Sylvia's Sampler & Spencer

We have been camping and then of course it takes time to unload, do laundry, clean up the trailer...(it rained and with 3 dogs--well, need I explain?) Above are 9 squares from the 2nd row of the sampler. #8 appeared way too complicated for me at the time, however I did finally get it done and will post with row 3. I love, love, love, these cute little squares which will eventually be a full-blown quilt. And speaking of a quilt to snuggle under, look at little Spencer. It rained, thundered and even snowed a little Sunday night and since Hildy the skinny bitch is afraid of the thunder, she jumped on our bed and shook all night long. Roger, our little white boy also spent the night on the bed with us and poor Spencer was just out of luck. He slept in his bed, but as soon as our bed was empty, see where he went to snuggle.(It definitely was a "two dog night".)
Yes we are crazy..3 dogs and camping with them, but they are our babies and are such a comfort to us.

"Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about." ~ Regina Brett

Fun in the sun (and shade)

I was careful not to get any faces in this picture....poor photography on my part but great for this blog as I really do not like to put recognizable people here. Shaded by the new roof on this old barn, the four of us gals were able to work on a craft project quite comfortably. As the stream behind us gurgled along and the dogs played and slept, we covered PVC with rocks using regular construction adhesive. Funnels completed the projects as make-do roofs and a finished project will be posted at a later date. We spend 4 glorious days here at Elk Mtn and our hostess graciously cooked for us and for the 2nd year in a row, we all recharged our batteries. The weather was wonderful and the hummers and other critters graced us with their presence. However, a short time earlier a bear had made his appearance and with the help of 25 lbs of doughnuts each night, and over a period of a few days, was successfully trapped and relocated. We also were asked to paint the likeness of an Emu for the parents of our hostess who had raised these birds for several years. We felt that we did an OK job and we all have painted projects together so we didn't "bicker" too much!!
Oops! Girls! Got your picture here! We had such a grand time here these days and look forward to another retreat next year. We laughed, bickered, shared good times and great food, ate way too much and were a little rowdy probably. I love you all!

"Well behaved women rarely make history." ~ Laurel Thatcher Ulrich

Summer fun!

As promised...a picture of the birdbath totem, made entirely of found or free items. Total cost=$2.00. On the bottom, a yellow large plate, then a canister turned upside down minus the lid, a large candle holder purchased for $1.00, then a shade for a candle (free) and a green bowl which I shopped for in my cupboard. It stands about three ft. tall and appears dwarfed in the picture, but the aspen trunks are pretty large.

Yesterday, we took a road trip through the Fox Park, Chimney Park, Pelton Creek area and came back through Riverside and the Snowy Range. We found two geocaches, had a picnic lunch, saw some beautiful country and on the way home, spotted this moose lazily grazing on the willows.
Because we had such a late spring and there was so much snow up there, the wild flowers were still very much in bloom and were very showy for as late as it is.

We are busy still trying to get the outside work done while the weather is good and have been painting fence, planting trees, getting ready to build a brick walkway...so much to do!

Back at the keyboard

As promised last post (and I have been away from the computer as we had our son here for about 10 days), see the old wooden furniture dolly? I got it for a buck at a yard sale and it just screams garden art! The Mr. repaired one of the handles as it had been "fixed" with duct tape. I plan to put the little round galvanized pail on it with flowers next spring.
This is the "privacy" fence which our son and the Mr. built for the lower patio. Yes it has a gate although as you can see, it doesn't go completely to the wall, but old people like us cannot bend over always enough to duck under the tree. DON'T FENCE ME IN! In addition to this project, I now have a solar clothes dryer, otherwise know as a clothesline, a raised garden area, and a repaired back fence. They also put insulation which was being stored in large rolls in the basement, in the garage attic area. The week was also Cheyenne Frontier Days and even though we got a lot of work done we managed to go to a parade, the PBR, a night concert and the State Museum. We had friends from Tuscon visit and all in all it was a wonderful two weeks. So, I am back at the computer!!!

Sylvia's Bridal Sampler

The next 9 of the 6" quilt squares have been completed! Number 8 had way too many pieces in it for me to tackle yet...paper piecing or foundation piecing is really testing my patience. I hit a few garage sales this weekend and scored some really good stuff. Fabric was my main purchase and I was able to get some really good pieces for little of nothing. I also got a wonderful piece for my garden which I will post later and I was inspired today to start another couple of projects that I have always planned to do. I picked up a Country Woman magazine and they show the most amazing garden totems made from tea pots, flower pots, plates, etc. as well as some miniature gardens. I have the perfect place for a miniature garden so I will have to work on getting some miniatures for it in the way of plantings and garden pieces. I did pick up some hostas for my shade garden and a couple of snowball plants at a bargain price but we are battling the rabbits! We have had to put chicken wire around everything! They aren't afraid of anything and although they are cute, right now I feel like they need to go in a stew pot. I wonder also what they might carry in the way of fleas etc. Our neighbor's cats used to keep them in check somewhat, but they have not been here since Dec.

This sky blue pink picture is a wonderful reminder of Dad. It was taken a couple of weeks ago from my front porch. As children with way too many questions, we would often ask him what his favorite color was and his answer was always the same. "Sky blue pink". So in the quiet of the peaceful evenings on my front porch I will watch the pink sky and think lovingly of Dad.

"Memory is the diary we all carry about with us." ~ Oscar Wilde

Garden totems

My friend and garden Guru, Bonnie, and I embarked upon another "crafty" bit of garden art over the 4th of July weekend. First we hit a few yard sales and then a couple of flea markets to gather bits of glassware. We found vases, bowls, goblets ashtrays and globes for discarded light fixtures. This is only one of 6 that we constructed. The base is a piece of re-bar hammered into the ground 1 ft. for every 2 ft. of glassware. Then the lower most piece is a cheap or free vase of the type that a single rose might come in which will slip over the re bar. Using a caulking gun and GE Silicone II for windows and doors, which is a clear sealant and adhesive, we started by adhering two pieces at a time and letting the final structure dry overnight. It really is quite strong and drys in a few hours time. I will post a couple more later, but did E-mail these to some of my followers so sorry about the repeat.
Still working on more small quilt squares for Sylvia's Bridal quilt sampler and will post those as I progress slowly through them. We have relatives coming for a short visit and are excited to see how the little ones have grown.

"What we have to learn to do we learn by doing." ~ Aristotle

Sylvia's Bridal Sampler

I have in the past, blogged about Thimbleberries, which is a quilt club with members across the country. A couple of months ago, one of our members locally embarked upon a project which has sparked a good deal of enthusiasm among our members. Every year, we have a quilt project to complete if we so desire, but this project is of our own choosing. Jennifer Chiaverini has authored a series of novels ---"The Elm Creek Quilt Novels". I began reading this series several years ago, before I began to quilt actually. The stories depict quilters from different eras in our history, one for example about a slave titled "The Runaway Quilt" and her struggle to escape slavery. But the novels all are based on the same characters and their common interest in quilting. Sylvia's Bridal Sampler was a quilt assembled with 6" squares, each from a different quilter. Sylvia was a master quilter and opened a retreat for quilters from all over the country, even other countries. When, at an advanced stage in her life, she married, the quilters whose lives she touched contributed to her wedding quilt. Now this book of quilt patterns, based on the 140 blocks from "Sylvia's Bridal Sampler" authored by Jennifer Chiaverini has been published for us!! I was so excited to begin and as I make each block, and learn it's name and struggle with each method of construction, I find that I am learning so much. What started as one quilter here choosing to start this project has become many. We compare our blocks, share tips and encourage each other. So...here are my first 10 blocks. There are 14 rows of 10 blocks each in the quilt example I chose.

We had a wonderful 4th of July with friends spending the weekend with us. My friend, Bonnie and I spent the weekend on a garden art project which exceeded our expectations and my next blog will show the fruit of our labors. I hope it will inspire some of my followers to follow our example and to let me know what you have done.

"Like a gardener, I believe that what goes down must come up." ~ Lynwood L. Giacomini