Free Day!

Today was my free day! Jordyn went to Grandma and Grandpas, Justin was in town at work, and i had the house to myself! :) I spent most of the day quilting...woohoo!
I havent blogged anything quilty in a while, so i thought i would share a teaser of my miniature for the ALQS swap (round 2). I have the center finished, now it just needs a border or two, backing, quilted, etc...but that should go pretty quickly :)

Here is a fun shot from yesterday...Jordyn decided to inspect Grandpas catch of the day!

and finally, a little fun in Photoshop! My little pumpkin :)
Have a creative weekend!

Happy Autumn from the Three Amigos!

This afternoon we had a visit from the three amigos. With all of the bear publicity lately, i thought it only fair to give these serene creatures some limelight. Its a joy to watch them...even if they were eating my columbines. At this time of year, it doesnt really matter...nibble away ladies!

The Sustainable Living Fare was a huge success, and Justin made many contacts. Jordyn really seemed to enjoy herself too. Here she is covered in chocolate, helping daddy break down the booth.

I purchased a new Halloween tablecloth yesterday, and this morning i set it out to see how it looks...Jordyn really seems to like it.
Anyways, Happy Autumn everyone~
cheers~
Justin, Lisa and Jordyn (the other three amigos :)

Final Farewell

Back in May, our friend Dave passed away. This morning his wife dropped by to scatter his ashes on our island along the river, one of his favorite places. His ashes had several destinations, but the Black Bear was his final destination.
Jordyn and i, accompanied Charmaine, while she chose three specific spots on the island...out behind the teepee...back among the trees where he always pitched his tent for Rogue Camp...and along the river where he spotted his first bear after moving to Colorado. As we made our memorial journey along the island, I wept as Jordyn repeated the phrase, "Bye-Bye Dave...Bye-Bye Dave". The island holds so many dear memories for our family and friends, that it has become a very sacred and spiritual place.

We hugged and reminisced about Dave and his adventures up here at the Black Bear. He did the tile in our shower, made blankets for Justin and i, and one for Jordyn when she was born, he even gave me one of his handmade necklaces, but most of all, he worked on Heliostats and solar projects with Justin. He was really excited about Heliotrack, and helped Justin at the fares in 2005 and 2006. He even designed the T-shirts in this photo...the same T-shirt that Justin left for the fare in this morning. We will miss you dear friend, but you are still with us!

Rocky Mountain Sustainable Living Fare

For those of you in our neck of the woods, be sure to stop by this fare. Justin has a booth there for Heliotrack and it should be a lot of fun! They have hundreds of displays, food booths, a beer garden, and some rockin' music...plus its very informative.

More Bear Shenanigans...

For those of you entertained by my black bear story yesterday, i thought i would include these photos as well.
The bear was poking around looking for food, when our cat came upon the bear and proceeded to get in pounce/attack mode. The bear recognized this look and retaliated.
I think the cat realized he was no match for the bear, so he wandered behind the playhouse...the bear followed. They circled the playhouse twice while i took photos. On the last lap, the cat decided to make a run for it...towards me! doh! The bear followed suit and the photo above is him about to charge. The photo below, is him charging after the cat, and the cat running towards me, and me running as well (apparently with my finger still on the shutter) If you take a close look and look at the black in the photo, you can make out the head and ears of the bear. Yikes!
Of course, you're probably wondering if i should be a recipient of an Honorable Mention in the Darwin Awards...i would like to remind everyone that i was using a zoom on my camera, and the words,"here, hold my beer", were never uttered once before hand :)

Lots O' Fabric and another Black Bear ~

A hairy local came around this evening...taunting our cat, and looking for snacks. He looks a little frightening standing so close to our daughters playhouse...a gentle reminder to always keep our eye on her when she is outside playing! Thankfully they are easily intimidated, though this particular bear had a bit of an attitude. We were also all safely inside when he dropped by.

I had the day off today...Jordyn went to Grandma and Grandpas house...so i was able to work on some projects. I cut out the rest of my novelty fabrics for the I-Spy swap on about.com. 15 sets total...which should get me 150 different fun fabrics :) The best way to come up with such a variety without having to buy so many at once...

That is, unless you have wonderful friends in blogland like i have! Anne read about my swap and offered to send me a stack of novelty scraps she had laying around, and they arrived today! Wasnt that generous of her...as ive said before, quilters are some of the most giving people i know. I now have an additional 30 squares to add to my daughters I-Spy quilt thanks to her. Thank you Anne! Im working on a little care package for you in return :)

and for the final photo, ill leave you with a little teaser for the ALQS round 2! Not much of a clue...just some pretty fabrics :)

Birthday Memory Quilt

Here are the squares we collected for Berdena's 90th bday Memory Quilt. (Of course, she turns 91 in November, but you know how it goes...getting folks to finish their square is like herding cats). There are still two blocks on the way (supposedly), and then i will make a dedication block to have an equal number of squares. She wants a wall hanging, with two sides, so she can flip it over from time to time...so i will have 16 on front and 16 on back.(she has very limited wall space, and doesnt want it to go on her bed). I purchased a dark blue batik for the sashing...so im almost ready to get started on it.
We had a luncheon yesterday with the family, so Berdena brought out her squares to share with them...thats how i was finally able to get this shot :) She has been taking them everywhere with her to share with friends and family, but she is anxious to see them sewn together, so now they are in my possession. Stay tuned for updates!
In the meantime, here is a shot of Jordyn enjoying all the yummy desserts the family made!

Happy Anniversary!!!

Crazy Quilt, Fabrics and a Ghost Town

Hurrah...my blocks arrived from the second round of the crazy quilt swap on about.com, and i just love them :)
I was trying on different colors for sashing, and i think i like this dark red best...what do you think? I played around with the images in Photoshop to help decide on the color. I love that program! Be sure to click on the picture for a larger image to see all the lovely stitching and details. Some of the squares still have the basted border, so ignore those :) Also, one of the squares was made by me, so naturally it hasnt been decorated at all yet!

Im also participating in an I-spy swap, and these are some of the fabrics i ordered for it. I have some coming from different stores online, so ill post those when they arrive. Ive always wanted to make an I-spy quilt, but i dont have many novelty fabrics, so this should be a fun and easy way to collect a larger variety. I havent decided how i want to set them yet...i was thinking of an attic window pattern or perhaps a snowball pattern...any suggestions?

The weather has been cooling off a bit, but it was gorgeous this weekend, so Jordyn and i went for a drive with our friend Connie. We headed up towards the pass and drove around looking for moose. We spotted a mother and her baby, which was fun and we watched them for quite a while. Then we headed up to the moose center, which is a very neat place.

We were having such a nice time that we decided to continue on our journey. We drove around Gould, and stumbled upon a road to Teller City (which was established in the late 1800's and is now a ghost town).

There isnt much left of the old city, but there is enough to let your imagination fill in the gaps. There were informative plaques throughout the hike, which made it even more fun, and the surrounding area was absolutely beautiful. Unfortunately, the Pine-beetle have really killed off a lot of the trees, but it was still gorgeous.

Sometimes the best adventures are the ones that arent planned! We had a great time, and it was a wonderful weekend!

Cake, Ice Cream and 40 ~

Labor Day Weekend was relaxing and quiet. We stayed home this year, and while Justin prepared for the Sustainable Living Fair, i played with Jordyn and visited with my cousin Christy. Christy, my best friend & cousin, recently moved back to Colorado, so it was awesome to hang out with her. We watched movies, talked, relaxed, and talked some more...in fact, we never run out of things to talk about! We can chat for days without coming up for air :) Usually we work on crafts together, but this visit was strictly for catching up. Im so happy that she moved back home!
Meanwhile, Justin turned 40, so we celebrated with some pumpkin cake and ice cream...which we ate before dinner, so we werent very hungry afterwords :) Jordyn ate all of hers, and then most of daddy's...as you can see here...so it was a fabulous birthday indeed!
Now im off to work on all of those neglected projects! Please send creative vibes my way! :)
Have a lovely day!