Tail Feathers Quilt for Chris

Last Spring I realized that I needed to have a couple masculine quilts in my arsenal so I ordered this pattern, thinking it might fit the bill:

                                              

I pulled fabrics from my stash and later found a backing:

                                            

Then, recently, our girl shared news that our mechanic's son was diagnosed with leukemia and was beginning treatments. I called my friend, C, as they too are friends with his dad, Mark. We both wanted to do something. I already had this quilt pieced and C has a long arm so we combined our ingredients and now have a finished quilt for Chris. Sometimes DH asks me, "Who are you making this one for?" My answer, "I don't know just yet, but God does so I'm just stitching prayers into it."

C quilted this perfect, fun, wavy pattern over it

    

and bound it with a blue Grunge that she already had made into binding for another quilt. The backing came from Whittle's a while back:

I made the lap size.  At 60 x 72, I thought that'd be a good size for snuggling up with for naps and during treatments. Everyone knows those hospital blankets aren't worth a plumb nickle.

We met at Mark's on Thursday morning to hand it off as he was leaving to see Chris that morning:

We sent him off with the quilt and hugs and prayers. Chris and our girl are also friends. Chris is working through school to become a chiropractor and he's less than 2 hours from our girl so she's making plans to check in on him as well. I wish there wasn't a need to make quilts for reasons such as this, but I am sure glad to be able to gift them when such a need arises.

For Love of a Horse Baby Quilt

Our girl's best college buddy and her husband are expecting their first child. Back when she graduated, I made this quilt for her:

                                                       

Now that she's moved to Iowa, I wish I had made it in flannel. Brrr...

She and our girl share a special bond with horses so I knew this special quilt needed horses and I've been saving and hoarding this sweet fabric for years:

I used this pattern:

                                

And changed it up a bit in order to keep the focus on the main print. Then I started pulling fabrics from my stash:

I love this part! After a collaboration with my favorite quilt adviser I settled on this:

And in no time, I had the top pieced, and backed it with a pink Minkee,

Sandy, Jackie's daughter quilted a design called Chantilly Lace. and I chose to bind it with the black-white dot:

Then life got busy and it took me forever to get it bound, but it's finally finished!

Perfect timing though because sweet baby Sloan just arrived and our girl has secured tickets and is flying up for a visit, a hug, and lots of baby snuggles in a few weeks:

This little pony quilt finished at 45x45 and I hope it will be loved and treasured. I love giving quilts as gifts, but they come with one caveat: They must be used and loved.

    

No putting them back for safekeeping. When this ones wears out, I'll make another!

                             

Shipping and Stitching

It's taking me longer than expected to recuperate from my trip last week and it may or may not have something to do with my age...the jury's still out. Lots of late nights filled with good conversation that I wouldn't have missed for the world, throw in a few early mornings to fix breakfast for the crew,  a few more late nights helping out at the safari banquet this past weekend,

and I am just PTO...plumb tuckered out. I feel something akin to a wet dishrag.

However, I made time to sew a bit on Sunday. I had visited with our North Camp gal  about including some fabric from clothing that belonged to her son and dad into her quilt and she brought me pieces of those shirts the other day. I hope to have this top pieced and off to Jackie by the end of the month.

I pieced a back for this quilt that I pieced a while back when I realized I could use some masculine quilts:

                                             

And one day last week, a need arose, so I am handing this one off to my friend who has a long arm quilting machine. The baby quilt still is not bound, but I'm making progress.

In the midst of everyday life, we shipped off 4 truck loads of cattle on Tuesday:

                             

That meant I logged in some time in the kitchen:

We've had so much wind here lately, that it was a sweet blessing to have a day of calm, with bright blue skies for the crew to gather, sort, and load trucks:

Around here, a firm handshake is still about honesty and integrity:

Whew! Last truck loaded. Three cheers for shorter feed runs.

And new babies hitting the ground!

A Good Reminder

I'm sharing something really special today. It's the best article I've read in a long time...maybe ever. The caveat is that our girl wrote it so I may be biased, but I'd like to think I read it from a completely impartial position and that I would have been just as moved...and convicted, had this not been penned by our precious girl. In today's filtered world of social media, it's refreshing to read something honest, and true, and good. She has always been wise beyond her years. And honestly, it spoke to me on such a personal level that I lost myself in the message and it was only after I had finished that I remembered who had written this. My wish is that you too will be blessed by her message.

I See God

The Last 10 Days

I've been away for a week visiting our boy and I have so many things I want to share, but they are not mine to share. However, I CAN share that it was an amazing week. I enjoyed spending time with these two monkeys:

During our wanderings, we ran into this gentleman who was having bike trouble. Our boy fussed at me for not having jumper cables in the truck 😏, but we were close to his place and the situation was quickly remedied:

It does my heart good to know the our boy is willing to lend a hand to strangers when he sees a need. I returned Tuesday afternoon, completely exhausted and utterly joyful. Given the chance, I could sleep for a week. As soon as I unloaded the truck, I headed out for a long walk with Skeet. Yesterday I cooked for a crew so my morning started early, but the day included Cherry Pie

so even the gale force winds that filled the air with dirt yesterday could not deter the song in my heart.

On another note, in an attempt to take better care of ourselves in our...ummm...golden years, I ordered this cookbook a few weeks ago.

It arrived while I was away. I have heard wonderful things about it and when I saw Judy, over at Patchwork Times, posting dishes using recipes from the author's site, to rave reviews, I caved. It's been a long time since I purchased a cookbook, but I am hopeful that this one will see a lot of use. With today's access to everything and anything online, I suppose cookbooks are becoming less popular. I have culled my collection hard, but I have about 30 that I have just haven't been able to let go. So, I'm browsing this very large cookbook, making a list, and hoping to find some new favorites. I don't know what it says about me that the first thing I want to try is the ice cream. 😄

No sewing has taken place for the last 10 days, but I have picked up where I left off and am binding a baby quilt so depending on how long I can keep my eyes open, I may or may not have a finished quilt to share before long:

Today I have a day at home. A day without cooking for extras. A day without leaving the dirt road. A day that will hopefully include a leisurely mug of hot tea. A good book. And a nap. And I wanted to share something I came across this last week by Ann Voscamp. It has been a good reminder for me:

Instead of focusing on the hurdles ahead of you,
Focus on Him beside you.
Instead of depending on your plan for this week,
Depend on His power for this moment.
Instead of being tempted to give up, or or give into fear,
Give thanks - this gives Him glory.
Instead of trying to do it all,
Let Him be your all.
Lord, cause me to lead an INSTEAD kind of life,
Because One loved me enough to give Himself in my stead.