Katie's Mission Call

 Katie's mission call arrived and she arranged to have Tyler on the phone so he could hear her open it. We have been enjoying Katie for all of 8 days since she arrived home from London study abroad. The Christmas tree is set up and the flurry of deadline quilting, Christmas concerts, and present wrapping is in full swing.

When she announced she would be serving in England London South, I fell off the piano bench. I was laughing so hysterically, Tyler probably couldn't hear at all.

She will report to the England MTC on April 22, 2011 and serve for 18 months.

Wool Quilt for Mom

 My friend Cathy introduced me to this wool & flannel quilt pattern and I was smitten. We each made one. However, I couldn't use much of anything in my stash. 

Since it was very thick, it was difficult to quilt on the machine. My mom loved it even though San Diego doesn't need a lot of wool. Nana grew up in the San Gabriel mountains and still feels cold in the winter months.

How do Chains work?

Since the snow was impeding travel, we decided it was time for a chains demonstration. Everyone had to be trained how to install chains on the Golf and Jetta. This looks like a sales pitch!

Early Snowfall

I was bringing Calvin home from the dentist with a carload of Thanksgiving food when an ice storm hit. We couldn't drive straight through at Terry's Corner because a bus was blocking the intersection. So we decided to turn left. After a few hundred feet of moderate climbing, we stopped. No one could get up this hill without chains, and with a cliff to the left, the woman who is sideways wouldn't accept assistance.

So after a half hour, we were able to back down slowly to the bottom of the hill and turn around in someone's driveway. This was the view going the other direction. Eventually, we made it to 532, crossed over, and parked at the library. Since the weather was so bad, we figured the turkey would be fine in the car. Then we hiked back where we were and on to the Huff's. Dad came and picked me up (Calvin stayed overnight for fun) and on the way home he had to get out in front of the Zinkands to put chains on the car. I was so grateful for his strength because it was crazy blowing cold out there.

Quilt Design Class

I found a perfect class for me! Lorraine Torrence is teaching Art Design at Quiltworks in Bellevue. Although she's been teaching this for 20 years, I am now at the point of noticing. I want to do something original! So our first assignment was to make a few quilts showing symmetry and asymmetry. I used a simple leaf for each one so they could be a series. Then I manipulated them a bit to engage the viewer.

This is an example of radial symmetry. All of the inside pieces are fused. The blue is supposed to represent the earth.

The following asymmetrical piece was the hardest. How do you achieve balance without symmetry? I drew this piece in my sketchbook about 25 times. At the class, Lorraine suggested I paint a little yellow in the green leaves to add more color balance. Also, I should cut off 2-3" inches of the left side. I'm good with that.

Next month our assignment is to create 5 or 6 quilts with asymmetry by copying the masters. I think I will attempt a Cezanne landscape.

Quilt Photos

It's been years since I was able to take a good picture. I had a good camera, but all the hanging and the lighting is a pain to set up. So I put together my own little photo session.

Pattern from: Meadowbrook Quilts: 12 Projects Inspired by Nature. I created this using freezer paper patterns in three sizes. During General Conference I turned the edges under with Roxanne's glue baste-it. Then I took them to the machine and used monofilament and a tiny zig-zag machine to stitch them to background fabric. I love working with batiks because they don't stretch out of shape.

Pattern: Hip to Be Square. I didn't need this pattern, but just looked at the design and made it. These are all fabrics I have hand-dyed myself. I quilted it to death and gave it to my sister, Jerri.

Pattern: Eleanor Burns' Grandmother's Garden Quilt. Using lots of different appliqué techniques, it features 3-D flowers using batik fabrics. Some of the flowers are even stuffed with batting.

Howard Preparing

Trying to take a picture of Howard for his mission is a challenge. He makes every dramatic pose except the "Responsible Adult" pose. Eventually we got a great one, but why show it here?

Katie Always Reading

Katie was home for all of two weeks. Still, it was enough to get her immunization shots, fix her teeth, and buy her luggage. She flew to London on August 31 for BYU Study Abroad through December. We will miss you but are excited to hear about her adventures overseas.

Painted Quilt

 I decided to make use of some fabric paints I had been given. I took a piece of fabric to the longarm and quilted it to death. Then I sat down and colored in all the parts. 

I was surprised by the amount of time this took. It's a small piece and still took hours and hours of coloring.

Katie helped me too when she was home for a while.

Extra Firewood

 We had such an excess of firewood that we decided to sell a cord or two. Luckily, we have a log splitter that attaches to the tractor. The kids wanted to earn some summer money and they were quite successful.

New Golf!

I have entered a new realm. It's the TDI world! Now Paul and I have almost-matching diesels. Of course, he has 340,000 miles and I only have 150,000, but I'm not comparing. It's a sporty little thing that gets 52 mpg which is good for my wanderings.

Frazier turns 16!

Frazier is now officially 16 years old. This means dating and driving are now options. Calvin gave Frazier this cool shirt that says, "Shut Up, Fool!" I don't know if that will be helpful.

Marnie's Ballet Recital

We raced back from San Diego, flung Katie out the door in Provo, and arrived home in time for Marnie's ballet recital. She danced to Stray Cat Strut with gusto.

Then she was a little ballerina in Rain, Rain, Go Away. Ballet has been a great class for her and she will be continuing in the fall.

Disneyland in a Day

After planning for 3 months, we hit Disneyland for one thrilling day. I used RideMax to optimize our ride schedule, which resulted in 28 rides in 14.5 hours. We rode until we didn't want to ride anymore. The Dole Whips were delicious and the weather, perfect. Because of the Give a Day promotion, we did it on the cheap. We had 6 free tickets!

Space Mountain for the third time makes Howard crazy! But we'd all be screaming in a few minutes. It was almost everyone's favorite ride of the day.

Paul is worried that Jack is going to spin him into infinity! And beyond! We all tried our best to pass out from the spinning.

The Haunted Mansion doesn't seem to be frightening the kids much. It was still early in the morning so we walked right in. That meant we missed the line that wanders through the graveyard. We didn't stand in many lines.