I need a Catchy Title

but I can't think of one - I think that maybe since we have not been over freezing for a while - my thinkers are broken.....

I have some new Photo software - and I am having a little bit TOO much fun learning it:

First:  Butterfly Love - I love that I could combine the back and the front into one photo... I am sure this is old technology to some - but I just never took the time to figure it out.

It is for sale By the Way - if you know anyone who needs a 70 x 76 inch bright sunny quilt - here it is:
http://quiltygirlquilts.blogspot.com/2013/12/butterfly-love-for-sale.html


And then ---- check this one out. This is a family I photographed earlier this month- before our lovely strom hit us... kind of hard to believe that is was this warm not so long ago:

I am so tickled that I could figure this all out (without the guidance of my son!) .... but then my buddy said he was going to send me something on my iphone and I panicked - Must... Keep.... My..... Children   ....

Stay warm - I am off to walk the dogs, if you don't hear from me in a few days... send someone to check if I froze.....

Scrappy Monday

Oh boy.... My "Just do It" started this weekend... I started on the top left cubby, and cleaned it out.... lots of extra papers that apparently I thought I needed... I did - they started our fire this morning lol/....

In that Blue Bucket (the second cubby) - labeled *stuff*  I found these:  and now I will hang my head in shame ( sort of cuz I am not really ashamed ...more like a dork!)

Remember way back in 2009 when Bonnie Hunter offered the Mystery called Carolina Christmas?  well - I finished it in 2011... and these ... these are the little cutoffs that were left over......

So  - I started ironing.... and playing on my design wall - and here is what I finished:

And sadly - or maybe I should be excited - there are more left.....

Oh - and there was also that Batting Tape - that you can iron on to scraps and make bigger battings... and a light. I wondered where that flash light had gone.... *sigh*

I guess I will work on this for a while, and see what I can come up with. I mean - its almost going to be a free quilt right????

For more design walls head over to http://www.patchworktimes.com

QOV from Fremont Co Quilters

Cathy and Jewell are the proud instigators for Fremont County QOV in Southern Colorado.  Their group has been quite prolific this last year.... here are 11 Quilts that they made....

Isn't there a TON of variety in these quilts?  I think their group had a lot of fun making them!

I get asked a lot if ALL Quilts of Valor need to be Red White and Blue... I hope you see that not all of them do. I will tell you that of the Quilts we see chosen here in Colorado - 80% of them are Red White and Blue. So there is definitely a desire there for that color scheme. But on the other hand - I have never had a quilt left behind ;-)

All the way to the Finish

This Quilt has made it's way to a Forever Home.

There is a Healing place here in Colorado called Combat Veterans Cowboy Up - CVCU for short.... or for me - Cowboy Up....

It is seriously an amazing place, and A LOT of healing from the wounds of war happen here.

Recently on a cold snowy day, one that made most wimpy people stay inside.... this wimpy  person and her family headed out to "Hang out with the Guys and Girls" and we all froze. But it was SO pretty.

We try really really hard to make sure each and every one of these Veterans know that we care for them - and of course - the way I like best - is with a Quilt of Valor....

Can you guess how you will know it is cold?  We stood outside of the barn - cuz we were cooking steaks in the barn... and you can NOT get in the way of a steak dinner (grin) ..... okay - really the light was better.

He LOVED snuggling up in his quilt, I loved it too - it was much warmer that way!!

You might remember this quilt? We did a block drive here on the blog, using Bonnie Hunters Scrappy Trips pattern ( with her permission)  and then we put the tops together at a sew day.

 I actually quilted it... and... sit down for this one... are you ready......   I *bound* it.... I did - truly... and I did not go into anaphylactic shock... although I did require a lot of chocolate.

The best part - we all warmed up by the fire.... after the kids had snowball fights!!

Combat Veterans Cowboy Up is a total Non profit 501(c)3 that serves our Veterans. They currently house 20 horses all used for therapy, and are funded through donations and help s good hearted people.

If you would like to donate to this you can do so through Paypal or sending a check. It is tax - deductible.
http://combatveteranscowboyup.org has a *donate now* button at the bottom of the page. And seriously folks - every $5 helps.  ( can you imagine the feed bills for 20 horses?  I have half that many and its crazy!!)

Linking up with http://confessionsofafabricaddict.blogspot.com and http://crazymomquilts.blogspot.com

Turkey Trot

Disclaimer: "I did not run the Turkey Trot"

That being said.... my crazy boys did!!!

 Santa was there... greeting everyone and listening to everyone's wish lists.

Here is my oldest - he finished like 17th overall. I am sure he gets all his running ability from me. I can run from the couch to the fridge and back in less that a commercial break!

And look - it is Batman!  My littlest guy ran the whole race in his Batman Costume. Lots of people were yelling - Go Batman!  It was quite funny.  And he still could "thumbs up" us!

The kid in the Grey - is my middle one. He tried to hide from my camera - but I found him ;-)

So - did any of you do these crazy runs before Thanskgiving dinner?

Presentations by Liz

My dear Liz has been a life saver and an inspiration this year... ( okay for more than this year) She is a force- a whirlwind-  Not only does she piece, she quilts.... and she made two Key Presentations this last month.

I think you remember- we had some great press, and a lot of requests came in. Liz filled two of these and we would like to show you.

 This dear Veteran was so excited that he would receive a Quilt of Valor. He was so tickled - that he called after receiving it telling me how WONDERFUL the people were that came to present the QOV to him!!

Liz and her Husband did the presentation. Kent is so supportive! Plus he is a master Long arm Mechanic (not sure that;s really a term but I bet you know what he does!)

 And then Kent and Liz did a second presentation. They were so tickled to meet this Veteran. He was so happy.

I hope you like seeing some of these presentations. I sure appreciate the chance to Honor our Veterans-and I so appreciate Liz and Kent for doing these presentations. We have just the best Quilters don't we?

Dec 1st Photo a Day: Prompt: Red

"Just Do It" attitude

I was watching a Nike Commercial and this phrase struck me.... I have been in a little bit of a "getting my own stuff done slump"... More of a - don't wanna..... I don't like that attitude.... so I thought I should

"Just do it"  or "get er done"

Or something like that.

Here is my full disclosure.... are you ready?

Really Ready?

This - is my under ironing board storage.... it was supposed to keep me organized.....

I am thinking.... it might have failed....   sort of....

So here is what I am thinking.... that as soon as I finish my customers orders that HAVE to be done for Christmas.... I am going to start on this! Maybe start with the ones that are NOT in the bins? That way it will look all pretty and like I am under control ?  ( NO Laughing alright?)

or maybe I should just go buy more bins and hide it all from myself?

Cyber Monday??

I did the Cyber Monday thing this morning.... my computer is all worn out! I think it would like me to go sew now!

I even have some Quilts for Sale.  They can be found at this link:

http://quiltygirlquilts.blogspot.com/p/quilts-for-sale.html

Today is quiet around our house - my oldest has gone back to college, the other two are back in school ( albiet very RELUCTANTLY) , my dogs are all tired, the horses are enjoying the last warm day ....

I have been editing, and organizing photos - its quite fun. I do Family and Senior Photography, as well as events ( like sports) so I am trying to get those to all of the locations they are supposed to go AND! I am even beating all the deadlines - go me!

Check out this little cutie.... she really makes me want another one... Wrangler Man says No - spoil sport...

She is adorable ;-)

Seriously - does she not make your heart go pitter patter?

This little angel is just so sweet - and a total Daddy's girl.... although she is a Momma's girl too - smart cookie!

The whole family. aren't they sweet?

Enjoy your day!!! Happy Shopping  ;-)

Happy December - QOV show!

As many of you know - there was a special on NBC nightly News about Quilts of Valor - and it sparked a LOT of interest. A LOT of interest in getting Quilts of Valor to some of our deserving Veterans.

Colorado was not Exempt - we had quite a few requests for Quilts to be presented. And thank goodness we have a legion of generous Quilters - not only to make the quilts( thank you ALL!!)

... but there are some that are local to areas so that I wasn't driving all over the place.

One of these lovely ladies is Judy V.

Here are a few of the most recent Quilts of Valor that Judy has finished:

Aren;t they fabulous? I went and spoke at Judy's Guild - and this was a part of her Show and Tell. And what a great bunch of Quilters at her guild. I am funnily- a shy person- by nature, so I usually have to gear myself up to be in a large bunch..... and talk in front of them - but they were just so nice!!!  I loved it... and I only talked for.... forever lol

So...back to our requests - we had one in the area, and so I asked Judy if she would like to do it....  and then - just to surprise her - I chose one of her quilts to present to him.

You can not probably tell - but this man would not let go of his quilt. It was just so sweet. The thing that struck me this time- is he told us he didn't have very many good memories of the war. And then we wrapped his quilt around him, and all the good memories came flooding back. The men he served with, the good that they did, the love of his family, and of course his wonderful wife.

That was really just so neat to me. What a great man with a big heart.

Thanks for stopping by - Quilt on ;-)

Thanksgiving

I hope you all have had a wonderful Thanksgiving!!  My Baby came home and we have had such a great time being together.  Of course - the day he came home was crazy eventful.... so on Monday I will get back in the groove and share with you....

Happy Thanksgiving from us: