Under the Bridge

One of my other challenges was to photograph the view from under the bridge..... Ummm.... sure - so I headed out to the one place near me that I viewed as a bridge, and promptly slid on the ice.....

So.... I didn't go there.... and I dreamed about it, and I wanted to go there - so yesterday - I tried again.

I am SO glad I did.....

Here are my efforts for that slippery track, that wasn't quite as slippery this time - we had more snow on top of the ice.... so a little easier slide ( ha Ha)

This was my Final Image that I chose for the Challenge

This one is shooting from the edge - but it was really hard to see the landscape through the bushes

I really likes the way the wood turned light 

Then of course - you have to try a Black and White photo right?

I liked how the blue clouds turned darker - making it look more winterey

( it was only 11 degrees so -  yess  - wintery)

So now - back to work 

Almost got the T shirt quilts all cut up and lined out the way she wants them ;-)

Enjoy!

The living room is mine

It really always has been  mine - but this weekend I have double or triple claimed it!!!

I am working on some t shirt quilts for a client - and man do those take up a lot of room. But once you get stuff layed out, you don't want to move it until you are ready to  put it together.


I have one completely cut and awaiting stiching - the one in the back is just layed out and ready to be cut.....

And just so you know - My Allietare is still up too!

I have finished all of the Sunflower type blocks

But my design wall is not big enough to add them all 

( and when the door to the mus room opens and closes the blocks on the left fall off!)

And just because you need some photo inspiration for today

This was right before Christmas in the fields

And sadly the only change is more snow 

Have a great day!

The boys have today off - yet.... one still has basketball practice

No rest for the weary right ( ha ha ha)

Linking to:

Patchworktimes

Cooking Up quilts

Love Laugh Quilt

Lines

Oh my!! our challenge this week was really really fun, and I did learn alot for such a simple concept.  The snow, the ice, the one day of sunshine, really played havoc on trying to get out and find a line....


It really sounds easy doesn't it? But remember - these are supposed to be Straight out of the Camera, uncropped images.... and we needed to isolate a line.  

I had great fun getting out, and I had great laughs realizing how hard it is to isolate a line , and keeping an eye out for the backgrounds, foregrounds, and other junk that can show up.


Here was my final submission:

i think it is pretty simple, but taking the photo was not.  I had to trek over ice, change my position ( to get rid of background items), Pray for not falling - all at a little city park!  Who knew?  The ice and snow are worse in town than they are at my house.  I'll quit whining about it!!

This was one of my first ideas.  But I decided it was way too many lines for what we were trying for.

And then of course - I looked for lines close to me. This image had to be cropped, there is a road int he background, and in no position could I cut that road out....   it was annoying ( ha ha)

I headed over to one of the neighboring farms thinking I could get a corn line - again - How in the world to isolate it?  But I still like the lines

are you tired of lines yet?  They are just everywhere - The one below - I couldn't figure out how to get rid of that weed in the foreground, but I worked on blowing out the clouds and color with changing the camera settings - to try to focus on the Brown weed line ( in the irrigation ditch)

And the last one - it's out my back window.  There were so many lines going on - the weeds in the front, the tire tracks, the fields - it just made me giggle....

All this looking at lines - made me start looking at my quilting lines to, and how to use lines to create depth in a quilt..... hmmmm.... go think on that ( tee hee hee)

Milk Cow Quilt

Oh my goodness - this week has been crazy!!  I like Christmas or Winter break better. This week was a full week for the kids and for me!  I had all these big plans on Sunday night - and Bam! Woke up Monday and.... it all fell apart.... yep!

Oh well - There's another day to keep on trying.

I did - finally - get this quilt quilted.  I saw this fabric line at Sew Downtown in Greeley and just fell in love.  I used to have all sorts of Dairy Cow stuff. And then I married a rancher - and they like beef cows!  And roping steers, and well, Black and white dairy cows just aren't all that cute to them.  But this fabric made me happy!

It's pretty simple - I know - but it was a layer cake, and I just didn't want to cut those cute prints up....

So.... I didn't!

Here's a close up of the Bucking horse rider I put on it.  This is an attempt to prove to the rancher family - its okay to KEEP this quilt.

And i quilted Roped all over it - 

And I even put a longhorn.....

They have to let me keep it now right?

Linking to:

A Quilting Readers Garden

Fabric Frenzy

Confessions

Crazy Mom Quilts

2016 Quilts of Valor

Good Wednesday Morning to you!!!

Settle in here and get ready for some Awesome Quilts of Valor - a lot of them from the Eastern Plains  of CO!!!! Yay!! I am so glad you all wanted me to continue to do this! I really like having a photo trail of these quilts!

The first two quilts shown are from Marsha! Marsha has started a group of Quilters out east of me and boy are they rocking!!!  I love it!

The one below is from Elenna 

She quilts with Marsha too 

Another beauty from Marsha

 I like the use of the panels and blocks in this one

Also from Marsha

The one above

and the one below

Are the same quilt - front a back!! Cool eh

Also from Marsha

The two below

Were pieced by Kristi

and Quilted by Crystal

And the last quilt 

Pieced by Julie

Quilted by Alycia

Photo Challenges

Oh what a week!!!  My Ricky Tims class has these videos that you watch and learn from - from RICKY TIMS.  and you all.... I love his voice!  I am not sure exactly why - but best I can tell he reminds me of my Dad's Dog and Bird Raising partner - John Lester.  Boy I loved that man!! He knew everything, and was so patient with us kids - and for some reason Ricky's voice is just that patient slow talking way - like he is in no hurry to kick me out!!!

Okay - enough!!   Our first assignment was

Selective Focus!

Here is my Photo:

These are from my In-law side - they were my husbands Great grandpa, then grandpa, then his Mom had them for a while (not sure if she used them) then she passed them on to Him.  They hang on our Cowboys wall.  

For my Other Photo Assignment - it was Minimalism in Black & White

The cool thing was, they provided a lot of links to information on Minimalism, and ways to achieve it. I get it in Theory, but in real life - I like lots of stuff in my photos! Ha h!

Below 

This was my first try 

But upon studying Minimalism more, I think you were supposed to have the subject as Less of the photo..... Maybe??

I liked it though - My oldest son went and ran 9 miles - I took a photo!

About even right?

Not Finished Friday

or design wall Monday.... but!!!  I did finish something this week - really I did!  I finished cleaning up after all my kids went back to school, and helped dig out another hay stack, and .... this is the big one... I cooked!!   Ok.... I planned to cook, and then I made someone else do it!

BUT!!

Here is where I am on my Bonnie Mystery!   I really wanted to show you!!!!

I think that had I known what it would look like , I might have used a lighter grey.

Except - my goal is to use my stash - so I might not have, since I don't have a lighter grey in it!

I think I like it so far!!

You probably don't know this - but we had a blizzard way back last year (December 14th or so) and that snow has NOT left. It has turned rather icy, and is quite annoying to me right now.  And now we have more snow - at least it was coming down as I was writing....  

I always thought that winter time was supposed to be less ranch work - but in all the years I have been married to Wrangler Man - it has never happened.  So.... think of me.... in the cold.... with just a little bit of chocolate to sustain me.... Ha ha ha!!  

Don't forget - we are doing another Mystery Quilt 4 Military - the fabric requirements came out today - so it is not too late. And i am busy polishing up the clues!!  

Linking to:

Fort Worth Fabric Studio

Confessions of A Fabric Addict

Thanks Goodness its Friday

A quilting Readers Garden

And I decided to join in with the One Monthly Goal - with this quilt!!! Ackkkk Wish me luck!

2016 Quilts of Valor

I have been doing these Quilt of Valor shows for a whole long while now - I hope that you are not tired of them.  I thought about maybe paring down the amount of QOV's that I show you, but then I would have to choose which quilts made it and which didn't.  If you know me well - I sort of Suck a choosing!  And then I would be sad if I hurt someones feelings....

I hope you enjoy these shows too - Maybe get some inspirations for quilts you are working on, or realizing that the quilt you thought you would make as a Quilt of Valor - really will look great as a Quilt of Valor????

So - here were go:On to the Inspirations!!

These first five quilts were all Made by Linda.   On each label she included a dedication to a specific Veteran in her life - It was really cool!!!  She has relatives that were in WWII, Vietnam, Mom and Dad and Brothers!!

These Next 5 quilts were made by the Interfaith Quilters

It was so wonderful to have them support QOV in 2015 

( I hope they will do it in 2016 too)

One more reminder - I am moderating/Designing for the yahoo group called

Mystery Quilts 4 Military

we finished our last mystery , and are gearing up for our second mystery.

I will NOT be running these mysteries here on the blog - but through the group

the cool thing is - every clue can be downloaded as a pdf ( rather than having to print ablog post)

So come join in !! The fabric Requirements will be posted Friday!

SnowShoeing in the Back Pastures

We might still have a LOT of snow, and we might still have not seen a day over 30 degrees, and we MIGHT have really really wanted to go snowshoeing, but didn't want to drive forever..... So we MIGHT have convinced the family to don their snowshoes and head out from the house.

PS - I left dinner in the crockpot, and brownies on the counter to entice us to come back!

Want to see what we saw?

First we had to get through the horses. They thought it would be neat to ride along on the back of our snowshoes. Little did they know, that makes it hard to move forwards - or backwards for that matter.... one of us may have got up close and personal with the snow.

Ol' Rojo - he's a lover, and he just can't stand to see you with out trying to sit in your lap

Yep - he would even live inside with us if he could 

( but he sort of passes gas - so that might be toxic!)

The wind was blowing a bit - 

can you see it moving across the ground?

Going south was just fine, but when you turned north - that wind was a little biting!

This was my favorite! We came up that hill and look at those clouds!

Here's another - just cuz I know you liked it too!

This is one of the fences. The snow was pretty high, and you could see where some of the cattle tried to cross over, but they were deterred!  And we saw Coyote tracks - that is not a good thing for us, that means they are getting pretty hungry!

Little Bit really liked the way the fence line looked and wants to draw it

so I took a photo for him to remember it by.

And we got home, just a little frozen , and a lot cold, but there was hot crockpot lasagna and brownies - we were good!!! 

~The End~

Design Wall Monday

Oh Oh Oh.... it is coming together.... slowly but surely - and I LOVE it!!!

My word for the year is Adventure! And I actually started working on that earlier this year when I decided to join in on the Adventure that is a Bonnie Hunter Mystery.  You never know what is in the brain of that amazing quilter - and I always ALWAYS learn something when following along with her mystery!!  So I am glad I jumped in on that adventure this year -

I am not as far as I thought I would be, but I am alot farther along than I usually am - so Happy Medium - I'm good with it!!

This is where I was on New Years Eve.... I was stitching to beat the last clue - that I thought was going to come out Friday.  I took a little break to look at FB and BAM!!! The clue had already been posted!!!

So Of Course I had to stop and lay one block out

Oh My - I sort of Love it!!!!

And then the boys wanted food!  Seriously people!! Food !! At a time like this!

So we made our New Years eve fare ( a smorgasbord of stuff)

and I got back to stitching Clue 5

Here is what I have done as of 7 am this morning!!

I have lots of the blocks in thirds - so I am hoping after today's work

I will be golden and stitching to the finish!

I might have seen a Deer - or maybe he saw me

Either way - I took the photo of him!

linked up to:

Quiltville

Cooking up Quilts

PatchworkTimes

Love Laugh Quilt