UFO no more

I have a box of UFO's (unfinished objects) in my sewing room.  At the Modern Quilt sew in recently I pulled one out and finished!  It is a selection of Laura Ashley fabrics just done in random square in square format but it's done.  Amazing how this looks like new material - it's not. 

Prairie in fall

I live close to and volunteer at Shaw Nature Reserve in Gray Summit MO.  Several years ago they reestablished a tall grass prairie and have approximately 100 acres of it.  It is managed with fire.  It is truly spectacular in the fall.  We play games with the kids who come out for classes and they literally can hide in the tall grass.  There is a tipi and a sod house on the prairie too. 

Thatched roof and a sheepdog named Rufus

Rufus was raised at a rescue farm with horses so he thinks carrots are a special treat

At the end of my recent trip to England I went to visit a friend from junior high (when it was junior high and not middle school), Lynn and her lovely husband Neil.  They have lived in England for 35+ years.  Although I have seen her occasionally in the states and kept in touch sort of I had never been to visit.  Two other friends from the same time period met me there.  Lynn and Neil live in a 400 year old bakehouse with a thatched roof.  Their dog Rufus is their 4th sheepdog.  What a charming visit we had catching up about families and kids, reminiscing about the things we did in high school.  These shall not be mentioned here just on the outside chance any of our children read these posts.  Just goes to show that sometimes our friends from very far back can reconnect quickly like time has not passed.  I'm hoping they will come to visit me.  Here are a few of the house and Glinton.

The Old Bakehouse

I got to ride a bit while there. 

Candy, Allison & Anne at the pub

Need I say anything?  It's a 1929 Alfa Romeo and we looked hot going for a country ride in it. 

Pinterest

OK I stumbled upon this somewhere.  Turns out a lot of friends already know about it.  Go there and check it out.  You make "bulletin" boards of different categories and then when you find a picture you love while you are surfing you can put it on your board.  Saves the links.  Genius.  Addicting.  Watch out.  Oh yeah, you can follow your friends boards too.  pinterest.com

Stephanie Redfern

While at the Twisted Thread show in Birmingham, UK, we ran across an artist that just blew us away.  Nancy came running to find me to tell me I had to see this book.  She was right.  We also met Stephanie (a thoroughly delightful lady) and saw her at work.  I have found she has a blog and a website and will follow her closely.  Her works spoke to me.  I came home with some of her cards but would have like something larger if I could have carried it home safely.  Anyway, back to the book.  She created a fiber, mixed media book called Stone Bird.  It started from a fossil and she said it just grew on it's own.  The book itself had roughly 24" pages, trimmed in canvas with paint, ink, fiber and more.  You could turn the pages with gloves on and enjoy it.  She also had a quilt hanging in the show.  I have posted several of our pictures here.  Enjoy. 

Her web site is www.sredtextiles.co.uk

Home from England and...

Although I have been home for two weeks from a fabulous England trip I have also been back and forth to Chicago for a college student and then hosting family after a funeral so it seems that I am just catching up.  I had hoped to blog more from England but found the wifi connections to be difficult to find at times so just decided to wait until I got home.  I did want to share a few of my favorite quilt pictures from the Twisted Threads show in Birmingham, England though.  More on that later.  I am sorry I can not give credit to the makers of these quilts.  I didn't keep track.  These were just a few of my favorites in a wonderful show.
Things I notices there:  very contemporary, lots of printing and painting on fabric, makers from many places on the European continent, lots of gray & yellow, beautiful displays of individual artists. 

e-quilter mention

Imagine my surprise as I was paging thru e-quilter's blog by Luana Rubin and I saw my quilt from the Sacred Threads show.  Quite a complement actually.  You can follow to her link here: 
http://luanarubin.typepad.com/luana-rubin/2011/07/sacred-threads.html

She also is going to the Birminham Quilt Show so maybe I will meet her.  I am so looking forward to seeing a quilt show in another country.  I'm going to meet up with Annedore from Germany.  I bought her Eric Clapton quilt at the SAQA auction a few years ago and we have kept in touch since.  I hope to spend some time with her at the SAQA booth.  Great way to get to know new people.