Moments at Mountainjoy

 It has been a busy month.  The weather has been unusually wet and raining causing the rivers to flow and the flowers to grow.  The moose have been visiting on their annual tour.  The two picture here are bull moose, one we nicknamed Mickey because his growing rack looked just like Mickey Mouse ears one day.  Therefore, "Mickey the Moose" he became. 

 

We have had tragedy in the community.  Too many recent deaths, but truly saddest was the loss of young Sophia Dubose.  She was taken by the raging river in Boulder Canyon one day.  The community had a benefit for her family and the tree quilt was my contribution to the silent auction.  I found out later that friends of mine who were very dear to Sophia as well purchased this quilt. It all makes me very happy when my quilts go to great people.

Speaking of happy, I was delighted with the way the Mariner's Compass came out.  I put a lot of planning into the quilt designs and it really paid off.  If this quilt gets to grace the walls somewhere in the Supreme Court as planned, I will definitely let you all know.

I have been doing a lot of spinning lately.  It is hobby I pick up on annually, but the bug really got me this year.  It's all I want to do.  I make deals with myself - so much quilting then so much spinning.  I am also quite pleased with my new position as Fiber Director at Mountain Flower Goat Dairy.  Along with all my other day jobs, I get to turn kids on to fiber at a 3 day camp this summer!

Claws for Paws * A Fundraising Project

I have had a busy summer with some travels, some floods, and some quilts of course.  I have begun a new project.  It is called Claws for Paws.  This project will help animals everywhere, starting with my little Shadow and then continuing with funding animal care on a local and national levels.
This began because of my cat, Shadow's need for a non-life threatening operation.  We already got him through the life threatening stage, but now he is in pain sometimes.  The operation will make it so he is pain free and back to his normal litter-box using self.  He is quite happy and social since his near death experience.  My vet is willing to perform a multi-thousand dollar operation for cost.  He does this because he loves animals and understands that sometimes animal owners are down on their luck, but never their love.  I am not the only one in this boat.  Therefore, I came up with this idea.
The quilted pet portraits are as unique as your own animals.  You see, I begin with an actual photograph of your pet.  The photo is transferred to fabric and then given borders to make it look like a framed portrait.  Then, quilting/thread-play adds all the dimension, life, and character of your best friend. I can do single animals, best buddies, or whole herds.  The animals don't have to be furry to friendly in my program either.  I will do cats, dogs, iguanas, llamas, fish, you get the idea. 
At first, 100% of the funding will go to Shadow's surgery.  Eleven quilt orders will get Shadow his operation.  Once Shadow has his surgery, 50% of the profits will continue to go to animal care funding.  It will be split up with my local Veterinarian getting 25% and the remaining 25% will be donated to other foundations such as PetAid Colorado or the Humane Society. 
This 13" x 15" quilted portrait costs $75.00.  You can email me at rebeccah@mountainjoyquilts.com or visit my shop at www.mountainjoyquiltndye.etsy.com to order your portrait.
 I will be keeping track of funds donated and names of ours friendly supporters on my website page dedicated to the Quilts for Paws project on my website www.mountainjoyquilts.com.  I know we can help animals get the care they need.  Please help me spread the word and thank you for your support.

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.