Annual Lunag Prabang Festival

Our trip to Luang Prabang coincided with the annual large market and boat race.  People from all over the area attended the market.  I spotted these lovely sunshades which I thought would provide marvellous cover for those of our party who were feeling the heat.

Mom's Birthday:

Tomorrow, September 10th, is my mother's 99th birthday.  She is an amazing lady who has spent her life giving to others, especially her family.  She has been my strength and my mentor, pushing me to be the best I could be.  Monday morning, Evan, her eldest grandchild and my son, came for a visit before he headed off to the river (who wouldn't love a job like that!).  Love you Mom. Janice

Farmington Bay Bird Refuge: Our Summer Walks

This summer has slipped by with hardly a notice.  Too busy I guess.  When Roger and I finally decided it was time to go for early morning walks and pretend (at least for me) that we were getting in shape, we realized we had lots of options.  We have the park east of us where the grandkids like to play, the mountain trails further east of the park as well as the neighborhoods around our home.  We decided no to all of the above options and moved west for the new and old bike/walking trails that take us through the Farmington Bay Bird Refuge.

Crayon Quilts:

For my quilt group this month - it's September already!!! - I had planned to do strip piecing following my theme of teaching a new technique that could be done in more than one way.  Then I found a blog and a link about making batik fabric using crayons as the base for color as well as the wax resist for the black dye.  And with school starting and boxes of crayons on sale for 50 cents each, I decided we would all go back to school.  A little bit of fun never hurt anyone.

Annual Tea Getaway:

Above is the Tea Clan after a fun morning spent on the lake.  Adults include Allison and Rob (Johnston), Jason, Nash Way and Evan, Grace and Daniel with grandkids Ana, Livi, Ingrid, Ethan and Racquel (who wanted none of this photo stuff that grandma insisted on).  Since we have been back from Thailand we have tried to get everyone together at least once a year at the cabin.  The grandkids look forward to this chance to take rides with grandpa on the four wheeler and expand their water skills on Smith and Moorehouse reservoir.  Having everyone under one roof for a couple of days is all the reason I need to look forward to this yearly event.

Thailand Quilt Festival 2014

My quilt won an Honorary Mention for the best creativity at the Thailand Quilt Festival! 

Click here to read about it.

Love the Colors:

When Kim was last in Utah, she and I did some dyeing of fabric.  It was a lot of fun and very educational for me.  Watched and re-watched Jane Dunnewold's Craftsy DVD on dyeing, bought some books and washed white fabric to make it ready to take the dye.  I even bought a few new colors from the Pro Chemical and Dye booth at Houston last year.  This all to get ready for dyeing on my own.  Put it off, saying it had to be done in the warm weather and in a place I wouldn't be afraid to mess up (I've been known to do that).  I finally forced myself to secure a place in the garage (above) and go for it.