Red and Green Quilt...finally!

Well, actually, I participated in the creation of a red and green quilt!

A few months ago Renee Plains, of Liberty Star fame, honored me by asking if I would help her get ready for Spring Market by piecing a large quilt for her...

Potting Shed

It was a collaborative affair...I did the piecing and she did the applique.

Whitney Erickson, co-owner of TOWQS, did the machine quilting.

As usual, it so much more vibrant in person! 

No wildflowers to show here in AZ!  The heat isn't as bad as I had imagined. 

 My R&W quilt will definitely be slow going here.  I am using my daughter's machine and I don't quite have that scant 1/4" seam allowance thingy figured out yet! It took me over an hour this am to piece just one 3" block. 

 I had a delightful mid morning visit to the shoppe and picked up some FQs I just had to have for Caroline's Pinwheels.  Let's see...I started this quilt to use up stash...I have used the last of 4 different fabrics so far...I purchased 10 new FQs...I don't think I am making progress!

But you can't wipe the smile off my face!

Pinwheels for Caroline...

...by Lori Smith.

I needed a break from my R&W quilt, so working on my Caroline's Pinwheels seemed like the perfect answer.  I make one 3" R&W block each day before I allow myself to start playing with the fabrics for this one.  Her instructions suggest using 4 hues...blue, red, green and gold, besides the neutrals--brown and black...which I found dull. So, I spruced it up a little with some pink and cheddar. I am finding the most important element in fabric choices is value, especially in the ocean waves border.  I am having difficulty with the ocean waves blocks.  I have never made them before and with each one I make I learn more about which areas are critical to points matching.  Hopefully, I will have it figured out in the next few attempts. Have any words of wisdom?

It is a melancholy Monday for me.  Both Serena and Venus lost today, so the women's game now holds very little interest for me.  Still have my favorite male players in the mix though.  Sad for American tennis, but Mardy Fish is the last one standing in singles.  We can always count on the Bryan brothers to make a good run for us though! 

Wimbledon takes the first Sunday of the tournament off, so we hiked a new trail on the east side of the San Juan Mountains.  I was very proud that I climbed to an elevation of about 12,600 ft.  If you are wondering, I am training so I can hike Macchu Picchu in the fall.

I have added a page at the top below my header if you want to see more of the wildflowers I photograph.  I have also identified them.  Here is the highlight pic of the hike:

White Globeflower...found in marshy areas near streams and creeks. 

The boggy slope of Kitty Creek was covered in them.  Some almost had a peachy hue to them.

First time I had seen this one.

Also liked the vibrant Parry Primrose...also an alpine stream dweller.

I am flying back to AZ on Wed. 

I am anxious get some retail therapy at TOWQS.

New wools arrived as well as some new fabric lines. 

Hope I can show some restraint!

A new coiffure is badly needed as well.

We'll be headed to Napa to celebrate my mother's 80th.

It will be sort of a family reunion. 

I'll take my opportunity now to wish everyone a happy and safe 4th of July!

The Secret for Me...

...in getting multitudes of HSTs made is to have a tennis tournament to watch! 

 And that would be Wimbledon, especially with the return of Venus and Serena Williams,

although Venus's attire is atrocious!

I am challenged with the use of the high contrast solid fabrics, so it is slow going. 

I've already started to plan a border.  Thinking maybe some red on white applique, but not floral. 

We'll see if I have any enthusiasm left once the center is finished! 

The tennis was rained out the other day, so we fit in a hike to the very sedate Coal Creek...which is more like a babbling brook.  Tall ferns and giant flowering plants surrounded the creek and made for some great photo opportunities. 

These flower stalks were on plants that were chest high and had fernlike leaves.  My best guess is it is a subalpine Larkspur of some sort. Our hike was cut short when I saw an animal print in the mud around the creek and asked my DH what it might be.

  "Probably a large cat," he said. 

 Suddenly realizing the effect that would have on me, he tried to change his opinion.

"No, probably someone's dog," was his second answer, even though we had seen no other prints besides sign of free range cattle on the entire walk.  Needless to say, I decided I had had enough for the day.  Still managed to get a fair amount of uphill cardio before my downhill retreat.

Back to HSTs and tennis!

A Weekend's Work

I decided to get at least one of the samples for TOWQS done to take back with me. 

This is Winter #577 by Country Threads.

It is fusible applique, so the next step is to decide how to anchor the shapes...

buttonhole stitch around them all or

stitch them down as I quilt.

The second choice will be faster, but I will let the girls at the shoppe decide which finish they want.

I also managed to catch up with my Civil War BOWs.

Ladies Aid Album

Calico Puzzle

I have been talking about a red and white quilt for some time now, so I finally started it.

I am fascinated by the illusion created by these two color HSTs.

Half the block looks like white triangles on red and the other half looks like red triangles on white.

I'll be using this illusion in my setting design.

I only have 540 HSTs to make and 57 more of these 3" finished blocks!

Better get busy!



A Rare Find!

This post is not about quilting...you don't have to look at Autumn Houses one more time!

Yesterday we hiked to Fourmile Falls and on the way I spotted a small speck of purple off the trail.  When I went to investigate, I was rewarded with the Calypso Orchid, or Fairy Slipper.  This delicate orchid tends to favor sheltered areas on conifer forest floors and is endangered in the US.  It is also only about 1" in size and we all know how I love miniature things!

A side view of this divine orchid.

Little white Trillium was abundant as well.

Our destination...

Fourmile Falls!

Thank goodness it isn't four miles of hiking to get to the falls, because the last climb had my legs feeling like lead weights.  I am still not elevation acclimated.

Good news...Midnight accompanied the cowboys out to the meadow this am.  He stayed clear of the skunk's lair and ran to his heart's desire.

Sweet Carolina

I saw this little quilt first on Quilt Hollow's blog; and when my magazine arrived, I just could not resist it.  It will end up as a pillow or a wallhanging in the guest bedroom. It can be found in the August 2011 issue of APQ magazine and was designed by Annemarie S. Yohnk. Now I just need to find the perfect medium value tan for the first inner border and then I will try to mimic the quilting design.

I have made lots of progress on Autumn Houses.

Even though the shapes are made, there are many little applique stitches that still need to be sewn.

Block 1, 3 and 6 are totally completed and 4, 5 & 7 are half done. 

I was thrilled to see that Nives, from Northern Italy, and Kathie, from Sydney, Australia, have posted their recent 1880 sampler blocks on the flicker site.  Nives' blocks are closer to the same colors as mine, but Kathie has chosen a brown and pink theme that is very warm and inviting.  I hope to have collages of their blocks to share, but if you can't wait to see them, check them out here. 

Today's goal is to get my exchange blocks made for my SSQSG meeting in July.  They need to be 4" finished blocks and I need 6 of them.  We exchange blocks every other month. I missed the June meeting, but you can read all about it on Merumo's blog and see her collection of blocks so far.

Sunday Funnies

I'll get to some quilt related pics after I share a little tale with you.

There is a riding stables near our cabin and every evening, they release the horses into the meadow behind us to graze and romp around.  Each morning the cowboy rides out to round up the group accompanied by his dog, Midnight.  

 How do I know the dog's name?

Yesterday morning, the dog meet our other evening guest in the meadow and being a curious fellow, decided to check it out.

Next thing I hear is, "No, Midnight, No!"

Too late! 

 Poor Midnight was pawing at his nose and rolling in the grass while the horses made a speedy retreat into the trees.  I don't know who I felt worse for...the dog or the cowboy.

Needless to say, Midnight didn't join the cowboy on this mornings roundup!



Autumn's Finale by Ruan Robertson arrived in the mail.  I could not be more pleased with my purchase and donation to the AAQI cause.  I love her use of decorative stitches in the quilting and applique.  According to the info on the site, the background fabrics were hand dyed by her, and don't you love the striped binding she chose.  A true work of art!

I managed to get another Autumn House done.  I am working furiously to prep as many of the blocks as I can before I return to AZ.  I won't have my machine for 3+ weeks, so I need some handwork.  My daughter has her machine that I can use, but I can't take all my fabrics home on the plane.

We did fit in a hike to the stunning Silver Creek Falls yesterday.  With the snow still melting in the high country, all the rivers and creeks are running high, making for some impressive cascading water.

We continued above the falls, and around 8,000 ft I captured some pictures of a very unusual vine that was winding its way around the trees and bushes.

I have been unable to identify it in my Guide to Colorado Wildflowers, but later today I'll do a search and see what I can find out about this ephemeral beauty.