My Studio View

Original Post Date December 15th 2008:

I have been gathering these photos through out the seasons. This is the view from my work area. The tree near the barn is my companion year round and gives me inspiration with its spralling grace and changing color. Click on the slide show to see the apple trees in blossom and the distant fall colors on a larger scale.

Summer at Sugar Creek Ranch

This is an old post from June of 2008. Another look into life on our farm:

The daisies are in bloom in the meadows and the grasses blow in the breeze. The fields on our property have been fallow for about 15 years. Each year we have more wildflowers as the prairie recovers. I love this time of year. The weather has been amazing this week, in the mid 70's and sunny. It's hard to leave when the weather is so perfect but... This weekend I drive to Chicago to spend time with my mom and stepfather and my girlfriends. I can't wait!

This is one of my favorite shots of our old dog Kodiak. He was an Alaskan Malamute. His head stood at least 3 1/2 feet high. He was tall enough to be able to put his head on the dinner table, a habit we broke him of quickly.

And now back to April 8th, 2010:

I will be selling my hand dyed fabrics and quilt block jewelry at the Crazy Quilters Quilt Show this weekend. My Etsy shops will be closed until Monday April 12th.

If you are in Mukwonago (Milwaukee Area) this weekend please stop by say hello. This show boasts 200 quilts on display. Read more about the show here.

Have a wonderful weekend! Hope to see you there!

My First Shady Grove

I am going to be re-posting a few old posts as I get ready to vend at the Crazy Quilter's Quilt Show in Mukwonago, WI next weekend. If you are new here, welcome! I thought you might like to see where we came from before we ended up on our farm in rural Wisconsin.

This is the home we left behind. It was our first home, a small cottage with a lot of character and wonderful flower gardens. This home was built in an oak and walnut grove after World War II. Prior to the development of this neighborhood this was a popular picnic spot. People would take an excursion train from Chicago to spend a day in the country. Naperville was a small town of 6000 people when my parents settled there in the early 1960's.



Here is what sits in place of our old home. I had to back up 30 feet to fit it all in the shot. It takes up every square inch of lot allowed by the city. It is a beautiful house but not my idea of a home. The neighborhood we used to live in has changed drastically. Every third house has been replaced by a mansion. The population has grown exponentially. It is now the third largest city in the state of Illinois with a population of more than 144,000 people.
This is where you can find me now. We have a small farm on 76 acres. Here is our old farmhouse. My workroom is through the window. The view is amazing! Note the hydreangea bush on the left. It is just starting to bloom. I had no idea that these bushes grew so high. It comes up to the windows of the second story, and it is still growing!

Updated note April 2nd 2010: I am making another guest appearance today on Carmen's Blog, Carmen Rose Prose. Carmen is an artist after my own heart. She claims to have Art AD/HD and I sure can sympathize with that affliction. Her works are amazing. She is an accomplished art quilter who dyes her own fabric. She paints glass, writes poetry, makes jewelry and you should she the "Art of a Woman" exhibition that she put together! Oh My...

And speaking of Oh My....I recently worked on a special order of hand dyed velvet for Susan of "Plays with Needles". She mentioned that she would be posting something about her new velvets but I never imagined the post she would dream up. It brought such a big smile to my face. Go there and see...and take some time to look around. Susan finds so much beauty in the world of textiles, of life through a camera's lens and in her own artwork.

April Fools

April Fools!!!

I'm not where I'm supposed to be today. Candy Glendening of Candied Fabrics is visiting on my Dye Candy Blog and I am a guest on her blog.

I have been following Candy's blog since last summer. She has such a creative mind and writes wonderful tutorials. I especially enjoyed her tips on lighting, both for photography and her art show booth. Her hand dyed silk scarves and bags were the first of her wares to catch my eye. I love the machine embroidery details on her Going Green journals & Clothing.

You can see the process of how she dyed the fabrics in this picture here. It has been so much fun trading places. Thank you Candy!