National Championships

 

A picture of Dennis and Andy at the Finish....don't they look great?? Dennis said Andy was perfect for the last 15 miles; once he convinced him that they were leaving camp. Poor Andy, he didn't want to leave Socks at the trailer and Socks wasn't helping by calling to him. Once they got out of camp, though, Andy did great!!

Busy, busy, busy

Its been absolutely crazy here, but I think things will finally start slowing down. We spent all of last week trying to help with--and participate in--the National Championships that I talked about before. We rode the 50 mile ride on Sunday, but my horse was pulled by the veterinarians and myself at the 35 mile vet check. He has really poor conformation and his back was sore. Very ironic, since this was to be my second 50 since my second back surgery. At least we made it a very beautiful 35 miles!
Sad news is that Socks will be going to a new home in the future. He is not an endurance horse, but he loves to be ridden. Unfortunately, since we have four other horses, he won't get ridden because he isn't built to travel 50 miles. We're looking for a good home for him with someone that just wants to trail ride. Any ideas?? This is a picture of Socks and me on our first ride after my surgery. He's a great boy; I just wish he were built better.

We got home from the ride on Sunday night around 10 and were at work on Monday at 7. I tried to nap at my desk, but people kept interrupting...go figure.

Friday I left for the Chalet View and the Quincy Crazy Quilters guild retreat. Had a great time. My sister came over from Carson City and we sewed all afternoon on Friday, all day on Saturday and until 3 on Sunday. I'm only nine blocks shy of having my top done. My goal is to have it finished by 10/15, when I head to the bay area for training. I'll go right past the quilt shop whose owner, Marsha, taught the quilt, so I'll be able to get borders and backing then. Morning Star Quilts is famous for its batiks, and since I used batiks in my quilt, what better place to find borders? This is a sneak preview of one of the blocks in my quilt...

Just prior to the ride and before I could leave for the retreat, I finished this quilt. I was able to deliver it Thursday night and Carolyn loved it! It was my first true custom with SID on every block. I even had to outline applique and, as with everything else, its become easier with time. I used either Monolon by Madeira on the top or Bottom Line Lace White.

I did large cross-hatching following the contours of the border on the outside; ribbon candy on the inside border and then more cross-hatching in the sashing. Some of the blocks have CC, all have SID and usually some stippling to make the design really pop.

Here is a closer view of the bottom of the quilt. Remember, you can click on the block for an even closer shot. Isn't the dog cute?
Another photo for your viewing pleasure











Yurt Alert...Yurt Alert

Its coming along!! We may have our second and final pour tomorrow, weather permitting. I'm not sure how all our stuff is going to fit, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I did a diagram to scale and it all fit then, so unless the stuff has grown or the yurt has shrunk, things should work out.





After they poured the concrete, they finished setting the blocks. The pipes you see sticking up in the photo below are for the plumbing. We're getting there...slowly *sigh*

Counting Down

The countdown is on for many things. First and foremost is that in 90 minutes, I will no longer be at work and won't be back until late Monday. I'm taking the rest of the week off to finish the quilt that was on my frame on Friday (I'm done with the SID and the rest of the rulerwork--only need to do the fill now), get our toter ready for the National Championships and get us and the horses ready for our 50 mile ride on Sunday (the reason I won't make it to work by 7 on Monday).

Dennis has embroidered almost 150 hats, screen-printed 160 totebags, screen-printed 50 volunteer shirts, screen-printed 60 t-shirts to sell and will be doing an additional 40 before Thursday and will be embroidering 10 sweatshirts for sale all with this logo in various forms.


He has hit the ground running with his screen-printing and embroidery business. No advertising, all word-of-mouth and he's so busy, he can't see straight. But that's a really good thing with this economy. I'm very proud of him; he had absolutely no background with any of this before he started--he's really come a long way.

Oops...I missed "Frame Friday"

My friend, Shannon, started a "Frame Friday" on her blog, where each Friday you post what you're currently working on. I planned to play, but actually was busy quilting and totally forgot. So, even though its Saturday...this is what's on my frame.

Time to get back to work....I'll post more when its finished. This quilt was done by Carolyn; she's an excellent piecer and her quilts are a dream to work on.

Almost forgot...there was an absolutely beautiful coyote in our pasture this morning when we went to feed. He was very big and very healthy looking. I love the wildlife here.

Lucky to be Alive!

Today, I went to a quilting class with a good friend of mine. The class is about an hour north of where I live in a little community called Chester. The drive is curvy and mountainous, but one which I make regularly. Today's trip came very close to being my last...or at the very least, my last one for awhile.

As we drove north on Highway 89 and rounded a curve, an on-coming loaded logging truck was just crossing the double yellow line headed in my direction. My first thought was that he just wasn't paying much attention. As he continued to come farther and farther in my lane, I began to slow and head for the shoulder. When he was almost completely in my lane, he corrected and pulled quickly back into his lane. I pulled over about 20 feet farther and just sat there shaking, trying not to cry. It was that close.

A few minutes later, I had calmed down and we headed for the next town where we'd planned to stop for coffee. I was tempted to stop at the sheriff's substation, but then realized the only thing I could tell them was that it was a red logging truck; I couldn't ID the driver or the insignia on the door. Instead, we got coffee and continued on to our class...thankful to still be going.

My first two thoughts after realizing how close I came to a serious accident or maybe even death...my husband and my little filly, Emma. I was thrilled to see them both tonight.