Grandma - Olga Carlson

My beloved Grandmother passed earlier this month. 

She was one of my biggest allies in the world. She was an amazing women. She would have been 101 next month. The above picture was at the 70 anniversary party for her and my beloved grandfather. 

She was quite remarkable. 

She was a strong confident women raised by strong confident women. She had a university education graduating in 1939. She climbed out bedroom windows and rode on the handle bars on motorcycles. She also played baseball with the boys. She was always pushing, in her way to make sure that I would make it in life.

You could not have asked for a more wonderful Grandmother. She was also an amazing Great Grandmother. Quinn is very lucky to have had a great relationship with her. They would play cards together and do word searches. She was strong in mind till the very end. 

I am a better person for having her in my life. 

You will be missed greatly Grandma. 

Well hello there. 

I know that I have not posted here is quite a while. A lot has been going on. First I have gone back to school!!! So i have been really focusing on that. ( it going great). Next it is baseball season here in Mass so my time is work, school, family. Not a lot of time for anything else right now. However I have realized that I need to make time to make. It keeps me whole and grounded. So here we are. Let me update you on the goings ons from the last few months. 

We went to opening day at Pittsfields, Handcock Shaker village. 

We love going there it is such a great place. 

 This is one of theirs goats. It just makes me want one more. So cute!

 This is the chicken coop and nest box. I loved the way they have sliding doors. Making note for the future.

 At the being of the month (may) we went North to Toronto to visit family. We went to the Ripley Aquarium, it was amazing. I am not sure who had more fun Quinn or us. Are these jelly fish not beautiful and amazing?

 We also checked out a Blue Jays game!! Quinn and Steve's favorite team and Quinn's first Major League one. It was amazing. 

 Of course while we were there I found and visited a local quilt shop. Pick up some nice polka dot fabric and a pair of thread scissors that I have been looking for.

It was a great and fast trip.   

 Here is my new sewing trunk! Steve made it for the show. I hope you all fallow him(The garage with Steve Butler) 

So I needed a new trunk he made one, and he even painted it yellow for me. 

It is painted with milk paint from the Handcock Shaker Village. It is marigold yellow. My favorite. 

It works great and will it looks great also.

 A update would not be complete without a dish update. We found this great little lemon dish at a local antique store. It is amazing. I love it. I mean how could you not it is a lemon!! And of course I have my lemon wedges in it. So wonderful. The small things in life make a person happy, 

And not to forget the studio. Here is my bench as I try to get through all of my unfinished project and boy there sure is a lot of them. I really need to get to work. Once I get through all of those projects I will share some pictures of them and then of the studio as it need a major cleaning. 

Of boy always working on many things. 

I guess it keeps me going and grounded to have many projects around. 

Thank you for reading as always.

I will try to stay away for as long this time.

Liesl  

Kitchen Fabric

I just received this fabric in the mail last week. 

It is not fabulous? I love the colors and I love that it has Pyrex. I love to feed my obsession with Pyrex. I bought this from Fabric Worm It is by Andrea Muller Riley Blake the collection is called Vintage Kitchen. Here is the link for this fat quarter bundle I bought. 

http://www.fabricworm.com/vintage-kitchen-fq.html 

I am not sure what I am going to make with this yet, but I am sure happy to be adding to my stash. My stash is still small but it is growing slowing. Thank you for reading as always. 

Liesl 

An armful

Hello all!! This is my arm, I love a good armful of bangles. I wear these everyday, there are about 22  that I wear on this one arm!! I love them! Some are made by me, some are vintage, some Steve had made for me. Can you guess which ones he had made? I love that I jingle when I walk and move. Everyone at work can hear me coming,a and to think I hardly notice anymore. I have been wearing and adding to my collection of bangles for at least 10 years if not longer. On my other arm, I wear cuff bracelets or a couple of really big bangles. 

I just love bracelets. They make me happy. And really everyone should do and be what makes them happy. 

We watched this great documentary on Iris Apfel the other week and I loved it. I suggest that you all check it out. I just love her. So fearless. 

Anyways before I go and on I will end this. Hopefully I will be adding to arm soon. Do you wear an armful? I hope so or maybe it is a neckful? 

Thank you for always reading. 

More to follow soon

Liesl 

Pyrex makes fabulous gifts!!

Happy New Year everyone!!! I hope that everyone's new year has started off well. Mine has been interesting to say the least. It is going to busy year for us here.But I am hoping it is going to be a good one. Now let's talk Pyrex! 

 The above one is the set that Steve gave me for Christmas. He is amazing. Feeding my obsession so nicely. He even went and printed out all of the information about the pattern. Love him! 

So it is a small set of casserole, I love casserole dishes. The patter is the Autumn Floral from 1966. It came right before the 1967 standard pattern Verde (which I have the Cinderella mixing bowel set of). It is hard to see in my bad picture but it is a a golden yellow square floral on a mustard yellow background. And well yellow is my favorite color! 

 Now this is one is really special. It is the 1961 Zodiac. I found it in my Grandmother/Aunts basement. They had no problem with me taking it home. (thank goodness) It is forest green with the 12 zodiac's in gold, the lid below has a beautiful starburst on it. It came with a 4 legged trivet and candle warmer. ( my aunt emailed me saying she found it) . So exciting. 

So now why it this one so special. It is not perfect. There are some scratches on the green and the starburst is faded in places. 

So here is the story that goes with it. And we all know I love stories that goes with objects. 

So back in 1961 my Great Uncle gifted this amazing piece to my Grandmother. ( She is now 100 years old) Crazy! So it has been in the family for the whole time!!! I LOVE it! 

Here is a link to a great site about the patterns and history of Pyrex. Enjoy! 

http://pyrex.cmog.org/

Thank you for reading. 

Liesl

A necklace gift

This a fabulous necklace!! My friends husband asked me to make this for her. It is the letter texture that I love to make that has been oxidized to bring it out. It has a lovely peridot that is the birthstone of their new daughter. It is one inch square. And let me tell you it looked amazing one her. I enjoyed making if for them, it took most of a day, not bad I say. I am so happy that she loved it. 

I hope that you all have had a fabulous Christmas. I know that we did. 

Thank you for reading. 

Liesl

Quinn and his quilt

First Merry Christmas everyone!!! 

 Here is Quinn and I working on his quilt. I was working on it and he asked if he could learn and help. How amazing is that? So he is working on his square and is doing an amazing job. I am so impressed with how quickly he picked it up. 

He is a wonder. 

I would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and I hope that you all have a joyful and wonder-filled one. 

Thank you all for following and reading. 

Happy holidays

Liesl 

Working away

 Yesterday was a great day to be working away in the studio. It was rainy and raw outside. 

But inside the studio was cozy and warm. The wood stove was working great. The above image is of me working hard on a pattern/texture that will be on a piece. I can feel all of that hammering today! Whoosh, it was a lot. But man it did feel good, I haven't made that in awhile. I will have to make up more to keep some on the ready.  

 Here is Steve chopping wood for the fire. He is the most amazing husband ever. Thank you for keeping me warm. 

Here I am working at my bench. I love my bench, its like home. I have to get the studio the more, hopefully the trend of the warmish winter will keep up. Once it gets too cold I will not be able to get in there as much I was would like. 

Thanks reading. 

Have a joyful and safe holiday season. 

Liesl

Close up Quilt

Here is a fabulous close up of Quinn's quilt. It is looking amazing. Slow going, I just keep plugging away at it. As my friend taught me it is about the process. It looks so cozy. 

Quinn is getting excited as it is half done. 

Thanks for reading.

Liesl

Dishes

For anyone who know, they know my love for vintage kitschy dishes. I have a huge love for all things pyrex. I just wanted to share a couple of my latest finds. They are wonderful and make me smile.  

 The above image is a fabulous vintage Santa spoon rest. Look at it, doesn't it just make you smile. It is on our stove for holiday season. I found it at one of our local Antiques store (Bernat Antiques). I pick it up for only $1!! Can you believe it?

 This is a amazing fridge glass pyrex. It is a fabulous blue color. No chips or marks. The cover is a perfect. 

I am using it a a little sewing "basket". It is the items that I need at hand to be working on Quinn's quilt. It works perfect, it sit on our end table. I have everything that I need at arms length. 

I also picked that great find up at Bernat for only $5!!! 

I love getting a really great deal. 

Thanks for indulging my obsession for dishes. 

Thanks for reading. 

Liesl 

 This is a great sign. My Aunt gave it to me, it belonged to my grandfather. I have the part that hung with name inside the studio. Steve hung a piece of slate from it for me, that way I can write anything I like on it. I rather like the welcome. I think that it is a great addition to studio's exterior, don't you?

 I was working on several projects yesterday. It was so nice to be in the studio this past weekend. Quinn visited and worked with me for a little bit also. I will show what he did latter this week. I worked on a some old projects (still not completed), a couple repairs, and a few new projects. I just can't seem to help myself from starting something new when I get in there. 

My trusty wood stove. It is an old friend at this point. Our friend Dick Sargent made it for me when we lived in New Jersey. We have dragged it everywhere with us. It got a hole in it last year, so sad. But Steve was able to put a patch on it. Thank you so much Steve you are the best. It works great, you would never know that there was a hole. I have an amazing husband. It keeps me nice and warm (well when I remember to add wood) while I am working. 

AS always thank you for reading. 

Liesl 

Being thankful

Happy Thanksgiving. 

I am just sharing a few thoughts on what I am thankful for. 

I am thankful for my family and all of us being happy and healthy. 

I am thankful for having a husband that supports everything that I do and who loves me to ends of the earth. I am thankful having a roof over our heads and foods in our belly. I am thankful our friends. I am thankful for my job and Steve's show. I am thankful for having creativity and a space to make. I am thankful for the most amazing son in the world.

I am thankful for being here. 

There is so much to be thankful for it is impossible to write it all down.

I am wishing everyone safe travels and a very happy thanksgiving today. 

Also I am thankful for all who read this. 

Liesl

Sketches

A lot of us have other jobs that keep busy along with our families. So I find that when inspiration strikes I will sketch it anywhere. I have all of these post-its everywhere, in my purse, my desk, my wallet, on my dresser, it is crazy. I really should just carry a sketch book with me. However like I said when it strikes you grab whatever paper is around and get it down before you loose it.

So with winter fast approaching I thought I would share a few of them with you. Do you have piles of ideas everywhere? 

I hope I get these put into reality soon. Thanks for reading and following. 

Be Creative, Liesl 

Fine Furnishings show

Over the weekend we went to the Fine Furnishings show in Pawtucket RI. It was a great show. It is a small one so it is great to when you have kids or a little bit of time. 

This year they included a quilt show by the The Rhode Island Modern Guild. 

It was a great show. Here are some fabulous images of some of the quilts.

 You might remember this one form an earlier post. It was really nice to see it again. 

 I love all of the colors on the soft grey background.

 Look at the details in this one!!! I love all of the textures they created in this one.

 This one I found striking and eye catching.  With all of the fabulous bright colors against the white and the black boarder, fabulous! 

This one is a great color and I love what  I will call pinwheels. 

Ans this is just a tasting of what they had on display. Here is a list of all of the quiltesr who participated.

Denuse Lamb, Jenn Galloway,Jodi Meenan, Karen McCann, Kathy Graves, Leslie Lowenstein, Meredith Skelly, Sisan Smallman, Sue Ahnrud, Suzanne Munroe, Tara Celeste, Tina Graig, Tara Coogan

Thank you all for sharing your beautiful work.

As always thanks for reading. 

Have a creative day, Liesl 

Fall, apples and pumpkins

I love fall, it means it is time for apple picking and well making everything apple. Oh and it is time for pumpkins too! 

It is Columbus day weekend. Which means it is a three day weekend!! I love three day weekends! So we went apple and pumpkin picking. My two guys below having fun looking for the best apples. 

 Don't these apples look fabulous? Oh my gosh they taste fabulous.

 Here they are looking for the perfect pumpkins to carve. I can wait till we carve them, that means pumpkin seeds to roast. Yummy!!

 We went for a walk at a local place here is Quinn taking it all in. It looks amazing. 

Here is the what is taking in. Beautiful. 

I hope that you all are having a fabulous long weekend and fantastic fun filled fall. As always thanks for reading. 

Liesl

October update

Happy October everyone!! This is a great month here is New England. The colors are changing and man are glorious this year. More one that latter.

The below image is of a shipment of metal I just received!! So exciting. Isn't is beautiful? I love getting new metal, I always have a hard time cutting into it for the first time. But work awaits me. I have many project to get done and to finish now that I have what I need. Keep post ot see what comes out of the it.

 Below is me working on Quinns quilt. I still have a long way to go. Maybe by Christmas I will have it all done. It is taking longer then I thought. And we have had several colds and what nots go through the house making it hard to work on it.  I know that I am no good when I am sick. Oh well. It is coming out wonderful though. Quilting take patience. And I love doing it by hand. 

As always thank you for reading my friends,

Happy fall and be creative.

Liesl

Coggeshall Farm Quilt

When we went to Coggeshall Farm there was this amazing quilt in the house. It was beautiful. It is by a lady names Tara Celeste. I love the colors in it!! I also loved how she captured the wonderful place that is Coggeshall Farm.

 I am not sure if you can read all that she wrote about the quilt, but I had to put it. 

 That is my arm point out the stitching that is done like a wave. As the farm in on Narraganset bay, it is only fitting. 

Once again it was a great day with the family and I hope you all are enjoying fall. 

I have been working on nothing but Quinn's quilt in hopes that it will be done before the snow fly's. I have my fingers crossed. I already have my next few quilts planned out. I however refuse to start them till I finish Quinn's. I am hoping to getting in the jewelry studio soon, as I need to get in there for some unfinished projects and repairs need to get done before it gets too cold. Can you believe that we are already thinking of winter? So sad. Oh well it comes every year.  

Thanks for reading. Have a creative day. 

Liesl

Apple Pie Contest

On Saturday we went to the Coggeshall Farm Harvest fair. O my gosh it was great fun! Quinn and I entered the Apple Pie Contest. It was so much fun to make the pie with him. He as so excited. We had a great time there. It was in Bristol RI, so right next to the water and the sunshine it was fabulous. 

 The image above it the filling we made. We used three different kinds of apples. yum!

 Here it is baking!! The house smelling so good. 

 Completed!! Doesn't it look amazing? 

Here they are tasting and judging all of the pies. Quinn was right in there making sure he heard everything. Only good things to say about ours.

Here is what the table looked like after the judging. 

Sadly we did not win, and they only picked a grand prize winner. If you ask Quinn we came in a close second. I'll take it. We won some great maple syrup that was made on the farm. It was a blast. And I will do it again if the opportunity comes up again. 

Spring Chickens

Happy Birthday Grandma!!! 

My grandmother turned 100!! 

She is the one without the hat and the with necklaces on. The other lady is my great Aunt (my grandfathers little sister)

Can you believe that these two are 100 and 92? My grandma, Olga is an amazing women who just had a huge birthday party and boy did she deserve it. 

It was a great party with family coming in from all over. Helen came up from Virginia for the party at 92! Looks like I might have a long life . Well at least I hope so. 

Thanks for having all of us. 

Happy brithday.