A Day of Visits

Today has been a wonderful day of meeting with friends. When I knew I would be in the Salt Lake City area, I made arrangements to go see THE Nanette of Freda's Hive. It was a year ago that I read Nanette's blog, and my life hasn't been the same since. I started my own blog and have now met so many of you. I count my self LUCKY.
Kim of Bitty Bits and Pieces lives near Nanette, so the 3 of us met at Nanette's house this morning.

Nanette, Kim, Nedra

Nanette showed us her latest projects. She just got this quilt back from the quilter.

I always love to see peoples workspace. Especially those creative souls who design patterns for us to enjoy. This is Nanette's bulletin board.

And all her vintage and Japanese fabrics stacked neatly in rows.

Some of the bags Nanette has designed.

And racks of her quilts.

We talked about the latest things we are working on, our families, and how much we have in common. Even though I live a 4 hour drive from these women, I consider them just like sisters.

Thank you Nanette and Kim for including me in your world.

After leaving Nanette's I went over to Kim's house. I wanted to see her sewing room and the place where she designs all her patterns. Kim is currently posting contributions at Moda Bake Shop. Make sure to go over and see the fun things she has created.

One of my favorite "Kim" quilts is her Kaleidoscope. Today I saw it made in 3 different color ways. This one is her Halloween version.

Cute little hand clutch purses.

In her sewing room, Kim uses boxed cubicles for her projects. The plastic boxes stack perfectly inside. When she's ready to start the next project they are easy to see and reach.

I couldn't take very many pictures of Kim's quilts in progress because she is in the process of getting several of them published. This is one she published in 2004 called "Holiday Squared" so I could show her work.

These ladies are so talented. It's a pleasure just to rub shoulders with them.

My next stop was to see my dear friend Janean. A few weeks ago Janean fell and severely broke her foot. She required surgery and now 3 screws hold the top of her foot together. She's been laid up in bed trying to keep her foot above her heart as she heals. How boring is that? We talked quilts to get her mind off the things she would like to be doing but can't for now.

This is the latest quilt she just got back from the quilter.

Ouch!

Janean has the most beautiful home, decorated with lovely quilts here and there. Her husband Ralph just made her a quilt ladder as a Mother's Day present.

Look at the detailed work he put into the ladder. Ralph is a real artisan.

Quilts by Janean.

Before heading back to St. George I went to visit my girlfriend Ruth. ( the one who had the beautiful wedding reception in her backyard recently). Two days ago a mud slide came down the mountain in Draper and caused a lot of damage to the 2 houses next door to Ruth and Craig.

They had experienced fires on the mountain last year, and have had a lot of rain in the last few weeks. This mountain has been a concern for the city for months.

Fortunately the mud slide missed the Steed's backyard.

Unfortunately it went right into the yards of our friends the Maylett's and Olsens.

Olsen's were in Scotland on vacation and flew home to a basement and yard full of mud.

Disaster crews , family and friends having been working night and day in the clean up.

Olsen's had a car in this driveway that was encased in mud nearly to the top of the tires.

Maylett's home sits just a little higher than Olsen's. The mudslide went past the side of their house, filling the window wells, and pushing out the windows to the basement below. Most of the initial impact filled their son's bedroom. Fortunately he wasn't in his room at the time.

The crews have already pulled out drywall and cleaned up most of the mud.

It's a miracle no one was hurt considering all the damage done. That's the good news.

The bad news is none of this is covered by the Maylett's flood insurance. If the water had come in on the main floor, they would have had some coverage, but about the only thing covered in a basement is the water heater.

It's been a rough few days, but Malett's were cheerful and telling jokes.

Shanna said she's considering offering therapeutic mud baths in her back yard for a small fee.

More rain is expected, so the women and teenagers were lining a runoff ditch with rock. They are hoping to divert any more water away from the homes.

Make sure to include the Maylett's and Olsen's in your prayers. They've certainly been in mine.