Dog Tired

Here are my babies taking a well-deserved break.  This last week was quite long, hard, and surreal. 
We had two friends that left Colorado and a lot of stuff in our basement.  There was a lot of comings, goings, and sorting happening.  We ended the week doing a catered dinner for 16 for friends of ours.  The photo was taken right after delivering the meal.  It was also our 5th anniversary of actual marriage.
We had the most wonderful night of doing absolutely nothing!  We were told to go out but after such a week as we had, it was so nice to just be home with only my husband and animals.  We had delicious New York Strip steaks and honey gold potatoes fried with some garlic.  Simple and perfect!
Today, we pull everything out of the studio so we can remove the carpet and expose the beautiful hard wood underneath.  It will be so much nicer to sew and dance on now!  Maybe we will feel like going out tonight for our anniversary dinner after a lot more hard work.

August Update

I have always loved the design I used on the green borders of this client's quilt.  It really compliments the fabric.  This was one of last week's quilts and it came out quite nicely.  Some of the other updates/highlights of the week are as follows.
I was asked to be a part of an Artists Open Studio Tour.  It is timed nicely for just after I remodel my studio floor which will involve taking everything out of my studio.  This will be no small venture, I have a lot of stuff!  I might not show before pictures, but I'll post after ones for sure!
 I cooked up a mess of food for a catering gig for a friend that ended up being next weekend.
I went to a fabulous annual event with some dear friends.  It was the Cultiva Benefit Dinner last night, which is a great event for a great cause.  It raises money for the Growing Gardens project in Boulder which supports many wonderful programs but especially dear to my heart is Cultiva.  This program teaches kids how to grow food, be responsible, and give back to the community.  These are great kids!!!!
Today was a "day off" and I waged war on the thistle colony that seems bent on taking over my back yard area.  Which might actually be mine in the near future.  Part of what I thought was my property traded hands a few times and after many years and negotiations, it might become part of Mountainjoy again.  Yeah!!!
Lots of good and busy things are happening around here.  The rest of  August holds:  my Anniversary, making a wedding cake for friend, doing a long arm demonstration, re-doing the studio floors, and a visit from my awesome mother-in-law.  Life is good.

Getting Along

These two are starting to get along.  The day Bo realized she was girl puppy and not just this little biting black fuzzball was pretty funny!  The cats are doing better with little Gwyn too, one is very much playing with her and the other is hiding less.  The problem with Gwyn learning from the cats is that she thinks she can move like they do.  Therefore, I will often bust Gwyn following a cat onto a chair and then onto my sewing table, computer desk, etc.
I've been invited to do an Artist Open Studio tour in Sept.  That means that the studio floor remodel will definitely be happening.  I have a long arm demonstration to do at the local library and that is the perfect time to move everything out and just do.  More likely, I'll move everything out and have my husband refinish the floor while I work on a 4 tier wedding cake. 
I have been doing the quilting on many quilts lately for Kerry of Commaworkshop in Boulder.  Her quilts are doing wonderfully right now and I believe there will be an article about her in the New York Times July 26th.

Top Secret Sister Quilts Revealed

Here is a photo of one the quilts I made last month.  I was given the challenge to create two identical king-size quilts using my Aunt's glorious collection of Hawaiian fabrics.  They were created quite quickly too as one was to be a gift for my mother at the family reunion we just had.  These quilts commemorate the past and future trips to Hawaii that they have shared as sisters.  I am very happy with how they turned out and that I was able to keep the secret until now. 
It is very hard to keep secrets from my mom.  I just told her I was working on top secret stuff and quit calling her.  I think that is why it was extra fun to do a quilt with her on my Aunt's long arm while we were visiting.  I had missed her a lot. 
I am back home again and happy to be with my husband and animals.  I'm also really happy it finally rained here in Colorado.  I was gone for 12 days and my puppy doubled in size.  So many things to catch up on, but I've been dying to share these quilts. 

Blessed Be, A Puppy For Me!

Look what I've been blessed with!  I would like to introduce my new puppy Gwen.  She is a lab mix and we got her last Monday when she was only 6 weeks old.  After sleeping for about 24 hours straight, she is proving that she really is a puppy.  Chewing on everything such as us, our shoes as we walk, the big dog, the window screens, etc.  It's really adorable carrying around a tennis ball.  Pretty much everything she does is just too cute for words.  I think that is how puppies (& children) get away with so much. 
I remember talking to my dad about that when we picked up Bo.  Now, Bo is a Catahulo and was very hard to train to be a good and gentle dog.  He got into so much stuff though one time, I had to lament to my folks.  That was when dad told me about the ratio that definitely exists between how cute something is and how much trouble it can get into before a death sentence is decried.  Like all small critters, this one is cute enough to make it to adulthood.  
You might be able to see the unopened roll of batting behind me.  It shows how much work I've gotten done this week now, doesn't it?  Actually, I did a get a quilt top done and now I can spend today cleaning and puppy-proofing the house.  Gwen showed up about 2 weeks earlier than I had planned on.  It is a good thing I kept all of Bo's old puppy collars and stuff.  I do need to get anything I don't want chewed up away from the floor area and up to safety.  I guess I'll be playing "queen of alternatives" for a few months.  My constantly flowing monologue for this role is "No, don't chew on -----, chew on this" while switching toys.
By the way, my husband told me that I have not had THIS smile on my face for years.  It is good to happy!

Wedding Memory Quilts

I got married to my tie-dyeing husband 5 years ago.  As mentioned in earlier blogs, the whole wedding was tie-dyed including my dress and the Huppah.  It only took me these 5 years to finish because I'm always doing projects for others.  This is the first time my mom gets see this quilt finished.  She painstakingly pieced this dahlia quilt for me of the fabrics we had people sign with their well-wishes.  Along with the usual love & joy, some of the wishes were fabulously funny such as "If this quilt is a rockin', don't come a knockin'."
This quilt was no different than any of my other learning experiences with quilting even though I didn't piece it.  I have done signature quilts before and one was a great family tree that used fusible applique.  During that quilt, I learned it was better to attach fusible to the back of fabric before people signed it (the fabric doesn't wiggle and you don't have to use sandpaper).  So, I talked my mom into doing this for our quilt.  She didn't know that she was going to choose a Dahlia pattern.  For anyone who is thinking of doing this---Never, Ever fuse the back of fabric if you are going to make a Dahlia!  Mom did a great job and it actually quilted and lays pretty flat for all the stiff bulk that went into the seams.  This quilt will soon be hanging over our bed and the finished Huppah quilt will be on our bed.  Our room will look so nice if I ever get around to arranging it!  Photos to come in the future (near or far).
I was visiting the Quilters Blogging site this morning and found it was updated.  Michelle is doing some amazing work trying to keep all of us quilters connected and informed.  She has put out an invitation for more quilt bloggers to join the directory.  If you are not aware of this site and directory yet, you should really go check it out.  I'm setting up a link so you can get there quickly and start reading about quilters and their experiences world-wide.

Spring Wildlife

I am currently working on a Top Secret quilt project, therefore you must be content with an update about Mountainjoy today versus quilts.  The wildlife is returning!  This past week has brought us some very special visitors.  First of all, the hummingbirds are back.  I had a little ruby red-throat sit at my empty feeder the other day. I jumped up and got him some food.  I've heard several more hummingbirds in the air but have not been dive-bombed yet.
The moose were here all winter long.  It was only 2 days ago that we actually almost hit one with my car.  We headed out our driveway (which is a chute and only belongs to us).  Suddenly, there was a moose in front of us!  My husband was a bit surprised he didn't see it until I reminded we don't normally look for cross-traffic in our own driveway.  The moose viewing happened in the evening.  The next morning, we had more visitors.
It was 6 in the morning and I was looking at emails waiting for the coffee water to boil.  It scared the pants off of me when from right behind, the dog goes off barking like crazy.  I looked out the window and didn't see what all the fuss was about.  I wanted my coffee.  My husband stayed by the windows watching.  His patience was rewarded as he got to view a pack of black wolves traveling fast in a long strung-out single file line along the trail the moose followed the evening before.  How cool is that?  Such majestic creatures they are!
Yesterday morning, I saw a beautiful owl headed back to it's home to sleep the day away.  He must have had a long night to going home so late in the morning.
On the smaller creature scale, I have chipmunks and rabbits to spare!
I'm off to do top secret stuff (it's so much fun to say) and you all keep quilting and crafting!