Riverview Farmstsead (Quilts)

Fall is around the corner.
Are you ready?  I am not.  Would like to see a bit more summer.
Actually, we are having unseasonable HOT weather this past weekend.

Looks like this squirrel is getting ready for fall.

As you can see I have gotten a couple more quilts done!!
Believe it or not, these tumblers were left on our guilds
freebie table several months ago.  Well I could put them together!
The quilt has come and gone already.
This past weekend our son was the Best Man at his best friends wedding.
I had told Andy if he would like to give them a quilt, he could pick one.
Out of so many I have done, this is the one he picked.
It is a large lap.  Perfect for two to cuddle up with.

This quilt is a finish from the quilt cruise I took in February
of this year.  It was a class by Gyleen Fitzgerald.
The pattern is called "Quilt of the Century."

Just another view of it.

Now this is my prized completion. This is Jen Kingwell's pattern,
"Steampunk".  My friend Sandy, in Georgia, gave me the pattern and plastic
templates a couple years ago for my birthday.
Two years ago when I was visiting with her, we each started our own
versions of the quilt.  We cut out all the templates two times.  Each of us
put our blocks together different.  Sandy is still working on hers.
Once I got started, I kept on going strong.
I did sew the curves all by hand.  I found it too hard to sew them on the
machine.  I could do it faster by hand.
I did use Jen's idea for the gray as sashing and setting triangles. I have
never used gray before.
I love how it all turned out.

I am so pleased.
I did not use any rhyme or reason on setting it up.
Just laid them out and put it together.
 

Just a little showing for the traveling Monarch Butterflies.
Their journey has begun.

I did make a small tumbler quilt as well.
So much faster to do and instant gratification!

This is where these pictures were taken here in Illinois.

I am not done.  Still have two more quilts to finish the
binding on.  I am working on mug rugs too.  Almost time
for our fall retreat at the Siena Retreat Center in Racine, Wisconsin.

Hope you are having a great day.

Mary

Our last night.

Our how and tell party.
Here is from one of Laura's classes.

This is the start of my little landscape.  It is hard to see, but there
is more of a drawing on it.  There will be a whale, and a tree,
and shoreline.  Again, this is out of my comfort zone, but
so far is a lot of fun.

This is all I got done on my Lily pad quilt.  She has an interesting way doing the
New York Beauty block.  I am liking what I have done so far.

Look what got done from Joan Shay's class.
Very cool.

Linda Poole's class was about painting on fabric.

A

Another of Linda's classes.
Everyone was doing great work.

We did have to make our last stop, to Victoria, Canada.
We visited a quilt shop, and had a quick tour
of downtown Victoria.

The Empress Hotel was beautiful all lite up at night.

The government building is lite up too.

Can't remember which this building this is.
It is along the harbor.
It was a beautiful night.

One last look at the Empress Hotel.

The next morning we were back in Seattle.
This time you could see Mt. Rainier much better.

The Seattle skyline at 7:00 a.m.
The trip was wonderful. I can't believe all the
wonderful wildlife I got to see this time.
The classes were fun. Met several very nice quilters.
Amy Ross and Cindy Williams did a very good job
of keeping us all together and organized.
Now to fly home and get back into the everyday routines.

Only problem, I didn't. Came home and fell sick.
I am doing so much better.  Still have a lot to
take care of.  Oh well.

Hope you enjoyed seeing pictures of my trip.
Mary

Ketchikan

Another glacier on our way to Ketchikan.
You have to admit they are beautiful and amazing.

To see the mountains and how the clouds form around them is quite
beautiful.

Sometimes the glaciers appear above the clouds.

More of the projects from classes.
This is from Linda Hahn's class. Pretty colors.

Sample of one of Gloria Loungman's class.

Here is one of the student's work.

This is another of Gloria's classes.
They did look interesting.

More Stellar Sea Lions.

Again, a lot of them. Stinky critters.

As we are docking in Ketchian.

Today's adventure is all about the black bear.
Again, we would receive a partial refund if we did not see a bear.

Well, that did not take long.
We were given a lot of instructions about what to do if a bear did cross
our path.  We needed to all stay together.  There was only a dozen
of us on this tour.

So we got to see a lot of bears.
You did not have to look very far.
They seemed to be everywhere!

We walked along a boardwalk in the woods.  There was a stream
coming down from a mountain.  The bears were doing quite
well finding fish to eat.

Maybe a bear could hibernate in this tree base during the winter?

This bear was hiding up on the hill looking for berries.

Our guide wanted to know if any of us were interested in this
boat that was for sale??
She said she had others for sale if we were interested!

Another Mom and baby of this year.
The mom's really were busy teaching their young how to hunt
for food.  The fish were pretty plentiful here.

Mom was showing what the young cub needed to be doing.

The trees were hung with this strange looking moss.
It is so moist in this forest.

There was a fishery right there.
The bears did not need to go far for food.

There was also an area were the natives worked on totem poles.
What interesting stories.

There was a nesting pair of eagles on the grounds.

One was sitting not far away, while the other was at the nest.

Today, they had not had any young. 

Maybe next year.

This was a female that had been hurt when it was young.
It is part of the sanctuary, and cannot be released back to the wild.
It is missing part of one wing.

Here is her trainer. It is still a beautiful bird.

Here is another totem pole.

This was Sarah, our guide.
She had so much information.
There are guides all along the trail that
keep each
other updated about where the bears are.

Sarah was kind enough to show me where they have three Reindeer.
What beautiful creatures.

They antlers were growing in.
I got to touch them.  Soft, she said they are very sensitive
right now  They were friendly and came right up to me.

More totem poles. It would be interesting to know
more of the stories behind them.

Beautiful

Beautiful downtown Ketchikan.

As we were leaving port.
Again, another wonderful day.
Do you understand why I like to travel so much.
There are so many beautiful sights to see, and adventures to
be had.  It is so wonderful to see animals in their nature
habitat. I love it.

Mary