What A Beauty

Brad came in this morning from the hen house and told me we had a visitor. A beautiful, and un-welcome visitor. I grabbed the camera and headed outside in my jammies. A chicken hawk had made it's way into the wire fenced chicken yard, and now he was trapped inside. Here he is hanging on his side on the wire. The underside of his wing is white and brown checked. You can see it fairly well in this photo. Click image to enlarge and see more detail. Tip your head to the left and you can see him better.

The hens did not like him one bit and would charge at him with their neck feathers all ruffled out. He flew around the fenced in chicken yard looking for a way out.

He sat still long enough for me to get a close up photo.....below.

Right after this photo was taken, Brad opened the hen house door and he flew inside the hen house and out the door to freedom. We watched him fly away down to the river. He perched in a tree and stared at us.........and we stared back. What a beauty!

If I can't be sewing or quilting, then I want to be gardening. We planted 3 Burning Bushes by the garage today. Someday they will really put on a show in the fall.

This little bear was found at a second hand store over the winter months. He weighs better than 50 pounds! He has such a beautiful patina. He is quite old, but still in great condition. He is perfect to watch over the newly planted bushes.

The yellow Thread Shed is directly behind the bear.

To the right is the red hen house, where the chicken hawk was trapped earlier.

The camelia by the Thread Shed is beginning to bloom.

The daffodils out front are the biggest and tallest and brightest we've ever had!

Spring has arrived in Oregon..........what a beauty!

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From The Garden,

LuAnn

Where Inspiration Comes From

Inspiration can come from most anywhere, especially the outdoors. Just being outside in the fresh air and sunshine gets your blood pumping and gets you motivated and just happy to be alive.

I went on a fishing trip with my favorite guy to the Rogue River. It was a sunny day and the river was gorgeous. The river water was so clear you could see the bottom.

Click Images to Enlarge:

All day long I couldn't take enough pictures of the water. It glistened in the sunlight and was so pure and clear.

The water was such an inspiration to me, I just knew I had to use these images in a journal quilt.....a memory quilt to remember this day.

I decided the water images would be the perfect background. I printed out my favorites, collaged the images together, and the background was complete.

"You Rogue"

I added a few photos of Brad and Suzy over the top of the water images and it was done. I photo-transferred everything onto fabric and quilted it.

The water that inspired me while fishing, continued to inspire me when I returned home to work in the Thread Shed.

Here are a few more images I have taken recently that inspire me. I don't try to analyze why they interest me. I just try and enjoy the enthusiasm that they create in me.

Abandoned store in eastern Oregon

Frozen faucet at the sheep barn

trip to the Tetons

Hens and Hollyhocks in the yard

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What inspires you?

LuAnn

To see more journal quilts CLICK HERE

The quilts I create are very much inspired by my life here on the farm and by my family. Every time I see an image of a bear, I think of my oldest son, Nicholas. I call him my "Big Bear." His childhood room was all decorated with bears.

I also think of apple pie when I think of Nicholas. Like all self-respecting mothers, I have been known to use food to bribe my kids to come home and see me! Nicholas lives in town now, and we sure miss him.

Click Images to Enlarge:

Nicholas and Me

My husband is also an apple pie lover. When the boys were young and there was a fresh apple pie on the table.........it wasn't safe for long! The kids would come in the door with the neighbor boys and inhale the pie along with a gallon of milk.

I eventually learned to bake 2 pies........one for the kids.......and one for my husband to hide!

This was made in 2001. It is one of the first original quilts that I designed. My favorite part is the bear paw blocks set on point that travel around the outer border. It is Nicholas' graduation quilt.........."Big Bear"

Bonners Ferry Library, Bonners Ferry, Idaho

My son's love of bears inspired me to make his graduation quilt. I will always think of him whenever I see a bear.

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Wishing You a Lifetime of Inspiration,

LuAnn

Inspiration

My surroundings inspire my quilted textiles. I never leave home without a camera in my hands. For me, quilting and photography just belong together. My camera is an extension of my sewing machine. It captures what inspires me and saves that inspiration in a digital or printed format until I am ready to put it into a textile form.

Click on Images to Enlarge:

I spent the day riding along on the tractor baling hay with my favorite guy. I am fascinated by the way the big round baler works. I enjoy watching out the cab of the tractor as the big bales are released from the baler and roll out into the field. It wasn't until we were done for the day, and up on the road a distance from the hayfield, that I realized just how gorgeous all those big, round bales looked as a group in the field.

All my best photography seems to happen when I am with my hard-working husband, Brad. I rode along with him one afternoon as he moved the cattle across the river. He dropped me off to block off a road from the cattle, while he rode ahead to get them moving along. As I patiently waited for the cattle to come into view, I noticed just how beautiful the sky was at that moment. It wasn't long before the cattle came along and ran right through my photo.........the timing was perfect.

Every Monday I gather with the quilters in my tiny community to create quilts. We are so fortunate, at the end of the day as we leave for home.......this is the breath-taking sunset that greets us on our way home.

I was building fence with my husband last spring and couldn't resist snapping a few pictures of the Westfork barn. This weathered old barn wood is beautiful. Just looking at this image again has inspired me to print it on fabric and use it as a background for a journal quilt............I will keep you posted with my progress.

If this image inspires you, please use it in your next textile project. I would love to see what you create with it. I have downloaded it at full resolution, just click on the image to enlarge it and print it out.

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Enjoying Life on the Farm,

LuAnn

Pepperdish.......In Progress

Last week I pulled the pizza box labeled "Pepper Dish Quilt" off the shelf and decided I would finish up this project. You can click on the images to enlarge them:

This is a Judy Niemeyer pattern. She is my guru when it comes to paper piecing. I have taken 3 classes from her, and learn something new and valuable each time I see her.

I rarely work with a pattern anymore, preferring to design my own work, but when it comes to paper piecing you need one.........and Judy's are the best out there.

I pulled the completed top out of the pizza box and saw where Judy had signed my quilt top.........2006.........3 years ago I took that class? Time can get away from you.

As always I like to file away my works "in progress" in NEW pizza boxes. Everything for the entire project can be stored away.......pattern, fabrics, glue sticks, wipees to get the glue off my fingers during the applique process, etc.

The next time I yearn to work on this quilt......I pull the pizza box off the shelf, and everything I need is contained inside, no hunting around for supplies...........and I haven't stolen any of the fabric for another project!

I am working on the applique flowers, leaves and stems. In order to get the correct placement of the applique on the quilt, I use a piece of plastic......lay it over my paper pattern.......trace over the entire applique with a felt marker onto the plastic..........that is the shiny surface you see in the image above.

I take the traced-on plastic and place it in the correct spot on my quilt. For this pepper dish quilt, each corner of the quilt will get this same flower applique arrangement.

As I complete the applique shapes, I place them under the plastic, on top of the actual quilt, and this gives me accurate placement of each piece. The plastic will remain on the quilt until each shape has been placed where it belongs.

I have enjoyed working on this quilt again.......I hope to finish up the applique tomorrow........get all the pieces basted down with Roxanne's Baste It Glue........then I will be ready to head for the sewing machine. I plan to blind stitch with smoke invisible thread around all the applique shapes. I don't want the applique stitches to draw much attention to themselves. I plan to do a lot of free motion quilting on this piece, and I don't want the applique stitches to complete with my machine quilting work.

p.s. To see the completed quilt CLICK HERE

To see more tutorials CLICK HERE

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With Sticky Fingers,

LuAnn

Enjoy Your Passions

Banana Leaves

Oregon State Fair 2008

Click Image to Enlarge

Spring has arrived in Oregon. Now begins my frustration of splitting my time up between two of my passions: Flowers and Quilting

I love them both.......but they don't leave much time for the cooking, housework and clean underpants!

Growing flowers gives me an opportunity to explore my third passion of photography.

Flowers have been working their way into my quilts. I am currently working on a sunflower quilt that was inspired by a bed of sunflowers in our yard.

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To see more posts on gardening CLICK HERE

Enjoy Your Passions,

LuAnn

Quilts in Women's Lives

A documentary style film, Quilts in Women's Lives.  Meet 3 of the 7 women featured in this 15 minute clip.  Click here to view.

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May Your Bobbin Always Be Full,

LuAnn