Bits From The Scrap Basket

Friday, April 13, 2012

Koi Wrangling

Three waymarking posts in a row! Yes, I know this is a quilt blog, but Spring is magnificent here in Michigan! I promise, as you're reading these, I'm working on my next SKoW blocks!

The Belle Isle Aquarium was built in 1904 by the famed architect Albert Kahn. It was the oldest-operating aquarium until the City of Detroit closed it for budgetary reasons.

Last Fall, I helped with the "moving of the Koi" from the pond to the basement for the winter. Click here to see some of my favorite aquarium pictures. This past Saturday, with the help of my nephew's Scout pack, we moved them back out!

Scouts on bucket brigade!

Look! We have some!

What do you mean I have to give them back? I just caught them!

My nephew Andrew said, "This was the coolest thing ever!"

You can see them now. Eventually, they will add water plants such as water lilies.

Many of these koi are more than 50 years old! This guy is the oldest.

Tank is filling up!

Things are taking shape.

Job well done!

Can you believe it? These are the leaders?

Another view of the pond and conservatory.

Volunteers have been working for years to maintain the building and take care of the decorative goldfish and Japanese koi. They have also been working diligently to get the aquarium re-opened again. They've joined with 3 other Belle Isle volunteer groups to form the Belle Isle Conservancy. And, in May, the 100+ year old roof is being replaced.

Slowly, some of the inside tanks are getting new residents.

This guy is looking forward to the future!

Thank you for sharing my day!
Elisa

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Flowers for Lauri

I have a good friend named Lauri - a former Michigander. She loves flowers and birds and weird 3-D signs. Did I mention she loves flowers? Thought I'd share a little piece of home. Most of these are from the Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory and all were taken on Belle Isle this past weekend.

And it's only April! Can't wait to see the gardens at the Detroit Zoo this weekend!

Elisa

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday - Waymarking Edition

So, what did YOU see on YOUR way to Easter dinner?

Driving down M-1 (Woodward Avenue) and I glanced over to see.... a dragon!

It was done by a local artist, but the information tube was empty.

As I drove past it several times, I could see small groups of children in their Easter finery posing for their Facebook updates!

Elisa

Friday, April 6, 2012

I Love My Journal Quilt!

Ok, I've decided not to stress over my handwriting so I'm having so much fun with this! I LOVE my daily blurbs! I did the math - the original instructions come up with 368 blocks in my 368 day quilt. So, if you decide to do this, I removed 4 - 3 1/2" blocks with 2 - 6 1/2" blocks to come out perfectly!

This block confesses I scuttled back to Belle Isle for more geocaching. I'm going back tomorrow to help move 50-year old koi from the aquarium's basement to its outdoor pond.

I mean... with beauty like this... How can I stay away?

These are 2 different views of the Whitcomb Conservatory.

I'll let you know how wet I get... Those koi are slippery suckers!

Happy stitching!

Elisa

P.s. Goes without saying I'll do more caching while down there!

Thursday, April 5, 2012

For The Love of T-Shirts

What is it about t-shirts? Don't you love the feel of them? The smell of sun-drenched cotton? Cozying in one is the all-American comfort of home. (sigh) I even love my clean cotton candle in my bathroom.

Why wax nostalgic? I'm making a t-shirt quilt. Below is a pile of 12 - 14" t-shirt blocks waiting for the perfect sashing fabric.

Ok, so time to make an index card with little reminders:

Best to prep the shirts first assembly-line style. Wash them, iron them, fuse them, trim them.
When you take the shirts apart, trim off both the neckband and the waistband so the shirts don't pucker when fusing with interfacing.
After taking the shirts apart, fuse the interfacing to the back and THEN trim to size.
Use a non-stretch fusible interfacing like Pellon 906F.
Make sure interfacing is big enough to cover area because pieced interfacing shows.
As boring as it is, take your time pressing so the interfacing fuses properly.
Use a discarded t-shirt back as a pressing cloth - some iron ons will start to smear when over heated.
Careful! Press and not iron. If you iron in wrinkles, they are permanent!

Ok, back to my quilting.

Have you ever made a t-shirt quilt? Don't you just LOVE the feel of cotton?

Elisa

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

(Not So) Wordless Wednesday - Geocaching Edition

I've been yelled at by a friend because it's been awhile since my last post. Life has been so busy. But I did get a chance to sneak away last Saturday to Belle Isle, a jewel located on the Detroit River between Detroit and Windsor. It was the Belle Isle Geo-event 2012.

Ok, what's geocaching? I talk about it all the time. It's a high-tech treasure hunt. The joke is we use multi-hundred dollar GPS units connected to billion-dollar satellites to find Tupperware in the woods… Or, in my picture above taken on Belle Isle Saturday.... coffee cans.

A Geocacher will hide a container called a geocache (pronounced geo-cash) anywhere (the woods, downtown, scenic overlooks, South Pole, etc). They will include a visitors log to sign as well as some goodies to exchange (called swag). They will then upload the coordinates to Geocaching.com and normally include a description to entice other cachers to explore the area. At that point, other cachers will download the coordinates and go looking for this treasure. There are over 1.7M geocaches hidden an all the continents of the world and over 5M geocachers looking for them. Don't worry - we leave the planet in better shape (we practice CITO - Cache In Trash Out).

There's much more to this, but you get the idea.

Why do I cache? Because it gets me outdoor soaking in the Vitamin D and burning off calories. I spend quality time with all members of my family (our caching team "Free Range Lobsters' range from 3 years to 74 years). I've explored areas I've never seen before (Michigan has some stunning metroparks). It's social. It's spiritual. It stimulates the brain. It gives your brain a rest from reality.

Ok, up to date? So, Saturday was the annual Belle Isle event. The Belle Isle cachers introduce 45 new caches to the Isle and, for one day only, leave last year's out too. Hundreds of cachers from all over show up, load up our GPS's, load up our bellies (did I mention it was a potluck?) and off we go. Here are some of my favorite pictures: