About Me

My photo
I live in the Black Hills of South Dakota with my husband Bill, 3 sons, 2 dogs,, 2 horses-now 1, bottle calves and Chicks. I love to Quilt. I enjoy Horses,Gardening, Flowers, Archery, Camping, Fishing, Bottle Calves and all things with animals. I started sewing when I was 8 for 4-H, and have sewed off and on since. I discovered how fun quilting was over 7 years ago. I still sew on a Kenmore that was a graduation gift in 1981. I have a New Kenmore 385.19, and a Viking 400, a Singer Treadle, a Featherweight. and a Viking Ruby. In February 2010 I purchased an APQS Longarm , and Love everyone of them. I taught my 1st paper-piecing class, it was such a blast!

Saturday, August 6, 2011

Summer, Life, Quilts and Chairs....

My gosh how fast this summer has been going! We were talking last night and realized school starts here in 17 Days..... I am not ready for that!....but then I guess I never am. I enjoy having the boys home, but know it's once again almost time to get use to the quiet of them being gone most of the day. The we will be running to this and that (football..cross country..basketball..track.....eek help!.....LOL.......
Our Summer has been filled with comings and goings, whether to Sturgis taking the boys to weight lifting 4 days a week or down to the ranch or as the following couple of pictures show to Hot Springs. The twins are enjoying a few minutes of cooling off time...... (We had been to Edgemont to the quilt store and were going to the Guild Meeting in HS) These pictures were taken at the park up behind Evans Plunge.

Carl and Casey "toe cooling"... checking out the swings


C & C again


Back..............................................Front

I have also been keeping busy with quilting some more Project warmth quilt these two are my 67 and 68th ones....

Back..............................................Front

Then I believe I mentioned before I started working at a LQS Quilt Connection in Rapid. I have been piecing and quilting some store samples, this one is a Christmas Holiday present, which I quilted with a Christmas Cookie design.







Earlier this Spring I had received a call from a gal wanting to know how to make lone stars with the individual diamonds. In fact she wanted to eventually make about 21 of them for the kids in her class. So I agreed to "try" an attempt to learn how these are done. Now

Many of you will say "But you have done 3 lonestars that should be a piece of cake".... and this is where I will remind "myself and you" that my stars were all STRIP Pieced and sooooooo much simpler that this one little guy will ever be!

My results....

But I did make one and figure it out! Yes, Was it Easy? absolutely NOT! This little star after much unsewing was this far after 3 1/2 hours.....

So the next day I thought hmmmm." let's try one of these again and put the set in in and see how it goes"..... This one did get this far and after a "Whole" day it made it to a 18" block. It has since been donated to the Rapid City Police Department as we are making a Quilt for rememberance of the 2 Police Officers that just recently lost their life in the line of duty here.

Then on one of our not so busy days the twins decided they need a room color change.... Casey had picked out Orange and Carl Blue so off to paint they went.......

And yep! It is as Orange as it looks.....( this is where I will add "I am so glad that someday it will recover"....LOL.... I inadvertently didn't get Carl's color loaded so will do that on another post......


Our lives are never Dull as I am sure you are figuring out if you already haven't....lol


One day while I was at work I received a call from the boys with "mom, how do you cook a pie crust? --Me: "Excuse me what pie crust" --boys: "Well we are making an apple pie and have it ready to go in the oven and can't remember how long or hot to cook it?" --Me: "telling myself to remain calm they CAN do this"!

So I went on to let them know the "important information" and the following picture is what awaited me when I arrived home....... Isn't it BEAUTIFUL!


It was scrumptious and like hubby said "wow they even did a lattice top....

This is a Friendship block that I made for Janet N for the BHQG group I am in. She requested any type of star, with the strip of fabric at the top being her color choices.


This is a Kit from QC that I pieced to gether and then quilted small little bats all over as a Sample for the store. I loved making the little 4 patch border strip and such fun to do.

As if I didn't have enough going on... I found these lovely chairs up in Sturgis at a second hand store..(actually I had taken the boys up there for their weight lifting and I had an hour to bum while waiting for them). These pictures are suppose to be from beginning to end but I can't get them to change around so you will see the end result before the begining... of the stripping... A couple of the chairs had set outside so needed a little more "loving care". I found this Set of 6 for a total of $125.00. They are very heavy and Birch which will go beautifully with my oak table..

Here are two of the chairs after being stripped and restained. I have stained them with a Watco medium walnut stain and am now ready to start varnishing them. (The Sturgis rally is in town though, so am putting off making a trip to town to buy some sponge brushes)


The set of 6 all stripped and restained waiting for Varnish
At the begining of this project.....Before Stripping the Captain chair....


What they looked like before they were stripped...... If the finish wasn't so bad on a couple of them I would of probably not refinished them...... But am Loving them now.....


Well I am not sure how many more they will let me post so I will stop here and be back again when time allows.... Our Anniversary was yesterday so will have to load cake pictures that my boy's made us...

May you all have a Wonderful day, May your week be full and bright and Drive safe........and May your Month be full of excitement and happiness.

til then.....

Judy