Quilting in the Round

This quilt has been a real challenge for me. But thanks to my extremely-talented quilting friend, Shannon, I've gotten some really good ideas. While I'm not quite talented enough to implement them all...this is where I'm at so far:




I still don't have anything in the dark green, but am thinking about just a tiny stipple in that area. I am open to suggestions.

Then there's the pink area that I'm still tryiing to come up with something. This quilt has been a huge mental/design challenge for me!

The Yurt...Day 2

We spent all day yesterday just getting the rafters up and the roof on. We started here:










Next came the rafters. This was a bit tricky as the initial scaffolding wasn't high enough and two of the guys helping us hate heights! We eventually got some higher scaffolding and Dennis and one other guy held the dome ring while the guys on the ground connected the rafters to the tension cable on the lattice wall. The rafters had to be connected so that they were evenly spaced to initially keep the dome from crashing to the ground.














After the rafters, the first liner was to go on. I was reading the directions as they guys were doing the majority of the work. Then, as I read further and started poking around, I realized something was very wrong. Notice the difference in the thicknesses of the cable? The thin cable had been wrapped around the lattice and had all the rafters using it for support; however, the thick cable was the correct cable for this job. Hmmmmmm.... A bit of head scratching and it was decided that rather than take the rafters off, we'd just thread the thick cable through, connect it and then remove the thin cable. This worked and after about an hour, we were back on track.














Next came the white liner which shows to the inside behind the rafters.















Then the insulation.














As we were discussing the insulation and wondering if we should tack it down (the directions suggest not doing this part on a windy day; however, since we were expecting a torrential downpour on Monday, it had to be done), a gust of wind came up and blew the insulation off. There was nothing we could do except watch and laugh!
















We got the insulation back on top, got the vinyl cover over the insulation and the dome on. This is where we ended last night before the rains. With any luck we'll finish the walls this weekend!

...and up it goes

We had a good friend and one of our neighbors over today to get started on the yurt. As usual, we didn't get as far as we'd hoped, but we sure had fun. The majority of the day was spent laughing and joking....it never even felt like work. We got as far as the lattice and the front door; tomorrow we must finish because Tuesday, its going to rain!

Opening the lattice roll...it comes tightly wound, packed like a giant tootsie roll...

Once open, you start at the opposite side from the door and begin spreading it apart...pushing and pulling.



And when its finally open...



it gets attached to the door.



We have several friends coming out today, because now the precarious work starts. First thing, they put the ring up for the dome and start with the rafters...

I know its only October, but Christmas is coming!

And this year, I'm finally able to get Dennis something he'll love! My friend Debbie told me about a Tanya Amberson who does animal paintings and then donates part of the profit to rescue agencies...now that is right up my alley. I've commissioned her to do a painting of Hank for Christmas. I sent her about a 1000 photos, which she narrowed down to these three. I choose one, she paints it with whatever background I choose, Dennis has an awesome present, and a rescue makes some money. Its a win, win!!



The hardest thing about the whole situation is that I can't tell him what I'm doing. Do you have any idea how hard it is to keep a secret from your best friend? I've had to stop myself twice already from telling him...I don't know if I can make it all the way to Christmas. *whine, whine*

A few years back I got him an antique schoolhouse clock from E-Bay; he'd been wanting one and I found it for a good deal. It was even in Reno, so I could pick it up. I had an elaborate ruse, we were going to meet the guy and pick it up (but he was just going to give me a small box with a rock in it) and my friend was going to pick up the real clock. I didn't want him guessing when he saw the box. It was perfect...until I said that we couldn't forget to pick up the clock while we were there. "What clock?" he says. So that year every present he opened until the "real" present was some sort of timepiece.

The "Chicks" are Done

My "Frame Friday" project is complete, along with another quilt from this same customer. I like how the "chicks" turned out; the second quilt was a panto and very quick and easy.

Now on my frame, for the first time ever, is a round quilt made with those 10-degree wedge rulers. Its a beautiful quilt...it will probably still be there for next week's Frame Friday!