Are We Walking to Alaska

Are We Walking to Alaska
Are We Walking to Alaska - A True Story

Sunday, July 30, 2017

Old Barns - Lynden, WA


Not all the barns around Lynden, WA are well kept - but the apple trees on this farm are pruned and ready for apples.


A new roof and one side painted - in fairly good condition.
The original small barn and a newer improved one - but both have seen better days.
The oldest one is beginning to bulge  and bend.


Sagging and old


Bundles of long stakes for the nearby raspberry fields.  Many older farms have been converted to growing raspberries.
Shiny new roof and pretty white fence.
Hidden in the woods, an old shed.

Looking across the fields to a favorite farm with an old yellow barn.
Very friendly old yellow barn
Two old barns that I had never noticed before - perhaps the trees completely hide them in the summer.

No barn left - just the hay field and the old silo.


Sunday, July 23, 2017

New Barns - Lynden, WA

Lynden, WA is in the Fraser Valley - which extends up into British Columbia - prime farming land in our area.
Front of the barn is freshly painted
The side could use a coat of paint
Sitting on a hillside above a commercial raspberry field.
Quite a different style of hay barn
New and old barns







No windows - just hay storage
Lovely face on the barn - but looks like it is missing a few teeth.


Thursday, July 20, 2017

Crazy Quilt Revisited

This is a re-post from several years ago from my other blog - Pieceful Afternoon - Ben is now 12, so you can tell how long ago it was.
I've recently decided to pick up the crazy quilt and work on it.  A great project for lazy summer afternoons on the deck.  A glass of iced tea, a cookie or two - or some Ranier cherries, and my threads and fabrics.  As I progress with the new section of the crazy quilt I'll keep you updated.  I wanted to show you the progress so far on the first part, started some years ago.

March 10, 2010 - Come on in - I've been working on my crazy quilt and I'd like to show it to you. Have a nice cup of tea, how about a cranberry/pecan shortbread cookie? Are you nice and comfy? Good, glad to have you visit.


For several summers I would paint fabrics all summer long. I would paint it with a special photo sensivite paint, lay grasses, cedar fronds, flowers, etc on the painted color and put the fabric in the sun to print. Where ever there was something on the fabric, the color would not set and I would get a white image on the colored fabric.


Somtimes Ben would "help" Grammy paint the fabric - mostly by running up and down the painting boards when the paint was dry.


Isn't that the cutest thing you've ever seen? Such a good helper.

When I was painting the fabric I cut the pieces into fat quarters (18x22" for you non-quilters) and there were often small pieces left at the end of a bolt of fabric so I would paint those to use myself. One day, while looking at a nice pile of the pieces I painted for myself I came up with the idea of a crazy quilt made with the hand painted fabrics. Since the fabric is 100% cotton I chose to use only cotton embroidery floss for the stitching.

Do you know why it is called Crazy Quilting? Not because the pieces are crazy shaped, but because it resembles the crazing on old dishes - those little crackly lines that sometimes appear as dishes age.

It is traditional for every Crazy Quilt to have a spiderweb . . .


A butterfly - flying above some pretty flowers . . .

I really enjoy the hand embroidery and like to try out new stitches. After working on it for a while I usually put it aside when it begins to feel like I'm repeating stitches too often - and then when I pick it up again it feels fresh. I am making the quilt in sections and when sections are completes I join them together, and eventually it will be big enough to use on our bed.
And so I begin again with a new section of the crazy quilt.  Stay tuned for updates.
This is the new section of the crazy quilt that I've started - the hand painted fabrics are hand stitched to the backing - and now I can have the fun of embellishing with embroidery.

See you later - I'm off to stitch!  Thanks for visiting.

Sunday, July 16, 2017

Hiway 20 Barns and Beyond

And now - more drive-by barn photos on busy Hiway 20 - this time they are all gambrel roofed - the more traditional barn of our area.
Cement blocks on the lower half - wood above - and a lovely white fence 
 Do you see the face on the barn?
 A falling down barn - chairs and doors sitting out back - and on the right side of the barn the old basketball hoop for the farmer's kids.
 A working farm, this one is not on the hiway - but is a perfect example of the style of barn in our area.


 Lots of windows

 I've shown this one before - it is being demolished and I suppose the wood will be sold for renovation projects.  I barely got a shot between cars.
 Neat and tidy - and ready for the horses
 Ready for retirement 

Two working barns on adjacent farms.