Frosty Trees

We had some snow last week which gave way to some foggy mornings. When it is cold the fog clings to the trees and makes everything look white and frosty for a few hours before the sun chases it away.

These photos were taken last Sunday. It was a little windy that morning. If you look closely you can see a little of the snow/frost falling from the trees. In person, it looks a like fairy dust to me.

The sky was so very blue that morning. It makes a nice contrast with the white trees.

Unfortunately there is not much sewing going on at my house these days. On the other hand progress is being made at my soon-to-open shop, Alamosa Quilt Company. I don't have any more shop photos for you yet. Mainly what I've been doing this week is entering the products we've received thus far into inventory so that they can be sold. It's pretty boring and there isn't anything to photograph. I'll try to have some photos for you next week though.

Snow Day and Stupendous Stitching

Despite living in Colorado and being surrounded by mountains, where I live does not usually get much snow. In the ten years we have lived here this is only the second time school has been cancelled due to snow. In addition, even though much of the eastern part of the U.S. has been socked in with snow and cold, up until Sunday we had been having spring like weather for weeks with temperatures in the upper 50s and lower 60s.

As the saying around here goes, if you don't like the weather just wait 5 minutes. Things changed drastically for us on Sunday when it snowed all day and into the night. It continued to snow off and on Monday too. I spotted this little bird stopping for a snack in our front yard.

He snacked for several minutes before moving on.

Our estimate is that we got a foot of snow at our house, again very unusual for us. When it snows we rarely get more than 2 or 3 inches of accumulation. We've had little to no moisture for far too long though so we are not complaining. But enough about the weather!

On to the sewing. I purchased the class Stupendous Stitching on Craftsy a while ago. I finally got around to watching it recently since my art group decided to use the technique for one of our 12 by 12 projects.

Last year we did a little round robin type exercise. We got six 15" squares of prepared for dye white fabric and put them in paper sacks with our names on them. Then we traded the sacks each month and did a surface design treatment on everyone else's square. In December we finally got to see our own squares. We put them all up on the design wall and decided that we would each do a Stupendous Stitching type treatment to our fabric and cut them down to 12" by 12".

I looked and looked for the photo I was sure I had taken of my square, but I can't find it. So here is what my piece looked like part way through the process.

I think you can still see enough of the background in this picture to get the idea of what it originally looked like. At this point I had couched some things down and done some machine stitching.

Then I did the hand stitching, trimmed it up and quilted it, then added buttons. Here it is finished.

This technique is really fun! I enjoyed pulling out all of my yarns and ribbons for the couching. Then I pulled out my collection of variegated threads for the machine stitching. I used a variety of threads from my growing hand embroidery threads collection. I collect buttons all the time but rarely use them. It was fun to dump them out and sort through them to find a nice range of sizes and colors for this project.

Hand Dyed Goodness

I decided some time ago that while I really like hand dyed fabric, I don't enjoy the dyeing process. So I will happily pay someone else to do the dyeing for me. Luckily, I have a friend who enjoys dyeing fabric. Recently we have done some trading. I gave her a sewing chair I was no longer using and she gave me some of her hand dyed fabric.

When we got all the snow a few weeks ago, she snow dyed.

Aren't these fabulous! I have no idea what I will do them, but I had to have them. Heck, I could just frame these and call it good!

I also got these three hand dyed pieces she did at her recent Ricky Tims retreat.

Again, I have no plan for these but they will enhance my stash nicely.

A Finished Top - Which Witch's Boot

We woke up to snow this morning.

I've finally found a good back drop for photographing a black cat - snow! We've never had a cat who would set one toe out in the snow, until now. Crazy cat! She insisted on going out every time one of us went out to sweep the snow from the walk and sidewalk. I guess she feels she needs to supervise.

The forecast was for 1 to 2 inches. We got more than that and it may snow some more tonight and tomorrow morning.

We had 4.5 inches at about 10 am and it snowed until about 1 pm. Probably got about another inch of accumulation. I'm not complaining about the snow. We really need it! The local ski areas will finally be able to open almost a month later than they usually do.

All this snow makes for great sewing weather. Most of my work is done except for calculating final grades and turning them in. Grades aren't due until Tuesday so today I did this.

I let my OCD side out for a bit and cut the jack-o-lantern fabric so that they are all right side up. Good thing I bought extra of this fabric to use on the back because this was not the most efficient use of fabric. I don't care though. I've got lots of fabric! If I don't have enough of the jack-o-lantern fabric for the back I'm sure I have enough of something else or I'll just piece the back with two fabrics.

First Snow of the Season

I awoke to this scene out my sewing room window this morning.

The boy and husband are very excited. One of the local ski areas, Wolf Creek, is even open today. It's sticking to the grass but not the sidewalks or streets so it's the best of both worlds, snow without having to shovel.

It's a good day to stay in and work on this.

Snow

After a very dry, mild winter, today it snows!

The birds are hunkering down in the trees near our feeder. Occasionally venturing over to the feeder.

After much whining, Goldie finally ventured out into the snowy weather. She tried every door in the house to see if maybe the weather was better out a different door! I tried to get a picture of her in the snow, but she didn't stay still long enough for me to focus on her. Currently she is hiding out underneath the neighbors canoe that they keep propped against their garage when not in use. From there she can stay relatively out of the weather and hidden from the view of the squirrels and birds congregating at our feeder.

Looks like a good day to stay inside and sew! I've got to finish up those mermaid tails first. Then we'll see how much more sewing the boy will allow me to get away with. The husband is out of town, again. Not skiing this time though. He is off picking up a camper that he purchased.

Snow Hats

I learned the hard way not to cut back all my plants in the front yard when they die back for the year. I lost several things the first year due to my ignorance. The dead flowers are a very interesting perch for snow, another reason not to cut things back.

Snow!

Finally, we got some snow at our house. Despite still being sick, I couldn't resist walking around (well bundled) with my camera for a few minutes. I snapped a few photos from the neighborhood and on campus.

I just love how snow can transform the mundane into something interesting.

Spring Snow

Another spring snow storm is moving through our area. We got at least 6 inches of snow last night. As I write this morning, it is still snowing lightly. The forecast calls for another 4 to 6 inches today. We'll just have to wait and see what actually happens.

I always feel sorry for the birds when it snows.  These finches have been enjoying the sunflower seeds we put out for them this morning. I took these pictures from an upstairs window overlooking the feeder. I just love the colors of the little guy's back in the first photo!

Off to work today. These photos may be the only creative thing I get to do today. *sigh* Hope you get to be creative today!

Spring Snow

We woke up to 3 or 4 inches of snow this morning. I had another busy day lined up but I managed to take a few photos before getting started on my day.

Snow

This photo was taken after last weeks snow. Parker doesn't have much opportunity to be buried in sand, so we have to make do!

It has been snowing lightly since about 10 am. We got between 1 and 2 inches of snow last night in addition to whatever we have gotten today. It shows no signs of letting up. We'll see how much I have to shovel tomorrow morning.

Since I've no place to go, let is snow, let it snow, let it snow ...

I got the fourth and final section of my king size mystery quilt together today. And I'm done sanding the laundry room walls. I may be able to prime the walls tomorrow - if it's not a snow day - and then paint this weekend. After I paint I'm going to go shopping for new flooring, probably just vinyl. Still have to figure out what to do about the ceiling.

Finished?

I'm done stitching the crop circles. I think it needs a border though. I am auditioning various fabrics right now. I'm also itching to use my new Chubby Markers that came in the mail yesterday. These are marking tools that are removed with a steam iron. They are white, so perfect for darker fabrics. I've already tested them and they work great.

Here is a photo of my view from the sewing room today. Snow! It's been snowing most of the afternoon and the forecast calls for the snow to continue through tomorrow sometime. Parker is getting his snow gear on to go play in the backyard as I type this.

Snowflakes

Parker and I made snowflakes this morning. He was given a pattern book recently and we have been having lots of fun making our own snowflakes. Here is a close-up of the one he is holding.

This afternoon Mother Nature made some snowflakes for us too! What a treat!

Snow

We woke up to the first snow of the season this morning. I was going to take a picture to post but my camera is not cooperating this morning. Maybe later. I hope a little rest will help it but it has been doing this for months and I fear this illness is terminal. It had been doing so well lately! Luckily I have been camera shopping online so I know what I want to get to replace it. Unfortunately I can't be a new one by Friday when I am scheduled to go to a pumpkin patch and corn maze with my son's second grade class. I guess I'll just have to enjoy to trip instead of playing photographer.