 1, 2012, at whatever time I manage to wake up (no promises about that!), I'll choose the winner at random from the comments. Good luck!

Oh, and what kind of shopping bag would this be if it went to it's new home empty? At the very least, it will contain the objects in the picture above. There may be a few more items finding their way into the bag. Lots of room in there!

Struggling With A Project

2011-12-19T19:22:00.001-05:00

I am almost finished with a project that I am very excited about showing you. It's been a struggle getting this done. First, I started out with what looked like way too many pieces, and a very long and confusing set of directions. I plunged in, hoping that I wouldn't end up like a guy who has taken apart an appliance, only to put it back together, ending up with several "extra" parts.

Saturday was the day I intended to post my finished project. But, I hadn't made it past page two of the directions.

Then, I thought maybe I would have it done to show you today. Nope. I'm still not done. Actually, I thought I was done, and then I turned the instruction sheet over, to find another entire page of finishing information!

I really believe I can finish this tomorrow. Until then, here's a sneak peak of some of the fabric that I'm using.

And guess what? It doesn't look like there will be any leftover parts! See you back here tomorrow.

Not In A Pear Tree

2011-12-14T16:12:00.000-05:00

My buddy Tyler has a rock. I don't have a rock. I have these two partridges.

They are sun hogs. And they keep singing "I think I love you". Have you ever tried to get that song out of your head? Maybe I need a rock.

Where To See The Crazy Dog Lady

2011-12-13T14:40:00.001-05:00

Jan Quejo is a very talented quilter, who I have met through the Material Girls Quilt Guild. Jan likes to make pet quilts, and she is very, very good at it. Her favorite subjects are dogs, and she bills herself as the "Crazy Dog Lady", but she does create gorgeous quilts with other animals. too. In her "Other Animals" gallery, she has one rabbit portrait, but Weasley thinks maybe she needs to sew more rabbit quilts....

Anyway, in January, Jan will be having a one-woman show of her quilts at the Charlton Sewing Center, in Charlton, Ma. If you haven't been to this shop before, let me just say that the shop alone is worth the trip. It is in a converted church, and the light and space are amazing. It is the kind of space that really enhances any quilts that are hanging in it. There is a nice collection of fabric available, and a thread selection beyond belief.

If you happen to be in Central Massachusetts this January. check out Jan's show. You'll be glad you did. And if you can't get there (although quilts are always much better viewed "live"), check out more here.

Finished!

2011-12-12T11:29:00.001-05:00

Hi, everybun! I hope you all had productive weekends. I actually managed to finish the little quilt that I showed you in my last post over the weekend. This is for Three Creative Studios Color Palette Challenge, the November palette. Since it was November, I was thinking harvest. Here is the finished piece.

I kept the thread sketching simple this time, just three more stalks of wheat, done in black.

I'm still not too sure about the rose/pink, but its starting to grow on me.It adds a sunset glow to the quilt, which I think works with theme. The "calico" look of the rose and of the light blue also play off the harvest theme.

Overall, I'm pleased with the result. The best part was thread sketching the wheat stalks. They were really fun to stitch once I got the rhythm down. I'm going to keep that design in mind for future products.

(Note: Anyone got any ideas as to why, when I misspelled rhythm, spell check suggested "Norsemen" as a substitute? I was only off by one letter!)

On The Sewing Table

2011-12-09T19:41:00.001-05:00

This post would have happened earlier in the day, but like usual, my block of the month for the Saturday Sampler quilt offered by Quilter's Way took much longer to sew than I expected. As I've mentioned in the past, I am really struggling with the ruler that we are using in this project. I have difficulty both with the seam allowance, and with what direction to turn the pieces before cutting the new edge on each step. Last month, I had to buy new fabric, because I cut triangles off the wrong side of the block! This month I went (very) slowly, and managed to put the whole thing together correctly.

I really hope that at the end of the year, the finished project is worth all the struggle!

The other item on the sewing table is the quilt for the November Color Palette Challenge from Three Creative Studios. I started by pulling fabrics from my stash. Throughout the year, I have managed to make these little quilts without buying any new fabrics. This was my selection. I had some difficulty with the red/rose/pink shades this time. If they are a bit off, I'll blame it on the computer monitor.

The pink I ended up choosing is a nasty 1980's leftover, which looks horrible on first viewing. It will become the "grout" in my tile quilt. Once all the "tiles" are added on top, very little of the pink will be visible, and I think it will be OK.

Next I started trying different arrangements of tiles. The light gold will eventually form a motif on top of the quilt center. I decided that I wanted darker tiles in the center, for better contrast with the gold. This arrangement wasn't bad.

This one looked way too busy, and probably would distract too much from the gold motif.

This is slightly better, but still too busy.

I finally decided on this design.

I've straightened out the tiles, and fused them to the background. Tomorrow I hope to stitch them down, and start working on the next layer of the design. With any luck, I'll have a finished quilt to show you on Monday morning.

Have a great weekend, everybun!

Sleeping Away Another Rainy Wednesday

2011-12-07T09:18:00.001-05:00

It's Wednesday. It's raining. What else is new?

Now, if Mom would only put that camera away, I could get in some good zzzzzs.

She's gone, right?

See you next Wednesday. Maybe it will be sunny then. Yeah, right.

Is It Chilly In Here, Or Is It Just Me?

2011-12-04T18:16:00.001-05:00

Weasley on Sunday morning

And then on Sunday afternoon

What kind of crazy person steals a guy's coat in December? I'll tell you what kind. The Mom kind of crazy person! Lucky for her she gave me an extra helping of pellets, and these carrot tops fresh from the garden. Otherwise I don't know what would have happened. Guess she will be keeping me warm during cuddle time tonight, instead of the other way around.

A Fine Wednesday

2011-11-30T17:54:00.001-05:00

Hi, everybun. What do you know, we actually had a few hours of sunshine today! I went to sit next to the black cabinet, 'cause it's so warm in the sunshine.

I quickly realized that I had work to do. Mom never cleans, so I had to bathe the cabinet myself. Lucky for Mom, the cabinet tastes good, so I like to do this job. Of course then I had to bathe myself, also. You can see for yourself what a good job I did. Mom actually held the camera correctly this week. I'm proud of her.

Finally,, I was able to get down to some serious napping.

Hope your Wednesday was as nice as mine. See you next week.

Finally Awake After Eating All That Turkey

2011-11-29T16:52:00.001-05:00

OK, I'm a little slow getting started post-Thanksgiving. There is a lot of comment answering, and blog reading that needs to be done. What I have been doing, is enjoying the unseasonably warm weather outside. I even took some sewing outside on Sunday!

I finished this little quilt. It was for the Three Creative Studios Color Palette Challenge, for July. Just a little late, but at least it's done. I used the same "tile" technique that I've been using for these quilts, but didn't fill in all the space. Carousels are an important part of the history of Broome County, NY, which is where I grew up.

Carousel, 12" square

The thread sketch is the Older Daughter, with a horse she trained while in high school.

Carousel, detail

The second quilt that I finished was also for a Color Palette Challenge, this time for October. To commemorate our trip to Maine, I made a moose.

Maine Moose, 12" square

For the thread sketch on this one, I added pine boughs. I haven't done much thread sketching on dark fabric, and I didn't realize how much lighter the thread would look once the stabilizer was dissolved. What looked like very strong branches, pretty much disappeared against the dark fabric. I'd like to say I learned my lesson, but probably I will forget by the next time I work on dark fabric....

Maine Moose, detail

I've been working on some other moose, also. This is a rather colorful herd.

Should have them finished up tomorrow. Then I'm thinking about hauling out a UFO in colors that remind me of the sunrise we had yesterday.It was an amazing sight to wake up to.

Today's sunrise was almost as beautiful, but the clouds quickly filled in the sky. Looks like it will be another wet Wednesday tomorrow for Weasley.

What Else I'm Thankful For

2011-11-24T13:08:00.001-05:00

Hi, all you buns, and everybunny else. Weasley here, for the second day in a row. On this Thanksgiving Day, I wanted to let all my Internet Buddies now how thankful I am to know you all. I really like getting compliments from the humans out there, and being able to communicate with other buns who understand what being a house bun is like. You are all amazing and generous creatures.

And I want to send a particular shout out to the crowd over at the Fab Furs , who recently surprised me (and Mom) with a present. It was a box full of amazing treats. I ripped into the box right away, which surprised Mom, 'cause I usually ignore boxes. But I could smell what was inside.

Look at all this stuff. The shiny bags are full of good smelling herbs that Mom calls "tea". She won't share them with me, and she ruins them anyway by pouring hot water on them.

Fargo sent us this really cool thing that Mom wouldn't let me chew on.

Mom laughs every time she looks at it, whatever it is.

These bags were my favorite. A willow wreath, and banana chips. My head fit in the willow wreath bag, so I was able to chow down right away. I had to wait for Mom to open the bananas, though.

Mom thought I looked funny checking out the bags, so she took these videos.

(Karen's note: I got excited again, making the first video, and had the camera sideways, so sorry about that. One of these days I'll figure it out-maybe! Also, sorry for the NPR in the background. It's always on around here, and I forget to turn it off when I film.)

First, the willow wreath.

And then the banana chips. Had a hard time getting my nose into this one, but it was soooo good!

So, Mom and I want to say thank you to our friends at Fab Fur for the exciting, and unexpected package. And thank you to all our Internet friends who visit us on this blog. You are all wonderful company as we go through our daily lives.Happy Thanksgiving to everyone in the USA, and Happy Thursday to everyone else. Nose rubs to you all.

A Couple Things I'm Thankful For

2011-11-23T14:21:00.001-05:00

What is up with Wednesdays? Here it is dark, gloomy, and pouring rain for yet another Wednesday. What is this, like three or four in a row now? I'm not thankful for the weather, that's for sure.

But I am glad that the Younger Daughter is home. She likes me better now that she's been to college. Know how I can tell? (By the way, you can see sun in these pictures because Mom took them on the weekend when the Kid came home for an overnight to see a friend be in something called "Rocky Horror Picture Show. Sounds weird, huh?)

She pets me more, even though I make her sneeze. She makes me sneeze, too.

2. She let me snuggle up to her puppy. Its great, because it smells like her. Mom says the Kid has had it since she was a baby.

3. She let me lick her backpack, which tastes really good. She didn't even mind that I made a huge wet spot.

I mean seriously, this thing tastes really good. I'm glad the kid is home. And that my grandparents are coming to visit. I wish the other Kid were here too, but Mom says she is in good hands in Pittsburgh.

Something else I'm thankful for? Mom crunched her knee a couple of weeks ago (that's not the good part). Because she can't kneel, Dad has been cleaning my crate. He's a good guy, he talks to me sometimes, and pets me some, and gives me some treats, but mostly he lets Mom take care of me, unless she is away. But since he was doing my crate, he realized that some of my towels were in pretty bad shape (thanks to Ginny), and told Mom maybe I should have new ones. She got rid of a couple old ones, and got me a couple new green towels, that are so soft on my old feet. She picked the color out special to enhance my fur, too. Don't I look good?

There are more things I'm thankful for too, but this post is getting long. Mom says I can make another special one tomorrow, to finish my list. See you then!

A Little Quilt Tease

2011-11-23T09:10:00.001-05:00

I had intended to post the images of two small finished quilts yesterday. But then, the Younger Daughter came home from college, and commandeered my sewing machine, to start making a few gifts. How could I say no to that? So, I was making and attaching bindings late last night. I'll be stitching them down in any free (!) moments that I find over the next few days. Here is a little sneak peak.

I'll show you the finished quilts on Friday. And Weasley will be back a little later today, with his Wednesday post.

Its Another Gloomy Wednesday...

2011-11-16T16:11:00.001-05:00

and I'm not coming out! No use finding my way to the other room, if there are no sunny spots.

Today is one of those days meant only for napping. Sorry, Mom, but I don't care if my crate is gross.Come back next Wednesday. Maybe it will be sunny then.

A Clothesline of Deliciousness

2011-11-15T10:51:00.001-05:00

This past weekend, I was lucky enough to participate in a screen printing class given by Linda B. Dunn. I've admired her work, and followed her blog, for several years now, so I was very excited about taking the class. My anticipation was rewarded with a terrific class. Linda is a very generous teacher, sharing both tools and information, in a quiet but very positive way. I came away from the class feeling that screen printing will definitely have a part to play in my future quilting.

Some people in the class produced gorgeous yardage, that I was thinking about running off with (probably wouldn't have gotten too far). I worked on small pieces, which you can see here on my clothesline.

Some of the images might look a little familiar to you, if you are a regular reader.

This piece is an old, sheer curtain, with one of Linda's tree screens printed on it. Its very interesting, but I don't know what I will do with it.

This is the same tree, with some words, and a bird, also from Linda's screens. I used newspaper masks to keep the birds showing, as I added the trees last.

Linda also made some screens for us on her Thermofax machine using our designs. This was from a drawing I made from an old photo of the Youngest Daughter. I first used it in the August Color Palette Challenge Quilt that I showed you here. The background for this was a drop cloth for an earlier dying session. Guess I'll have to look for a picture of the Older One to use for a future screen.

Finally, I used the rabbit that I drew after my recent lesson in Zentangling to make another screen. I printed a bunch of these guys, in both red and brown, on a variety of backgrounds.This one happens to be on a snow-dyed fabric from last winter, but there are some on bright purple and brown, too.

Isn't he cool? I have a blogoversary coming up at the end of December. I was thinking that I could make something from one of these rabbits for a celebration giveaway. How does that sound? Maybe a notebook, or a bag of some kind.... How about a tote for when you go to the grocery store to buy greens for your favorite Disapprover? That would probably need to be a BIG bag!

Happy Late Anniversary

2011-11-15T10:49:00.001-05:00

This is a post I should have been making last Friday, but unforeseen circumstances kept that from happening. On that day, the very lucky 11/11/11, my parents celebrated their 50th anniversary. Aren't they a happy looking couple?

Never a pair to slow down, they have added regular biking to their busy schedule in the last couple of years. Its probably not a traditional gift, but thanks to the efforts of one of my brothers, we were able to provide them with some fine new bikes for their anniversary.

Well, I guess my Dad's bike could be called "gold".

And, you can see how happy my Mom is with her new ride. They've already been putting the miles on these wheels. I'm so glad they are enjoying their gifts, and so happy that they are my parents. Mom, Dad, I hope you enjoy many more anniversaries together. What do you think, snowboards for the 60th?

And So The Prize For Best Use Of Arugula In A Snack Goes To....

2011-11-09T17:46:00.000-05:00

I always say that

Arugula makes a fine seat,

while you are eating your other greens.

Especially the tasty,

long fronds of

the carrot tops.

Don't you agree?

Before And After

2011-11-07T18:26:00.001-05:00

We spent a good share of the weekend involved in storm-related clean-up. This was the stuff that I couldn't do on my own earlier in the week. Here's a little bit of what happened.

This is the hedgerow to the north of my house. The neighbor's Bradford pear is on the left, on top of my lilac. The Maple-leafed Viburnums in the middle are flattened. On the right is a Washington Hawthorne that is snapped in half.

Looking down the row today, you can see the stump of the pear tree. The neighbors took the branches off, but left the larger parts for us to deal with. We will keep the wood. By the shadow of my head is the stump of another pear that went down earlier this year, onto the Viburnums.

I expected the Viburnums to stand back up, but they did not. When I tried to encourage them, they started snapping off. They must have been weakened when the tree fell on them earlier in the year. Now they are just the sticks that you see on the left in this picture. I think they will survive the winter, but we won't get to enjoy the sight of their red berries.

On the right, is the remains of the Hawthorne. Getting that down was a two person job, and we both sustained injuries. The husband had it worse, though, as he seems to be having a bad reaction to the puncture wounds. This tree may survive the winter, but it will probably grow into a very odd shape.

In the center of this picture is Weasley's precious crabapple tree. It was not pretty. Behind it on the right are the old pear and apple. To the center is a large birch that just bent this time. We've lost parts of it before. On the left, a smaller birch, snapped in half.

As you can see, two thirds of the crabapple's branches were broken off. Another large piece may have to come off the back for balance, but I'm going to wait on that. What really has me worried is a large portion on the right that was split, but not to the extent of being removed. It may heal, but if we get another heavy, wet, or icy mess, it may split and take the tree with it.

The old pear and apple tree behind the crabapple didn't do too badly. The old apple did get slightly tipped, so we took a large limb off the back, in hopes that it wouldn't go any farther over.

This is the birch that snapped. It will survive, but will probably grow strangely from the break. When I first planted this, it was a twig, 12 inches tall.

The front garden, completely buried. The lump in the center is a very flat Rose-of-Sharon.

The Rose-of-Sharon stood back up, sort of. It had already been tipping downhill after the hard rains of the early fall. Its tipping more now. I'll probably take some branches off the back, so that another storm won't bring it over for good.

This is out back, where the trees from the neighbor's woodlot have bent over, or broken off, into our yard. We chopped up the broken ones. The cherry leaning all the way to the left actually stood back up. Unfortunately, it broke as it stood up, and is dangling like a guillotine over the path here. We'll be doing something about this, soon.

And just for fun, the willow out front. Its a weird little tree, but it looks terrific in the snow. Like some fairytale hideout. And as a bonus, nothing really seems to bother it. It always pops back up!

Now that most of the chopping down and chopping up is done, things should be getting back to normal here. I did have some e-mail issues during the snow adventure, so if I have missed responding to some of you, I apologize. And, as if in repayment for last week, its warm and sunny here this week. Perfect New England fall weather. I hope it is fine where you are, too. Don't you just love Mother Nature?

Back In Business

2011-11-02T15:10:00.000-04:00

The power came back on late yesterday. The first thing I had to do was deal with the refrigerator and freezer. We lost about half of what was in the refrigerator/freezer in the kitchen. When I went to check on the freezer in the basement, there was a little red puddle leaking out of the bottom panel. If this had been an episode of CSI, that eternally pissed looking red-head would have dipped a swab into the puddle, and held it up, watching it turn purple, and glaring at me. Then one of her flunkies would open the freezer door, to reveal my husband, with icicles hanging off his eyebrows, despite the fact that I had been telling the neighbors that he had run away to some South Sea Island with a blonde co-ed. Luckily for all of us, it was just a blackberry pie on the top shelf that had tipped, thawed, and poured its contents over everything below. What a mess. We are having our revenge, though. There is pie for dessert tonight!

Time to get back to the real business of this blog. Weasley. I wanted to get his help drawing the name of the winner of the Moose-tacular Giveaway. He was sleeping in the sun. My first mistake was waking him up.

I tried adding some papaya to the bowl, hoping to get him to show a little more interest.

He barely moved the paper while extracting the treats. How can bunny lips be this dexterous? He went back to sleep after munching, so I had to do the job myself.

I closed my eyes, stirred the papers, and picked one out.

Congratulations to our friends over at Fab Furs! Fargo is going to be a very happy Kitty! Please e-mail me with mailing information, so I can get the package out to you. And a big Thank you to everyone who participated. This has been a lot of fun. I think we'll have to do it again. Maybe if I rub banana on the slips of paper, I can get Weasley to pick the name next time!

Technical Difficulties...

2011-11-01T14:26:00.000-04:00

This is Daughter Number Two... Mom has been out of power since Saturday. She is currently sitting in the dark throwing logs on the fire to keep Weasley warm. Today was supposed to be the post of who won the give-away, and she will do that as soon as she gets power back. If you want to enter and you haven't yet, check out the post on October 20th with the details.
Weasley REALLY hopes he will be seeing you tomorrow for his Weasley on Wednesday post.

P.S. Jade and Mickey Mom hopes that you have power, and that you are staying warm.

Hey Mom! Guess what? The downside of having me do this was now I know your password!!! :D

And So It Begins....

2011-10-29T17:11:00.000-04:00

It's

Not

Halloween

Yet!!??

Friday In The Garden

2011-10-28T10:32:00.000-04:00

Its been a while since you've seen a post here with that title, hasn't it? Things have changed a bit. We had our first snow of the season yesterday. This is what it looks like out back this morning.

And around in front of the house, I'll have to pour some warm water into that birdbath to melt the ice. Or maybe just let the birds practice their hockey, like that bird in the Charlie Brown comic strip, whose name is escaping me right now.

On the deck, where the winter sun doesn't reach, you can sort of see the half inch of ice that came down first. The poor pumpkins haven't even had a chance to develop their personalities yet.

The ice is causing the Rose of Sharon to tilt downhill. I think the plant may be splitting near its base. Not sure what to do about that. If you have any ideas, let me know.

And the ornamental grasses that usually look great for at least the first half of winter? They were so wet from the rain, that the ice and snow that followed completely flattened them. Some of them may stand (partly) back up, but they won't be putting on their best show this winter.

I hear we have a big storm heading our way tomorrow. Yeah! I wonder where the snow shovels ended up last spring....

Have a great weekend, everybun. Weasley says curl up in the litterbox and stay warm and safe. And don't forget to enter our giveaway. Time's running out!

A Work In Progress

2011-10-27T18:35:00.000-04:00

Its been so gray around here, what with the rain, and now the sleet and snow. I was feeling the need for a little color, so I've been working on this.

There are still a few small colorful details to add. I want to add a thread sketch to the "mirror" (the light yellow space), but I'm not sure how to make the image I want to use fit in the space. I'll probably draw out a few versions on tracing paper, and audition them in that spot. While drinking hot tea, and eating freshly baked pear cake, and staying out of the snow. The cake smells divine. If I could, I'd send some your way....

Weasley's Tutorial-How To Eat An Apple Tree

2011-10-26T16:16:00.000-04:00

Hi, everybun! Today I wanted to share my technique for apple tree consumption with you. It can be done in only 7 easy steps.

Step 1. Make sure your Mom and Dad DO NOT spray anything yucky on your apple tree. They may not get very many apples, or they may be weird looking (the apples, that is, we already know the humans are weird looking), but that's OK. You want to make sure your tree is Organic.

Step 2. Have your Mom or Dad go out to the tree frequently to cut fresh branches for you, even if it is pouring rain. Fresh is best!

Step 3. Have your Mom or Dad remove most of the leaves and fruit. I know, these taste so good. But remember, nothing tastes as good as butt baths are bad. Or something like that. I know some of you buns out there know what I mean.

Step3b. While they are getting rid of all that good stuff, encourage your Mom or Dad to leave the side branches as long as possible. This allows you to get extra fun out of your tree, 'cause its really funny to watch humans hop. Mom says these sticks are worse than "damn Legos", whatever that means. I just know its funny. Or it used to be, when I could still see.*

Step 4. Have your Mom and Dad place your fresh sticks in several neat piles around the house. That will allow you to distribute them in the proper manner, to exactly the right locations. See Step 3b above.

Step 5. Whether you stumble across your sticks like I do, or just find them the usual way by looking, the fun part comes next. There are a couple of good ways to eat your sticks. First, you can slowly nibble the bark off, over a period of days. In the spring this can be hard to do. The plump new buds are so tasty, I just want to dive in and devour them all immediately. For a stick that has some age but is not too thick, I like to use the "spaghetti" technique. You can see that in this video Mom made for me.

Step 6. Remember to take frequent breaks, like I showed you at the end of my video. Eating an apple tree is hard work. You don't want to overdo it, and strain yourself.

Step 7. Repeat. Since we are buns, we are persistent, and that apple tree doesn't really stand a chance against us, does it?

Well, I hope you enjoyed my tutorial. If you have an apple tree eating technique that you'd like to share, let us know in a comment.

*Actually, what I do now is just imagine how funny it is. And, I get to do fun stuff like imagine Mom or Dad in clown suits, or with dog noses or kitty ears, or something else strange. A healthy imagination is a good thing.

Getting Tangled

2011-10-25T20:47:00.000-04:00

Its not unusual for drawings in my sketchbook to look something like the one above. If you are at all familiar with Zentangles, you can see why I would find the idea of them intriguing. But, until last Thursday, I hadn't been able to do much exploration of Zentangles. About all I knew was that they were a structured form of doodling. Then my quilt guild, The Material Girls, had a visit from Pat Ferguson. She is a certified Zentangle instructor, and she also uses Zentangle-type patterns to quilt her quilts.

Pat gave us a little lesson. We created two tangles on tiles she provided during the meeting. I made a couple more in the following days. Apparently doing this is supposed to have a meditative effect.

I found these to be fun, but trying to remember all the rules was kind of anxiety inducing, which works against the goal.

Pretty soon I was back to my sketchbook, ignoring rules, and having fun.

I'll probably investigate Zentangle drawings further. If nothing else, it should give me some new ideas for machine quilting my quilts. Sometimes I get stuck quilting the same patterns over and over, and this could get me out of that rut.

And as a bonus, this has spurred me to pick up my sketchbook again. Somehow over the last year, the book had been quite neglected. I think that following the Sketchbook Challenge blog, instead of inspiring me, has been intimidating me. My sketchbooks are very plain, mostly black and white, and may have weird things like grocery lists, and lists of books in among the drawings. They don't compare to the glorious sketchbooks being shown off on that blog. But, it feels good to be drawing again. So I'm going to keep drawing, in the way that works for me. A little bit zen, a little bit plain, and a little bit random.

Do you keep a sketchbook? Do you draw Zentangles? Or is your sketchbook something completely different?

Want To Play With Us?

2011-10-24T21:03:00.000-04:00

I've been wanting to participate in a quiltie type exchange for some time. Carolyn, over at the Veggie Hunter recently offered to organize a group exchange. I love her work, so I told her to count me in.

The exchange she is proposing is pretty flexible. Each individual is assigned a month, and provides some fabric for a block. Additional instructions may include a theme, or a certain block, or maybe even a style. You can check out the details of her Quilting Bee here. I hope that after looking, you will decide to join us in this fun project!

Moose-tacular Giveaway

2011-10-20T17:00:00.000-04:00

I love the colors of the foliage in the fall (which, by the way, we don't seem to be experiencing much of this year). I also love the scent of wood fires and dry leaves, and the sounds the fallen leaves make when you scuff through them. But my favorite part of fall is the sky. The sky is that clear, deep blue that is somehow much richer than the blue at any other time of year. And yet the sky still has a warmth to it, even on cool days. Maybe its the reflection of light from the changing leaves. I walk outside, open my eyes wide, and just try to soak it all up.

Unfortunately, with all the rain we've been having this fall, we haven't seen much of that sky. Since it rained during most of our trip to Maine, I was able to do a lot of shopping. As promised, I picked up some goodies for a giveaway.

I wish you could sit here in the sun with me this afternoon, so that I could show them to you in person. Maybe while enjoying a cup of tea, and a cookie or two, and drinking in that sky.....

Since it was Maine in the Autumn, I decided to go with a Moose theme. First, in a little shop in York, whose name I unfortunately misplaced, I found a deck of Moose cards. At a stop in Cotton Weeds Quilt Shop in Freeport, I found a packet of 6 fall colored fat quarters of fabric.

At On Board Fabrics in Edgecomb, I found a fat quarter of Moose fabric, and the silly Moose card. Pins and Needles, in Farmington has fabric, and exquisite yarns. That's where I got the skein of fall colored yarn, which is 73% mohair, and which I can't stop petting.

Finally, at Mooseville, a shop in Farmington with everything Moose, I found a cookie cutter Moose, complete with cookie recipe. I considered the Moose hat, but thought that might be dangerous during the hunting season. The cookie cutter will let you eat your own Moose, without having to get a hunting license.

So that's it. An odd assortment, I guess, but I hope you find it appealing. What do you have to do to win this giveaway? Leave me a comment on this post, by November 1st at 8:00 AM, Eastern Time. Tell me what you like best about Fall, or about Blue, or maybe even about Moose. I'll pick a winner randomly from the comments. If I can get Weasley to do it, I will, but that doesn't seem very likely. Good luck!

Oh, yes. There may be one other item included in the prize. But, that will be a surprise....

Nope, Not Coming Out!

2011-10-19T18:03:00.000-04:00

Apparently it's raining again. Since I'm an indoor bunny, I don't really know what that means.

What I do know is that I spent all morning looking for one of my sunny spots, and I couldn't find any of them. Not one single spot of sun for my creaky, old bones!

I'm not coming out again until this rain stops. Let me know if you see the sun, OK?

Exploring Maine

2011-10-18T13:27:00.000-04:00

Last month our marriage reached the 25 year mark. We decided to celebrate by exploring some of the beautiful state of Maine for several days before meeting the Younger Daughter for her first Parent's Weekend at The University of Maine, Farmington. Despite uncooperative weather, we had a very pleasant time getting to know a little more of Maine.

The clouds started moving in the moment we got into the car last Wednesday. By the time we got to York for a stop at the outlets and lunch, it was looking quite threatening. The wind kicked up as we walked Short Sands Beach. It was spitting rain for our visit to Cape Neddick (Nubble) Light, but the rapidly moving clouds made for some very dramatic sight-seeing.

We arrived at Docksides Guest Quarters in the late afternoon. The door to our room was a sliding glass door, with an incredible, if rainy, view. If it had not been pouring buckets of water, we could have been sitting out on our own patio, watching the water.

The next morning, it was still raining. Hiking or beach combing was preempted by shopping. We made the required pilgrimage to L.L. Bean in Freeport. Its pretty overwhelming,, actually. And there is far more shopping, and some interesting restaurants, to explore in town also, if you have the time.

We took the slow route to Boothbay Harbor from here, exploring the back roads. Even in the rain, the fall colors were very pretty. By dusk, we had arrived at the Atlantic Ark Inn in Boothbay. We crossed the footbridge across the harbor into the main part of town to get dinner. The quiet over the water, in the mist, was so deep you could feel it.

It was still raining the next morning. We explored the town a bit. Its very good for walking, but a lot of the shops had closed for the season the weekend before. We were able to visit a gallery operated by the Boothbay Regional Art Foundation which was showing the work of some extremely talented regional artists.

Later in the morning we left Boothbay, and headed inland. Before going very far we stopped to wander around the Edgecomb Potters. The glazes on their pottery are so luscious they almost had me drooling (yes, I bought a piece). Not only did they have a large amount of pottery displayed outside, but they also had several indoor spaces. One had their pottery displayed alongside gorgeous, locally made jewelry. Really amazing, and often very funny, metalwork was scattered throughout the display. I particularly liked the donkey. We are probably going to have to visit this place again.

Heading farther inland, we stopped at Bowdoin College to view the Edward Hopper exhibit. The work shown focused mostly on his seascapes done in Maine. Upstairs there was also an interesting collection of Chinese bronze work to see. We'll have to keep an eye on upcoming exhibits here, and visit again.

We also passed through Augusta, right by the Statehouse. If the rain were to ever stop, I imagine it would be a beautiful sight, with the sun shining on it's dome.

Finally, we reached Farmington, and our reward for enduring all this rain.

Farmington, Maine is a really neat little city. Since it's in ski territory, it doesn't close down for the winter like some of the coastal towns. The University is right on Main Street, and just a couple of blocks down from the center of town. The surrounding area has gallerys, bookstores (new and used), restaurants, coffee shops, gift shops, a gelato shop (yum!), and a quilt/yarn store. We hit town when the local quilt group was holding a "Quilt Walk", where they had quilts hanging in many of the local shops. The one below was in a shop specializing in handmade wooden items, including furniture, toys, and kitchenware.

Even the backstreets make for interesting site seeing. The Younger One thought I was morbid to take this picture, but I thought the ironwork was lovely.

Saturday was our one sunny day, and we spent it exploring the town and campus, hanging out with the kid, and meeting her new friends. We also got a chance to see an exhibit of Japanese woodblock prints at the UMF Art Gallery I wish I had pictures of these to show you, but it wasn't allowed, and I doubt my camera would have done justice to their delicate beauty.

By Sunday, the clouds were rolling in again. We had thought about doing some hiking, but then found out that the place we were interested in wasn't recommended for hiking during the hunting season. We went for a little drive, and found this small park at a Mill Pond on the edge of town.

I'm not sure if this walkway is a mill remnant, or a way for fishermen to access the stream. Some of the leftover bits of equipment were interesting to see. Just imagine the patterns you could get on a piece of fabric with that rusty relic.

It was great to see the Daughter, and see how happy she is in Maine. Not long after this, she bought us some gelato (I loved the gingerbread), and told us to get out of town so she could do homework.

Despite the weather, we had a wonderful time on our trip. I'm looking forward to exploring more of Maine over the next few years.

Oh! I almost forgot! I did visit quilt shops on the trip, and as promised, I picked up a few items for a giveaway. I'll tell you more about that on Thursday. Weasley will see you all tomorrow.

Don't Bother Me While I'm Eating Breakfast

2011-10-12T09:20:00.000-04:00

I LOVE breakfast! It's one of my favorite times of day, right up there with dinner. And salad. And treats.

And it's so peaceful, 'cause Mom's always off in a corner with her cup of coffee, whatever that is.

What? What's this? Who's there?

Mom! Seriously. The camera at this hour?

I'm going to go complain to Dad.

Don't you hate it when the papparazzi bother you before you've finished your breakfast? I hope all the rest of you buns out there had peaceful morning. With treats. I'm going to hide now.

Long Weekend Road Trips

2011-10-11T16:01:00.001-04:00

Not to any place exotic, unfortunately. Friday and Monday were spent shuttling the Younger One home from, and then back to, the University of Maine, Farmington. This came about rather suddenly, after a planned visit by a friend fell through. It was good to see her, but I'm glad she was able to help with some of the driving!

It is a very pretty drive. And, I was amazed to see on Monday, how much the colors had changed since Friday.

We listen to lots of music on these trips. Her iPod has better music than mine, so I take every opportunity to listen to hers. And we sing along. One of us even has a nice voice. That same one was less than 4 years old when she told her mother to take singing lessons!

I took a lot of pictures as the Daughter was driving. They tend to be blurry, but its hard to resist trying, when the scenery is this good.

The cattle, and horses too, were everywhere, enjoying the unseasonalbly warm weather. The temperature was in the 80's. Maine isn't likely to see that again for a long time.

It was a little sad on the return trip. And the driving was a lot harder. Commuters don't coexist on the road too happily with people returning from their last long weekend of the year at their holiday getaways, who are towing all sorts of weird things behind fully loaded SUV's.

Well, I got home eventually. And today was made happier by the timely arrival of a treat from Natascha over at Natascha's Inspirations. I won one of her plaques in a recent give-away.

This little lady is even prettier in person, and as I suspected, the twinkel in her eye reminds me very much of Ginny. To be specific, it's Ginny as she would look just before embarking on some escapade that she knew was going to get her into trouble. I love this. Thank you, Natascha.

You may have noticed that there hasn't been a lot of sewing (or anything else for that matter) on this blog of late. That should change starting next week, as my schedule interruptions should decrease (keeping fingers crossed here). To celebrate, I'm planning a give-away of my own. Of what, you ask? Well, that depends on what I happen to find this week when I explore a couple of totally new to me Quilt Shops. Stay tuned for more information, and Weasley will see you tomorrrow.

A Couple Of Lessons In Mindfulness

2011-10-05T20:15:00.000-04:00

Maintaining focus has always been a problem for me. Sometimes I get too excited about what I'm doing, move to fast, and forget critical steps in what I am doing. Other times I let my mind drift, into a daydream, or more likely into the logistics of what needs to be done for the next event in my life. Either way, the project that I am working on, that I should be staying focused on, goes awry. I like the idea of mindfulness, and being fully present in the NOW, but I seem to constantly forget. Today I managed to experience this twice.

The first time was when I was working on a Color Palette quilt. This was for the March Color Palette over at Three Creative Studios. I didn't have any ideas for that one at the time, but this week I went back and worked on it. I wanted the effect of a tiled picture frame, with a picture of my girls in the center. Unfortunately, I was thinking about the latest monkey wrench that my family has thrown into my plans for this week, and got ahead of myself. I actually trimmed two sides before quilting. I caught myself, did the quilting, and then finished the trimming. Unfortunately, my error meant that the small area outside the "tiles" was uneven. I had intended to add a dark binding, but thought that would emphasize the unevenness. Instead, I just zigzagged the edges, in a thread that matched the background. This is the final result.

Its not too visible in the picture, but above the girls I used thread sketching to add the word "sisters", and below the picture "friends". A cliche, perhaps, but also true. I'm very glad about that.

Now, for what you are really waiting for on Wednesday. I decide to try making a little film of the Old Man moving through the house to his food dish. This is when I got my second lesson in mindfulness for the day. The filming went well, and Weasley put on a good show. He was moving much faster than he usually does. I didn't realize till I uploaded it that the second half of the video is sideways. I often take pictures with the camera in that orientation, and apparently I turned the camera sideways without even giving it a thought.

I have no idea how to fix that, and I couldn't get Weasley to repeat his trek, so I uploaded it like this. Consider this a fair warning, if you decide to watch this, you may end up with a crick in your neck! You'll hear the radio on playing NPR in the background. I keep it on to help him orient himself in space. And the "thunk" you hear when he gets to the crate? That's what happens when he moves too fast. Good thing he seems to have a hard head.

As for my hard head, Well, I'm not sure. Having an air horn go off every so often would bring me back to the present, but that might be bad if I had the rotary cutter in my hand at the time. And it would probably make Weasley a nervous wreck. What tricks do you use to stay focused?

Mom's Back

2011-09-28T18:44:00.000-04:00

Don't you hate it when your sun spot moves? And this is an important nap, too.

Mom's back home, and I need to rest up for our cuddle time this evening. Guess I'll just have to get up and move over....

A Half A Day Of Sun Is Better Than None

2011-09-21T10:08:00.002-04:00

Today we are watching the squalls travel across the ocean, again. But, three out of four of the elders are determined not to let it spoil their fun. They are sitting in their beach chairs in the rain right now, holding their fishing poles, catching little fish, and letting them go.

Yesterday we had half a day of sun, and it started with this beautiful sunrise.

We took full advantage of the good weather while it lasted.They fished, I walked, they waded, I swam, we watched the Navy planes and ships, and we finished up the day with my beating them soundly at cards. Again. I think they are planning to gang up on me tonight. And, I know that at least one of them cheats. I could be in trouble here.

I hear that back at home, Weasley's been getting his dinner late. Guess I could be in trouble when I get back there, too.

Sunday Beach

2011-09-18T11:32:00.000-04:00

Not quite the weather we were hoping for. Its chilly (I packed only shorts), and extremely windy (we are getting sandblasted), but the sounds and smells are wonderful.

Friday In The Garden

2011-09-16T10:46:00.012-04:00

(EDIT: I know its not Friday. This was scheduled to post last Friday, and apparently never did. Thanks, Blogger! Hopefully this explains the more recent posts, and my lack of activity around the Web.)

It's definitely fall in the garden. I always love the color of the asters, and we have a bumper crop of them this year.

While it may be feeling like fall, I'm headed off on a stretch-out-the-summer sort of adventure. Computer time will be limited, so I may not be around much over the next week. Don't worry about Weasley. He will be in the capable hands of the husband in the evening, and a friend of ours will be bunny-sitting during the day. I'm sure he will be totally spoiled.

A Late Finish

2011-09-15T22:46:00.000-04:00

Meant to finish this yesterday, but it didn't happen. This is my "tile" quilt for the Three Creative Studios August Color Palette Challenge. It was supposed to be abstract, with a thread sketch of corn. Instead, I ended up with a landscape, with a thread sketch of the younger daughter! Not the greatest pictures here, because of light problems. I'll try and retake them sometime in the future.

For the first time ever, I didn't use all the colors. The final medium blue was going to be the binding, but then I decided to use yarn. I wanted it to look like sea weed (because that's what the kid was poking with her stick), but I'm not sure if it does. It may just be a mess.

The thread sketch was made from this photo, taken back in 2005, before she grew her hair long.

I love this picture, it shows her curiousity and playfullness. I think that comes across in the thread sketch, too, so overall I'm happy with this one. And it's time already to start the next one....

Why I Love My Neighbor

2011-09-14T08:36:00.001-04:00

On many mornings, Mom goes for a walk with our neighbor. I get very excited when I hear Mom say "Come on in, Ruth". This is why.

I know its here somewhere. I love papaya.

I love Ruth. And as a bonus for her, she's no longer afraid of bunnies. Guess she's never seen Disapproving Rabbits!

Martha Munroe

2011-09-13T20:35:00.000-04:00

I'd like to introduce you to a very talented woman named Martha Munroe. Martha is a painter, who I met through volunteering at the Leominster Art Association. Her paintings are large scale oils that have a very haunting quality to them. She currently has a one woman exhibit of her paintings on view at the Lawrence Library in Pepperell, Ma..

The library is a gorgeous old library, that feels just about as "Library-ish" as any space could. Upstairs they have a grand room, with very high ceilings, that they use as an art gallery. It is a perfect space to show off Martha's large paintings. As I walked into the gallery, this was the view.

Doesn't that entry make a nice frame for these paintings? This next one left me feeling quite sad.

I love the light and shadows in this Playhouse painting. It almost felt like you should be able to put your hand into that ray of light coming across the building.

And, this next piece was my favorite. She calls it Camouflage, which I didn't understand, so I had to ask. She views this tent as a place to hide from view. I get that now, but I think if you are hiding here, you really want to be seen.

There are quite a few more paintings to see, so if you are in the area, I hope you will stop by and see the show. It runs through October 17th.

Also on view is a collection of smaller works that Martha does, including framed white boards and mirrors, and some bas relief work. You can see this work, and more paintings, at her website, studiomvm.

My Home Town

2011-09-10T07:23:00.001-04:00

If you've heard about the flooding of the Susquehanna and Chenango Rivers this week, here is an interesting video that shows some of the devastation. While the news reports say Binghamton, the mess was county-wide. And even though we have high school rivalries, if you live in this area, the entire county is your home. You may be in any of these towns on a daily basis.

The first Westover shot shows where my Dad worked. The first Front St. shot is just a couple blocks from my Aunt's house. (And for my girls, the Chenango Bridge and golf course pictures? That's where we get off Route 88 to go to Gam and Bop's house).

From what I hear, the entire county is like Vermont the week before. ALL the tributaries flooded, too, so roads and bridges are wiped out everywhere. Its going to be awhile before this gets fixed. Mother Nature sure is crazy this year.

Trip To Paris

2011-09-09T20:32:00.000-04:00

OK, not a real trip to Paris, unfortunately. Paris is the name of the colorway for a block-of-the-month project that I am participating in. It's being offered by Quilter's Way, a beautiful little quilt shop in West Concord, Ma. I chose Paris because it is done in colors I wouldn't normally use. Here's a couple of the early blocks to show you.

See what I mean? No color at all. Definitely not my usual style!

We are using this ruler, called the Lazy Angle ruler for each block. Every month we get the fabric for a new block, and the option of also doing an extra block. You know I'm in trouble already when a ruler is involved, right? Since I almost never use a ruler anymore?

And, have I ever told you about my dislike of the "scant quarter inch" used in quilting? When you go to the trouble to buy an accurate quarter inch foot, the whole "scant quarter inch" thing is just annoying. Using your judgement as to whether that is 1, 2, 3 or some other number of threads short of a quarter inch is just asking for inaccuracy. A quarter inch should be a quarter inch.

When I got to the first class, imagine how I felt when the first thing that the teacher said is that not only do we need to use a scant quarter inch with this ruler to make it work, but it has to be a scant, scant quarter inch! What? Are you kidding me? Let's just call it 3/16ths of an inch (or maybe even 1/8th inch), and stop trying to kid ourselves. Are we really that afraid of fractions? Grrr.

So anyway, between the lack of color, and the scant quarter inch, I am struggling. That's probably why I procrastinated, and ended up doing this month's blocks today, just barely in time for tomorrow's class. Here are the pieces that I cut.

And, the pieces sewn into sections.

And finally, the completed block.

I also did the extra block for the month. There is an extra charge for the kit, but if I do these blocks, I will end up with a large quilt.

Something else I am struggling with on this project is the fabric choices. Or actually, its the color values that is the issue, as the block patterns don't seem to be as distinct as they could be. The other two colorways available have fabric with more distinct value transitions. I guess this is probably harder to achieve using just black and white. I have no idea what the final setting of the blocks will be, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it will turn out all right once it's all together.

So, I'm curious. Has anyone out there reading this tried out the Lazy Angle ruler? If you have, I'd like to see what you did with it, and hear your thoughts about using it, especially if you have any tips for making this project easier. And for everyone (and everybun) out there, have a wonderful weekend.

Why There Is A Dark Cloud Of Disapproval Hanging Over Massachusetts

2011-09-07T13:49:00.000-04:00

Yesterday at lunchtime.

Yesterday at dinnertime.

"And that's all I have to say about that."

*******************************************

If you want a laugh, read this commentary about today's consumer culture.

And I shouldn't tell you about this giveaway, because I'd like it for myself, but really, you need to see what Natascha has created.

Still Here

2011-09-05T14:05:00.000-04:00

I've had some recent complaints about the fact that I haven't been posting much. When the kids went off to school, I intended to immediately start posting more regularly, but last week real life interfered.

It started out with good intentions. I sat down to some therapy sewing, because I was missing my girls so much. I sorted a pile of brown/maroon/purple scraps, and a little green too, from the scrap boxes. This is what it looked like at 10 A.M. last Wednesday.

A couple days later, it looked like this. Although I should probably tell you that there is still a small pile of scraps on the floor that haven't been used.

Thursday, I started trying to put the pieces together. It didn't get very far, partly because I was doing it while also trying to put up produce from the garden. I had intended to do the garden work over the weekend, but we had an invitation to visit some friends on Saturday and Sunday.

So, this is how it stands now. It should be an interesting puzzle to fit the rest of the pieces together.

As for our short excursion, we went to visit this handsome guy and his family up in Maine.

He's such a goofy pup. He actually spends the entire day patrolling the shore for fish. Apparently he has yet to ever catch one, but he's not giving up.

It was a nice visit, but difficult, also. We got to know this family through the friendship of our youngest and their oldest. We have never visited their camp without our younger daughter along. I missed her so much. We were tempted to drive the extra hour and a half north to see her, but then thought better of it. I'm sure she wouldn't like me to make a scene! This empty nest stuff is harder than I thought it would be. Anyone out there who has been through this have any tips for me? I'd appreciate hearing whatever you have to offer on the subject. In the meantime, I'll keep making myself remember that the girls are both growing tremendously, and learning so much that they need to know, and I'll keep sewing those scraps!

Yeah, Storm, Whatever...

2011-08-31T13:50:00.000-04:00

Just keep the treats coming, and everything will be OK.

And if its not OK, try taking a nap, and maybe it will all go away.

(We came through the storm without any real issues. The oldest one's flight back to Pittsburgh was cancelled, of course. She ended up being the baton in a family relay race that eventually got her back to school. We are sending hugs, prayers, and generally good vibes to everyone struggling with the aftermath of Irene.)

To Have And To Hold

2011-08-26T17:00:00.001-04:00

Made for a couple of my oldest daughters friends, who are getting hitched today. A little silly, I guess, but I think they will appreciate Mr. And Mrs. Monster.

I have never tried stitching black wool before. Its not easy. The color and texture just seem to suck the light out of the air! I kept bringing in more light, but it didn't help. It was worth it in the end, though, because they make an adorable couple. Almost as cute as the couple they are going to. I hope they are all very happy together, and that life only gets better and better from here on.

So Many Pears

2011-08-24T22:12:00.000-04:00

Its that time of year again, time for picking and processing everything in the garden. This week I froze beans, and made a couple batches of blackberry jam. And we were overrun with pears. We ate a bunch fresh, of course, because they are one of those garden things that taste best freshly picked from your own tree. But I also made pear cake,

Actually, I made a couple of cakes, one went into the freezer. I also made a batch of Pear-Apricot Chutney. This is great on pork in the winter. Its also pretty fine poured over cream cheese, and eaten on crackers.

I dried a bunch of pears also. We like to toss them into granola or oatmeal, and Weasley likes the occasional piece, too.

We did make time for some fun stuff. Tonight we had the last of the summer S'Mores before the girls head off to school.

Isn't it fun to play with lights and the camera at night?

And what has Weasley been doing all this time, you might ask? Well, he has been playing bunny pinball. This is when a blind bunny tries to find his way to his litterbox/blanket/sunny spot in a room that is rapidly filling up with gear that is being gathered for the new college kid. The geography of this room changes daily (maybe even hourly), as things are purchased, inspected, played with, packed, unpacked, repacked, etc. Its actually looking fairly contained in this picture. If you look way in the back, you can see that Weasley has reached his destination, after bouncing off most of the contents of the room.

He's actually managing pretty well, and in a few days, the room will be all his again. The day is coming way too fast.

As for sewing, well, there hasn't been much of that around here this week. I do have one fun project completed. I'll show you that on Friday, because its a gift, and I don't want to spoil the surprise for the recipients.

A Good Old Dog

2011-08-18T23:03:00.000-04:00

I'm a bit late, like usual, but I've still made it in under the wire with my quilt for the Pets On Quilts Show hosted by SewCalGal. I decided to go a different route, and not show you any rabbits on quilts this time. Instead, I have a little quilt featuring my parent's old dog Oreo, who crossed the Rainbow Bridge several years ago. Oreo was a very good dog, who liked to carry really big sticks, and who loved his people. My parent's rescued him when my kids were very young, and he is still the epitome of dogness for us. Here is a picture of the old guy on vacation with my Dad.

Now let me tell you about the quilt. One day last fall, I needed a take-along project, and had absolutely nothing ready. I grabbed a handful of scraps off the floor (really!), a nearby ring of floss, my traveling box of sewing tools, and ran out the door. I made one little quilt from this mess, and had so much fun that I started another one from the same bag of scraps. I'm now working on number 3, but this is the second quilt.

Raw edge applique with embroidery floss, machine quilting, tea-dyed cheesecloth binding.

I know. Its very odd. And you are probably thinking that the dog has the wrong coloring (and that I am crazy). The crazy part my kids will confirm. As for the dog, I was definitely thinking Oreo when I put him on the quilt, but I knew that a mostly white dog with black spots wouldn't show up to well on the background I had created. I decided to invert his colors to allow him to stand out. Why the dinosaur followed him on to the quilt, I have no idea. I am sure that Oreo would have tried to befriend him if he had met him. He was that kind of dog.

OK, I can't actually pass up a chance to show you Weasley with the quilt. He was totally unimpressed. But, would you expect anything else from a rabbit?

"Hey! I remember this guy! He used to eat all my papaya treats. And he thought I was a gumball machine. He was a very weird rabbit."

I hope you enjoyed seeing my strange little creation. For more Pets On Quilts, check out the links here (there are prizes to win, too!).

Greetings From The Litterbox

2011-08-18T16:34:00.000-04:00

Hi, Everybun! Yeah, its me. Don't come too close, I'm feeling a bit grumpy.

I don't care what Mom and the Vet say, I did NOT need to have that done to my teeth. Mom's happy, because I survived the process (me, too, actually). She says I don't do well with Anastasia. If this Anastasia is one of those girls at the Vet, then I agree. I don't like her. Or the Vet. Or Mom either.

Mom says I'm starting to eat better, but there is still room for improvement. What's she expecting? Do you think she wants me to use a fork? Has she heard about the whole opposible thumb issue? I don't like Mom.

I do like this Pittsburgher who keeps bringing me treats. And I like my Maine squeeze. Mom says they are going away soon. I don't like Mom (did I mention that already?).

I like you too. I hope you aren't going away. If you do, I might bite Mom.

(Note from Karen: Yes, the Boy is doing better. I'm sorry that I haven't been able to thank everyone individually for all your warm thoughts and prayers, and good vibes that have helped him along. They were VERY much appreciated. Its really crazy here right now, trying to get the younger one set to go off to school in Maine, and get the older one everywhere she wants to go before heading back to Pittsburgh. And we've had guests (wonderful guests). And don't even get me started on the garden. I'm dreaming pears and blackberries. Posting may be scarce over the next couple of weeks, but I will try to at least keep reading about all of your adventures when I crash in the evenings!)

We Hit The Trifecta At The Vets

2011-08-11T20:28:00.000-04:00

Hi, everybun! It's been a while! Blame it on the fact that everything is getting ripe in the garden (why do I forget every year that August is mostly about the harvest around here?), and the fact that the oldest one is home for a visit. My car time has ramped up considerably, and early this week Weasley decided to add to my driving totals.

The boy didn't seem right, but I wasn't sure what was up. He's never had GI stasis before, but this didn't seem exactly like what I had seen with other rabbits. A visit to the vet's and we found he has

A touch of stasis, not full blown, but getting there,
A severe infection in his nasal passages, caused or enhanced by his glaucoma/blocked tear duct situation,
A tooth that needs correcting.

Yeah! He's an over-achiever!. We are treating the stasis, and he's getting Gentocyn eye drops, but nothing else for the infection until the stasis is fixed. And the tooth is also waiting until his digestive situation is more stable, although, yes, it may be contributing to the situation. We've had a couple of trips to the vet for hydration, which is causing another problem. He's not very stable on his feet these days, and the car trip is putting stress on his bad leg that he injured last November. As of this very moment, however, he is eating some Bunny Basics T, so hopefully we are headed in the right direction. Keep your fingers crossed for us, please!

Glassy-Eyed

2011-08-05T14:58:00.000-04:00

I overbooked myself for the weekend, but when the Husband called and said "Do you want to go to the Museum of Fine Arts this evening?", what could I do but say yes. This will mean a late night tonight, and a very early morning tomorrow, but since he doesn't often leave home voluntarily, I'm not about to say no.

What he is interested in is the Chihuly exhibit. I know Mr. Chihuly has some controversy surrounding his work, but I'm excited to see it, too. Let me tell you why. Way back in 2006, I went on a business trip with the Husband to Florida. My interest in gardening was at its peak back then, and for something to do while he was working, I decided to visit the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden. When I got there, I didn't look at the paperwork they handed me, or the signs, I just walked off down the path. When I saw this, I thought it was a beautiful sculpture. I still didn't look at the brochure.

When I came around a curve to see this, I had to stop while my brain tried to figure out what I was seeing. Finally, I consulted the brochure, and saw that there was a glass exhibit going on. I was pretty sure that these spiky red things were glass, but I was not 100% sure.

The next curve revealed these "creatures", and I was finally convinced. It was definitely glass.

I started paying more careful attention, and found a lot of pieces tucked away in the jungle-like plants that I had not noticed at first. Some were very organic, and could be easily mistaken for botanicals. Some, like a giant pink ice cube sculpture (not my favorite, so no picture), seemed quite alien to the environment.

The work inside the greenhouses seemed much more static, and therefore was not as exciting. I hope this is not what we will see at the MFA.

This is one of the pieces that, while quite organic in nature, seemed alien in this environment. Still, it worked much better than the pink ice cubes.

It was interesting that the adults seemed much more excited about the sculptures than the kids who were there did. I finally realized that only the adults were seeing the pieces as something special. The kids seemed to view them as just something normal in the environment. Do you think that this could be because kids are more used to seeing the magic in the world, the magic that adults generally overlook?

These onions were very magical. They had an interesting way of throwing light around as they floated here and there.

I did wonder what this guy thought of it all.

And, what do you think this bird made of its unseasonal iceberg?

If you ever have a chance to see a Chihuly exhibit in a garden setting, I highly reccommend it. I hope the show we see inside the MFA does not disappoint. But if it does, there is still the African textile exhibit. And the Embroideries of Colonial Boston. And the Jewels, Gems, and Treasures exhibit, and, and, and....

Have a great weekend, Everybun!

Weasley's Late For His Wednesday Appointment

2011-08-04T07:31:00.000-04:00

But that's because he got lost in the couch while watching "Burn Notice" reruns. I think he's afraid of Fiona. Although he does think Sam Axe would make a good bunny.

He did stir when he heard a familiar sound. Could it possibly be the rustle of the bag of papaya treats?

It was, and Weasley came out to munch a few treats. Yum!

He stuck around briefly for some nose rubs.

And then slithered back down into the cushions with the lose change and stale cheerios.

I'm willing to bet that your couch cushions aren't hiding anything half so fine....

Monsters

2011-08-01T09:07:00.002-04:00

While volunteering at the Leominster Art Center yesterday, I finished up a few new monsters. First, a roaring lion that was a special request.

And this motley crew. The red one looks seasick, the blue one reminds me of those Easter Island characters, and the one in the middle has me a little worried!

The scene from behind.

I also got to meet a new artist who is exhibiting her paintings at the Center. Her name is Emily Darling, and she paints in oil with a palette knife, and very bright colors. She has hung some paintings of art supplies, and I am coveting the one of a pile of scissors. I think it would be a perfect accent for my studio ( if I had a studio, and not just a little space at the kitchen table). Maybe if I get the picture, a studio will magically appear around it? It could work....

The Truth About My Garden

2011-07-31T21:05:00.001-04:00

On most Fridays I show you pretty pictures from my garden. You may have noticed that all of these pictures are close-ups of individual flowers, or taken from quite a distance. The truth is that my garden is a big, weedy, overgrown ~~hellhole~~ mess. As an example, let me show you the garden at the right front corner of the house.

On the left there is overgrown Russian Sage. On the right is a giant weed (Goldenrod). Everywhere else is overrun with relentlessly spreading Lily-of-the Valley, an aggressively self-seeding pale yellow Scabiosa, an invasive grass, and another invasive weed whose name I don't remember.

How did it get this way? Well, there are several reasons. When we first moved here, the kids were young, and not involved in very many activities. They were content to play in the yard and pool with friends and neighbors. While they played, I gardened. I had a lot of time, so the gardens became extensive. Then the kids became more involved in other activities, and I was always in the car driving them, time became very short, the gardens suffered.

On top of the time issue, in the last couple of years, I have been having issues with arthritis in my hands, which has increasingly limited my weeding time.

Another factor in this messy garden situation is all the pass-along plants that I brought in in the early years. If friends want to give away plants, be very wary. There is a reason they want to give them away. Once the plants settle in, they will probably be invasive. In this particular garden, the emotional aspect of this makes the situation even trickier. The Lily-of -the Valley originally came from my Husband's Grandmother's house. The fact that they were one of the few plants left in her garden at the time should have warned me.

I'm pretty sure the invasive grass came from a bag of (cheap) grass seed that guaranteed grass anywhere. And the invasive weeds? Let's just say that a Husband who wants to practice organic lawn care really needs to spend much more time working on the lawn. These weeds aren't even something useful, like Dandelion!

A nasty situation, definitely. I have started trying to remedy the problem. In the middle of this next picture, you can see part of the same garden, where I have rescued a daylily from the clutches of the evil grass. I also dug out an entire bucket of Lily-of-the-Valley. I used to love it, but it has to go.

In this picture, the Black-Eyed Susan, and the pale yellow Scabiosa are self-sown. Originally there was also a well-behaved blue scabiosa, but that was choked out by the yellow one. I'm not sure how much of this will stay. The pink phlox in the background is a keeper.

Farther along in the same garden is a phlox called Laura, that I love. It will definitely stay. Behind it, the Rose-of-Sharon is in need of pruning, as it is overgrowing its space.

I have a love/hate thing with this shrub. As you can see, the double white blossoms are beautiful.

Until they fade, at which point, they look like dirty, crumpled, tissues. There are too many of them to deadhead. I try to use my special Gardener's Vision, and only see the pretty ones.

As for that overgrown Russian Sage in the first picture, it will get moved to some of the perimeter gardens, which will become mostly shrub beds. Perennials that I want to save from those areas will get moved to this garden. And that giant clump of Goldenrod? It's outta here!

Don't Touch My Toes!

2011-07-27T21:36:00.000-04:00

Weasley was looking very relaxed this evening.

I tried to sneak up on his feet.

I got pretty close. Bunny feet are so hard to resist, aren't they?

But, he wasn't going to stand for it.

How can somebun who can't see be so good at giving me the hairy eyeball?

On a weirder note, I kept having the same dream over and over last night. It had something to do with a bird wearing ruffled underpants. They looked a lot like the ruffly diaper covers my girls used to wear with their dresses a loooong time ago.... It was a bit like this picture.

Then, on my way home from driving my daughter to work, a hawk swooped down in front of my car. It had a bird in it's talons. It's swoop brought it very close to the front of the car, which startled the hawk so much that he let go of the smaller bird. While the hawk followed through on his swoop, the little bird took off rapidly in the other direction. It was an amazing sight. And, neither of those birds was wearing ruffled underpants, although I suspect there was quite a few ruffled feathers!

Grady, Not Brady

2011-07-27T21:18:00.000-04:00

My husband has a friend who is an artist, by the name of Tom Grady. He is on a mission to paint a portrait of someone at every age from 1 to 100 years old in one year. You can see the portraits here. The portrait for age 18 should look very familiar to you if you read this blog regularly. Isn't my girl beautiful?

A Couple Fun Things

2011-07-25T19:48:00.000-04:00

On Saturday, I received a fun Package in the mail. Every month for their various Challenges, Three Creative Studios gives away some surprise gifts, and my name was picked recently for the Color Palette Challenge. Here is a picture of what my package contained.

There is a gorgeous striped notebook cover, with machine couched details, that was made by Terri Stegmiller. It came wrapped in some of her cute cat fabric, that makes me want to get out crayons and color, and be a kid for a while. There a some samples of a variety of products, including Mistyfuse and Transdoodle, which will be fun to play with. In the back on the left, you can just see a sample of Vicki Welsh's hand-dyed fabric. It didn't photograph well, but it's very cool. It sort of looks like a dark winter sky, late at night, with that orange/pink glow of streetlights reflecting. Thank you, Three Creative Studios, for making Saturday extra-special.

Also,, if you've been reading this blog for a while, you may have noticed that I have a "thing" for buttons. I know some of you reading this do, too. Even if you don't have a button addiction, these beauties made by Emily Eckel might get you hooked. Enjoy!

This Friday In The Garden

2011-07-22T09:17:00.000-04:00

it is too darn hot. In fact, it's so hot that the Neighborhood Lion is hanging out in the sprinkler!

If you zoom in, you can see him there under the raspberry bushes. When I first looked out, he was chasing the water droplets, but then he settled in for a quiet shower. I had no idea that a cat would do this!

Inside, I've just about finished this tiny little quilt. I want to add some washers to the corners, but that involves a trip to the hardware store, and that seems like an unnecessary trip right now.

I will also add a little ribbon loop for hanging. Turns out that springs are heavier than you would think. When I get the washers, the one for the lower corner by the dog's behind will need to be larger than the others, to balance the weight of all the springs on the other side of the quilt. This was so much fun to make, I think I might do more.

Have a great weekend, everybun. If you are having the heat like we are, try to stay cool, drink lots of fluids, and don't forget to check on your neighbors.

Hot Enough For You?

2011-07-20T21:22:00.000-04:00

Weasley says its too hot to move, even with the air conditioner on.

His room is the only one in the house with air conditioning. And he's not trapped in here. The door on the other side is open. He just wasn't coming out.

Stay cool, everybun!

A Beautiful Friday

2011-07-15T22:03:00.000-04:00

It was a gorgeous day today, not to hot, not to cold, and the humidity was down. It was just perfect for doing a little work in the garden. The weeds are way ahead of me this year, but the garden still has its beauty. One particularly bright spot this week included daylilys and butterfly weed.

Out back you can catch a glimpse of the Panther I mentioned in my last post.

He spends a lot of time staring at the house with these glowing eyes, but runs off when he knows you've seen him.

And I finished my quilt for the June Color Palette Challenge over at Three Creative Studios. Its another in the "Tile" series that I seem to be doing. I really didn't expect this to turn into a series, but it has just seemed to happen. I wanted this one to look like an ancient mosaic, an archaeological find. Because of that, some of the "tile" pieces are missing. The binding is a ragged sheer, perhaps some packing cloth that the fragment was wrapped in for shipping....

The thread sketching this time is butterflies, and once again it was done before quilting.

When the butterflies first insisted on being on this quilt, I worried that they were a little too trivial. But I thought about it some more, and realized that butterflies, representing rebirth, were actually the perfect image.While designing the original mosaic, I was thinking about how when artifacts are discovered, they bring a rebirth of sorts to the people who once touched them, bringing them into our time, for us to carry their memory.

The butterflies stayed.

Some Bunnies Don't Realize How Easy They Have It

2011-07-13T20:57:00.000-04:00

This beautiful girl has been hanging around our yard all summer. I thought she was behaving strangely this morning, so I went to check things out.

Turns out she was busily building a beautiful nest, right there in the middle of the front lawn, completely exposed for anyone to see. She was still putting grass in the cavity she had dug, and hadn't started lining it with fur yet.

Not such a good idea,what with the Neighborhood Lion making our yard his favorite killing zone. I moved the grass under cover of the shrubs and perennials (although she probably won't retrieve it). Then I filled in the depression, and blocked it off with an X-pen.

I really hope she has picked a new space for her babies that has more protection. Some place where they have at least a slim hope of avoiding the Lion, and also the Black Panther that we have recently seen in the yard. Send a little prayer, or some good vibes her way, won't you?

As for the Old Man inside, where life is a little more cushy, he leaves you with this thought for the week. Never lose touch with your food dish, even if its empty.

An Unexpected Trip

2011-07-11T23:12:00.000-04:00

Since the corn is late coming in at the farm my daughter is working at this summer, we decided to take advantage of her free time, and make a quick visit to my parents. We called them one day, and were at their house the next. Weasley stayed home, doing bachelor things with the husband. I think it pretty much involved this.

This is my parents. Aren't they a cute couple? We spent several fun days hanging out with them, and other friends and relatives that we hadn't seen in awhile.

If you are ever in the area, Broome County, New York has wonderful County parks. We visited a couple of them, and did some kayaking. Eventually, these two figured out that the kayaks are supposed to go in the water.

And, if you ever have an opportunity to go kayaking with my daughter, be aware that she RAMS other kayakers.

Another park, another day, this time with bicycles.

I chickened out and stepped aside before she got close enough for me to get a great picture.

There were barbecues, fireworks, quiet times in the garden, and raucous card games. Some favorite old pasttimes were revisited, like drawing on the porch floor with chalk.

And, some time was spent playing with Grandma's button tin.

Since we got back, I have been trying to catch up, and dealing with the ramifications of my credit card number being stolen again. Since our information isn't secure now, the potential problems with "The Cloud" terrify me. I did get to play with dyeing a little wool. I did this the easy way, with water, vinegar, and food coloring.

The results are definitely not subtle, but are exactly what I was looking for.

Weasley remains unimpressed.

It was a fun time, but its good to be back. I hope everyone out there has been having fun, too. I'll be catching up with you soon.

Friday In The Garden

2011-07-01T22:08:00.000-04:00

Summer is beginning in the garden, a little later than last year. We have Black (and Green)-Eyed Susans, and a nice crop of Daisies.

The Neighborhood Lion is prowling in amongst the Butterfly Weed, and some Native grasses. Unfortunately, I think he may be on a bunny hunt. I hope the bunny is smarter than the cat.

The lavender is looking fine, and smelling even better.

My favorite daylily, Miss Amelia is just starting up. There is going to be a large amount of flowers on this one this year. I'm glad to see this, because last year it didn't flower too well.

But, the most impressive flowers at the moment have to be on the Yucca plants. We have them in several spots in the yard, and they look like absolute waterfalls of blossoms right now.

And in the edibles department, its all about the peas,

and the raspberries. There is a pie in the oven right now. I wish you could smell it.

Have a great weekend, everybun! Happy Fourth to everyone in the States!

What Weasley's Been Up To Lately

2011-06-29T14:38:00.000-04:00

Contemplating the ins and outs of the trombone.

Throwing and eating a basket.

Chinning said basket, so the humans don't forget to whom it belongs.

Resting up from all that work.

Taking a good bath, while ignoring toys. They must age several months (or years) before being played with.

Having a little snack, freshly picked and organic, of course.

Chillin'. (Snoozing the afternoon away while stretched out next to the frozen soda bottle.)

Add in making music on the water bottle, tossing hay around, and bumbling around the house while trying to figure out if the rustle he hears is a treat. Rearrange and repeat as desired, and that pretty much covers it, if you include the nightly couch snuggle. Not a life that would make a great action film. "Bunny Pirates of North Central Massachusetts", or "Indiana Bun and the Aging Cape Cod Cottage" are not likely to be big draws at the box office. Except maybe in Weasley's dreams. He often runs in his sleep, so maybe that's where all the action is. What do you think bunnies dream about?

A Slice Of Life

2011-06-28T20:06:00.000-04:00

At the Material Girls Quilt Guild show, there was an interesting group of quilts that were called "slice" quilts. Several people got together to work on this project. Each person chose a photograph, and sliced it into pieces. The pieces were handed out to the other people involved, who then replicated the slice in fabric. The original person who owned the photograph reassembled the pieces of the photograph into a quilt. I thought the resulting quirkiness of the finished quilts was very cool . I hope you enjoy seeing them.

In this first quilt, the pieces were set into a traditional Attic Windows-type setting.

"Puerto Vallarta", Kathryn Amadon

The next quilt also used a window-type grid, but of a simpler design. You can see the original photo in the lower left. The flowers are stunning on this.

"My Flower Garden", Kathie Peloquin

The original photo is also visible in the photo of the next quilt. No window grid was used on this one. I really love how well the slices went together here.

"My House", Sandi Phillips

On the next one, the quilter chose to turn each piece into its own small quilt. A very interesting idea, that I suspect hangs on a wall better than it sits on an easel.One really cool detail is how the flag extends over the edge of the upper left slice.

"My Camp", Jessica Leger

In this final quilt, the quilter chose to frame the quilt after assembling it. It was truly gorgeous, but I had a hard time taking the photograph. I had to turn off the flash to keep from getting a big flare in the middle of the picture, and that muted the colors. They are more intense in real life.

It was amazing to see all the different techniques used in each slice by the quilters involved. And yet despite the differences, when reassembled they still made a beautiful quilt. It looks like they all had a lot of fun doing it, too, which is really the best reward.

Fun At The Quilt Show

2011-06-27T21:14:00.000-04:00

The Material Girls Quilt Guild show from this past weekend went off really well. There were well over 100 quilts to view, a bunch of vendors selling cool stuff, and a lot of fun quilters to talk to. It was hard to get pictures of the quilts with the crowd of people around, and some of my pictures are at strange angles because of the closeness of the aisles, but here are a few that caught my eye.

This is called "Impulse", and was made by Carol Sarafconn. I love the bright colors.

The centers of all the blocks are hand painted squares. I'm not sure how she made them. Some looked sort of like ink blots, some like spin art. Maybe they were gelatin prints?

This next quilt is actually quite tame for Jessica Leger. Her quilts often have everything including the kitchen sink on them. I think this one is called "Santa Baby". It's the only one whose label I didn't photograph, because I swore I would remember the name. Oh, well.

I think this must be Jessica in the center.

She also makes (and wears) these coats!

This one, by Nancy Sullivan, was one of my favorites. It's called "My Daughter's Prince".

I managed to cut the top off the next quilt (in the photograph, that is). It's called "My Fun Time", by Allene Leger. She made it from a Block-of-the-Month program at The Quilted Crow. It's wool, but I'm not sure on what, because I couldn't touch it. I think it was either homespun, or flannel.

This next one intrigued me, because all the quilts that I had seen from this woman before were dark and/or patriotic. Turns out she made this for a granddaughter. It's called "Flowers of Squares", by Kolleen Dickinson.

I loved the colors, and the slightly wonky nature of the squares in this next one. It is "Dreams of Australia", by Ellen Parkinson. I couldn't get back far enough to photograph the entire quilt.

There were several dog quilts by Janice Quejo. She does wonderful animal portraits. This quilt is very different, but so much fun! Click on the picture to see a larger version. The faces are fantastic. This is called "Dazzling Dogs".

This Leaf Quilt is by Sandie Catlow. The background makes good use of half square triangles received in an exchange.

I wish I could show you all the quilts, as they each had a unique beauty. And as for the vendors, well, they were fun, too. Somehow I managed to keep myself from buying more fabric. The notions were a little harder to pass up. I got these gorgeous handmade ceramic buttons from Grana's Buttons. This woman uses a wide variety of items to texturize her buttons, including roller stamps that she carves herself. Apparently she doesn't have a website, but she can be reached at granasbuttons@charter.net.

And, I also came home with this beauty made by Cynthia Ellis. Not only is it pretty, but it feels really good in your hand. I only hope I don't have to use it too much! You can see more of her work here.

Tomorrow I'll have a few more quilts to show you, that were the result of an interesting group project. Right now, I'm off to give Weasley his evening cuddle. Can't keep a bunny waiting!

We Had A Bug

2011-06-23T12:26:00.000-04:00

Hi, everyone. It's been quite awhile. Our computer came down with something. It was easier to find out what it had, than it was to undo the effects, but we seem to be OK now. If you've been expecting an e-mail, I'm sorry for the wait. I'll be working on catching up with all that, and with blogland, over the weekend.

In the meantime, I've been sewing. I made some scraps into notebook covers. Why are there always so many more scraps than actual quilts? It's like they breed in the scrap box!

I finally put a binding on this scrap (!) quilt, that has been sitting around for over a year waiting to be finished. I actually like sewing on bindings, so I don't know why it waited so long. Probably it was always just the least urgent item on the list. It's name, which hopefully doesn't sound too pretentious, is "Fire In Winter".

On Father's Day, we took the youngest up to Farmington, Maine, for a summer class at the University of Maine. This is where she will be going to school in the fall. We embarrassed her in the parking lot.

And then, we took a walk around town, the whole two blocks or so of it.

Some day when it's open, I'm going to have to check out this place.

We left town after narrowly avoiding a coffee bath. The clerk at the shop tried to slide a large iced coffee to me, only to have it tip instead. I'm not sure how, but I managed to jump back in time to avoid the spill. Didn't know I could still move that fast!

Back at home, Weasley's been hanging out on the couch with me, helping me bind another quilt. In case you're wondering, it was the Husband's choice to sit on the floor. We didn't force him to.

Apparently he (Weasley) felt like he was not getting enough attention. In my defense, it's hard to sew a binding, keep track of what Michael, Sam and Fiona are up to, and still keep the Rabbit properly entertained.

What I was finishing was this (are you tired of seeing it yet?). Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get a great picture last night. It will be hanging in our guild quilt show this weekend, so hopefully i can get some good pictures while its there. I put way more quilting into it than I originally intended, so that part of the construction seemed to last forever.

And my final step had me really intimidated. I dry-brushed gold paint over the brown border and binding, to imitate the gilding on many Russian Icons. On many of these icons, the gold is mostly, or even completely, missing. The dry-brushing actually worked well, much to my relief!

Now I'm looking forward to a crazy weekend of helping at the quilt show, and at a downtown event, getting the kid home, her laundry done, and getting her sent off again for another adventure. Oh, and most importantly there has to be some rabbit pampering. But that part really goes without saying, doesn't it?

Weasley In The Sun On Wednesday

2011-06-15T17:33:00.000-04:00

It seems like the skies have done nothing but rain here since graduation. Finally the sun broke out today, and Weasley took full advantage of it. In the morning he napped in the sun in the kitchen.

In the afternoon, he followed the sun around to the other side of the house,

and napped in the computer room.

Are you done yet, Mom?

It was a very fine day, despite the annoying noises from the camera and sewing machine.

Weasley Has His Own Quilt

2011-06-14T14:02:00.000-04:00

I thought it was about time Weasley had a quilt dedicated to him, so he became the subject of my quilt for May's Color Palette Challenge over at Three Creative Studios.

I've always thought that Weasley looks very lion-like when he's basking in the sun, especially when he has his full coat. With apologies to J. K. Rowling, I am calling this one "Weasley Is Our King!".

Like the other pieces I've done for this challenge, I made this with the idea of tiles in mind. The hexagon template was drawn freehand, and the individual pieces were cut out with scissors (no rotary cutter or rulers). The "tile" was then laid out in this design, spacing them by eye, in a way that looked pleasing to me. The resulting grout lines are irregular, and the quilt was slightly off center. This irregularity doesn't show much in the finished product, but I'm thinking about exaggerating this effect in a future quilt for this challenge.

Before quilting the grout lines. I stitched a lion on using thread sketching techniques. He'll have to get used to the idea that he's been replaced on the throne by a rabbit.

I also designed Weasley a crown, and stitched it on the quilt.

What looks blue in these pictures is somewhat more lavender in real life. I think the cloudy sky threw off the color of the photo. It sure would be nice to see the sun. The real Weasley would really enjoy basking his old (kingly) bones in it's warmth.

Friday In The Garden

2011-06-10T19:46:00.000-04:00

I was afraid that the 60 mph winds that accompanied the thunderstorms that went through yesterday wouldn't leave much to see in the garden today. Some things, like these poppies, did get torn apart by the wind. Luckily, there are more poppies yet to bloom, so I should be able to get some better photos soon.

There is a lot of purple around the yard this week. The lupine are still blooming profusely.

Hiding in the front garden I found a single stalk of campanula glomerata (isn't that a funny name?), a plant I thought had died out. I hope this means it is making a comeback.

And, the Baptisia are making a huge show this year. I love the flowers, but the plants are proving to be a bit invasive for the size of my space. Not sure how I'm going to handle this.

There are also a lot of roses this week. The climbers in my Daughter's gardens are blooming, and they smell so good. These pink ones are called "Social Climber"!

I don't remember the name of the yellow one, but it smells even better than the pink one. Both of these will have more blossoms throughout the summer.

This pale pink rose in the front yard only blooms once a year. Unfortunately, it suffered a lot of winter damage, and doesn't have anywhere near as many blossoms as it usually does.

The rugosa rose out front (a double flowering variety called "Scabrosa") is having issues this year also. It has thrown several stems of a sport, that is only a single flowering variety, of a much paler pink.

It also suffered a lot of die-back over the winter.

But, there was enough left of the magenta double-flowered parent to make this beautiful display next to the Purple Nine Bark (yet another strangely named plant).

For Weasley, of course, the most important part of the garden this week is this. The parsley patch is in full bloom. There should be a great new crop of parsley planting itself soon. Ooh, the anticipation!

Have a great weekend, everybun. I hope it lives up to all of your expectations!

Weasley On Wednesday

2011-06-08T16:23:00.000-04:00

It may be Wednesday, but Weasley's going to have to share his post with graduation today. Here he is having breakfast, with a heap of untouched Cilantro from yesterday. Apparently Ginny was the Cilantro eater. I never realized Weasley didn't like it.

Weasley is very glad that Graduation is over, and things are starting to get back to normal. Graduation itself was actually a lot of fun. Now that was a surprise. And this was another surprise.

My Daughter is among that group of girls (in white) getting up to sing the class song. That's the band behind them. The class song was Taylor Swift's "Long Live". Each of the girls sang part of the song as a solo, and then they all came together to finish the song. Here's my Girl, getting ready to start them off.

I didn't do a great job of getting pictures, probably I was just too excited. In this next picture, my Daughter is coming up the stairs to get her Diploma from the Mayor. The brick building in the background is actually where she went to Kindergarten. I don't know where the time went.

This is her after getting the Diploma, accepting the carnation that all the Graduates were given.

And then, she ran back all the way across the field, to play the Alma Mater with the band one last time. She's the trombonist in white, with her two best buds, also Graduates, on either side of her.

Then we went home to party. I'm pretty sure most of the band showed up, as well as some parents and teachers. There was Frisbee playing, soft ball, dancing on the shed roof, eating, tunes, firemaking, and s'mores till late at night.

The nice thing about the band kids is, they clean up after themselves, so they made my job easy. I can't believe it's all over so soon, and we are on to the next chapter already!

Spell check suggested that I replace "s'mores" with "snores"! I don't know about you, but I don't think that's a very good substitution.

Weasley On Wednesday

2011-06-02T07:42:00.000-04:00

OK, late again. But that's because we had the computer unplugged yesterday because of the weather. The bad weather mostly stayed south and west of us. In the evening when we heard the weatherman say "if you are in the northern part of Leominster, get in the basement now", we took him seriously. We put Weasley in his carrier and headed down. Luckily, the rotation they saw in the radar did not develop into a tornado. Weasley was completely unimpressed with the whole event.

My daughter was worried all afternoon, though. She had a bag packed for the basement: pillow, blanket, stuffed animal, water, three granola bars, and deodorant!

Earlier in the day, I caught Weasley doing his Chico imitation.

The 'stache just doesn't have the same effect in green.

We are gearing up for graduation, so I probably won't post again till after the weekend. We plan on having fun, and I hope you have a great weekend, too.