Eileen's Been Busy Too!

Well, blogger has decided which order again, so here goes. Made this table runner is a Make & Take Class. It was so easy and quick to do. Looks really nice on the dining room table with my candycane candles and the centerpiece that I had given to Mom and Dad a few years ago.

This is a cross stitch I did a long time ago (like probably 15 years). This now hangs outside my sewing room in the garage.

This is another cross stitch from many years ago. I was always going to do something with it and hang it in the downstairs bathroom in Maple Valley. Well, I finally have done something with it and it now hangs in the bathroom in the garage. Most appropriate as that is really a small bathroom.

This is the wall behind my sewing machine. The two small cross stitches on the left were my Mom and Dad's. The upper right is one I designed and did. And the lower left is something Rick bought me a few years ago. The wood is Myrtlewood. The center is a cross stitch I did last month. I took the original pattern and changed it (omitting a cat and a couple things that aren't me, and adding the two sayings, which are.

Close-up of the cross stitch. I really like how it has the cross stitch lady in upper right, balls of yarn for my knitting, and the machine, thread, and the two quilt blocks in the center for my quilting

This was suppose to be at the top. My December Button Up, which I finally finished a couple days ago. This is the month for remembering friends, old and new. Also, my birthday and Christmas. We wish everyone the very best.

Like I said on the title, I've been busy. This is the Christmas quilt I made for Reid and Melissa. Reid loves penguins so I created this for them.

I also did this wall hanging for them.

This is the wall hanging I did for Ashley. She loves cats and I found this pattern free on the internet once. I've had the cross stitch done for a couple of years. Sorry, Ashley, I didn't get it to you sooner.

And this is the Christmas quilt I did for Ashley. Notice the snowman with a cat head. How appropriate for her. When she opened this (we were on the phone with her at the time) she said she couldn't believe I was giving her some of my snowman fabric. Well, Ashley, I can't think of anyone better to give it to than my kids.

I have done a few more things, you can check them out on our flickr.

Rick's Been Busy

We wanted our sidewalks in before the rainy and snow season so we wouldn't have the lovely red mud to deal with. Rick got them both done and they look terrific. You can see the front walk with the solar lights we put around it. The lights don't give off a lot of light so the neighbors shouldn't complain.

Well, blogger didn't put them in the order I had them so we now jump to the back sidewalk. You can see the pattern Rick put into this one. I really love this one. And now we can get to the garage without getting mud on us!

Back to the front one with a little longer view of it. The curve looks great. The lawns are going dormant for the year. And I have put some artificial plants in the pots. The white "stick" is actually a tree.

Here is what the back looks like as you come off the back steps.

And this. . . is what we did with the arches in the dinning room. We found these on-line and they were the perfect size for the arches. When we measured the arches, 42 x 64 inches, we were really surprised at how big they really were. But these are perfect and we both just fell in love with them. They really add to the room.

Another Table Runner

Our class this month was this beautiful fall table runner. I had actually done this type of leaf before on the John Deere Quilt I did for Dad.

It is really beautiful and colorfull.

It really "pops" on the table as Rick says. It certainly puts color in the room. The candles are really an orange color and are not tilting. That's just the angle.

I had purchases the candles to go with this table runner from last month. So far, the four table runners I have made have really been fun to do.

It's November

It's November and here is my button up quilt. This is the month of Melissa's birthday and Susan's birthday. The month we all go vote and and start getting ready for winter. But most of all, it's the month we give Thanks. We are so looking forward to Thanksgiving this year. We've been in our home for a little over a year now and still have not one regret even with the problems we have had with the house. Also, weather providing, Scott and family and maybe Raelena, are planning on coming down for the holiday. We are really excited about that.

I get to take several quilting classes this month and am really excited. In fact, I've got to run right now as between 10-11 this morning is the block of the month and I've doing it.

Fall Table Runner

This is the newest table runner I made. I started with the border material. I had this in my stash and love it. So then I just found some others that I could use with it.

While making it in the class, everyone loved my material. I think my came out the best looking with the bright oranges and yellows. Want to find some orange candles to put on either side of it.

The Other Side

After finding my lighthouses, I started looking for Rick's kite trophies. He has two boxes of them! But all he wanted out were his first place National trophies and of course, the World Trophy from the first time they won. But blogger has decided not to post them in the order I selected so here goes. This is the bottom shelf.

This is the top shelf.

Abd so, this is the middle shelf. The world trophy is very hard to photograph because it is glass and places it is clear. But it is very beautiful.

Here is the way the niche looks.

And this was suppose to be the first photo. Standing at the beginning of the hallway with both niches. It is really nice to have both of them filled.

They've been found!

Rick and I were cleaning in the garage yesterday when I finally came upon the box that contained my crystal lighthouses. I have looked for months for these, ever since the glass shelves got put in the niches. I was so relieved to finally have them. They look much better in person.
So here are the shelves, one at a time. The two vases, small and large, we inherited from Rick's mom. Also got the small windmill (from Denmark) from her. Mine is on a lower shelf.
This is the bottom shelf. The large vase is something we bought in Hawaii last year. The two crystal pieces beside it are also from Hawaii.

This is the middle and my favorite shelf. The crystal pyramid is one of my favorite pieces. Also you can see my windmill from Denmark. The blocks of crystal have lighthouses etched into them. You can see better if you enlarge the photos. Just wanted to let all know, they have been found and are now in their new home.

Rick gave me most of the miniture lighthouses for my birthday over the years. They are all replicas of real lighthouses.

Castle Valley Gourd Festival Quilt

A neighbor called me a couple of weeks ago and asked me to do a quilt for the Castle Valley Gourd Festival. It's the weekend of Oct. 18th. It didn't have to be really big, just a wall hanging. I told her that the only gourds I really new were pumpkins. She said she would draw some for me and bring to me. Well, she drew on an 8x11 paper a picture of Castle Rock with a large gourd in front and on the other side the words Castle Valley Gourd Festival. After talking to Crystal at the Moab quilt store, she helped me enlarge it to make templates for doing the quilt. I decided to put the Castle Valley Gourd Festival on a border and put two gourds in front of Castle Rock. I really like how it came out. Hope Alice will, This was a real challenge for me and I'm really proud of myself for doing it. And the really nice thing about this quilt is I made it entirely from materials in my stash. Didn't have to buy anything for it!

October Button Up Quilt

Here is the October Button Up Quilt I made. I waited until today, October 1st, to put it on. I actually finished it a few days ago. Instead of making the face on the cat (which I didn't think was cute at all), I put bright green beads for the eyes. That's all you see at night anyway. Then I took black ribbon and cut it to use for the whiskers. The pattern called for white wool. I like mine a lot better and when I took it in to the quilt store, Crystal like it better too. The nice thing is the material all came from my stash! I love using that. Can't wait for next month's. I'm really enjoying my quilting classes.

Fall on the LaSal Loop Road

On Friday we went into Moab for dinner but took the long way there, via the LaSal Loop Road. The fall colors on the aspen trees was really beautiful. The sun wasn't out bright, there were clouds, but you can still see the yellow of the aspens.
I just love aspens in the fall.
Here you can see the clouds over the LaSals with the sun shining on the one portion where the colors were better.

We also saw this verga. Some of the rain actually hit the ground. In fact, we had to put the roof up on the jeep when we stopped for supper. However, it stopped raining so we took it back down after eating.

New Quilted Table Runner

On Thursday, I took another class at the quilt store in Moab. This is the table runner we made. I got it finished yesterday. The five squares are done by a process called paper piecing. This was my first attempt. (Actually my second, but I couldn't do it the first time for Dad's John Deer quilt so my dear friend Annette did them for me.) I'm really proud of my accomplishment this time. There are nine pieces to the square.
It's really hard to photograph the table runner on the table. As you see, I'm standing on a chair and you can see my toes. But I wanted the entire runner in the picture. At the class, I got the five squares done and the white triangles. (Spent from 10-4 there.) Then I came home and added the two borders, got it quilted and then the binding done yesterday. Rick really liked this one and the colors are perfect for the dining room.

Here is a close up of the squares. I used 8 different fabrics for them. Then I changed the sequence in each square. Since the squares had 9 pieces, I used the same fabric for numbers 1 and 9.

Wednesday evening I also had a class. We did the October Button Up quilt. I'm still working on it so will post as soon as I get done.

Also, on Oct 18th, the Castle Valley Gourd Festival is being held and a neighbor has asked me to do a quilt for it. She even brought me a drawing of an idea. So, I'm going to attempt it. Talked to Crystal at the quilt store and she gave me some great suggestions and is willing to help me all she can. When it's done, I'll post it. It is for their silent auction.

Ashley & Nathan Come For A Visit

Ashley & Nathan came up to spend a few days with us. Be sure to check out Ashley's blog for more information.

Rick took Nathan "jeepin" and broke the rear U-joint. Thankfully other people were on Hell's Revenge at the time and helped pull them out. Rick only had front wheel drive until he and Nathan got it fixed. Then he took Ashley and Nathan up Onion Creek and Fins & Things.
On Tuesday, we all went rafting on the Colorado River. We took the all day trip and really had a great time. Trying to shoot pictures from a moving raft is not easy! We stopped for lunch at the Red Cliff Lodge. They do barbeque hamburgers, hot dogs and chicken. Salads, chips, fruit and cookies along with water, ice tea or lemonade. We enjoyed it. Then back on the river.
Took this shot of Ashley just after we started. She later shed her sweater.
And here is Nathan. Can you tell he is enjoying himself?

He even decided to take a dip in the river. Getting back into the raft was a tricky operation. But he juumped in a couple of times.

We all got wet several times, but the worst rapids are only a class 2 on the portions we were on. No one fell overboard and our guide was a real character. So all in all, we had a really pleasant and fun time. Can't wait to do this again!

What To Do When You Can't Sleep

Yesterday morning I woke up very early and could not get back to sleep. So I peeked outside and it looked like there could be a nice sunrise. I took the Jeep and went on a Jeep trail over to an area between Castle Rock and Adobe Mesa. As it turned out the sunrise for the most part was a dud, but there were a few moments where it was nice.

This first picture is clouds over Adobe Mesa shortly before sunrise.
This one is of Castle Rock just as the sun was hitting the top of the rock.
I tried taking a couple of pictures using the flash to add light to the plant in the foreground. I was laying down to take this picture.
Another picture using the flash to add light to the juniper in the foreground.
The sun came out long enough for me to get this picture of Castle Rock and the Rectory.