Memorial Day 2010

I am looking forward to this Memorial Day Monday. I'll be visiting my mother and we'll attend the services and the wreath throwing that takes place at the bridge. We'll have lunch at the local Senior Citizens Center and then she is going to return to spend a few days with me. I am really looking forward to this and fortunately I am feeling somewhat better so all should be well. My blogging may not be very regular for the next week or so as we will be out and about or just here at home enjoying some stitching and crafting projects. I'll check in when I can. :-)

Have a lovely weekend!
Sandi

Wishing I were Nancy Drew.....

and then I would be able to solve this allergic reaction problem that I'm having. A fever has been added to the mix and my doctor took me off the antibiotic because I could be allergic to that. I was convinced it was bug bites from those Noseum/sand fleas that I stirred up when taking my quilt pics on the line. The doctor says my rash is too widespread for it to be bug bites. All I know is I'm hot, but I'm cold and I itch. He put me on a Prednisone drug to get rid of the rash and gave me something for itching relief. Must admit, I feel awful. Even being at the computer isn't fun. I might not be blogging much til I get over this.
There is good news, though...........I won a Charm pack in a drawing at RJR fabrics. Can hardly wait to get it!! Not because I need more fabric but because they said it will be perfect for me based on my answer which I can't remember now. It's this stuffy head. Brain can't function. I won a copy of Quiltmaker Small quilts the other day just for commenting. Before I found blogs and such, I barely ever won anything. Always something to look forward to in blogging.

And, I promised pics of the finished projects and here they are..........the little wallhanging from a Pat Sloan design.................
The border fabrics has the names of herbs printed on it and the minute I saw it, I knew I would use it with this block design. I'm going to send this one along to Pandora for her Quilts in Bloom show. And then this is the baby quilt that is a donation quilt........

I decided to give it a little extra "fuss" and instead of just sewing the binding by machine, I did blanket stitch all the way around in Perle cotton. I've had that lavendar train print fabric in my stash since the 1980's. Always wanted to use it but never had a project til now. As I was stitching the binding I realized that I should tie the blocks in the center as well as at each corner, so I'll do that tomorrow. Maybe. It will depend on how I feel. :-)

Have a good day!

Sandi

I really did go for a ride on a camel.........

Here's the proof............

These photos were taken in November, 1998 by my husband, Steve. We had just eaten lunch at a little cafe in a small village northwest of the city of Antalya, Turkey. Nearby there was a gentleman with a camel who was offering rides for a fee. My husband was insistent that I go for a ride on a camel. He felt that I shouldn't return to the states without having ridden on a camel. So I did. Sometimes I protest a lot, as he comes up with things that I am just not crazy about doing......like riding the "Bigshot" that's on the top of that hotel out in Las Vegas. I watched it. No one would ever convince me to get on that ride. The camel, however, was a different story. It was sitting and so with help from the camel's owner, I was seated upon it's back and then he commanded the camel to rise slowly.............

and then we rode off into the sunset............... :-)

It was actually a very nice ride and so I was able to return to the states and say....."yes, I visited Turkey and went for a ride on a camel". During that trip, we shopped in the local stores and markets, and visited many ruins and museums, and walked where so many famous people from history had worked and lived. I absolutely loved our trip there and wish that we could return one day. Sadly, that's not likely as my husband doesn't travel as much anymore, but good dreams never die.

As I was searching for the camel photos, I realized that were a lot of photos of interesting sites so I'm thinking that every so often, I'll share a picture or two about that trip. If I can't visit again in person, I'll just relive the trip that we already took!!

I was going to post a pic of my finished projects from this post but I never got to taking the pictures yesterday. That was because I was so busy looking at pictures from our Turkey trip and then I spent the afternoon printing the postcard invites for our family reunion in July. I added the mailing labels and took them to the post office and they are in the mail and on their way to family members!!! It's a "finish", although, not a "quilty finish". As I walked out of the post office, I decided to walk across the street and treat myself to some ice cream at Toody's Sweets and Treats. It was delish!!

I'll have pictures to share tomorrow ..... for sure!
Have a great day!

Sandi

What's on the line?

Good morning, Monday! Time to see "what's on the line" today and I think you can tell by this photo, that we are not in my backyard!

No, this quilt is hanging on a really high clothesline in the yard of my friend, Pandora. The picture was taken last summer during the "Quilts in Bloom" show that she hosts in her gardens. This is one of my favorite quilts that Pandora has made and I really want to make one similar to this as I have so many floral fabrics that would be perfect for this quilt.

If you are a regular follower of my blog, you all know that this past February I shared (with Pandora's permission) photos of the quilts that were displayed in her garden last summer. I had planned to share the photos right after the quilt show in June but sometimes the "best laid plans" do not happen like you think they will. I injured my back last summer and it took me weeks to get back to normal (however, is there really a "normal"?). More on "best laid plans" in a minute. But first, if you would like to see lots of quilts on the line, in the trees, and even little ones nestled in the flower beds like those you see in the photo below..............

all you have to do is go here , here , and here to see the beautiful quilts made by Pandora and friends. Pandora is one of my crazy quilting friends. I should explain......we met when she came to a retreat that I hosted and then she joined our evening crazy quilting group. Then some of us decided we wanted to start an afternoon crazy quilting group, and so....... we are, as many of you know........the Tuesday Crazies! Oh, and we do have a crazy, good quilting time together!

Now, if you live anywhere near the Twin Cities in Minnesota, you might want to check out the quilts that Pandora will have on display in her backyard this coming June. Just go here for information on this year's event.

Last thing for this post relates to those "best laid plans" I mentioned earlier. I had made really good plans to go to Quilt Market in Minneapolis this past weekend. I had a list of booths I wanted to visit, blogging friends I wanted to meet, vendors I wanted to check out. I even printed up some new business cards in case they were needed. I was ready to prowl the aisles, enjoy all those quilts and stitcheries and just plain observe. And then........those "best laid plans" were tossed out the window because of that allergy reaction I mentioned in last Friday's post. It didn't get better, it just got worse. I was in no condition to prowl the aisles of a supermarket let alone Quilt Market. I know because on Saturday, I did a "trial run" to the supermarket for more soothing skin care products and one hour out and about, just about did me in. I was very bummed to think that Quilt Market was so close and I was so not going to be able to go there. :-(

I did manage to do a bit of stitching each day on a little quilt that I'll share at Pandora's Quilts in Bloom show, so it wasn't a total loss these last few days. In fact, it kept me sane to at least stitch a little bit. I'll take pictures later today and show you the quilt in my next post. And for today..........I see more stitching and less itching. I'm better now but not clear of symptoms. In fact, I'm not all that sure the allergy is to the medication. I think it began with a bug bite, and like my grandpa who was severely allergic to bee stings, I think I got stung by the wrong bug. Something similar happened last May. I've made some notes and will be calling my doctor with some info because I don't think I could go through this again.

Here's wishing you a very good Monday, a wonderful start to a great week!
Sandi

A "Turkish Delight" for Amy's Blogger's Quilt Festival!

Blogging offers us so many opportunities to share our creative endeavors and Amy is providing yet another one with her Blogger's Quilt Festival! This is her third year and I decided that this year, I would share one of my favorite quilts called.....

"Turkish Delight"

This is not a large quilt, just a small wallhanging that measures about 21" x 27". The label that I made for the back of the quilt says....

"Turkish Delight - 2000"

An original design based on patterns found

in Persian carpets. All stitching done by hand.

Made by Sandi Andersen

"Shop 'til you drop"

Millennium Challenge Contest - Twin Cities 1999-2000

The fabrics in the quilt are from Ginny Beyer's Millennium fabrics from the year 2000. Entrants had to purchase a fat quarter pack of the fabrics and use them in a quilt that represented the observance of the Millennium. All entries would be displayed at the Minnesota Quilter's Show that year and there was a prize of $500 for the winning quilt. As I worked on the quilt, my husband asked if I thought I could win. I said "oh, no, there will be other quilts that will be better than mine, but my quilt will be displayed at the Minnesota Quilter's Show and that is something I would love to see".

There was a special inspiration for making this quilt. In 1998, my husband had to make a business trip to Turkey and because it was the year of our 30th wedding anniversary, it was decided I would go along and we would add a week and enjoy a visit to southern Turkey. We stayed in the city of Antalya. It was a wonderful trip and I enjoyed visiting museums and shops and I loved the Turkish rugs. We even bought a small one to bring home as a remembrance of that trip. So with that inspiration, I designed my quilt.
Here is a close-up of the center design.......

I did needle-turn applique on the center medallion and then quilted with gold thread. I did an embroidery stitch around the medallion in a black and gold twist floss. The label on the back of the quilt is actually a pocket and inside the pocket is a note that I wrote on fabric that explains my thoughts in designing this piece......

When I saw the packets of Challenge fabrics, I was reminded of my wedding colors - 1968 - olive green and ice blue. Second thing I was reminded of was our 30th anniversary trip to Turkey. I was fascinated by the colors and the patterns in the rugs. I bought two books on the history of the rugs and their symbols and we also bought a rug for our living room. One day in January, I was looking at the rug after having read about some of it's symbols. I suddenly realized how similar the designs were to our quilt patterns and I wondered.......Did some of our designs we stitch today, come from women who drew inspiration from their carpets?
Some of the designs I incorporated (names found in the books I bought) were the "Wheel of Fortune" symbol , the blocks in all four corners......the "Rose" in the center, and above and below it, the "Clover".......and to each side, the "Hyacinth". There are four red "poppies" and in each corner, a "triangle of charm". There are five borders that symbolize "earth, sky, water, holiness, productivity and fertility". In the outer border are six "eye beads" to ward off evil. The colors of blue, green, meadow saffron and deep red are common to the Turkish carpets. The blue fabric especially reminded me of the ruins we visited (on our trip) in what was once "the Cradle of Civilization".

I remember that as we visited historic sites and ruins on that visit to Turkey thinking......."wow, I am standing in places that I read about as a young girl growing up in Iowa." I could not believe that I had been so fortunate as to visit such an exotic and lovely place that I had read about in books. I even rode a camel. I'll see if I can find my pictures and share that one with you.

That's my quilt and story for Amy's Blogger Quilt Festival. If you have a quilt to share, just go here and you'll find all the info you need to add your quilt and story. Thanks, Amy, for doing this!

Now I'm off to find that box of pictures so I can show you I really did ride a camel!

Sandi

Almost forgot to mention......I didn't win but my quilt was displayed at MN Quilter's Show along with 24 other quilts made from the challenge fabrics. The winning quilt was a "stunner" that incorporated applique work of Cleopatra, the asp, a pyramid and other symbols from that time. I got a nice note and a compliment from the judges for my "lovely use of the red in the quilt". I was very happy. :-)

Finishing projects!

I have a couple of projects that I have been trying to finish up this week. I'm in Pat Sloan's Quilt Mash Up group (go here for Pat's blog) and she's currently challenging us to a "May FIU Challenge". Several members are making headway toward finishing projects. I just have three little projects I want to finish............

This is a block from Pat's Farmer's Market Quilt and all I want to do is make into a little wallhanging with the fabrics you see in the picture. I did get the handquilting done around the pots, so at least I got some sewing done tonight.
Then there's this baby quilt that needs only a binding. It's a donation quilt that I started more than a year ago.

The third project that I want to finish is the binding on my pink and green quilt. However, this week did not go as planned so I thought I'd let you know that while I've been "itchin' to stitch", it just hasn't happened. Instead, I find that all I do is itch because I had an allergic reaction to a medication that my doctor prescribed. Yes, it has been an interesting week. Per doctors orders, I stopped taking the medication. For relief from the itching I took Benadryl and that helped some, so did a vinegar bath and lots of calamine lotion. However, it wasn't until after midnight last night that I finally felt I was itching less and finally able to stitch instead of itch! LOL! Sorry, I just couldn't resist. So, if I'm lucky, I'll finish the little wallhanging and the baby quilt by Sunday and then next week, finally I will stitch the binding on my pink and green quilt! I have a personal reason for wanting it finished by the end of next week, so I will get it done!

On another note........as many of you know, Quilt Market is taking place in Minneapolis this weekend. I was actually planning to go today but I'm taking one more day at home to make sure I'm free of this rash and itch. If all goes well, I will be at Market on Saturday. I sure hope so!

Have a great Friday!

Sandi

Let them have cake!

This past Sunday, my daughter, Collette, was a cohost for a baby shower for her sister-in-law, Mandy. She had a lot of fun decorating and preparing for the shower. She even made a cake..............
Looks good enough to eat, doesn't it? If you look closely though, you'll see that the cake is actually made up of layers of disposable diapers ready for that new baby to wear! I thought this was just too cute and had to share. Collette found the idea on-line and all you have to do is type "Disposable Diaper Cake" in the search box and you'll find plenty of instructions for a diaper cake. Whoever thought of this one was very clever! Collette also prepared little favor bags for all the guests. Each bag has a votive candle in a glass holder and a little picture frame for a favorite photo.
The new mom-to-be, Mandy, received lots of lovely gifts and in just one short month, she'll get to give it all a try. :-)
So did we get any real cake to eat? Yes, we did along with a lot of other good food from cucumber sandwiches to deviled eggs to veggies and dips to.................cupcakes!!!

These were delicious and were made by the other co-host, Barb, a long time friend of the guest of honor, Mandy. I want this cupcake rack and Barb said she found it at Home*Goods . If I have time, I'm stopping there on Friday when I'm out and about. I love cupcakes and I think I'd want to make them all the time just so I could have this cute cupcake tree on display!

Busy day ahead. Going to clean closets and do some spring cleaning tasks. I'll try not to get distracted with a stitching project. :-)

Sandi