our crazy dog

We decided to give the dogs a bath today, partially because it was "time", and partially because our house is starting to smell like dog. Well now the house smells like WET dog, but it will fade...in the meantime, at least the dogs are clean! Thanks Scott for bathing the beasts!

This is what Cohen likes to do after a bath, or whenever he gets wet, like from the rain. He's pretty ridiculous. Enjoy!

Family Day at Loyola Beach, Ravinia Concert

We've had such a great summer - even though it's been the hottest one on record! So many fun day trips, concerts, plays...and recently, a one-week visit from our #1 daughter, Emily!

My beautiful daughters! Emily (left) and Hannah (right). The whole family spent a lovely day at Loyola Beach, on Lake Michigan in Chicago. Doncha love the Lion King blanket? Once long ago it lived on Hannah's bed, and now it's our "go to" picnic or beach blanket.

Emily moved to Boston a few weeks ago, along with her boyfriend, Matt. They will both be starting graduate school very soon - actually, Emily's first day of classes is tomorrow at Boston University!

It was a treat having her back home for a week - good luck tomorrow, Emily! You'll do great!

Another fun summer outing - Scott and I saw the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at their summer home, Ravinia.

So fun seeing everyone's picnics - from simple to elaborate, anything goes!

A view from outside the Pavillion - no photos are allowed inside - the concert was great! They played the Grieg Piano Concerto, and The Planets, by Holst. Lovely evening!

Duet Day - More Stars!

Tyler Loo and I performed Popcorn Stand!

Monica Wiegard and I performed Yesterday - and no one else in the room knew that it was by the Beatles! :)

Margot Miller and I played Sicilienne - very expressive, Margot! So fun for me to play with my students!

Maggie Ward and Margot Miller performed You're a Grand Old Flag. They did an awesome job! When asked to say something she had learned about playing duets, Maggie said, "Even if you mess up, keep going!"

Duet Day a Big Success!

My students all studied duets this summer, and we celebrated with a Duet Day today. They were ALL great!

Madi and Ian Bromfield, who performed Do-Re-Mi - a brother and sister duo who even practiced at home, without injuring each other!

Kayleigh Loo played Ode to Joy, and Partners at C, with me. Kayleigh is my newest student.

Katie and Becky Donnelly, twin sisters, who performed It's a Small World.

Julia Kulik and I performed God Be With You. This was a little bittersweet for me - Julia has been with me for about 9 years, and will be heading off to college in one week. She is a lovely girl, inside and out, who I have truly enjoyed having as a student. Good luck, Julia!

Jill Anthony, who played Snake Charmer with me.

Quilt Tour 2012 Part IV - The Final Chapter (for now)

This is the last in this series of posts - I DO have more quilts, hidden in closets, some for the holidays...but this is it for now. Seventeen, counting two on my design walls! Eesh!

Emily's Sweet Sixteen, made in 2005. Similar (but not identical) to Hannah's quilt, I sneaky-like gathered signatures/messages from Emily's family and friends. It is to fun to look back on these now, as many of the friends have gone their separate ways...and some of the family members have passed on. Done in my favorite jewel tone batiks and cotton prints, with black and whites too. I remember auditioning many borders for this.

If I had to pick a quilt I was proudest of, it might be this one - although it was not an original idea. This is The Many Faces of Emily, completed around 2003. I was watching Alex Anderson's quilt show, and the amazing Therese May was her guest. Therese demonstrated her technique to make her faces, as in her "Therese Quilt", see in the book, The Twentieth Century's Best American Quilts. Instantly, I knew I wanted to try this technique! Soon thereafter, someone snapped this photo of Emily, early one morning on one of her choir tours. She was groggy, and a little grumpy, but you can't tell in this quilt. It was loads of fun to make, and I got to use my favorite fabrics, too!

Hope you enjoyed my little tour - thanks for walking down memory lane with me!

Quilt Tour 2012 Part III

So - I'm beginning to think that I have WAY too many quilts displayed around the house! My family is used to it, I guess!

Hannah's Sweet 16, made in 2006. It was done as a surprise for Hannah's 16th birthday - I got signatures/messages from family and friends, and traced them onto these simple blocks using a Mickey Mouse light box I got at a garage sale for $1. This was a challenge for me, as I used "Hannah colors", which are not my colors! Hannah's colors are, for example, olive green, salmon pink, teal, dusty purple, golds, and browns. I usually go for the jewel tones. Not a great shot of it, sorry but this is where it lives.

Brenda's Dresden, received in an online bee swap in 2011. The one I made lives with my new friend, Helen, in New York.

Lime Green with Hearts, made around 2002. I had collected the lime green fabrics (my favorite color) and was just playing with them. My only quilt with beading.

I figured I should include my studio's design walls - this is my Color Challenge blocks, just made this year. The challenge was issued by the lovely Victoria over at 15 Minutes Play.

My other work-in-progress on the wall, this is Gypsy John - a gift for a special friend. More on this later.

Quilt Tour 2012 Part II

Angels with Go-Go Boots, also made in the 90s (do you see a theme here?) - this was started in a miniature quilt class taught by sorry-I-don't-remember-her-name, who lives in another suburb of Chicago. It features a very fun Christmas fabric with some pretty stylin' angels. Lots of paper piecing!

Another rare hand quilted piece by Chris - Amish 4-patch, also probably from the 90s.

Sanibel Island, made after our one and only trip to Florida, in 2000. It was a memorable trip in many ways. It was our only visit to a Disney park, and to Sanibel Island (which I LOVED). Sitting on that quiet beach, with the tropical breezes, and the ocean waves lapping at the beach - now THAT is VACATION!!! It was also the last "spring break" vacation that we took as a family. Our daughters went on tour with their church choir every year during their high school years. I bought these fabrics at a store in Florida.

Grateful, made earlier this year - 2012! It is my "word of the year" - trying to be mindful of the many blessings I enjoy each and every day. Made as a gift for my wonderful husband. :)

Wedding Quilt, made in 1944 for my mom and dad, Leona and Bob Heggestad, by my grandmother, Myrtle Grife Johnson. I love how this is made all of solids - and since my mom hardly ever used it, it is in beautiful condition. I remember crawling under the quilting frame in my grandma's tiny house - sometimes it was the only way to get through the living room! I still have her frame, up in the attic. Mom, Dad, and Grandma have all passed on, but how cool is it that I have this treasure?

Quilt Tour 2012

Lest any of you think that I really don't make quilts - since lately mostly all of my posts have been about other things - here is a tour of what's currently on display at the Hudson house!

So - take it away, Quilt Tour 2012 - Part 1!

(blogger won't usually let me post more than 5 photos per post, and sometimes I have to post first 3, and then 2 - but I digress...)

Erica's Trees - circa 1992? Inspired by the fabulous Erica Carter, and an article I saw in Threads magazine. Many fabrics had to be collected to make this! I first made a "wearable art" jacket in this design, and then followed up with this wall quilt.

I still have the jacket, but with its big shoulder pads, I don't wear it very often. It was even accepted into a wearable art show in Chicago back then. I must show you a picture in a future post.

Alaskan Mystery - from the same era, around 1990-92. I was in a small bee, we met at each other's homes, and usually the host would have something for us to work on that night. This project took several months - it was a mystery quilt project, purchased from a quilter in Alaska (hence the name). We got one clue each time, not knowing what the finished quilt would look like. I really like the finished project - but unfortunately, my puppy ate a couple of holes in this!

Wonky Hearts - maybe from the late 90's? This was a pattern, my only variation was having all four borders different - out of necessity! My stash doesn't usually have big lengths of fabric. I like how they turned out - sometimes out of frugality comes creativity!

Single Wedding Ring - from the mid 90's. This was made for Hannah's twin bed, after she got out of her crib (btw, she is now 21). My inspiration was a quilt I saw in a movie, on Meg Ryan's bed in You've Got Mail. Not sure if it was this block, but it was a similar setting. My bee friends helped make blocks for this one, and I sent it out for quilting.

Although I don't usually hand quilt my quilts, I must admit I love how it looks! This is Pansies, from the mid 90's.

Hope you enjoyed my little tour - stay tuned for Part II!

Go Go Go Joe!

Just spent a very pleasant afternoon - we saw Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, at Summer Place Theater in Naperville. Starring as Joseph was Ian Black (center, above, with his parents Rebecca Schumacher and John Black). We have known Ian his entire life, John and Rebecca are our oldest friends here in Illinois. Ian was also my piano student for many many years - don't his parents look happy and proud?

Rebecca, Ian, me, and Scott - I am so proud of Ian, I can hardly stand it! Ian is SO talented! And he didn't even get to dance in this show! (he is an amazing dancer too) Oh, yeah, he's also the nicest boy you'll ever meet -

CONGRATULATIONS, IAN - YOU KNOCKED IT OUT OF THE PARK!!!

Beach Day - Take Two

Looking north from "our spot" - notice how UN-crowded it is! On a Sunday afternoon, on a picture-perfect day! About 85 degrees and breezy.

This nice, extended family was nearby, enjoying the afternoon by alternately swimming, snacking, playing, and napping. Lovely! See the cute twins?

And if you forgot to bring food, the snack shop was right over there! Hannah and I came with our snack bag packed!

I almost didn't post this picture, but then I figured, what the hay? Next time - more sunscreen and a hat!

A Perfect Day at the Perfect Beach

Hannah and I discovered a "new" beach - Loyola Beach in Chicago. Lake Michigan is our ocean - water as far as you can see, nice sandy beaches - yup, that's an ocean. A freshwater ocean.

Anyway, what a lovely beach this is! Clean, well kept, and not crowded! Oh yes, we parked right next to the beach for $1.50!

The lovely Hannah.

Hannah and me, self portrait - what a great day! So relaxing and fun!

Get your Groove On!

Well, I guess this little surprise flower is pretty groovy! My daughter, Emily, gave me her jade plant, which now resides in my cube at the office. Imagine my surprise, last Monday morning, to come into the office and find this ONE purple shamrock blooming in my jade plant! It must have tagged along at the nursery when they were potting the jade.

See my Jeopardy! calendar? This has become a fixture in our office. Jeopardy - also groovy! Not only do some friends drop by EVERY DAY to play the daily question, but I also have quite a list - work friends and also family members - who ask me to email the question to them every day. It's a fun way to keep in touch!

Today's Jeopardy questions:

1. Large mammals: This antlered palmate is the largest in the deer family.

2. Catwomen: Name the other two actresses to portray Catwoman on the Batman tv series from the 60s, besides Eartha Kitt.

On Saturday, we were lucky to attend our friend's second (third?) annual Downers Groovinia! A combo of our town's name - Downers Grove - and also Ravinia, the summer home of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Our friend, John, is seated above, playing guitar and singing. He sets up a "stage" area, complete with tent and sound system, and invites all of his musician friends to perform. It's awesome!

Wish I remembered their names - these guys are so good, when we drove up last year, we could hear the music but couldn't see them (we were parking at the front curb) - and we thought the radio was on.

It was a great day, with great music, and spending time with friends. What's better - or groovier - than that?