2016

I was recently sick, so I resumed some long abandoned hand sewing.

 Looking back at 2016:

I traveled to Malaysia (December).

Shangri La hotel's beach in Kota Kinabalu

Thank you, Dr. Karlheinz Wunner (love), you gave me the an experience of a lifetime!

I traveled to the Mediterranean (May).

Maiden voyage of the Carnival Vista; we went to 12 cities in the Mediterranean in 14 days. Beyond amazing!

Thank you, Rich Mason, from the bottom of my heart.

Both trips were absolutely amazing.

I also have a new, restored garden. It was necessary work due to extreme water damage to the original installation.

The Garden Shed

The new steps

Additional steps to the re-located arbor

View from the edge of the patio

And last night I attended the NYE celebration at the Lake Lanier Yacht Club. I enjoy dressing up. I can't help it.

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I was also blessed to experience significant music, film, theater performances and welcome two grandchildren. Here is to continuing the amazing journey life has gives me. And so, in 2017,

I resolve to expand and deepen my community connections. Oh, and also reduce my handicap to under 40... 

Old photo from a German community charity tournament. It was the third round I'd ever played.

O M G

My last hexagon motif:

Now to choose what color to join them with.

Black?

A light print?

Here's what the print looks like close up:

Tea dyed muslin?

Or light muslin?

Mom, you tell me.

And here is an example of what I do in my spare time:

Blanket the water heater. Exciting huh?

It is 9 p.m. on New Year's Eve and I am in my pjs watching (after I finish this post) the entertainment on TV. I am all about risk avoidance. I hope everyone stays safe so we can all enjoy 2014. Hawk tooey to 2013. I won't miss it.

Holiday Happy Day(s)

I'm getting back to a little sewing. I'd like to make some progress on this hexagon center medallion. I started it at Mom's house back in August. Sewing is not a priority since I started practicing golf. (It's not an obession if you only go to the driving range once or twice a day. Right?)

 Only one more hexie-block to go! Next I have to decide if I am going to do like the picture in the book and join these blocks with unbleached muslin hexagons or black ones. I'll post pictures of both to see what they look like.

My yard project is coming along weather permitting. The ridiculous amount of rain Atlanta had this year put outdoor activities at risk of failure (like the 2013 tomato crop). The whole project began as I searched for someone to correct the horrendous drainage problem in my back yard. Now I have underground drains, steps to access my upper yard and the beginnings of dry creek beds. The trees came down.
The overgrown shrubs were yanked out. And that was the front yard.
The back yard was similarly de-foliated.

Ada Yuen of Eastern Redbud conceived the design. She wanted the storage building gone, but the boys talked me into keeping it, so she will work around it.

I love the steps! Finally easy access to the upper level of the yard. What you cannot see is the network of underground tubes to guide the water away from the house. This was phase one; the phase two plan is on its way to me.

My bed is covered by a quilt Mom made; I cannot wait to hop in and get a good night's rest.

One more thing before I go: Family, friends and neighbors may need us, and sometime we may need them too. Let's get our priorities straight and give each other a hand.

Food at Mom and Dad's

I love going home for a visit.

It will be 50 years, next summer, they have been in this house. I started first grade that fall (1964).

Now I go back a couple of times a year. I timed it right this year. Dad's tomatoes were ripe and ready to eat.

I ate my weight in tomato sandwiches. Mom had never had one, and she was surprised she didn't miss the lettuce and bacon. We put a thick slice of peeled ripe tomato between two skinny slices of white bread each smoothed with a bit of mayonaise; don't try to slip any damn Miracle Whip in there. See? Easy and delicious. No bacon needed.

Dad made pizza one night, salmon the next.

Dad ended up making two cherry pies while I was there. I was on a diet. A cherry pie diet. 

  I am very sorry I don't have a photo of the grilled okra. Dad impaled individual okra on bamboo skewers, brushed them with clarified butter and grilled them until roasty. Man, oh, man, okra heaven.

 Bird houses are everywhere you look in the garden. When Mom and I walked out back to the studio, we were stalked by a very angry wren.

 She was scolding us and flitting from place to place. We never figured out where her nest was (although I did find a nest, she didn't ever go near it).

 She can certainly take her pick of bird houses.

Next week I will post photos of the quilts Mom sent back to Atlanta with me.

Karmen

Sunday Night Quickie

 I don't remember putting this "Bento Box" quilt on the blog. If I did, forgive me.  I worked on it while I was spending time in Mom's (Linda Brannock's) studio last month.

 I took the course from Jean Ann Wright at the Georgia Quilt Show. It was fun to select border fabrics from Mom's stash. (She has ever so much to choose from.)

I liked working on it enough to consider making a second one.

 We got a new Hancock's fabric store by my house. I had to go look around to see what they had. I found some reproduction Victoria and Albert fabric by David Textiles. 

The "David" fabric is not the quality I prefer, but the blues (below) are from Blue Hill. La-Te-Da! I love the hand; soft yet dense and smooth.

The previous two quilt tops complete, I found myself able to start the top I told Mom I was going to make two or three months ago. I wanted to work with Audra's Iris Garden by Brannock and Patek.

I started cutting. I just love these flowers. I noticed I have "Audra's" but I also have "Awakening." I didn't realize I have mixed two lines "Together." Ha. That was clever, right?

If you didn't get it, don't worry over it. Pretty lame. I want to make "Hexagon Hip Hop" from the pretty iris fabric.

 I've done the hexies by hand before, but these are large and are constructed from half-hexagons.

The instructions have been easy to follow, but I had to give up cutting because someone got in my way.

I won't say who, but I think you can figure it out.