Crazy Quilting and the Twins

Two more squares finished for the crazy quilt swap on about.com.

These are so much fun to work on, i could really just keep cranking away with embellishments, but I have 5 more to go, and the deadline is creeping up on me, so i really need to keep it simple.

Jordyn had some company yesterday...the twins, Jayden and Jett came up for a visit. It was our first time meeting them, and Jordyn really had a great time! They played out in the meadow, enjoyed some music, and went for a walk to the country store.
A perfect afternoon :)

Memorial Weekend at Crossroads~

Well, after the news last Wednesday, about our friend Dave, we werent sure if we were going to go camping. Then we found out the service would be on Monday, so we had time to get away if we still wanted to. It was decided that Dave would have wanted us to go. He was never one to miss out on a party...so we started packing again on Thursday. With packing on our minds, we had no idea what the weather outside was doing...turns out there were tornadoes blowing thru Northern Colorado. Being deep in the mountains, we were safe from the tornadoes, but not completely unscathed. The power lines went down in town, which means our power went out. We were without power for 6 hours, which left us with the thought, "maybe we arent supposed to go on this trip" :) Since most of our friends live in the north, they too, were behind in packing. We all decided, once again, to just go for it!

Im happy to report that the event was an absolute blast, and it was just what we needed. A Nastrovia toast was done in Dave's honor, as we shared stories and laughter with one another about our dear friend. The weather was gorgeous all weekend, something rare when camping over Memorial Weekend...and we had a hafla in camp every night. Jordyn had a great time running all around, exploring, dancing, singing and even trying to learn a new instrument...daddy's setar.

There was an egg hunt for the kids, and she did rather well for the smallest kid in the bunch, gathering 6 eggs total. (mom and dad might have helped a little)
There were equestrian tournaments, fencing, archery, and heavy weapons fighting, but she enjoyed the horses most of all. In the evenings, she slept bundled up in her wagon by the fire, so she could be close to us while we played music. There is nothing quite like falling asleep to the sound of drums...rhythmic and enchanting! For those of you confused by our camping, Crossroads is an SCA camping event. The SCA (Society for Creative Anachronism) is a historical re-creation and living history group, which recreates pre-17th century history and culture. (so in other words, we are a bunch of history geeks, who like to dress up and pretend :)
I also forgot to post this...

the last month in the birthday block swap on about.com. Miss May(Peggy), wanted a block in mardi gras colors and theme, so this is what i made for her. Its only my second attempt at applique, but i learned a lot from making it...like, next time, pick simpler shapes! hehehe Anyways, it was a wonderful swap to participate in...i learned a lot and pushed myself to try new things. Kate is hosting another one, but i think i will sit this one out this year, so that i can catch up on some of the UFO's i have laying around. So many projects, so little time :)
Happy Quilting!
lisajo

Its Here...My ALQS quilt!

Hurrah!!! While i was camping, a package arrived for me from the Isle of Man! Loulee, a friend i met in blogland, rcvd my name in the ALQS, and this is the lovely quilt she created for me. Isnt it wonderful...sooo very bright and cheery! And look, she even hand embroidered a label for it on the back, conveniently titled, "friendship"!

A quilt from anyone participating in the swap would have been great, but the fact that its from someone i blog with already, makes it extra special! Other goodies were also included in the package...some lovely batik fabrics, a fun souvenir wall hanging of the Isle of Man, and of course some candy buttons...which you can see, have already been torn open to sample :) Jordyn has already gobbled up one bag!
This is the first quilt i have ever received as a gift, so it is quite a treasure to me! Thank you VERY much Loulee! I love it! And thank you Kate, for putting together such a wonderful swap. Now...looks like i better get back to work on mine :)
Cheers~
lisajo

Goodbye Dear Friend

As we are all frantically packing for our camping trip to Crossroads, i received the saddest of calls...our friend Dave had a heart attack and died last night. He was really looking forward to this trip, and so were we.
He was struggling with lifes many challenges...marriage, health problems, unemployment...but he was spending a lot of time with friends to cope. He spent his last weekend up here with us, telling funny stories, playing with Jordyn, and helping justin with his Heliotrack business. He was always ready to lend a hand in the kitchen, and often did most of the cooking when he was here. He was our right-hand man at Rogue Camp, always cleaning during the party, and was even spotted vacuuming on occasion. As the grill master, he won the Golden Spatula...just as his humor and kindness won our hearts! He filled our life with laughter and we will miss him dearly!
Goodbye Dave

hand sewing madness...

Here are a few squares i made for the crazy quilt swap on about.com. There were four color choices...black and white, cream and white, all colors, or jewel tones. Then each person had their choice of color embellishments. We each make 9 (10 if you include the one you make for yourself). Most of the women chose the cream and white combination, one chose all color and two black and whites. I picked the jewel tone combo with gold and black embellishments.

We are supposed to add at least two embellishments...we may add more, but we are supposed to leave some room for the rcvr to add their own fabric goodies, so i tried not to go too crazy. I have most of the squares sewn, but only two completed, so i guess ill post more pics as i go. I didnt think i would like the black and white combo, but it sure is striking once sewn together. Both of the rcvrs wanted any color embellishments and one wanted silver included. I stayed monochromatic, but this way the rcvr of the squares can add the colors they need to tie the whole quilt together.
Besides, it was fun adding more black and white goodies to the squares :) I also finished embroidering the vintage quilt squares my great grandmother made. It still needs to be sandwiched and quilted, so ill wait to post pics of that. My moms crazy quilt for mothers day is almost finished...just want to add a few more items, so im waiting to take a photo...but stay tuned, i will have lots of goodies to show soon!

I have to start prepping for a camping trip next weekend...one of our SCA adventures, so that should be fun....but it means a break from my projects. :( Thats okay though...theres nothing quite like camping with costumes, pavilion tents, drums, and fine food! :) Thanks for stopping by!

Another New Hobby...

Here's something i created today for my mom for Mother's Day. I haven't started any embroidery on it yet, just sewed the pieces on and hope to do the embroidery in the next couple of days. I thought it would be a fun trial run since i signed up for a crazy quilt swap on about.com. I've been ordering all kinds of fun embellishment goodies to work with, so i cant wait to get started. Meanwhile, Jordyn has been a handful, and while i was working on this, she was upstairs redecorating her room...

This is her new thing...she pulls all her toys off of the shelves, and then climbs up on top of the entertainment center, throws everything onto the floor, and then whines because she cant get back down :) heheheh She thought it was pretty funny to be caught in the act though!

She is also quite fascinated with the camera that comes on my mac laptop, so we had fun taking some goofy photos. What can i say...up here at the Black Bear we are easily entertained :)
Hope you have a creative week!
cheers~
lisajo

ALQS teaser

Since the ALQS (Another Little Quilt Swap)is supposed to be a surprise, i will post little teasers as my quilt progresses, but dont want to give away too much just in case my rcvr is lurking :)
The photo looks a little blue...but the colors are actually purples and lavenders.
I havent finished cutting out all the fabric, but hope to get to that today (when the little one is napping). Two folks have already finished their quilts and mailed them out...wow! Talk about being WAYYYY ahead of the eight ball! The mailing deadline is July 1st, so i still have plenty of time...but it would be nice to get it done fairly early, so i can mail it out and dont have to worry about it :)

Meanwhile...more typical Colorado weather...



This is a photo from yesterday...a beautiful Spring day! It was our first sighting of a hummingbird at our feeder (a ruby throat)...i had heard them buzzing around the day before, so i made some juice to have ready for them, and sure enough...if you build it they will come :)
Jordyn enjoyed playing outside in the ditch (which is running...another sure sign of Spring)...and then we had a visit from the deer...ah yes, Spring is definitely in the air! Or is it?.......



This is what it looks like today! :) Hmmm........guess i better get the snowsuits back out!