Monday, June 16, 2014

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.

 

Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Genealogy --- Crago variations and McGahey variations of names

In the right column, under Genealogy, I have added a paragraph.  If you are doing genealogy, or you know people with those surnames, please read it, just in case you might have some information for me.  I would really like to find these people and what their relationship was if any.  We are talking in the period of time around 1750 to roughly 1850.   Contact me through my email address.  Thanks a bunch.

Monday, March 31, 2014

Kittie Kats

My daughter is an artist and she lives in Spokane, Washington.  She has just started a shop on Etsy.  You might want to stop in and take a look.  Here is an example of what you will find.

Ellen's  etsy store is: www.etsy.com/shop/EllenPaulsonArtist

Ellen's art facebook is: www.facebook.com/ArtbyEllenPaulson
 

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

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..............  

Saturday, February 8, 2014

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.

Saturday, January 4, 2014

A New Year...............


Christmas and New Years............
Hope everyone had a  Merry Christmas and have a great New Year. 

I had a nice holiday, a Merry Christmas and the dogs, cats and I watched the festivities at Times Square and listened to my neighbors blow up their money.  I have never understood this, people so willing to blow up their hard earned cash.  I guess because I grew up in a state where it was illegal to have fireworks unless they were done by the city, state, or county I have just never understood the want to take the risk of possibly blowing off your hand.  When I lived in California, my son had a friend living in the house behind us.  He had a terrible accident and lost most of his hand.  I guess I just find it scary.

New on the quilting front............
X Marks the Spot
 
X Marks the Spot
 
This is one of my "quick quilts" to use up stash.  I had this line of fabric "Fandango" in my stash for some time.  I would look at it every now and then and think how pretty it was, but it was also very busy.  I would think what am I going to do with this and stuck it back on the shelf.   I was looking through a Quilt Sampler magazine.  That is probably my favorite quilt magazine.  In one of the pictures there was a quilt hanging.  Only about one block was showing going down the quilt.  It did not have borders.  This quilt was busy.  I thought maybe "Fandango" would work in this quilt.  I call this quilt, "X Marks the Spot."  You have to look hard.  See it?????  Here is a hint - it is brown going top left to bottom right and yellow top right to bottom left. Also going across the rows - top row: red, blue, red, blue etc - 2nd row: blue, red, blue, red etc.  This should be a quick quilt, notice I said should be.  I always get delayed trying to figure the right pattern of the fabric with the right color of the fabric.  It slows me down a bit.   In the second picture, I have the corner.  I put the binding fabric under the quilt corner so you can get an idea of what it will look like when it is finished. 

My next "quick" quilt is going to be "dotty."  I have always wanted to make a "dotty" quilt.  I have been saving polka dots and anything that looked like it might be a dot for a very long time.   I don't think it will be very quick, but hopefully, maybe in a month or so I will have it finished. 

Hope all is well with you.........