Breanna is Having a Baby!

My great niece, Breanna, is having a baby! Her mom, my sister and sister-in-law all got together and made her this adorable quilt! I had the honor of quilting it.

Below are some close-ups of the critters.  Aren't they adorable?? After a million thread changes for color matching and some linework in the background, they turned out pretty cute!

The backing allowed the quilting to show up nicely. It gives you a better idea of the quilting that went into each block.

Breanna's shower was this past Saturday. Her mom took a video of her opening the quilt--I can't wait to see it. Apparently, the quilt was a hit!!  Now we just have to wait for the baby to be born to enjoy it.

Dory

Guess Why I'm Making All This Stuff!

Your first clue:

Isn't it cute? I used a flannel print with these goofy animals (who can resist a horse with buck teeth??) and one of the BQ patterns...BQ4, I think.

This is the back. I wish blogs were textile--it is minke and boy is it soft!!  It gives the quilt such a nice feel.

Your second clue:

This cute little elephant wall hanging.

Look closely...the side has little lines that measure inches.  Are you figuring it out???

And the last clue:

A fabric book with nursery (big clue) rhymes!!

So???  Can you guess what I'm going to be????

Dory

I got a present!!

Remember the Machinations quilt I did for Marei? Remember the backing fabric she used and how I was trying to figure out if she'd notice if I switched it? I love red and I loved that red fabric so much!!!

Our Guild meeting was just the other night and guess what Marei brought me???? My very own bit of that fabric!! She went back to the store and bought what was left on the bolt for me...I have almost 2 yards now to call my own.

Its all pre-washed now and proudly added to my stash. I'm thinking of making a log cabin in blues and reds...this will be in there! Isn't it pretty??

Thanks, Marei!!!!

Dory

Yesterday was my Birthday

And my wonderful husband bought me this:

I know, on the surface, it doesn't look like much. But...dig a little deeper. This watch (with all its accompanying stuff) can not only tell time, it has a GPS feature that can tell me where I am (important when riding and I get lost), it can tell me how fast I'm going, how far I've gone, my heart rate, and it can upload my path to the computer and overlay it onto Google Earth. And that's just the beginning!!!  I've wanted one of these forever...now I just have to figure out how to use it.

But, the best gift of all were the phone calls. Both of my step-daughters called to wish me a Happy Birthday, as did my sister in Oklahoma.  Made my heart warm *sigh*

On the quilting front, I have two new quilts to show you. I'll be posting them in the next couple of days, but here's a teaser to keep your interest.

Company Came...and went

I had so much fun with Kristina and Shannon that I still haven't caught up!  They arrived on Thursday afternoon...both looking exactly as their pictures. (No Shannon didn't wear this hat all the way from Reno!) Although we'd never met each other in person, it was as if we'd known each other forever!

Thursday we hung out and sweltered in the yurt for a bit; then it was off to my Guild meeting.  I drug them along since I was both dropping off and picking up quilts.  Kristina is actually a member; she wanted to go to the retreat...(note to self: remind her to sign up if she's coming.)




Friday the real fun began!  We played in the yurt in the morning with Shannon showing us tricks and tips and then Kristina did some playing and demonstrating of her Quiltazoid.  I even talked her into leaving it so that I could play with it after she'd gone.  The pictures are of a couple designs we did and then filled in--Shannon even tried some thread painting.

While she was here, Shannon taught me how to needle-turn applique (yuk--not my cup of tea) and how to English Paper Piece (much more my style).  Friday night Dennis and I went to bed around 11; at 2:30 he woke up and noticed lights on.  Then he woke me up...those girls were still up playing!!  I think that was when Kristina painted Shannon's toe nails that lovely shade of green!!

The girls got to meet the ponies and Shannon insisted on playing with them as if they were dogs.  They weren't sure what to make of her, but I do think Emma enjoyed it.  She is so spoiled, she loves any attention.

And, of course, I got special presents while Shannon was here too!  First, she brought me this lovely little "train case," which now houses my English Paper Piecing supplies.

Then she made me a cover for my sketch book from my very most favorite fabric in the whole world.  It was so painful watching her cut it; but I'm so happy she did.  Isn't it beautiful??First she had to quilt it...

   

Then she put it all together. The pocket on the inside holds all my colored pens.  We bought the sketchbooks in Reno, so Kristina will have her very own too!!

For those of you not from this planet that don't recognize the fabric, it's Laurel Burch's Mythical Horses.  She came out with this design shortly before she died and I've collected yards of every design and colorway I can find.  Until my sketch book, I've never cut it up...I do, however, take it out and pet if often!!

The three of us went to a quilt show in Reno where not only did we spend too much money, but Shannon bought a basket like mine and then had to figure out how to get it home. Did you know you can get them wet, squish them for shipping, then get them wet again and reshape them? No?? Me neither.  That's what she did though, and it worked.

Those of you that follow Shannon's blog know that not only is she a fabulous quilter, but she also hunts...with a gun *yikes!* Before she got here, we'd had a visit from a bear (he left a large deposit by the barn)and a mountain lion was in the valley (he'd attacked a dog). She was really hoping to see the bear; knowing  that seeing the cat was pretty much impossible.  I was unable to provide a bear sighting, but one evening as I want to the yurt, I heard a rattle--just like what you hear on tv in the old westerns.  A snake was right by our back door.  Shannon and Dennis dispatched him to the other side rather quickly.  Shannon really wanted to remove the rattles, but figured getting them through security at the airport could be an issue.

Shannon's last day here we spent shop-hopping in Gardnerville and Reno. It was so much fun to have her here.  Now it's my and Kristina's turn to go to Georgia...but NOT in the summer!! I'll leave you with one last shot of our play time in the yurt.  We had such a good time!!

Gotta Love Uncle Sam!!!

Today I learned about blog etiquette; for example, if someone sends you something in the mail, you should take a picture and post it on your blog.  So far, I've received four things in the mail (one today) and I haven't posted any pictures...but I'm still new to this whole blogging thing...so bear with me.

First , I received a quilt from my friend, Shannon, in Georgia.  No the quilt isn't for me, exactly, its to be donated to NorCal Equine Rescue  for them to raffle.  I seized four severely emaciated horses last May and NorCal took them without charging the County anything.  Without NorCal, that part of my job would be really difficult.  (That's me standing behind the one of the other horses.) With NorCal, horses that look like this

end up looking like this (they've named her Daisy and she's on the left).  Amazing, isn't it??

It broke my heart to see these horses so neglected; but they are all fat and sassy now.  It truly is a happy ending.  If you have any spare cash, even $5, NorCal could use it, especially in this economy.

So, back to my gifts.  Shannon sent this quilt (pictures to follow...stay tuned) which will accompany the quilt that I will be putting together from the many women on the APQS chat that contributed blocks.  NorCal will have two quilts to raffle, which I hope will bring them lots of money!!

Then, on Shannon's tutorial page a few months ago, she demonstrated how to make a pin cushion that is made to look like and eyeball--isn't it great!  I'm dying to go to a class so I can "stick a needle in my eye"!!

The next thing Uncle Sam delivered is this beautiful quilt.  I won this quilt from the Sagebrush Quilters in Ely.  My friend, Kristina, sold me the tickets after she quilted this quilt for her guild.  The best part of winning this quilt is that not only did Kristina quilt it and sell me the winning ticket, but she left her guild after they treated her poorly.  Gotta love the irony!!

Finally, today, in my mailbox was this.

Its from Shannon, too...do you think she knows I love horses and that since I work 40 hours a week and quilt for others all weekend and try to keep my new, green-broke mare ridden, I'm just a tad busy??  This is now hanging in my studio and will be proudly displayed in my yurt, when its finished...someday...

Thank you Shannon for everything!!! I wish you lived closer...but you will be coming out to visit and teach next summer...plan on it!  Imagine the fun that you, Kristina and I will have.

PS...just got an e-mail from Shannon.  This is what she pictured when she first saw this placque: "i have this mental picture of this bow legged cowboy holding the end of a rope that is limply hanging over, all frayed on the end. in the background there's a horse running off. the cowboy is standing there scratching his/her head...you know how a seasoned rodeo cowboy can take his hat off and scratch his head at the same time....that's what i saw..."  Pretty funny!!