Valori Wells

Saying Goodbye....

My parents recently sold the house I grew up in....

They moved into their new house about 3 years ago and I had not been back to the old house since.

I grew up in this house. We moved in when I was 6. I came home A LOT during college and after I moved into the little studio apartment above the garage while I saved money to build the house we live in now. Ross proposed to me in that little apartment and a little late we were married in the yard. I watched my girls play in the creek and have family dinners on the deck. So many memories and so many stories....

 

Before the keys were handed over I went back to the house. I couldn't go in - it was completely empty and it would of been creepy. So I said good-bye by exploring the property and some of my favorite places....

An address that will be embedding in my brain forever!

My mom and I planted this Crab-apple tree when we moved in. It was so tiny and now big and beautiful, right outside my childhood bedroom window. I still have dreams about that room. I only tried to sneak out once from those windows and got caught. Teenagers are so stupid!

Apple trees don't grow that great around here but my mom didn't care she planted this tree when my brother returned from Desert Storm. I wonder if it will ever have apples.....

I spent A LOT of time outside as a kid and we had 8 acres to play on. These rocks were close enough to the house but just far enough away, I used to have forts in the rocks finding pieces of plywood to put over the top. There were enough groupings that is was like a little village.

This was my tree fort.....the Juniper has gotten so big all that is left is the few rungs of wood. The only problem with this fort was all the pitch. But I remember fond times up there.....

Then there was my brother and the neighbor boy's tree house. I was NEVER allowed up there. They had a bit more complexity to their fort, I had a piece of wood rested between branches. I was tempted to go up there but not sure after all of these years how stable it is....

When my real dad was around we had horses....I loved my horse Dixie. The neighborhood girls and I would take our horses out bareback and race in the meadow after we got home from school.

I can still smell the hay and see my horse when I am in the barn.

The back side of the house by the yard.....I spent a lot of time photographing the flowers in my mom's yard when I was in college. I was the artist that did the pretty work not the social or political work....got a lot of grief on that. I loved discovering what was blooming when I took my time to just be in the yard...I always found things mom didn't see.

This rose bush was from my Great Grandma's yard.....it is like a weed with these beautiful little yellow roses..... Some of it came home with me and I hope will take root and grow in my garden. Ross thought I was crazy when I came home with garden trellises that were left behind and part of a rose bush. Mom was happy that I thought about it....she has put that house out of her mind.

She did SO much in that garden and it was becoming way too much work. After three years it is really run down with grass it almost doesn't look the same....it definately doesn't have mom's touch!

Her greenhouse.....

Ross and got married in the gazebo....the there was a beautiful slate walkway that is now overgrown with grass.....we planted wildflowers all along the edges and placed the chairs in the flowers for our guests....it was so beautiful....

Well enough of memory lane.....reality I have a meeting at 2:00pm....

Have a great day!

XO

Valori

One of those days...

When your having one of those days where you just feel down.... Go out to lunch with your husband and have a Yummy Blueberry Lemon Drop at Zydeco!!!
Then I shall pick myself up get over my insecurities and move on!
XO
Val

Wrenly.....in the house...

Well actually I'm in the Costco parking lot...but I just couldn't resist giving a quick look at the two large totes of fabric in the back of the car. Wrenly sample yardage is here!!! Yeah!!! FYI sample yardage is the fabric they fly into me to make things before the fabric hits the stores. Right now all the crates of lovely fabric are on the water from Korea. I will share more tomorrow. I am in the studio and I can start playing.
Have a great day!!!!
XO
Valori

I am getting strange looks from other shoppers as I take photos of the back of my car filled with fabric.

The sanity beach trip....

Ross and I recently spent a long - well needed - weekend at the beach...just us! It was lovely....sleep in, stay up late (at least 10) do what we want to do. We did chat about the kids a lot. Seems like that is our M.O. get a chance to be alone together and talk about the babes! Great to be away but miss them all the same.

The trip started out with a long drive over the freshly packed snow on the pass.....as passenger I got to do some drive-by shooting.

It was beautiful! So amazing to see the transformation of the forest from color to almost black and white.

We spent the afternoon in Portland, a nice lunch a little shopping....great day.

We love to stay at Manzanitia when we head to the Oregon coast...it is a small little town with a Awesome beach and it is very quiet. Always nice!

It actually snowed that first night....not anything that stuck on the beach but in the foothills there was a bit of accumulation. Our walk on the beach was a little frosty...but beautiful.

We took a hike on Saturday at Oswald West....my mom describes the hike to the beach perfectly "magical"....through the old growth forest with the trees covered with moss, so lush and spiritual.

It was a perfect 10 day....not a cloud in the sky, not that warm but still nice for February!

Some of our friends from Sisters happened to be at the coast the same weekend so we met in Pacific City for dinner at a great pub, The Pelican. We arrived as the sun was setting.....wow beautiful! This is the first photo I took after running from the car to the beach so not to miss it.

It was truly a one of a kind sunset!

Well, I'm back to cleaning and working...a little organizing here a little creating there. A good day in the studio. I finally got part of my space clean and re-organized that I actually feel like I can work. When it is too messy or chaotic I just can't work I end up pacing around until I'm totally frustrated and leave. But after yesterday's cleaning I am ready to go.

Have a great day!

XO

Valori

Fabric Cave.....

 

I've been in the fabric designing cave for the past few weeks. Working on my fall collection of fabric! I am really excited about it and can't wait to show you but it will have to wait until I get some samples. It is amazing how I am working on this fabric but at the same time thinking about my booth for Spring Market and the Wrenly collection that is coming out this spring. So many things to think about and so many ideas! Oh thank god for the ideas....there are times in my life where I wonder if I am going to be able to come up with another collection or another quilt or another booth but then when it comes down to it I do! It is all so exciting these days with the work I am doing and there are times that I can't believe it is real! I have struggled for years with lack of confidence in my work and myself and finally I am getting there. Getting to the place that every artist dreams of, the land of confidence!!!

While I have been in the "cave" I have had lots of help from my kitties...they follow me everywhere when I am in the studio. When I was taking a break from drawing (my wrist has been aching)) I shot a couple of photos of the kitty helpers.

Lilly is not much help so she sleeps and purrs SO LOUD! Gotta love a purring happy kitty...I just wish I could nap with her.

Leo on the other hand is very frisky and he runs around harassing Sophie as much as possible. I think she secretly loves it.

Even though she acts like she is pissed off and being put out by the kittens! She also likes to eat my erasers on my pencils when I am not looking......not sure how good that is for her digestion.

I am not very good at being idle so there are a ton of projects going on in the studio....my girlfriend Andrea told me I need an intervention! She is probably right or maybe just an assistant!!! Anyhow, we have a new quilt contest with Quilt Show this year, Small Wonders. I really wanted to make a quilt for the contest, so this is what I have started....

The contest will benefit Quilt Show and our Parks and Rec in town. I am so excited to help SPRD (Sisters Parks and Recreational District) they have do so much for our community and our children in the community. We are hoping to get some of the kids to make some quilts for the contest.

I have attached some information from the Quilt Show web site for the Small Wonders contest just in case any of you would like to enter....I love the idea - it is like making doll quilts, they can't be smaller than 18" or bigger than 24". OH, so attainable for someone like me!!! It is fun to work on something like this nothing to do with my fabric but everything to do with my community and my family.

Well, back to the cave and the kitties!!

XOXO

Valori

The Stitchin’ Post and Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show challenge you to create a "Small Wonder” quilt and donate it for a fundraiser benefiting Sisters non-profit organizations. These Small Wonders will be between 18” and 24” in size. The quilts will be displayed at the Sisters Library during the month of May where visitors will vote for their favorite. Prizes totaling $500.00 will be awarded and the quilts will be displayed and sold during Quilt Show in July. Proceeds from the Challenge will be divided between the show and Sisters Park & Recreation District which provides much needed recreational opportunities that benefit the health and wellness of the Sisters community, especially our youth. For rules and entry information click here. Quilts are due by April 15th

The rest of the best of 2010.....

Where did I leave off on my adventures of the past year.....OH yes, accomplishments....my mom had a huge accomplishment this year - I was a very proud daughter seeing my mom be inducted into the Quilter's Hall of Fame. Tears filled my eyes as she spoke of her lifetime of quilting, realizing that I have been apart of it for so many years.

she just glowed that night, it was great to see her so happy.

I have learned that I have to be happy with me and quit trying to please everyone else or I will never full fill my dreams or destiny that it is time to lead my life to the fullest.

Talk about an AHA moment! To quote Oprah...

The year had some normality's....Quilt Show to be exact....it came and went perfectly....

The kids enjoyed it to the fullest...

We had birthday milestones.....

we planted our garden and watched it grow....I loved the excitement from the kids to go out and see what had grown over night.....every evening we would spend hours outside in the garden - eating most of our produce raw and playing in the flowers and sand.....I enjoyed every second and found such peace in the laughter and silliness of my family.

I got more ink this summer for my Violette Grace...

and realized that I have to really control myself  not to pick!!! very bad habit....

We played in the ocean and sand.....the energy and excitement of the kids oozed over to us adults and we all got a little wet.

Sunbathing and cuddling became a norm in our house....

especially as we brought new family members home....

to my amazement it isn't too hard to have three cats, three kids and a puppy.....instead of being totally overwhelmed I am learning to embrace the chaos and laugh at it all......HUGE for me!

There were so many firsts this year......

the first guitar lesson...

the first soccer game.....I am officially a soccer mom, and a dance mom, and a Tae Kwon do mom and, and, and, and.....

The first day of school....for my baby.....

This winter I had an awesome opportunity to do something special for my girlfriends....two women that I have know since we were kids but it is only now that we have become such great friends. We were having a Christmas dinner at my house when Sondy pulled me aside and told me that she pulled Trea's name for their family secret santa and she really wanted one of my little bird paintings....How could I ever say no, I was honored! Well, funny thing is towards the end of the evening Trea pulls me aside and tells me how she got Sondy's name for secret santa and wanted one of my birdy paintings....I was so excited to get to do the paintings for them....and oh so wished I could be a fly on the wall when they opened gifts.

Luckily I had Julie (another girlfriend of ours) at the studio when I was painting and she mentioned it to Sondy's husband so he got a photo for me....kind of like being a fly on the wall.....

Sondy's bird....so perfect for her...

Trea's bird.....she loves green...

And the girls....

I loved being able to something that was so special to them, it filled me with joy and satisfaction.

So my friends this is it.....part of my year in photos......there are times I wish I could express more in words and find more time to share where I am and what I'm doing with you. For me this year has been filled with tremendous growth....I am proud of myself and who I am and who I am becoming as I believe that life is ever changing and so am I....thank you for all of your kind words over the past year and I hope to hear from you more.

find your beauty this year and push yourself in some way or another......

to a great 2011!!!
my love and gratitude!

XOXO

Valori

Clouds.....(again)

Tonight I discovered how to keep my 11 month old busy while I cleaned the kitchen.

1. Start with an empty dishwasher and a sink full of dishes.

2. Load Spoons (only) into the silverware basket.

3. Place 11 month old at the edge of the dishwasher so he can see the spoons.

4. Proceed to load the dishwasher leaving the other silverware until last.

5. Don't dilly dally around he still has an short attention span. (be careful to make sure you empty all the water out of the cups before loading - he does not like water on his head)

So happy to have the time to do that becasue the kitchen was driving me crazy. The girls are so good at playing together they let me clean but Teague is just everywhere these days.

My interest in clouds continues...I have decided to do a post a week about clouds....I even have some from my brother. He sent me a photo that he took the other day and I asked if I could post it he said yes and thought that I should learn more about the names of the clouds.  I love the idea but honestly I so don't have time to read about clouds I am lucky I have this time to blog.

Jason's first contrabution....

And a few of my own...

Have a great night....I am noticing an itchy throat and stuffy nostril, darn it!! Olivia has a cold and I am pretty sure I am coming down with it. Just what I need, to get sick on a deadline.....

XO

Valori

Clouds.....

What do you think about clouds? Recently I have been fascinated with them. Of course the only camera I seem to have when I see something amazing is my phone. The images that I have right now are from my phone but beautiful all the same..... What do you think?????
XOXO
Valori
The first photo is from Cleveland near our hotel the other one is from our flight to Cleveland.

Just because.....

I had to bring you a smile with this photo....Teague has discovered how to zerbert!!

Although it would be better to think that he was offering me a big SMOOCH but no just a big zerbert!

Love babies!!!
XO

Valori

Mama's helpers....

Today was a great day....just love days where you feel good - physically, mentally, all of it coming together in harmony. As corny as it sounds...

This morning I had some time to sew...along came my helpers. Liv, first, comes to help me trim threads then Vi joins in.....well, because her sisters was there. She just likes to put the presser foot up and down. At one point I left the machine to iron and when I came back the presser foot was up and I just didn't understand why I would leave it up. She looks at me innocently and says, "I did it mama." It was so matter of fact I had to laugh. Then there was the arrival of the little man at the side of my chair....I can sew with one hand....go figure. Mom was in the studio helping me out with some step-outs for a Quilting Arts TV program that we are taping early September. She looked at us and said no wonder you get so much done.....just keep working. I love that they enjoy being in the studio and that it isn't a bad place or a place that takes me away from them.

My mother is awesome....she watched the kids for me for an hour, so that I could go for a run. I am finally taking my body back. The cycle of pregnant or not pregnant is over, the not pregnant option for me. Thank you very much!!! Anyway, I have 20ish pounds that I would like to lose to get back to my before baby size. Granted I am sure some things will never be the same. I can at least lose the extra "baby Love" that I have. For the past couple of weeks I have been working out like a mad woman...and eating very healthy and just watching my calorie intake. I had a great run today because it finally felt like my body was kicking in....running doesn't hurt as bad as it did two weeks ago, it feels more effortless.

I wake up in the morning with the I don't want to work out conversation...but the other side reminds me that I am not going to reach my goal if I don't work hard. I am a strong woman I can do this. So, off I go....running down the street to the trails....I love to run the trails in Sisters. They are awesome.... Peterson Ridge Trail (aka PRT)...it is a Mt.Bike trail also so it has lots of fun movement to it.  

 

 

I only go about 4 miles on the trails and then back to mom's house. It was wonderful......Felt good and wow it was nice to just be by myself in my own head.....does that make sense? The kids and I had a great afternoon while Daddy-O was out golfing with his brother. There was just something about today everyone was in a good mood....and just enjoying what ever we were doing. ...I love these Sundays!

Now, I must show a rare photo of our deck....

 

With the beginning of summer I had these grandiose ideas for our deck - create something so we could have a table and chairs with a little cover from the sun. Living on the canyon we get a lot of wind and it is also summer in Central Oregon....we get wind. My idea was inspired by an article in Sunset Magazine - west coasters will know the magazine, it is regional. Anyway, they had a backyard that used pots and bamboo poles and canvas with table underneath and chairs. Well, I thought it would be awesome to have something like that on our deck. I got the pots planted and used wood poles that I stained a bluish green color then painted the canvas. Oh, I can't tell you how excited I was to put this up and sit outside with a glass of wine and shelter from the sun while the kids play in the back yard (just of to the left of the photo).

It was a great day when I went to put it up....no wind....at least that is what I thought! Wow, just a little wind and my pots were almost toppled. I had successfully made a giant kite. I pouted for quite a few weeks....Quilt Show came and went, along with most of July before I tried again. A friend of mine, Rob Appell, suggested that I cut holes in it to create flaps so that the air could move through it.....Brilliant!!! Just before the big Birthday party for Andrea, Vi and Myself was to start I decided to put it up and see what would happen. OH, YEAH, YEAH, YEAH it worked....I did a serious happy dance.....unfortunately it only lasted for 15 or 20 min when the wind picked up. I did get to enjoy every second that it was up...I sat in my chair with a sangria and smiled...... Next year I am getting bigger pots to put the posts in and I think I might take cable between the posts diagonally then put those little circles on the canvas to run the cable through....I really want to be able to make this work....some day. Just not this month with the deadlines that I have.....Well off to bed for me.....

Good night.....

XOXOX

Valori