Sneak Preview #2

The Galaxy Cats Collection from Galaxy is great fun!!

Sneak Preview #1

I have some nice Java Batiks just waiting for the shop to open....

He Really DOES Do His Own Stunts!

Nathan sent me this today... it's been his "summer goal"....

I'll be glad when he's back in class!! :)

I LOVE MY BERNINA!!

... and now I'm going to get to sell them! :)

If you don't sew this won't mean much to you probably... but when I was home in Bloomington in June, Mom and I met with the Bernina district manager to discuss my application for a dealership... it was a great meeting -- at the Bloomington Brewery, of course!!

Sarah, the manager told me that she'd have an answer for me at the end of July... so I've been waiting on pins and needles... and she just emailed me to tell me that it's a go!!

So.. I'll be going to New Dealer Training in Aurora IL October -- and David will be going with me to attend Technical Training so he can get certified in machine repair! The following week we'll attend Bernina Product Training so we can learn all about all the machines we'll be selling.

Yummy Sushi! Yoga Mat Backpack

My youngest son, Nathan, is all about fitness!! He originally decided to take Pilates because "there's hot chicks in that class"... (so maybe he's not ALL about fitness LOL)... but now he really loves Pilates!!

So, I found this cool pattern for a backpack for his yoga mat.... and he also really loves sushi, so this is perfect fabric for him!

When I told him that I'd made him a pack for his yoga mat and then he saw the picture he said, "Whew!! I was afraid it was going to be 'girly'!"

Oh! I Am Very Excited!! :)

I met with Mary Breshike this afternoon. Mary is a "local" artist (i.e., she's an American living in Okinawa) whose pastels wonderfully depict this beautiful place. She will be creating a piece of art that we'll use for the logo and advertising... Our meeting today was to discuss what she was thinking and how that fit with what I wanted... it couldn't be more perfect! Her plans have captured an idea that will be a wonderful first impression for people... I can't wait to see the picture come to life!! You can take a look at some of Mary's work...

I Think I'm Gonna LOVE Bloomington!!

In all the time I've been living overseas - and especially in the last few years as "retirement" looms closer - I've thought quite a bit about where I'd want to settle down. My first criteria always centered around things like weather and atmosphere - I wanted someplace on the ocean and tropical or sub-tropical. So, you can really understand why I'm moving to Bloomington, huh?

Well in the past year or so, I've spent quite a bit of time there... and have really enjoyed all the great stuff there is to do there!! Now... I haven't been there in the winter... and my last winter experience was about 10 years ago... and I just KNOW that in about 6 months I'm going to be begging for a little heat and humidity!! And... that thing about the ocean? I'm truly going to miss living in a place where a view of the ocean is just the norm...

But Bloomington has wonderful theatre... and ballet... and opera... and OMG awesome restaurants!! And... my Mom is there... and my baby brother (there's always got to be a downside, doesn't there?? ;) )

So anyways... the point of this post... I happened upon some info in the online version of the Bloomington Herald Times:

Today, Bloomington is a modern, thriving city that has earned its reputation as a wonderful place to live.

• It's the sixth best place to settle down in the United States, according to Money Magazine. It's the seventh lowest stress city, according to Psychology Today, and the eighth best place in the nation to retire, according to Rand McNally's Retirement Places. Bloomington has been twice designated has an All America City based in its high quality of living.

•Figures released by the Census Bureau for 1998 revealed that Bloomington was the eighth largest city in the state with a population estimated at over 65,000.

• Bloomington has the charm of small town life and at the same time offers many Big City pleasures like a world-class opera theater, touring Broadway plays, and Big Ten sports events.

•For nature lovers, it has three lakes and two forests, and it's the seventh best place to cycle in the U.S., according to Bicycling.

So... YEAH... I think I'm gonna love Bloomington!!

Justin and his Quilt

Darryl forwarded these pics to me the other day -- of his grandson, Justin, on his quilt that I made. Isn't he the CUTEST baby??? and that quilt!! WOW!!

More Super-Typhoon Man-Yi videos

Here's a couple of additional little videos I shot today...

From the front door of our apartment at the height of the storm

And another one from the balcony -- but at the height of the storm...

Super-Typhoon Man-Yi

We're in the middle of a pretty big storm right now.... hard as it might be to believe (for anyone who hasn't experienced something like this!), I'm going to MISS typhoons when I leave Okinawa!!

This is the first big storm we've had in three years, so we were ready!! :)

We're snug and safe in our apartment... still have power.... still have internet... but the satellite TV signal is gone (no surprise there, huh?)

Here's a video of the view from the balcony

Cute Bags!!

OK... I know I should be sorting and organizing and generally getting ready to move.... but I was just drawn to quilting this weekend!!! You see I had a couple of new patterns and some fabric that was just begging to move into the "finished quilts" section!!

So... I exhibited just enough self-control to fill the back seat of the car with stuff to take to the thrift shop -- and then I started sewing!! :)

Shiisa Quilts has a HOME!!

This has been a very exciting week! I arrived in Bloomington last Saturday and Mom and I have been running non-stop since then.

On Sunday, we drove out to "snoop" at the site that I'd found online (thanks to the Herald Times!). My brother, Jeff, had made the first contact with the owner and we had already had some discussions about the site.



I met with John, the owner on Monday morning and we made some decisions about space requirements. Today (Wednesday) I met with an architect who will help me to design the space. We're on our way!!



I've taken care of a couple of "trivial necessities" -- getting a federal tax ID and a state tax ID...

And today I visited the quilting guild at St. Mark's Methodist Church. That was fun and I met some great ladies who really NEED a local quilt shop!!

Hopefully, they'll help spread the word that Shiisa Quilts is coming to Bloomington!!

What a Stupid Name for a Quilt Shop!! What does it mean anyways???

This post might help to explain why I chose Shiisa Quilts for my shop name.

I love the culture and people of Okinawa, and, for me, the shiisa is a constant reminder of the fun I've had living there. Before I learned to quilt, I was really involved in pottery. My favorite "subject" was shiisa!

Here's a few of my creations...

This is a female shiisa. You can tell that because her mouth is closed - or at least MORE closed than the male shiisa.

This is a male shiisa. Notice the big mouth!!

These are in-process pictures of my first large shiisa set. Total classwork time was about 32 hours.

Here's the finished product!!

Shiisa aren't always "scary"... sometimes they're whimsical or even just a little "naughty"... I didn't make these, but I thought they were cute.

And here's a couple of rooftop shiisa

I Am Sensai!! :)

I taught a workshop at our Okinawa International Patchwork Guild yesterday. Check out the pics at our blog!!

Confetti Log Cabin

My oldest niece is having her first baby in the fall, so that calls for a quilt!! I've been watching for just the right pattern for inspiration and finally found it! You just can't beat a log cabin pattern, IMHO!! But you can make it more fun!! This easy pattern uses four-patch squares as part of the log cabin design. I love the way it turned out. If you want to find this pattern, it's in the Quiltmaker Magazine, March/April '07.

A Quilt for Baby Chloe

I think my favorite quilts are the scrappy ones!! Chloe's parents have spent much of their lives growing up in Okinawa, so I tried to use fabrics that would remind them of this wonderful place -- and that would give them stories to tell to Chloe as she grows up! She'll also find, when she visits her cousin Justin, that her quilt has some of the same fabrics that were used in his quilt! Won't that be fun??

This pattern is called Bento Box. It's fun and easy!!

Two Very Different Results!!

When I cut the latest Stack n Whack, I had plenty of triangles left over, so I decided to make another quilt!! The original quilt has the blocks set on point over a green background... Although the borders help to calm it down a bit and to pull it together, it's still a little "busy" for my taste... and the colors are really not my favorites...

For the bonus quilt, I set the blocks square against an off-white tone-on-tone background. I'm much happier with the results of this one!!

A Snails Trail for Justin

I'm on a roll!! I just finished this baby quilt for Baby Justin... I love the cute little turtles and the fishies...

I Finished the Mystery Quilt!!

This was our mystery quilt from the OIPG retreat at Okuma... lots of little pieces... it's amazing how such a small quilt can take SOOOOO long to piece!! I got it all done at the retreat and then it sat in my UFO pile just waiting for me to put on the binding and finish it...

Another Stack & Whack!

At our class on Saturday, I worked on a new Stack & whack Pattern... I've had the focus fabric waiting for this pattern for quite awhile.... I find the quilt bold and busy -- hopefully the border will calm it down a bit!! :)

Fuji Kaleidescope Update

Making progress on this one! I've added borders... now I just need to get it layered and quilt it!!

Display Pieces for the Shop

I'm going to open a quilt shop in early 2008 and have started to hunt for unique and wonderful display pieces for the shop. I found this set at a bazaar last weekend. I think they'll be perfect and versatile!

These pieces are made of elm wood and are about 110 years old. They originate from the Shandong Province.

Quilting Sensai

I'll be teaching this quilt at our next Okinawa International Patchwork Guild workshop on 9 June. It's an easy quilt to put together and turns out great, I think!

A Quilt for a Princess

This quilt is for my oldest grand-niece, Avery... she's 5 years old, and quite the "girly-girl"... She has a "princess room" at her grandparents' house, so I thought this would be PERFECT for her!

An Interesting Blog!

I just got an email from Mary-Frances who runs the Bloggers Who Embellish webring. Mary-Frances has a great blog named "Frequently Wrong But Never In Doubt."
Just the name of the blog was a draw for me!! :)