Home from Wisconsin, and a Visit with Wanda

 We arrived home yesterday following a 12-day trip to see family in Wisconsin.  The travel was arduous.  On the way there we were caught by a severe thunder storm in Oklahoma City that included hail.  A second severe storm surprised us while we were at dinner one night.  After we got back to the hotel, we learned that there had been tornados to the west of us.  And, on the way home we had to outrun another storm that was bearing down on our path.  It was a busy time with family celebrations and reconnecting with some we had not seen in many years.  There were bittersweet moments as well.

 

I finally found a quilt barn on a highway where we could pause for a picture.  These barns are very different from the ones I’m familiar with in our cattle ranching area.

 

I was ecstatic when on our return we were able to make a brief stopover in Sandwich to visit with Wanda.  We only had a couple of hours before we had to be on our way and Wanda and I made the most of it.  First, we explored her sewing spaces and I got to see some of her work in person.  Then some fabric negotiations took place…

 

My stash of green fabrics got a boost.

 

She let me have two pieces from her giveaway pile.  I was especially happy to get these examples of her crooked cornerstone series.  I’ve been tempted to try this technique and she talked me through her process.  Not shown are numerous cuts from her collection of solids.

 

Then we sat down at her work table and I got to play in her bin of Kaffe scraps.  Wanda knows a lot about the Kaffe Collective and its history. 

This visit was the fastest two hours of the entire trip, and I am so glad hubby was willing to make the pause in our travels.

 

During our first night home, this handsome fellow posed for me outside our fence. 

 

Our dogs were ecstatic to see us and I think our grandson was relieved that his house and dog watching duties were over.  It’s good to be home.