Scenic Route

Since I have not blogged in months and months and months, I just need to jump in and start somewhere! Never mind the trip to Istanbul, Turkey or a summer chock full of grandchildren--I just need to start where I'm at, right? So, here are some pics and video of a Christmas Program I attended 2 days before Christmas. The children are from a Catholic orphanage here in UB. Anyway, the program was priceless. I laughed and cried through the whole thing. It just comforted and entertained me more than I can say. Enjoy! Oh, and I added a picture of my favorite Nomad, Randy :) Be sure and check out the videos--they're worth the time (especially the bunny whose ear wouldn't behave)! Oh, and the little dancer is doing a traditional horse dance--adult women do it with rice bowls on their head!

Here's an "infomercial" that Randy got me on with my new "cordless machine." :) Here are a few things we've been working on in my quilt class here in UB--As I've said before: my "students" should be teaching me :) It's a real challenge for me to challenge them a bit. Last week we did the sunflower--they cut theirs out of silk scraps (good cottons just aren't available here)--then look! They turned around and gifted me with the wonderful pillow combining several of their flowers!! I just love it! Even the border is pieced with silk scraps. Wonderful. I about cried. This last week week did the origami star--which was a special challenge for me--Randy had to help me the night before as it was a bit abstract for me! But we had a ball getting through it.

We took a day trip today out to Terlj National Park today. It actually snowed last night and the wind was howling today. But still, the sky was beautiful and the signs of spring were everywhere. Beautiful!

I know it's been forever since I blogged, but I finally have a chance (and power and internet :) to catch up. Due to the constant outages here in UB, my dear Randy gifted me with this marvelous Russian sewing machine for our recent 30th anniversary. This is what my students all use (note in pics) and it's amazingly precise never mind the hand wheel; and the stitch is perfect and even! It's strictly Sew and Don't Sew (a Myer-ism). Speaking of my students, check out what they've been up to! They just finished the sashing & borders on our Old Testament Bible blocks and yesterday we did kimono blocks from this book. We all had a total blast with this one ! Last but not least...I just boxed up a sack o' doll clothes for Julia who will turn 2 on May 24th. Each granddaughter gets a Bitty Baby by American Dolls for her 1st b-day and then granny-made clothes for her 2nd. Yep, all 5 of them (and counting as we don't know what Jana's next one will be yet...

We had a wonderful Easter--with 60 F above 0 weather!! I wore my party padabouts sans pantyhose :) I made two of these Martha Stewart Mandarin Orange Upsidedown Cakes--one for the Easter dinner we celebrated with friends (the hosts supplied a real USDA ham! Heaven :) and one for our church fellowship that evening. I was able to sew my Easter duds together at the last minute, the skirt went together in about an hour on Saturday and the top on Sunday. Nothing like last minute, but the fact that I had any time at all was a huge surprise/gift to me. The fabric was from a 3-piece Sari package I got at a local store. There were two 3-meter lengths of a cotton/silk blend (skirt) and then another 2 meters of a silk scarf--that's what I made the vest out of. The biggest blessings of all are that He is risen!!! and calls to family of course.

Some things need no translation and that includes love of fabric and sewing. My Mongoilian friend, Selenge, has been after me for 4+ years to give sewing demos at her quilting center here in UB. I have finally agreed--and have had a blast! The language thing (the students speak almost no English and I use my "Monglish") is just no big deal. The first week I showed them origami fabric flowers from Kumiko Sudo's great book, Flower Origami . The next class we had Show & Tell and they just took the concept and ran with it! Now we've started Bible blocks (complete with the corresponding story :D ) --from this site: www.patternsfromhistory.com/bible_quilt/bible_bom.htm for a sampler quilt of old American blocks. The one group picture shows our finished Garden of Eden Block. Then, they taught me how to make these really cool little silk flowers made from circles!

I made this little fleece owl in about 30 minutes right before I met up with this little birdie below. Her name is Rachel Saruul and she belongs to our young friends Keegan & Tugsoo Cook. That impish smile is due to Mom catching her getting into a big piece of chocolate cake meant for her Daddy. The owl pattern came out of a Sew Simple magazine, Volume 11. The song title belongs to a GREAT song by the Be Good Tanyas ( thank you , Nikki!)

Valentine's Day this year marked the 30th (!!) anniversary of our first date. Randy, as always, came through with flying colors. I woke up to a dozen beautiful red roses (not to be taken for granted here in Mongolia!), was treated to a marvelous day, and finished up by dining & dancing at a Valentine's Day charity dinner (which means I got to dress way up :). I thought I would just throw in these fun birds I made last week (also from the Spool website). They adorn my guest bathroom and a spot in the living room. Too cute, eh?