Not So Wordless Wednesday (La Conner, WA)

We saw our first juvenile Bald Eagle!  He was sitting in the tree on Lone Tree Beach.  A popular spot for Eagles hunting for fish.  Except for his feathers and beak, he looks full grown.

Caught plucking out his white feathers.

And like most typical teenagers, he is in a hurry to grow up and be an adult.  I watched him pluck quite a few of his white feathers out.

Practicing his Regal pose

And to prove he was an adult, he did several regal poses just to impress his viewers.

Lone Tree Beach

California Poppies

On The Cutting Board

Introducing Bear Lee an Angel

Bear Lee is not perfect as you can tell from his crooked halo and droopy wings tied on with twine,....

I used high quality muslin of 200 count

....but that doesn’t keep him from trying with all his heart to put a smile on everyone’s face.

His heart is filled with his favorites: berries and flowers.  A friend visiting Alaska told me about her experience of watching a black bear grazing on dandelion heads.  It had me wondering how many dandelion heads does it take to fill a black bear?

all hand-stitched embroidery

Of course, my flower doesn't look like a dandelion, but I would like to think that Bear Lee would enjoy a variety of flowers to munch.

I used coffee to stain the muslin

Twine is used to keep Bear Lee's wings on his back and his halo upright

Batik backing on the wings for a nice finished look

• Body ~ 16 inches long (doesn't include halo)
• Sitting ~ 12 inches tall  (doesn't include halo)
• Wing span ~ 14 inches
• Heart ~ 2 3/4 x 2 1/4 inches

Bear Lee's arms and legs have minimal movement.
He can stand or sit.

So, what do you think?  Would you pay $35 for him?  Too much?  Too little?  I plan to post Bear Lee in Etsy soon.  I need to work on his photos.  They are not the best.  My light box is too small for him.  Maybe an outdoor photo shoot would be better.

Once Bear Lee has sold I plan to make another one.  I think I'm going to try a different bear pattern.  In the meantime, I'm also thinking of creating some more crazy quilt items.  I had a lot of fun creating Bear Lee's wings and heart.

Happy Quilting!

A Stitch Before Dying (La Conner, WA)

A Stitch Before Dying by Anne Canadeo
This is #3 in the Black Sheep Knitters cozy murder mystery.  This time Maggie - owner and teacher of the Black Sheep Yarn Shop is invited to teach at a new age health spa at a mountain resort over a weekend and she is able to bring all her friends from the knitting circle along for free room and board.  I'd like to have Maggie as my friend.

So, you are probably wondering what a knitting instructor would be teaching at a new age health spa.  Yea, me too!  Meditative knitting or as Anne Canadeo put it - Is knitting the new yoga?  I'll probably stick with my yoga practice, but I do understand where she is going with this idea.  I think anything a person does with their hands that has them meditating to a point of calming their mind, getting rid of their anxieties, and slowing down their heart can give a person a zen feeling.  I often pull out my quilting or crocheting when I am worried.  It is nice to keep my hands busy and let my mind roam free...soon I am breathing deeply and my shoulders have relaxed.

Okay, back to the story.  So, the Black Sheep Knitters are sharing their meditative knitting when one of the guests is found dead....yes, murdered.  Suddenly, the new age health spa doesn't feel so healthy and the zen moment is gone. What's even worse is the fact that no one can leave and that probably includes the murder.   Of course, that doesn't keep Maggie and the others from their knitting with an open invitation for all guests to come join them as they stitch together the clues of who done it.

Source: etsy.com via Sandy on Pinterest

Not only did I enjoy reading this book, I also learned something new. Anne is real good about slipping in lessons about the knitting world while she entertains her readers with her story. This time I learned about Random Knitting. After doing some online searching, I found a perfect website with great examples in Knot Just Knitting and it turns out Prudence is also selling her PDF patterns in Etsy! As you can see from the photos from Etsy via Pinterest, she does some fabulous work. It sort of reminds me of crazy quilting.

Source: etsy.com via Sandy on Pinterest

According to Maggie, you just stitch whatever you feel like doing. If you want to see what can be made from this free-form knitting, click on this Gallery link or the one above. Prudence has some examples of clothing and handbags. They are gorgeous! But, I'm not taking up knitting. I can get plenty of meditative time with my quilting and embroidery projects.

On the Cutting Board
Speaking of quilting....I put it aside for the last couple of day to sew together this little bear.  I finished putting him together last night.

I'm not quite done with him though.  I'm going to give him a coffee bath to age him a little.  I used some high-quality muslin with a tight weave and a 200-thread count.  I hope the coffee gives the muslin a good stain.

Oh, and the bear also has something to do with the crazy quilt from the last post.  If all goes well, this project will be done in time for the next posting.  ;0)

So peaceful

Happy Quilting!

Crazy Quilting in La Conner (La Conner, WA)

We traded in our 2005 Subaru WRX for a 2012 Honda Fit Sport with 5 speed automatic transmission. We made the trade on Monday and so far, we are quite happy with it.

Dan's left ankle has been deteriorating over the years, and we needed to move from a manual transmission with clutch to an automatic transmission. Cars with automatic transmissions that can be towed four wheels down behind motorhomes is much more limited than manual transmission cars.

The Honda Fit is small, light weight, handles well, and has good interior space for a small car. I like how sharp it turns. The best part is that I no longer need the seat all the way forward to push the clutch all the way to the floor. Oh! And shifting! I don’t mind manual driving, but I am so happy to have an automatic.

We will miss the all wheel drive of the Subaru, and the turbo charged engine power. The turbo Subaru did require premium fuel though. It will be nice to use lower price regular fuel in the Honda, and more miles per gallon as well.

La Conner, WA
We moved to La Conner, WA yesterday - Wednesday. We were so happy to be back that as soon as we setup our site and ate lunch, we went for a quick walk. I wanted to look for the residential Bald Eagles and Dan wanted to look at a couple of different sites since we are thinking of staying 3 weeks here.

Dan sighted two Eagles sitting up high in the trees near the bay…all right! Of course, I did not have my camera and had a prior engagement to walk two of the four cats before they tore up the rig trying to get outside. And they swear they are not spoiled.

After the cats did their exploring and were happy enough with their outdoor time, I headed back to the bay thinking that I would not be so lucky the second time around. The Bald Eagle was still there and he had his wings out. I’m not sure if he was hot or drying off his feathers…hmm either way it made for a good shot. I just wish the sun was not behind him at the time, but better than no photo at all.

Do you see Mama?

Maaaaa!  We're hungry!

On my way back, there were quite a few song birds singing their favorite tunes. My favorite photo was of the baby birds waiting for Mama Bird to return. I was hoping to get a couple of photos of her feeding them. When she did return, she would not feed them with me standing under the tree so I left.

On The Cutting Board
Here’s a sneak peak at what I have been working on lately. It is a Crazy Quilt made from Batiks. I wanted the background to be more subtle so the embroidery showed up a little better.

I don’t want to say what this project is...... just yet.

Happy Quilting!

Crazed over UFO Quilts

Done! Finished!
The best part about being retired is having the time to finish my unfinished objects (UFO).

This crazy quilt sat in my closet for 5 years. I almost gave it away at our garage sale. It was too big for our motorhome and our small 2-ft tree. I decided if I trimmed it down, I could still use it. Once I trimmed the skirt down, I felt like the skirt was more manageable to work on.

Squirrel is inspecting the finished Crazy Christmas Tree Skirt

Little Angels

Some buttons

Bullion stitches.

Traditional spider web

Ribbon stitches

This is a Mckenna Ryan design called "Beary & Bright". I love her quilts. I decided to do painted threads after buying Melinda Bula's "Cutting Garden Quilts". I liked the idea of adding my own quilting designs for a different look. I added loops to the corners so I can hang the wall quilt in our front windshield with suction cups.

I'm ready for Christmas!