Bite Me!

Quite a blog title isn't it? Bet that got your attention, but it's probably not what you are thinking and certainly not commonplace language for a lady!

My friend , Tatersmama, has had a mozzie problem, mosquitos to be more precise, you can read all about it here, she will make you laugh.

Anyway, while we were in Ouray the other day, window shopping mostly [though I did buy a new handbag] I saw this T shirt in one of the store windows and it made me laugh thinking of Kate's post, so I had to take a photo.

Rather a nasty-looking insect isn't it, I am not sure I would wear this shirt unless I was wanting to turn people away. I hate mosquitoes, I have horrifying memories of them as a child in Aus. hiding under the covers from them when they somehow managed to penetrate the mosquito netting and even now they give me the creeps! Shiver....

You can see the reflection of the beautiful CO. sky, I think it makes the mozzie look a little less vicious! I would not have felt right going into the store to take a pic and then not buying! The shirt seems a bit odd for a CO. store, we really don't have these pests up here in the mountains, no stagnant water and perhaps too much altitude?

Here's something much nicer, my lovely new purse!

The old one was showing signs of wear so this was perfect timing. There were so many to choose from I had a hard time deciding.

The overall size a la Goldilocks, is perfect, not too large, not too small but just right, and I like the color combination with a bit of bling! It has extra outside pockets, one on the back and one either end that will be perfect for phone and iPod. And the price was right, what more could a woman ask? The right purse is so important!

I'm stylin'!

Daniel's Flag Quilt Top

Today I am linking up with Finished For Friday , Lush Friday, and Sew-n-tell


Whew, another top ready for the LA. I have a plan for quilting several tops next week - in between watching the beautiful baby Matthew, that is. I want to quilt this fairly closely, it has to stand up to the wear and tear of a five year old boy - this quilt is for a great nephew in Boston. It's larger than it looks in the photo, 80"x 92" and should be perfect for his twin bed and I have a few bits of fabric left so I might even make a pillow case or two.

Finished For Friday

Quilts completed this week

Client quilt,

with all-over floral design and echo quilting in the applique blocks.

The back, a plain muslin.

Home Of the Brave Civil War Replica for a bereaved military family

And the back.........

Quilt Of Valor for a Wounded Warrior, quilted with freehand leaves and vines....

the pieced backing...........

makes the other side interesting too.

And this QOV in patriotic colors.........

quilted with a freehand square spiral design.

I have one more QOV top here to quilt but it's going to have to wait a little longer.

It's A Dog's Life!

Five hundred and twenty five miles..........

hours of driving across the Navajo res.............

no chippies to chase..........I'm so bored.

Are we nearly there?!

Button has an elevated doggy seat, strapped down with the seat belts, and a harness that keeps her safe if we have to make a sudden stop.

She's a great little traveller, very patient and undemanding!

We still do not know why she gets lame on the gravel road, vet checked her over thoroughly and found nothing to be concerned about. We think perhaps she may have sprained a toe and the uneven surfaces of the gravel roads stress the damaged ligaments where flat surfaces don't.

She is on Rimadyl for a week and we will see how she does when we return to CO. next week and the rocky roads!

Four Years...........

And still like yesterday.

In Loving Memory of my son Matthew

Finished For Friday And Sew And Tell

I am linking today with both Finished For Friday and Sew And Tell.

The Willowberry Winter Medallion quilt top is finished, ready to quilt-or maybe not yet! I have been thinking that I might take all the left-over bits and add a piano key border. I dislike the extra bits and pieces left after finishing a project, they add to my unending scrap collection, so I am always looking for ways to use them sooner rather than later.

This top went together fast, it measures 73"x73", and only every other row is pieced blocks, speedy construction.

The photo doesn't do justice to the colors which are soft and delicate and lovely.

Moon Over the San Juans

Button's Sore Paw

Our Button has been somewhat hampered the past week or two with an issue of unknown origin. On smooth surfaces she has no lameness, but as soon as we start onto the gravel road she falls behind and within 50-100yds she is limping and unwilling to go further. We thought she had bruised or otherwise injured a pad although there is nothing obvious so DH suggested we put one of her snow boots, "Mutt Luks" on and that seemed to do the trick she was out in front like the little scout that she is nosing out any threats to our safety and running for miles!

However the Mutt Lukks don't stay on very well, they tend to slip off, they are rather stiff and the velcro closure has no "give".

It was a nuisance to have to stop every so often and hitch up the Mutt Luk and refasten so I decided to invent a little bootee that might stay on better.

I had some fleece left from when I made a winter coat for her so I sewed up this little bootee, and sewed a circle of vinyl cut from a table cloth, one outside for wear and another piece inside for more padding. I stitched on a piece of elastic for fastening and I'm hoping this will be more stable.

The past two evenings I noticed her licking at the top of the paw and on closer inspection found a little red lump on the outside "toe". So this morning I made an appt. with the vet for later this afternoon to see if we can figure out the problem and a cure!

More on her diagnosis later!

The Aussie Quilt Kit

With an almost centenarian father in Australia, we make regular visits DownUnder to see the dear old chap!

As with most quilters, I am always on the lookout for quilty stuff when I travel, quilt books, fabric etc. and it is a bit of a challenge to find actual Aussie design fabrics, not iconic or ethnic Aborigine, but simply Aussie designed - then there is the high price of fabric in the "Great Southland", usually Au.$20 and up compared to our $10 or so in the USA.

On one of my visits in recent years I found this lovely kit, at a really good price and it has sat in my stash for a couple of years until I sort of ran out of projects I could work on up here in the mountains.

The illustration that came with the kit isn't very accurate color-wise, but here's a better view of the fabric selection.

And here is my progress to date.
PS. My Stash NYB quilt got a ribbon at Black Canyon Quilt Show over the weekend!

Lucas And Matthew, 42nd. Birthday

Dubbo, NSW Australia, one year, 1969

Mosman, NSW Australia 1969

Port Macquarie NSW, Australia, 1970

Killeen TX. 1976

Killeen TX. 1981

Lucas, birthday blessings son, and love. We celebrate you and remember your beloved brother Matthew.

" Mattityahu, Gift of God".

Serendipity!

I have a project-not one that I would have preferred or sought- but a sewing project nonetheless!

We have a nice sturdy porch swing in need of new upholstery, so DH took the cushions to Montrose to see what upholsterers had to say about it-not what I wanted to hear, $350-$400 just for the seat! The breakdown was around $200 for labor and over $30/yd. for minimum of 5 yds. of fabric. I can buy two new porch swings for that but I do not want to consign this one to the dump!

I am way too frugal for that, so yesterday I picked up a remnant of sturdy-looking/similar colored outdoor fabric at WM [the only store in Montrose with fabric] for under $10 and I am about to tackle the job myself. The idea is to redo only the seat at the present since the canopy is still fairly good. In truth, it would be much easier to make a new canopy than a seat!

The seat/back/headrest are all in one and this afternoon DH helped me to take it apart to make a pattern. It was rather dusty so he took it out on the deck when the rain stopped and hosed it off. [BTW, can you see a little fresh snow up there on our mountain? It was quite chilly today.] There are a few small parts to this and getting them back where they belong will be a challenge but I took pics as we pulled it apart and after all, what are a few small bits to a quilter? Little pieces of fabric are my life! I can do this! I am rather looking forward to the challenge but construction will have to wait until at least Saturday when I can get some upholstery thread from a friend, there is nowhere within a two hour drive to buy it.

Meanwhile I must have something to sew and for that reason this morning I took out a quilt kit that I purchased in Australia, cut up all the pieces and it's ready to go.

Now I'm content, I have a plan!

Out Of Projects!

There's a problem trying to live in two homes-no matter how well I plan when I really need something it always seems to be at the other house! When I packed up for this first couple of weeks in CO. I thought there were enough projects to keep me busy, but after one week I am running out of things to sew!

The plan for this first break was to piece two single bed quilts for twin great nephew and niece. I only had to purchase the blue star fabric for the flag quilt, the rest came from stash and I thought I had the required pieces cut for Daniel's quilt, but after they were sewn..........

and trimmed, there were only twenty, not nearly enough for a bed sized quilt, it needs at least another 10-15!

So far this measures about 50x60" and even with borders it wouldn't be big enough to suit me- but it does look rather smashing so far, don't you think? Problem is that there's no more of the red fabrics up here in CO- rather aggravating really, I don't like leaving things half done, but I was forced to move on to the next project.

Emily's quilt. It only took me two days to construct and the top was all laid out neatly when Button decided to check give it the once-over.......

so it looks all rumpled! In this case I'm happy with the size as is, 80x96" is adequate for a single bed without the addition of borders, I'll just quilt and bind it.

It's called Pleaides or The Seven Sisters, after a cluster of stars in the Taurus Constellation that is visible in the sky with the naked eye in winter from the northern hemisphere and in summer from the southern hemisphere. I did not have a pattern for it, I got the idea from a picture I saw of a similar quilt and knew it would be easy to make.

I have decided to machine embroider the names of the stars on the star blocks-it would have been easier before construction but it is still doable.

It seemed to be the perfect combination of a feminine quilt with a subtle intellectual twist. I believe that Emily will be happy with her request for "pink and purple", and better still it all came from stash!

My goal was to make quilts that would be appealing to five year olds but not so childish that they would quickly outgrow them. What do you think, did I succeed?

Independence Day Fourth Of July 2010

This gave me goose bumps but also brought me to tears. We all understand that it is due to the dedication and sacrifice of America's Armed Forces that we are able to celebrate our freedom.

May our flag ever wave proud and free.

GOD BLESS AMERICA.

O! say can you see by the dawn's early light,

What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming,
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there;
O! say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream:
'Tis the star-spangled banner, O! long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion,
A home and a country should leave us no more!
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

O! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war's desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust."
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Additional Civil War period lyrics

In indignation over the start of the Civil WarOliver Wendell Holmes added a fifth stanza to the song in 1861 which appeared in songbooks of the era.

When our land is illumined with liberty's smile,
If a foe from within strikes a blow at her glory,
Down, down with the traitor that tries to defile
The flag of the stars, and the page of her story!
By the millions unchained,
Who their birthright have gained
We will keep her bright blazon forever unstained;
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave,
While the land of the free is the home of the brave.

Happy birthday USA