Ohio Snow & Sew!

I visited my family in Ohio - we got over 16" of snow while I was there!
BEFORE:

AFTER:

See more birds in the snow on flickr. We were snowed in for a couple of days. We had the two essentials: chocolate and electricity. I used the time to piece two Nickel Quilt tops which are graduation gifts.

Early Morning Along the Olentangy River

I'm in Columbus, Ohio for the Quilt Surface Design Symposium. One of the best things about the hotel is its' location beside the Olentangy River. I love to get out in the early morning to walk. When I take my camera, the wildlife is elusive! I see a great white egret and a blue heron almost every day. Is there only one of each along this stretch of the river? Who knows? I've never seen two!

Country Road, Take Me Home

I spent a couple days with my Mom & took this picture on one of my walks along the back country road I lived on as a child. No lane line - the road is about 1.5 lanes wide. If two big vehicles meet, both have to get one tire off onto the shoulder. Most of the trees are shagbark hickory - beautiful, tall trees with large leaves. Notice all the mailboxes? When I lived there, there were three houses. The Wilcoxes, us, and Gontermann's. Now, there are a dozen houses!

It's still quite rural. On my walk, I saw a red-headed woodpecker and several blue jays, many squirrels. I avoided the ever-present poison ivy - something you learn very early on in rural Ohio!

New "Old" Sewing Cabinet

The best of the treasures I brought back from my trip to Ohio was this vintage sewing cabinet. Made by the Caswell-Runyun Company, probably in the 1940's. It is beautiful! I haven't decided what sewing supplies to keep in it.






This photo shows the label inside the top.

Two Weeks In The Buckeye State

I've been in Columbus, Ohio for almost two weeks. (Side note: I missed the ENTIRE College World Series! Since Arizona State got knocked out in the Super Regionals, it wasn't quite as much of a sacrifice. And I take some comfort in the fact that the team that beat ASU (Fresno State) won the whole she-bang!) First week was at the National Quilting Association (NQA) show, second at the Quilt Surface Design Symposium (QSDS). I squeezed in some time with my family during and between the shows. There have been storms, lots of rain, not enough lightning (which I love!), and this rainbow on a back road in Logan County.









QSDS has been wonderful! Vendors each have a hotel room as the "booth". I've shared a room with Roni of Sunny Bunny Designs. With two of us, we are able to get away from minding the store to peek into the classrooms. The printing class is calling to me! My own work is so beginning compared to that in the fabric exhibit of complex cloth! If you want to expand yourself as an art quilter, QSDS is THE place!

I've been walking in Union Cemetery (established 1806) and on a trail along the Olentangy River. It is similar, yet very different to the trail I walk in Omaha. They are both "rural" trails in urban areas. Plenty of bikers here, but I didn't hear any "on your left" as they approached & passed me from behind. My Omaha trail runs along a "crick" much, much smaller than the Olentangy! Gray squirrels in Columbus, brown and the occasional black squirrel in Omaha.I saw a gray heron on the river today, along with plenty of ducks. Mulberry trees in both places are messy! No buckeye trees or poison ivy on my Omaha trail. And I miss having my little dog to walk with me!

It gets lonely on the road. I miss my husband, my daughters and my own bed. I'm looking forward to heading home! (Yes, Alyssa, I miss the cat too!)