Hello everyone,
I have been very busy with a quilt for my dad and now that he has it, I can share my photos with you.
It all started with one block. "The Mono Block" which I made on a whim... I just wanted to make a word block and I had just visited Mono Lake. It is said "Moe No" not "Ma No". I ended up discarding "Mono" when I decided to make it a quilt with the names of a few of our fishable lakes. Mono Lake is an amazing place but not really fishable. That block will have to become something else.
My dad loves to fish and he recently moved from our area so... a quilt for dad. That is what I decided I should make for my father for Christmas. It turned out to be a monster of a job, everything was wonky. I had to keep telling myself it is OK. It is Folk Art.
I started with a few small lakes and then progressed to the longer names.
The hardest part was keeping myself from making the blocks too big. It is easier to make big giant words than it is to make tiny little ones.
It all started with one block. "The Mono Block" which I made on a whim... I just wanted to make a word block and I had just visited Mono Lake. It is said "Moe No" not "Ma No". I ended up discarding "Mono" when I decided to make it a quilt with the names of a few of our fishable lakes. Mono Lake is an amazing place but not really fishable. That block will have to become something else.My dad loves to fish and he recently moved from our area so... a quilt for dad. That is what I decided I should make for my father for Christmas. It turned out to be a monster of a job, everything was wonky. I had to keep telling myself it is OK. It is Folk Art.
I started with a few small lakes and then progressed to the longer names. The hardest part was keeping myself from making the blocks too big. It is easier to make big giant words than it is to make tiny little ones.The back is actually pieced with a few large pieces of fabric in blues. I only got one photo of the back, dummy me.
Someday I hope to learn how to do a meandering stitch to cover the whole quilt but I just quilted simple blocks around the letters and in the open spaces. I also embroidered "Fishing the Sierras" in one of the biggest spaces but failed to get a photo. In the end I love the way it came out and I learned an immense amount about how to make letters. My next step is to learn how to make a different font. Yikes!
My dad may not use this quilt much now that he has moved to the desert but it should bring him many happy memories.
Many wonderful hours were spent hand embroidering this little lady in her basket of notions. I loved stitching those spools of thread with a satin stitch. I am very pleased with the way it turned out. The black Ric Rac just makes it pop. Gotta get more black Ric Rac.
Here is look at the inside. It is reversible but the inside is not as exciting as the outside. I used two different fabrics from Heather Bailey.
The bag below went to Amber my niece. She is a fine quilter and I filled her bag with sewing notions and a book full of quilt patterns. I hope she will use it someday.
I used a dark green print by Anna Maria Horner for the inside lining.
My little niece and nephew both received patchwork book bags from me. They are super duper simple and great for using up scraps. I even made a little pocket with their names embroidered on it. Once the bags were complete I filled them with the sweetest books. I had the best time shopping for those books. I really had a hard time keeping myself from buying a copy of each one... for myself! There are some amazing children's books out there.
The back-
The front of Jesse's
I used the same lining for both of them.
The back-
The best thing of all is the bags can be filled with a quilt or pillow and they become super comfy pillows. Today I am going to baste and quilt a "Ballerina Quilt" that has been on hold until post Christmas. I am thinking of making a matching quilted bag... we'll see. 
Christmas Tree covered in LED lights.
This entrance makes me feel like I am entering Pleasure Island. Although the other side is a bit disappointing, there is just not enough going on over there, yet.
Main St. U.S.A ...
It's a Small World knocked my socks off. Wow.
The Mad Hatter's Tea Party is even more fun at night.
Sleeping Beauty's Castle ... beautiful, magical.
Art Deco- Oh be still my heart. I adore Art Deco style and the Tower of Terror is a dreamy example.
These next two shots seem like Gothic examples to me, not sure.
Would you expect to see a Reindeer at Disneyland? I didn't.
Do you remember hearing about the 40 pound Turkey that President Obama pardoned on Thanksgiving this year? Well here he is at the Happiest Place on Earth, although I don't believe that is his Happiest Place. Better than the White House table though!
My sons childhood has also been graced with several trips to the happiest place on earth. Here is a shot of the two of us in front of It's a Small World. I love this photo makes me want to go squeeze my son, which he would Not appreciate at 17.
I still love all the attractions... well... I am not fond of Winnie the Pooh's ride or Tarzan's Tree house but as an adult I notice all the details that make the magic. For instance, the photo below is a tiny little nook in New Orleans Square, it is a bit off the well beaten path... well not really, as I took this photo there were crowds of people funneling through behind me I am sure. I could just move in there. So much work has been put into every little thing. It is easy to get caught up with the cost, crowds, and the lines at Disneyland but if you can take the time to stop and really look at the fine details, it is so worth every penny. At least it is to me.
Here is another shot from New Orleans Square.
I recently read this quote, which explains it all. 
When I was a little girl I would sift through her buttons and ponder over how old they were. I always had this impression she was much older than she was,as if she was born in 1850 instead of 1915. I imagined she grew up in a "Little House on the Prairie" sort of atmosphere. In some respects she did. I remember her laughing when I asked her if she was from the horse and buggy days. Grandma Ruby would tell us to put our name on the bottom of the things we wanted after she died, so my name was on the bottom of that tin for a very long time, in fact it still is.
I have it in my bedroom now, sitting on the old Pfaff Sewing machine I inherited from her. It is one of my most favorite things.
The tin is not only filled with a vast variety of buttons collected over decades but the tin itself is gorgeous. Curvy, with pretty flowers on each side. I love the little gold knob on the lid. 
When Grandma died and I had the tin at home, I felt like I had a piece of her with me. I sorted through them and separated them into color groups. Some of them are so incredible I knew right away I wouldn't be sewing them onto anything that I wasn't keeping for myself. I can't let those treasures leave!
I found a couple things in that tin that weren't buttons, a thimble and a ring. The thimble excited me because I like thimbles, although I don't use them. I don't like the way I can't feel my fingertip with a thimble protecting it. The ring is very intriguing to me. You see... Ruby was only 40 when Spencer died in a mining accident in Idaho. My grandma never remarried after he died. There was never another man in her life and this is certainly a mans ring. It looks like a wedding band to me and no one knows if it belonged to my Grandpa. I like to imagine that it was his. I never knew him but I have been told I would have loved him, of course.
Funny how a tin full of buttons can mean so much.