A Few Projects

Summer is not the most productive time in my sewing room, but I have a few little projects I can share with you today.

 Last spring at my quilt retreat, I pieced together the top of this little baby quilt.  Nora had given me a charm pack that I mixed with solid white and yellow kona cotton to form half square triangles and then the HSTs were made into pinwheels and the pinwheels were put together to make this little baby blanket.
A couple months ago I found a backing fabric I liked.

And then just recently I quilted it and added a yellow binding.  It's a nice small size, good to tuck around a baby in the stroller, a nice size for an impromptu changing mat, and I guess it would even be a good nursery school or kindergarten blanket, if children still bring those things to school these days.

I'm not sure who will eventually own it. 

I still struggle with the quilting, but I am pretty satisfied with this simple stippling.  It's far from perfect, but when I washed it, it crinkled up nicely.  I like that look!

Last week I made this simple table runner.

My friend Barb had given me the kit for it (pattern, fabric, and special ruler) as part of my birthday present this year and I wanted to get it done while there were still some flowers in the garden.  I think the colors and the late summer sunflowers and mums in the fabric suggest this time of year.  

I was a little disappointed with the binding, my points are not very crisp.  I even considered picking it all off and redoing it, but then, fortunately, I was overtaken by reason!  

It is an easy pattern and I can perfect my binding when I make the next one.

Lastly, I made some simple fabric dolls for my twins.

I love the cute little embroidered faces.

I gave them belly buttons.

But I think they look cute in their velcro-closed diapers.  I hope the twins enjoy them!

Last weekend was our quilt guild show, which I thoroughly enjoyed.  I'm not much of a "vendor spender" but I did break down and purchase a grab bag of Cherrywood Hand Dyed Fabrics.  The bag contained 56 assorted pieces, each about 8 x 10, and each a unique color. 

Here they are arranged on my table, somewhat grouped by color family.

They are pretty to just look at!  

But I hope very soon they will be working their way into some projects. 

What would you make with them?

The Roosevelts

Like many of you, we are enjoying Ken Burns film on the Roosevelts this week.  We DVR'd it so that we could take our time enjoying it according to our own schedule.

We did our homework early, which has added to our enjoyment of the film.  Nearly two weeks ago, when we were in the Hudson Valley, we revisited Hyde Park and the FDR Presidental Museum and Library.  We had last been there about 25 years ago, and our memories were quite hazy about that visit.  I do recall being impressed with the presidential desk which was displayed on a circular carpet with a railing all around it.  I recall the docent speaking about the items on the desk and thinking that when his back was turned, someone could easily just snatch something off the desk.  It was a time of a lot less security, that's for sure.  But I didn't have any other recollections about the FDR home or the other contents of the site.  In fact, I thought that the desk I described was in the house, but after doing a tour of the house this time, I know that wasn't the case.  I believe it was a central exhibit when you entered the museum, but now you don't encounter the desk until near the end of the museum tour.

Eleanor and Franklin greeted us as we arrived at the newly constructed visitor center.  We hadn't realized, but the FDR Presidential Library and Museum had recently reopened after a three year overhaul, so no wonder everything looked different to us.

There were several informational displays in the visitor center and the necessary museum shop, and we were instructed to browse until the time of our National Park Service docent lead tour which started at this beautiful ceramic map of the area:

 It was built into the terra cotta floor and was a great start off point for the docent to describe the Roosevelt properties in the area and at the immediate site.  Plus, it was just beautiful.  I've included a detail for you to enjoy.  The blue at the very top of this photo is the Hudson River and the artist(s) has even included some sailboats on the river, a common sight.

The FDR home is one of many pretty properties that line both sides of the Hudson River.  Like many old mansions in the area, it started out as a more modest Italianate-style house and then as the family grew, wings were added to the north and south side of the original structure and a third floor was added, as well.  These additions were mostly bedrooms, children's play areas, and servants quarters.

The interior of the house was left as it was when FDR last lived there... I believe the docent said that his clothing was even left in the closets.  He had actually planned for his home to be a "park" and he had designed his own presidential library which is on the grounds.  I guess he realized he was famous and historically significant!

I didn't take many photos inside the house, because the interior was quite dark from treatments they used on the windows to preserve items inside, but here is a photo of FDR's library/living room:

It's hard to see, but just slightly behind that left green chair there is one of his wheel chairs.

Adjacent to the house is a lovely horse barn that has more of a Scandinavian feel to it's design:

And just in front of this barn there was a lovely garden, a colorful riot of annuals and perennials.  I just had to include a photo of that:

The gardens included a rose garden, of course, the rose/Roosevelt connection, but that garden area had very few blossoms this time of year.  And the gardens nicely surrounded FDR's and Eleanor's final resting place:

Only Franklin and Eleanor are buried here (and a family pet or two).  FDR's mother and other relatives are buried in a church cemetery in the nearby village of Hyde Park, NY.

After that we headed to the newly opened library/museum and it was well worth experiencing.  It's got wonderful interactive displays, lots of videos, and of course so many mementos of the life and times of two very influential 20th Century Americans, Franklin and Eleanor.  If you get to the Hudson Valley, make sure to allow several hours for your visit!

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The Mighty Hudson

Toward the end of 2009, New York State opened a new State Park in Poughkeepsie called the Walkway Over the Hudson State Historic Park.  Just about everyone we talked to recommended we visit it, so it was high on our priority list for the few days we had in the Hudson Valley after the wedding festivities.

This park consists of a pedestrian bridge which was developed at the site of an old railroad bridge.  At 212 feet tall and 1.3 miles long, it is the longest elevated pedestrian bridge in the world.  Did you get that?  In the world!  

It's a nice wide expanse, and of course you start out over land.  I'm surprised that this shot doesn't show any other people on the bridge, because it is quite well used and obviously a popular spot with both locals and tourists.

We arrived rather late in the afternoon, so didn't take advantage of the glass elevator that brings you to ground level on the eastern bank of the river so you can walk to a riverside park, a children's museum, and several restaurants.

This is the eastern view looking north: 

And then looking south along the same side of the river you can see another bridge.  You can actually do a 4.5 mile walk by combining the pedestrian bridge with a return walk over the vehicular bridge and make a big loop.  That would be fun to do, but we didn't have time and I only had flip flops on my feet.  

We waked to the center of the bridge so that we could get nice views of the entire river.  It's a very pretty area.

By now you realize that the photo above looks north and the photo below looks south.  Amtrak travels up and down the eastern bank of the river and the freight trains travel along the western bank. While we were on the bridge we saw both types of trains heading south.

There is also a restaurant on the western side of the bridge, though you must have to walk off the end of the bridge and over ground to reach it, because I don't think there is an elevator on that side of the river.

Here I am posing at the middle of the bridge.

I'm standing in front of medallions that commemorate individuals and groups that contributed to make this magnificent park.

It certainly was a fun way to interact with a wonderful, historic river.  

If you ever get to Poughkeepsie, put on your sneakers and enjoy it!

Bear Mail

I came back from our week in Beacon/Fishkill/Hudson Valley with lots of things to blog about.  It's just that I've been sort of busy and haven't had time to organize my thoughts or photos.  So I thought I would start with something easy and fun.

We rented a cabin on a small private lake and each morning Russ would go out for a run.  It's not unusual for him to find interesting things on his running route, so I wasn't surprised when he told me that he saw a mailbox I just had to see.  He wouldn't give me any details, preferring to surprise me.

Well, it was certainly the most elaborate and unusual mailbox I had ever seen.  He knows I am fascinated with chainsaw art and this was really the ultimate example of that, as far as I was concerned.

Here it is from one side:

 And from the equally interesting other side:

Mama bear seems to be guarding the mailbox:

 At the top, near the back of the owl's nest, are two playful grey squirrels:

 On the back of the tree, a cub is exploring a bee hive... or maybe it's a hornet's nest!

 And here's the grand owl sitting on it's nest!

I wonder if the artist lives here?
I'm kind of thinking my plain white regulation mailbox needs an upgrade.