Beautiful Celtic Quilt

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Okay, so you'll just have to trust me, inspite of my [lack of] photography skills!  This is a Celtic design that Pat did.  Pat is a new customer and she trusted me with this quilt--a quilt she plans to enter in many fairs! No pressure...right??????  I used two batts with this one: Hobbs 80/20 and QD Wool, to give it definition. I called her today after finishing all the interior stippling on the design to get her input.  I was either going to leave the colored areas alone, or quilt pebbles in them as my friend, Shannon, had suggested.  She opted for less quilting.

I delivered the quilt this afternoon, sweating bullets on my drive to her home.  What if she didn't like it??  Luckily, she loved it and has promised to tell the ladies in her quilting group about me and show it to them.  Their previous longarm quilter has moved away, so I may be getting even more new customers! *whoopee!*

A few more pictures...(the color to the right is more true)

And a couple of the back.  I always love the back of my work, often the best.  (What, exactly, do you think that means??)

 

 

Remember, if you want to see the picture in more detail, you can click on it.  Thanks for looking!

Vacation...aka Kate's Initiation

We left for Washington on Tuesday, the 15th at 8:30 a.m.--a mere 3 hours later than we'd planned.  We drove up through the back roads, going very close to the town where I went to high school. I was hoping someone else would pull in for fuel while we were there that I knew, but no one did.  I did, however, wave to a classmate's parents as we drove past Roberts Reservoir on our way toward Tulelake; not that they had any clue. *shrug*

Between the road construction and stopping to give the horses a rest, we didn't get to WA until just before dark.  As we drove along Highway 14 headed for White Salmon and the turn off to Trout Lake, I noticed some really hairy cows along the highway.  A closer look revealed that they weren't cows at all!  We took the wrong road out of White Salmon and ended up going up a steep grade through town with sharp curves in the dark in a really huge rig; it was a bit nerve wracking.  We finally arrived at the campground around 10 p.m.

We just pulled off the main road, flipped out the high ties, got food and water and blankets for the horses, and fell into bed.  Poor Kate...a 12 hour trailer ride and then left to hang on the side of the trailer with Bailey, whom she immediately kicked. I think she was letting us know her initial opinion of the situation.

The next day we moved camp, got set up, and drove to Portland to get the etched wineglasses commemorating the ride. Thursday the fun started.  We took Kate and Bailey out for one of the 12 mile loops that the Ride & Tiers would be doing on Saturday.  The trail at the Trout Lake Horse Camp is phenomenal: mostly single track with excellent footing, rolling hills and gorgeous views of Mt. Adams.  A little over halfway though the ride, Kate stopped.  Apparently, she just wasn't seeing the point of the whole thing.  After a little attitude adjustment (read: 'finding a stick to use as a crop'), she decided that continuing on was better than being tapped on the butt constantly.

Our camping spot...(told you it was beautiful!)

Friday, Dennis was talked into actually competing in the event.  Our original plan had been to help with the ride while riding our horses all week long.  Instead, Dennis participated--36 miles of running and riding! Below is proof: Their finish picture with the official time clock (which almost every horse spooked at).  They weren't even last, but that might have had something to do with the fact that the last team lost their horse twice (once he managed to untie himself and went to their nearby home!).

Instead of Kate going out every day and getting used to being ridden constantly, she learned what it was like to be left at the trailer while her buddy horse leaves.  She was not happy and let the whole camp know.  During the event, every time Bailey would come in for a vet check, I had to go get Kate to stand by so that his heart rate would be at criteria.  The vets became accustomed to seeing us hanging around.

Sunday we did manage another ride out, only 5 miles this time on a different trail.  Kate was really doing great, until her giant spook on the way back into camp.  Luckily, she calmed down almost immediately and I managed to stay on--always better than the alternative.

Monday morning we headed for home.  We got out of bed to find that Kate had chewed through her lead rope and was standing next to Bailey grazing.  Apparently, she'd run out of hay and needed something to do!  I know horses eat trees and fences...but lead ropes.  I thought only dogs chewed through their leashes!!

It was lovely to be away from home and camping with our horses and friends.  We had such a great time.  Below are some pictures...enjoy.

Mt. Adams (with SNOW in JUNE!)

Just some scenery...

Can you tell which dog loves horses and which dog was bored???

Another shot of Chloe enjoying her favorite pasttime! (Isn't she pretty?  She had a bath for the trip) She was at the finish line with me waiting for her horse.  Then she jumped all around him, biting his tail, on the way to the trailer, much to everyone's amusement.

And a final shot of George, Dennis' partner, and Bailey coming into the vet check.

Home at Last!!

More tomorrow, including pictures; we've been gone for over a week at Trout Lake, Washington.  We were camping at the Mt. Adams Horse Camp with Kate and Bailey and a bunch of really crazy, fun ride-and-tiers.  Don't know what a ride-and-tier is?  Click here to learn more.

Here's a little tidbit to keep you interest:  Horses chew through tie ropes, Dennis competed in the 36 mile event, and we loved, loved, loved the Trout Lake/White Salmon area.  Its beautiful!!!

Stay tuned....

Houseguests, Fly-Mask Fashion & Practice

Most houseguests call before they move in...our latest ones didn't bother.  They did, however, explore the entire porch before deciding to make our front door their home.

Recognize the nest?? It belongs to these guys:

They're incredibly cute, but now we have to be very careful before opening the front door.  They flit around and scream at us whenever we dare to exit/enter the house.  And they haven't even had their babies yet--it will get noisier, but the babies will certainly make for some cute photos.

On Saturday, summer arrived and with it, the flies that drive the horses nuts.  Everyone got new fly masks this year and were kind enough to model them for me.  What do you think???  Aren't these the best?!  The boys got cross-eyed eyes staring at a butterfly and the girls got flowers.  This is Bailey...

And here's Kate:

And for a little quilty goodness, here's another practice piece that I did after watching Jamie Wallen's Cotton Tracks. After all, isn't this blog supposed to be about quilting??

Yurt vs Yurt

If you've been following my blog for very long, you know that I quilt in a yurt.  It's round, it's a great space and I truly love it. Until you've spent some time in a round building, you've no idea how terrific it is. In case you've missed it in the past, it looks like this (minus the snow falling and the fire burning--it is summer now--well, its supposed to be summer!):

But really, shouldn't I, as a quilter, be quilting in this??

Isn't it fabulous???  This yurt belongs to Linzi Upton of Scottland.  It was totally her idea, although quilters all over the world helped.  They were called "stunt piecers/quilters."  Following Linzi's direction, they pieced and quilted individual panels to enclose the yurt.  Linzi attached them, did the roof and what you see above is the finished product.  With any luck (and a little $$) this yurt may be at a venue near you in the not too distant future.  This would be such an excellent studio...albeit a bit drafty at times!!

Another picture, but you really must go to Linzi's site to view the whole thing.  It's worth the time. This photo shows some of the individual panels and how they were attached.