On...the Ceiling

The sun was streaming in and I laid down to bask in it for a moment.  It was so warm, about as close to laying on a beach as you could get without being there.  I looked up at the ceiling and realized how simple and relaxing it was. Life has been so complicated lately.  We don't really know what to do with that.
There is no quilt up there.  The ceiling is painted the same taupe "pink" as the walls.  I love that color. Calm. But, until I laid down on the floor and looked up - I would have said it was white.  That is what I would expect.
Like a quilt without a border.  A round quilt.  An oval quilt.  An unfinished quilt (ok - that one we might expect).  A sentence that is not a sentence - eh - maybe that too.  Dinner with friends on Zoom.  Unexpected.
Having just started with writing blogs my attention had to be diverted to Facebook Live (does that mean they can see you NOW - what, they can ask questions - yikes!), Zoom, Discord, Virtual Yoga (they can't see me - there is something so comforting with that), Virtual Therapy, Curbside pick-up for my dog & food (I did that anyways "before"), being fine with going out in my jammies....because NO ONE will see the bottom half!, "Dinner for 1 please, in your finest box".  Lots of things to learn.  But the one I love the most is that my granddaughter and I call each other, text, and send emojis.  We made dirt cups one day.  We both have the same book, and read to each other.  Sometimes I fall asleep, sometimes she does.  And, even though we are 2000 miles apart, those times we are right next to each other.
We all have had some things to learn.  So my blog took a bit of a back seat.  I had thought, "I'll have all this time to write."  Nope.  My family and I Zoom, and I Noom - getting ready for a skate trip that may or may not take place. 
But now that I think I have Zooming and Nooming under control - I would LOVE to get back to the blog.  No promises to myself - because there are now a ton of projects and quilts that I started because I was going to have all this time to quilt.  Ha ha!  Just a few more hours a day....just like things were "before".  What used to be unexpected is now normal.  The calm that resonates from laying in the grass and seeing the unchanging yet everchanging canvas above.  The peace that settles inside me while looking up at an uncomplicated ceiling while the yoga lady talks and I plan quilts in my head.... but calmly.
I wish to pick the blog back up, but I don't want to lose the closeness of being far apart, and the feeling of the uncomplicated sky.

“On” Debbie...a story of strength, courage, faith, love and unfinished projects :)

Perhaps the reason that Debbie's story has been written several times, yet never published, is because I have always felt it was a never-ending story.  Debbie has asked me often, “When are you going to publish my story?”  The one I started a number of years ago.   I tried several times – I never finish.  How do I tell all of our stories....all the adventures, the quilting, the talks, the laughs?   And now, when Debbie must look death in the eye, and those of us who love her must too....I still feel her story is never-ending.  I cannot rewrite it and edit it enough to make it as perfect as it should be.  I may still find the photograph of  us wearing the pink coats.  I may recall another story.  It cannot be what it should be.  Yet, because Debbie deserves to see it in print....here you go, my friend.

On... The Bitty Sister

Over the last couple years, we've come out with the Mondo Bag and Midi Bag...and, now baby sister, Bitty Bag! The little bags are great for cosmetics, yarn, dog walks, snacks...etc. These bags are so quick to make, that the Quiltsmart staff was sewing them up overnight!  Just wanted to share them... 

On... Mondo class!

Quiltsmartie Linda J. hosted this Spring Break Quilt Camp last month where students ranging from 8 to 17 years old made their very own Mondo Bags. Linda says, "Everyone had a great time and the kids were all thrilled with their bags. Everyone finished their bags and were able to share their success with the other students. It was a great experience for everyone."

I just love getting this kind of feedback! It's so rewarding to see young people taking up quilting. Thank you, Linda, for teaching these kids and for sharing your experience (and great photos) with me!

On...Looking for Mountains

Today I went for a walk with our Scottie dog, Candy. I went to look for a view of the mountains near our house (moved to Bend, OR in November from Minnesota). 

On my drive to work, I see Mt. Bachelor, the Three Sisters and Mt. Washington. On a clear day....almost everyday, I can see Mt. Hood...90 miles away! Every morning the snow on the mountains is so bright and the sky so blue that my heart skips a beat...I can hardly breathe for all the beauty. I wonder if the people born here take this for granted, or does it stop them in their tracks too. You can play outside in the morning and ski in the afternoon.  I breathe deep, so to soak in the mountain air and the crispness of the edges of the mountains against that incredible sky.  

On...pie

No girl makes a pie for a guy unless she is smitten by him.  At least that's my theory.  Some may argue.  Maybe professional pie makers make pies for everyone they know.  But from my experience, if a guy gets a pie, then the girl who made it is smitten. 

On...Catching Memories

While unpacking the remaining boxes (looking for my recipe box to make my favorite pecan pie recipe) I opened the box marked "mom's nostalgia".  Of all the memorabilia in this box, the photographs, original gift boxes ribboned up, each bringing up an event and a wonderful gift -- oh, here's the cover quilt for the Lone Star pattern!!! I've been looking for that! -- my dad's shoeshine kit, one circular knit green potholder loop, and the broken plaster handprint painted in bright primary colors, it is the dirty tennis ball that brings the tears to surface.  No, I wasn't on the tennis team, don't own a racket, and I never wore a tennis skirt.

This ball was found near the mailbox one day.  The mailbox was an eighth of a mile from the house down an unpaved driveway bordered with trees and a pond and a fabulous rail fence.  The mailbox was in a cul de sac which served as a bus stop.  I walked the kids to the bus stop every morning when they were little.  It turned out to be a pretty nice time for us, void of distraction, phones, laundry, work...just a pleasant walk down a tree-lined lane.  One day early in our first few months there we found this tennis ball.  We casually started throwing it to each other.  We weren't very good...kept missing it a lot..but we all got a lot of running, laughter an joy out of this exercise.  The ball managed to make it back to the house and back again the next day to the bus stop.  We got used to our little family ritual and began to go early to the bus stop just so we might have more time to play.  In the winter, the throwing and catching kept us warmer; in the warmer weather (not much of it in Minnesota!) it just kept us moving.  At some point, we decided to keep the ball in the mailbox, as the mailbox had a lean to it and the ball would roll to the back.  We lived in that house for 12 years.  The ball stayed in the mailbox the whole time.

An era gone by - will there even be mailboxes in the near future?  Sometimes memories are photographs and plaster prints.  This one is the little hands throwing and catching the ball, missing it, charging for it, and fighting over it with each other and laughing...lots of laughing.  And we got pretty good over the years, widening our playing field from the inner cul de sac to the edges of the cul de sac and then some.  It didn't cost a penny in equipment.  Just a found tennis ball kept in a mailbox.  Sometimes the best memories don't involve going very far - just a simple game of catch can capture memories and catch a bunch of love to keep forever.

On...Studs

The winters in Minnesota were cold and brutal.  I was never in a "state" that I could be happy - geographically nor emotionally.  Perhaps with a title "studs" you are looking for an article with a bit more spice.  No, I am really talking "studs".  Studded snow tires.  A novelty to those in the mid west.  And, chains...too.  I think these two items are as foreign to midwesterners as "bars" and "hotdish" are to westerners. 

On...the difference

Hearts can say a lot without words.

"Did we make a difference today?" Out of the blue that question came from Steve while we were driving home from Quiltsmart. I don't know where the train of thought came from to preface the question, but I knew the answer. Yes. It felt good, too...though it didn't occur to me til he asked. My simple unexpected story started with an email we received the day before from a lady asking if we could give her tips on finishing a 20 year old quilt top with appliquéd hearts. She had found our website and liked the (very basic) article about finishing quilts. At the end of the email, she mentioned that she made the quilt top, but couldn't finish it back then due to reasons to difficult to talk about. Now, she would like to give it to her grown son. 

On...a plan

Is not having a plan, a plan? I think it can be. I happen to be a non-planner - or at least not a very good one. Kind of last minute, and I tend to miss a few of the details. I like to think that the creative part of me trumps the organizational part - or lack thereof, depending on how you look at it. 

On...Moving by Mondo

We made it to Oregon! Here are some pictures from the road while we (and Quiltsmart) get settled into our new home. Thanks for all your support!

On...Sentiment

Tarnished silver, but sparkling memories

While packing I have found that the little things go in little boxes but for numerous reasons take lots of time. The "jewelry" drawer doesn't really hold any of the jewelry that I actually wear, but it is a dimensional tribute to past mother's day trinkets of laminated pink hearts and ribbons, Christmas pins that still sparkle with reflection of my little boys eyes, bought with saved change and thoughts of it twinkling bright on my coat collar.
The beautiful silver souvenir I purchased in Mexico was worn a few times until it needed silver polish...and then, its home became the jewelry drawer for unworn jewelry...my own personal land of misfit "toys". 

On...Moving

The last few Saturday Blog mornings have come and gone a bit too quickly for me to write...traveling to Michigan, New York, Oregon, Ohio, Kentucky, in that order...in 3 weeks. Why? Shows, move planning, and a family wedding.  So, I am moving 2000 miles across country!  The small details amaze me - I think I have 20 boxes and suddenly they procreate like bunnies and there are 100...and that's not counting the office!

On...finding one's place

With two shows back to back, there is a lot to do in the office!  My little 10 year old Scottie dog, Candy, looks at me with big black eyes and doesn't seem to understand my late hours...but, then, neither do my kids who are way older than 10!  I can't take the kids to work with me (as they all have jobs of their own, though they would be very helpful in the office!), but I can take my little sweet Candy.  So in the car she went one morning when she donned particularly big sad eyes...and it was "off to work we go".

On... Art

Did you know On...Saturday Morning predates the blog? You can still see the original On...Articles at Quiltsmart.com. While you're there, pick yourself up some Practical Art wine shades (see what I did there?). Meanwhile, here's a blast from the past, one of the original On...Articles, On...Art!
 

The young artist with papier mache elephant

Growing up, I was an artist wanna be.  I drew all the time and everything, including my dog, the trees, fences, the kids I babysat for, my grandmother, the bikes, the landscapes and of course fruit. I was not that good at capturing the person I was drawing, but a pretty good likeness often did occur.  I painted too and dreamed of taking painting classes with the real artist across town.   

I was finally able to take up oil painting after I stunned my parents with overexcitement when I broke my wrist 3 weeks before a piano recital and would not be able to play.  I remember the art teacher fondly, Mary Bell Busher.  I was only 13 and her youngest student.  

On... "The Jellyroll Diet" Challenge

The jellyroll I used for my projects

I think of a "diet" as rules for a healthy life.  But, that could be a financial diet, an emotional diet, and....the one we usually think of - a nutritional diet.  Or, it can be a quilting diet.

But, how does one go on a quilt "diet" when surrounded with "jellyrolls, layer cakes, and candy bars"? Even thinking of these delicacies can turn us into "fat quarters" because thinking usually reverts to consumption.

On...Seeing Forever

(or is that sewing forever?) I've told my kids for years that if the time should come, I'd love a palmtree and an ocean outside my nursing home window. They have decided that a Hawaiian poster set under a window frame would do the trick. They are resourceful if not humorous.
When I am lucky enough to soak in a mountain view or stand beside the ocean (or Lake Michigan)...my heart and soul (not my car) are instantly calmed and everything seems possible. I wonder why that is.

On...Colorado Snapshot

  The only two rental cars left for "compact" (the car I choose for a trade show as it represents more of a challenge to me than a price break) were a black 4 door and, guess what! Yeah, an Alien Kia Soul! Alien...that is a green color that is appropriately named, I think.  It makes a great rental car...you can find it in any parking lot!

On the drive to Loveland, CO for the Rocky Mountain Quilt Festival, the mountains increase and the expanse of land east of the mountains is more than I am used to in Minnesota...Black-eyed Susans dot the sides of the country roads.

On...the road again!

Greetings from Loveland, CO and the Rocky Mountain Quilt Festival!

 

On...What color is your Palette?

The other day I was preparing kits for an upcoming class (Rocky Mountain Quilt Festival) with Tamey who noted that I should wear what I was wearing that day on the day of the class I would be teaching, "because the outfit matches the project".   I was wearing a red and yellow top - two colors I love.  I was attracted to the top at a vendor booth at a local festival.  And not surprisingly therefore to the fabrics for this project.  This made sense to me because I have been noticing when I teach classes how often the quilter's outfit coordinates with the fabrics picked out by the quilter. Of course, this won't happen when a fabric kit is provided...but if it does, then I instantly know that the quilter will like the kit!  

Picking out fabrics for a quilt has historically been a bit of a source of anxiety for me.  I just couldn't do it.  Too many choices!  Until a friend suggested that I use a palette.  I loved that idea!  I started out in the art field and felt comfortable there, but no matter the reason or if you are in the art field, the concept of the palette works.  I have now come to realize that if I like the colors on the palette, I will like the quilt made from those colors.  Ahhh....anxiety begone!