A Trip to Sarasota, FL

Paul and I had a weekend trip to Florida.

Crossing the Mobile River.

We met my sister Sheila & Sanford...

... at Dave's Catfish House...

... in Atmore, AL for supper.

Then we traveled on to Sarasota, FL and met another sister, Coleen & Glen and had supper with them at Der Dutchman.

After the men's SLM board meeting on Friday, we had supper at the Haiti Benefit Auction site. Most people, like us, opted to wait in the long line for catfish.

Full house, tent!

This was my view for the evening program.

Imagine my surprise when I spied not just one ...

... but two quilts made from my sister Barbara Cline's pattern from her book Star Struck Quilts to be auctioned off.

This was another quilt that I liked.

And these dolls were so cute, ready to find a new home.

It was so special to visit with my Great Uncle Nelson. He is Grandfather Ralph's youngest brother and the only living sibling.

And another surprise meeting was with Dave and Martha Rohrer's Clifford. Dave and Martha bought our place up on Dry River; and we moved to Bridgewater when I was six.

... to be continued.

Life and En Provence

Life ...

Is that chocolate milk with hotdogs for lunch?

... as a Quilter

I've made a few changes along the way with my Bonnie Hunter mystery quilt, "En Provence" .

~~~Parting Shot~~~

After the Rain

Refuge

"Refuge"

27"X21"

$650

Materials: commercial cottons, Superior Thread, and other thread. Mounted on black mat board, ready for framing, optional.

Technique: fused raw edge patches and then heavily quilted

Statement: One of the objectives of the Sam D. Hamilton Noxubee National Wildlife Refuge is to provide habitat for migratory waterfowl and other birds. These egrets stand as if queen of the surrounding lowlands.

When Mr. Tom Cowsert came to the Noxubee County Refuge last fall as a resident artist he ask me to depict one of his paintings as a wall quilt.

He painted a turtle, frog, catfish, and alligator under the water.

I chose warmer colors for my fiber art and took the liberty to add color to the lilies. I also hid a turtle, frog, catfish, an alligator in my scene.

Christmas Evening with the Grabers

We had a fun evening with the Grabers on Christmas Day.

With help from the adults, the children made and decorated pretzel log cabins.

It's so nice that Paul's folks are still able to be up and around and enjoyed the evening with us. Later in the evening we sat in a circle and sang gospel songs along with a few Christmas songs.

Joel provided deep fried hot poppers and cheese sticks.

Craig helped me cook taffy.

Teryn and En Provence

Life ...

"I can do it myself!"

Maybe that will cut easier now.

You need to sign your name

"Here, you can give it to Tina."

... as a Quilter

I continue to work on Bonnie Hunter's "En Provence" mystery quilt. We made half square triangles for clue no. 5.

Between clues I have also been working on another quilt, "Daddy's Ties" for the Hildreth Family. You can read about that project HERE.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas!

May you feel the peace and joy of Christ's coming.

Rejoicing in this life-giving hope! --Julia

Daddy's Ties from Buck Hildreth

Life ...

Rusty was entertained for a bit with the mirrors on the medicine cabinet.

... as a Quilter

I finished the quilt I have been working on for "Pea Picker." I just love the way the light reflects and gives luminosity to the quilt.

"Daddy's Ties"

from the collection of 'Buck' Hildreth.

66"X56"

Each tie was picked open and ironed. Then I added a lightweight woven interfacing to each piece to help stabilize the fabric.

I quilted it with loop-dee-loops and then trimmed it and sewed on the binding with my machine. Then I hand stitched the binding to the back side.

The label

And then Mr. Jimmy (Pea Picker) came by to pick it up. I think he was as pleased as me.

Linking to

Nina Maria's "Off the Wall Friday" and

Amanda Jean's "Finish It Up Friday"

En Provence and Tina's 5th Birthday

I finished clue #4 of Bonnie Hunter's mystery quilt "En Provence." Now I'm wondering how the green and yellow will work into the mix.

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We were invited to Craigs for pizza on Saturday evening...

... in celebration of Tina's 5th birthday.

The lady bug cake was a hit with the children. Just look at the black mouths an tongues from that icing!

A Quilting Week

This has been a hand quilting week for me. Our Magnolia Mennonite Sewing Circle had a small turn out on Tuesday. I helped with the quilting around this frame.

Mikey watches Kate tighten the clamp.

 Michelle irons a dress she is making and Sherilyn & Mikey sew the binding to a comforter.

Karen works on the binding of another comforter.

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I also helped quilt with these ladies at Maple Street in Columbus.

Bessie and Zella are tying this quilt while Lawana does the marking.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Moon Rise