Piece O' Cake Blog

Wedding pictures are just too much fun!

I'm seeing wedding photos in small doses. It's sort of like appetizers before a really fine meal - I'm happy, but not quite full.

This image was taken on the stairs to the choir loft at the back of our church, St. Mary's Catholic Church, in Sherman, TX. Either Kelli or Brandon from nine photography took it. I'm amazed at the lighting in this photo. This stained glass window faces west and the sun was shining brightly into it. The church itself was not well-lit. The photo is prettier than the scene was in person - and Jeff and Celia were pretty darned great in person.

I love this photo which was taken after the wedding, before the reception. It was just Jeff and Celia and the photographers at a spot that Brandon found earlier in the day. The way they captured the movement of Celia's dress and her lovely shoes below makes this photo come alive. This may be the one that ends up framed, in our hallway.

I wish I had photos like this from my own wedding. I can't go back, but Steve and I may need to manufacture an event at which we can be photographed. In great clothes and pretty shoes! With a party to follow.

You can see more of the wedding photos at nine photography's blog here. You'll see bits and pieces of our house in the backgrounds.

A quilter's bathroom!

I found this photo on Remodelista. Seriously, is this not a quilter's bathroom!

You can use this bathroom yourself if you stay at the Boundary Hotel in Shoreditch in the East End of London. It makes me happy just to imagine being there! Look close and you can see where they hid the drain in the floor. Lovely attention to detail.

Displays at Anthropologie...

Celia and I shopped a bit at an Anthropologie somewhere in Baltimore. It was in a mall - I don't know which mall. (I was never clear on where north was, there is no way I could find my way back to this mall.) The displays in the store were lots of fun. This one, made from clothespins, was behind the cash register.

 

 

What a simple, yet stunning, display! Simple objects used in a new way.

 

And then there was this map that had been either torn or burned apart. The pieces were stitched in place with what looked like heavy wool thread or very fine wool yarn.

 

Both of these displays look like "art" to me. Placed in a gallery, I think people would stop and pay attention to them. In a store, used as a display, how often do you think people think "art" when they look at these two pieces? Context is everything - which is something to keep in mind if you aspire to be an art quilter.

Alligators in Baltimore...

 

When we were in Baltimore last week I spotted these guys. Celia said that there is a move on in Baltimore to beautify the city with art.

That poor woman is walking right into the toothy mouth of an alligator! Oh no! And the car below is about to be swallowed...

One sewing machine too many...

I have a Babylock/Brother Quilter's Choice Professional that I bought in May of 2003 that needs a new home. I rarely sewed on this machine because I only have room for one machine at a time in my sewing table. I realized too late that I don't like to take the time to switch out machines unless I absolutely have to. I have 3 other machines and have simply run out of room for this one.

This machine goes forward and backward only - no zigzag. It is designed for both free-motion and walking foot quilting. The opening is 8 1/2". It has a knee lift.

 

 

Here are the feet I have for it.

I have no idea what this machine might be worth so I'm happy to take offers. I can ship it to you! I'm not sure what shipping will be, but I would guess it would be under $50 - maybe under $30. If you are interested, please leave a comment. If you aren't interested but have an idea of what this machine might be worth, please share that info too. I appreciate any help that you can give!

And here are two more images from the folks at ninephotography from the day of the wedding. The green wool tomato is a pin cushion I made from the big wool beads. These photographers are really imaginative!

My Alzheimer's Smackdown quilt is done!

It's finished and I think my quilt is a contender to win the 1st ever Alzheimer's Art Quilt Smackdown (are you listening Hollis, Sue, and John!) It is up to all of you to bid the price of my quilt into a first place win. Ami hasn't given us a date yet, but I'll let you know more as I know more. For now, here's a detail shot of my (winning) quilt. The block is 5" x 5", hand appliqued and machine quilted.

At the altar...

There aren't going to be many of photos of Jeff and Celia at the altar because our priest doesn't allow the photographers to shoot during the ceremony. That was fine with me - the focus should be on the wedding not on the "perfect photo". But some guests managed to take a few very quiet, no-flash photos.

 

Isn't the train on Celia's dress lovely!

More wedding pics...

The wedding photographers have 2 photos from Jeff and Celia's wedding on the front page of their site. Go to Nine Photography. That lovely couple at the top of the page is Jeff and Celia! The two funky robots on their blog link are mine. They live on Steve's dresser and Kelli (photographer) added Jeff and Celia's rings to take that great photo.

 

Most of the wedding photos were taken before the ceremony. No superstition for them - the groom saw the bride and the photos were taken! I seriously recommend this to any of you who have weddings on the horizon. The wedding itself was more focused and Jeff and Celia were more relaxed. It was good.

The photo above was taken between the wedding and reception. The photographers found a cool spot for photos and had Jeff and Celia stop for photos on the way to the reception. Celia said it was a good way for them to catch their breath and get ready to enjoy the eveing. And I have to say the photos I've seen are worth the time it took.

Some wedding snaps...

Chris Vincent, one of Jeff's very good friends from Dickinson and a groomsman, took some photos. This is what I've seen so far:

 

The guys kept my son safely belted in when driving around town. Made me happy!

Most of the bridal photos happened before the wedding. Times have changed - none of that wedding superstition for our kids. It worked out so well that I would recommend this to anyone planning a wedding. Jeff and Celia still had the "reveal" shots but it happened before the ceremont. The jitters were over. It was really nice! The time between the wedding and getting to the reception was just right.

I'll have more posts later, maybe next week. It's been a good (and very busy) 2 days with the kids before we head home from Baltimore.

I found one wedding-related photo...

Remember the centerpieces I made for the rehearsal dinner? Here is one in place. I'd share a photo of the whole room, ready to go, but I didn't get a good photo of that.

 

The acrylic "diamonds" on the mirror added some nice bling. We put a tiny battery-powered light in the marbles in all of the round vases for an added glow. It was fun!

Celia found a place to use the log/daisy combos at the reception. I was happy to be able to use them more than once. (FYI - Those of you who attend fall quilt market will see them in our booth if you look close.

Jeff and Celia got married!

Our youngest son married a wonderful woman on Saturday. I am happy to say that I now have 2 great daughters-in-law. As a mother of boys this makes me very happy.

Do I have any pictures of any of the weddingevents? No. But the photographers at Nine Photography promised to have some for me to post later in the week. And my brother-in-law, Charles, his wife, Deborah, and their daughter, Rachel, each took photos. I can bore you tears with wedding photos soon, but not today. Today I can show you the loaded pickup that we are driving from Texas to Baltimore. For those of you unfamiliar with the US, it's a 2-day drive in each direction.

 

My contribution to the packing experience was to find a place for the last thing (that basket) that didn't fit.

 

It's great up front, between the seats. We filled it with lunch, phones, etc. It's actually kind of handy!

Alain de Botton on success...

Have you found TED? Here is what their website says: TED is a small nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment, Design. Since then its scope has become ever broader. Along with the annual TED Conference in Long Beach, California, and the TEDGlobal conference in Oxford UK, TED includes the award-winning TEDTalks video site, the Open Translation Program, the new TEDx community program, this year's TEDIndia Conference and the annual TED Prize.

What I can tell you is that I've had mind-expanding insights while listening to TED talks. The one below is by Alain de Botton whose book, The Art of Travel, is one of my very favorite reads. In this talk he made me re-examine what I think about success.

Zinnias are wonderful!

I took a lot of pictures of the yard and one of them was of this lovely, red zinnia. I grew a whole lot of them from seeds and I'm going to remember to do that every year from now on.

 

I thought I would crop the image to see if it was better. What do you think?

 

Doesn't this make you wonder about cropping your quilt blocks!

Gourd or squash?

My friend, Laurie, has a volunteer vine growing out of her compost pile. Is she growing squash or gourds? Either is good, but we're not sure whether to try cooking these or not.

 

I've got yellow squash but it's the wartiest squash I've ever seen!

Fire Ants...

If you are not from the south, you may have only heard about fire ants. These ants make a distinctive looking mound - that you don't always see in time. Here's one at the base of a big rock in my front yard.

 

If you poke the mound, thousands of tiny ants flood out. If you aren't paying attention, they climb up your leg and then they all bite you at once. It feels like fire, hence the name "fire ants". I took a stick and drew across the bed...

 

... I hope you can see the fire ants. I moved away pretty quickly.

 

Click on the picture and I think a bigger one will open for you. The little white ovals are eggs. You can see the ants better on the rock. I have at least 3 of these fire ant beds out front and I have to watch my grandkids so that they don't get into them.