Moving - still moving - Quilting Alaska/Nebraska

Moving...........
A while back I mentioned that I was looking on Whidbey Island for a house.  I also said it was a woman's prerogative to change her mind.  As you know I change my mind.  I looked at Whidbey Island - it being an island it is limited on housing.  Property is expensive and scarce.  Trying to find that perfect home or even something close is just not happening.  I will say property taxes are reasonable in fact they are about 1/3 of what the taxes are in Iowa.  I am looking again at Iowa.  Property I can find but again that perfect house is just not happening.  Iowa has very high property tax, it is the 7th highest property tax state in the country.  I don't understand it, Iowa is cornfields.  Where is that money going?  There are a lot of words that I could say on the subject and at a later time I might do that.  I will continue to look for a house, and I will probably find one.  It certainly won't be my dream house. I am not rich, I cannot afford $500 plus a month for property tax.  It would be nice if I could have a few coins to buy quilt fabric. 

Speaking of quilt fabric...............
I have all the parts made for Alaska/Nebraska.  Today I start putting it together. 


On design board 1 - top of quilt
 

 



 

On design board 2 - bottom of quilt

The quilt will look better once it is sewn together.  Believe it or not there is a method to my madness.  This is a scrappy quilt, planned scrappy.  You can read more about this quilt in previous postings.

 

Alaska/Nebraska, and other things too................

Alaska/Nebraska

Alaska/Nebraska
 

Bottom of Alaska/Nebraska
 

I am making slow progress with this quilt, but it is coming together.  I now have the outside blocks finished and have started the center.  I do not have all the "borders" on the outside blocks as yet, so it may look like it is not "quite right."  Hopefully by the end of the month, the top will be done.  The picture to the right is the top of the quilt.  I could not get the whole quilt on the same design wall.  I am not tall enough.  Also, on this picture you can see I am  auditioning fabric.

The picture to the left is the bottom of the quilt on the second design wall. 





        
Sitting Bull
In 1984, my Aunt passed away.  The state of Arizona had made me first her guardian, then conservator and the executrix of her will.  I sold most of her things but there were a few things that did not sell and so thus I kept them.  These items are amongst my "treasures."  One of these treasures is a small dish.   I have looked at this dish for years wondering why there was an Indian decal on a dish made in Germany.  On the back of the dish it says Royal Saxe E S Germany.  The other day, I decided I was going to look this up to see if I could find anything.  I have made I think a pretty good guess.



Sitting Bull
 

On the front of the dish is the decal of an Indian and in very fine print it says Sitting Bull.  In about 1885 Sitting Bull was in jail.  He was released and went with the Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show to Europe.  This dish must be a souvenir of that show.  Sitting Bull had quite a history.  He was born in 1831. He became a Chief of the Sioux Indians, and was at the battle of Custer's Last Stand in 1876.   He killed his first buffalo at the age of 10. It makes me wonder what must have went through his mind about his life before he died.  He died when he was shot by Indian Police in 1890.  

How did my aunt get this dish?   In her things were many old things.  My guess is that they may have belonged to her grandmother.  Or I had a great grandfather and a grandfather from Denmark.  Back during that time, Denmark was sometimes part of Germany.  That is a part of my history that is lost forever.  Me, being a genealogist, I could kick myself a thousand ways for not being more inquisitive about things.  I grew up during the period of time when children were seen and not heard.  That went with me into my adult life.  So, a word of wisdom, if you have something old and you do not know the history, ask someone.  Once they are gone, that information is gone. And, be sure to document it somewhere.  If nowhere else, put it in your Bible. 

A bird came to visit...........
My office has wonderful windows and outside these windows are large bushes cut like trees.  The birds love them.

In the last few days, I have had visitors.  They will show up for a day or so and then they are gone.  This little birdie, one of many, I managed to get his picture.  I need to look in my bird book to see what he is.  He has interesting markings.  At the tip of his tail it is bright yellow for about a quarter of an inch.  His breast is pale yellow and he has interesting eye markings.  I think they are gone now, but they will come back, maybe in the fall when the birds fly south. 

Hope you all have a wonderful day..............  

Change is in the Air

Moving.......
I have heard that women have the prerogative to change their minds.  I am sure by this time most people think that I am over doing it or have just gone bonkers.  Change is in the air............ I have done it again.  I have a new destination for my move.  At the moment, and if I can find a house, I am moving to Whidbey Island, WA.  Why, why, why............My son lives there and my grandchildren, I have a daughter in Spokane and a son in Vista, CA.  All much closer than Louisiana or Iowa.  It would have been nice to go to Iowa, it is my roots, but they have had a winter that I would rather not experience, so when #1 son said come to Whidbey, and I do love Whidbey, I said, "why not?"  I am house hunting.  Come back, see what happens in this little saga. 

Quilting..........
In 2012 I went to Alaska and in 2013 I went to Nebraska.  If you would like to know the stories and see the pictures go to the label section and find Alaska and then Nebraska.   Of course I went to quilt shops and shopped and shopped.

Alaska - Nebraska
 

I decided that I was going to make a quilt using only the fabric that I bought on those two trips.  This is a Judy Neimeyer pattern with a slight adjustment.  When this quilt is farther along I will fill you in on what I am doing with the fabric.  I am making slow progress and that is because I have my head on a move instead of on quilting, but, hopefully before I do move I will have this quilt done.  I have put these blocks on this design board in no particular order.  There is many more to go. 

Hope you have a good day.

More About Nebraska Trip and Etc.............

One of the highlights of our trip was our visit to Fabric Essentials in Concordia, KS.  The shop was on the Shop Hop.  The girls were a joy to talk with and we had ever so much fun going through and looking at the 6000 plus bolts of fabric that they have. 



Willey and Billy at Fabric Essentials, Concordia, KS

 

We decided to eat in Concordia.  There was a mom & pop restaurant across the street.  The food was very good.   On the way over to the restaurant we passed (across the street) this building.  I don't know what it was built for originally or what is in it today , but it was very interesting.  It looked like it had been there a very long time. 

Building - Concordia, KS
 

I have been busy quilting everyday.  It is hot outside, so thus the best thing to do is to stay in where it is cool and quilt.   This is the first block of my Alaska - Nebraska quilt.  In one of my postings  I think I mentioned that I was going to make this quilt.  The idea was to combine the batiks that I bought last year when I was in Alaska with the batiks that I bought this year on my trip to and from Nebraska.   If you look close, The fabric on the outside is bears and bear paws.   Next week, I hope to have several squares finished.  Hopefully it will be an interesting quilt when it is done.  The pattern is a Judy Neimeyer.  I have added a "border" to the block.  When I received the pattern I realized it wasn't exactly what I wanted, and it would "chop up" my Alaska animal fabric.  So thus I am adding a border to each outside block so that you can see the animals and etc. 

I took this picture in my backyard.  We have many Cardinals and Blue Jays.  These are Cardinals.  I would assume mama and papa.  There were several in the bushes and trees.  My office has little trees (really bushes that look like trees) in front and to the side of it.  It is a lovely view.  I have the pleasure of bird watching.  I get lots of birds and most I don't know what they are.  I assume some migrate in from other places.   You may want to click on this to make it larger. 

Hope all is well with you.


What is Meaner Then a Junk Yard Dog?



Moose #1 in town



Moose #2 at cabin

What is meaner then a junk yard dog?  A moose....

 During my trip to Alaska we saw at least one everyday we were there.  They are munching on new grass.  It was a long winter for them.  Alaska set a record for snowfall this year at about 315 inches of snow.  That is a lot of snow.  I understand that the moose would walk up on top of the piles of snow (from cleaning roadways, drives, and etc) and munch on the trees,  so the grass must taste good.  Nearly every moose I saw was eating grass like there was no tomorrow.   As you drive down the roadways you can see where the trees have been eaten away.  These animals are large, very large, and what I have been told very mean, they will kill you.  In other words you cannot give them a hug.  The first picture I took of one was walking around the town of Kenai.  This girl had to be a young one.  It was pretty small.  Even being small I would not have wanted to run into her in a dark alley.  Moose #2 came to visit at the cabin.  He was thirsty and drank a lot from the lake.



Moose #3 at cabin

Moose #3 was big.  I took her picture from inside the cabin.  She was much too close to go outside to do it.  I went from room to room taking her picture.  She was a hungary girl.  She just kept munching on grass as she went. 

I have many pictures of moose.  If I can figure out how to do a "flicker" I will add it to the bottom of my blog.

Alaska Batik Fabric
Alaska/Nebraska quilt

Fabric
Alaska/Nebraska Quilt

During my visits to the quilt shops I picked up enough pieces of fabric mostly 1/2 yards to make an Alaska quilt.  I thought it would be nice to make a quilt only from fabric that I had purchased in Alaska and to note it on my label.  These are all batiks.  They had a few that had been made for Alaska.  As you can see from the prints they have, bears, wolves, moose, puffins  fish and etc.  The fabrics are lovely. 

For more on Alaska check the previous posting and this will be continued............