Cedarburg Visit Part Two - Quilt Museum, and yes I do hand quilting

How fun to see Victoria Findlay Wolfe's ( I knew her from her 15 Minutes Play blog, you can also find her at other blog, bumblebeans inc.) Double Wedding Ring quilt exhibit!  It is a the Wisconsin Quilt Museum in Cedarburg, and it is well worth your time to visit! It is in a restored barn, on the edge of Cedarburg, and seeing quilts displayed in that venue is just perfect.  In the photo above, at the bottom, you see an awesome quilt made by Victoria's grandmother, made free-form from various fabrics, many polyesters - what she had to work with.  At the top is Victoria's modern quilt, of quilting cottons, but inspired by her grandmother's quilt.  

Close-up of the machine quilting (sorry I do not remember the name of the quilter) on one of Victoria's Double Wedding Ring quilts.

Full view of the quilt. 

Close-up view of another of Victoria's quilts - again, sorry I did not note the quilter's name.  Stunning work! Victoria has a book coming out soon, with all of these quilts in it.

Out behind the quilt museum, a blacksmith was demonstrating his craft.  Do you see how red-hot that iron got? His fire gets up to 3000 degrees! His work was fascinating - and a little terrifying! 

Who knew, me, hand quilting?  Yes, I have done it in the past, and I have recently picked it up again. Part of my inspiration is the blog of Tim Latimer (timquilts.com), an excellent and prolific hand quilter from Michigan.  I had this small piece sitting around, and decided to do some "big stitch" hand quilting on it, with #8 perle cotton. 

Close-up of the quilting.  I have gotten better as I go along!

Cedarburg Wine Festival - Giant Pumpkins and more!

Fun day trip to Cedarburg, Wisconsin yesterday for their Wine and Harvest Festival! Cedarburg is a charming town, just north of Milwaukee (and about 2 hours north of here), full of really old, beautiful homes and fun shops and restaurants.  The town grew up on a creek, so a lot of the history of the town centered around that.  As you can see, giant pumpkin growing is a competitive sport there! 

There was no shortage of artists displaying (and selling) their awesome work.  I was drawn to this artist's yard art, made of recycled materials.  I always love birds, and didn't notice right away the subject matter of these two birds (sorry it's not a better picture):  the engagement. It was awesome!

Scott and I stopped for some refreshments at Silver Creek Brewing Company, with the creek running right through their entryway (below).  They had a lovely patio out back where we just sat and enjoyed the beautiful fall day. 

Baby Lena!

What a little miracle! I ADORE this picture...this is my daughter, Emily, and her best friend's little daughter, Lena - one month old.  The look on Emily's face says it all, doesn't it?  Emily instantly fell in love with this sweet baby.  

Emily sharing a laugh with Kristin.  Lena was so good-natured about getting passed around from person to person. 

The lovely Kristin and her sweet daughter.  Emily and Kristin have been best friends since junior high school.  Meeting Lena was one of Emily's reasons for coming home for the weekend. 

One more close-up of Lena.

Such a pretty sleeper!

Happy day!

It's official! Emily and Matt became engaged yesterday, and we all couldn't be happier!  We already love Matt like a son, and are so happy and proud to welcome him into our family.

Scott and I shared a celebration dinner with the happy couple and Matt's dad, Joe. We went to Matt and Emily's "favorite place", Joe's Stone Crab in Chicago.  Very busy, bustling place, great service, and wonderful food.  But of course the best part was sharing in Matt and Emily's special day.  Congratulations! 

Jazzin' at the Shedd!

Tradition! We all attended Jazzin' at the Shedd (Aquarium), one of Chicago's many great museums. We've all attended in prior years, and I think this may become a yearly tradition.  Another new tradition - the selfie!
Genevieve, me, Hannah; Scott, Nick, Danny.

Hannah and Scott watching the Beluga whales.  See the water just beyond the ledge they are leaning on? The whales cruise right by - I even got sprayed!

Genevieve and Nick having fun.

So - why is it called "Jazzin' at the Shedd"?  The event occurs after hours - from 5-10 p.m. on a Wednesday evening, there is food and drink for purchase, and there is live jazz music being performed at two different locations in the museum.  A great way to have a museum  night!

Cheers! Nick, Genevieve, Hannah, Danny.

Besides the large whale, and dolphin, exhibition areas, and the MANY individual fish displays, there is a WHOLE CORAL REEF in the center of the museum!  I had fun watching (and photographing) the fascinating fish while taking a little break.

Gorgeous!

They are so unusual, and so beautiful, they don't look real - at least to this midwesterner's eyes! And you can't really tell, but this fish was also HUGE!

I know these photos don't do it justice - suffice it to say, if you're ever in Chicago, it's worth you time to visit the Shedd Aquarium.  Besides seeing their great exhibits, the facility also has fantastic skyline views of Chicago!

The end of a great evening!

Crazy for Lindsay

This is my daughter, Hannah, and her bestie, Lindsay Loretta Prerost after Lindsay's performance last night in "Crazy for You" at a great community theater group near here (in Palatine). 

Lindsay second from left.

 Lindsay is a wonderful singer, dancer, and actor, and she kept us entertained last night! Besides being funny, and so much fun to watch, she also tap danced her heart out! Starring in the show was another friend of Hannah's, Brett Baleskie, who was hilarious - and also tap danced like "crazy".  So fun!

Brett, center; Lindsay on far right.

Zigzag Quilt Decision; New Life; Best Garden Bargain Ever!

Finally getting somewhere on this project! I made a couple of changes, and I think I finally have something that both my daughter, Emily (the recipient) and I will like.  I added MORE fabrics (always a good choice, if you ask me), in warmer tones, and I also changed it to a scrappy, yet somewhat organized, layout. Someone told me once, when arranging flowers, you should always add yellow, to help the colors blend better. I think it holds true in quilting, too. Always add a little yellow.  And black.  And of course, lime green. Yay.

Someone new arrived this week! Meet Lena Mae, born to the lovely Kristin, who is the best friend of my daughter, Emily.  Kristin had told Emily about the birth right away, but swore her to secrecy until Kristin spread the news on facebook.  Well, Emily's excitement got the best of her, and she sent me an email yesterday, with the following subject line:  "Okay I cannot hold this in any longer".  (Don't worry, I didn't tell anyone else, and the news hit facebook later that same day) When I read what had happened, I burst into tears right there at my desk at work, happy tears. I have known Kristin for so long, and love her so.  Welcome, little Lena!

I just LOVE my newest hydrangeas! These three plants are all the "Bombshell" cultivar, somewhat similar to the "Incrediball", but smaller in stature.  Perfect size for the bed between my porch and the sidewalk.  I found the plants ON CLEARANCE at Lowe's late last year, for ....drum roll....$5.29 each!!!! I pounced on them!  Scott said, "how many do you want?" I got six!

Here's another Bombshell, by itself, in front of our bedroom window.  My window box has NEVER looked this good, the petunias are going to town! Geeves, the blue heron, is keeping watch.