Sunday, July 3, 2011

Happy 4th of July!

Of course this weekend marks our 1 year anniversary of living in South Africa.Things look much different today than they did last year. We were in a hotel… and Axel the dog and Spaz the cat were in the kennel. I did not have much to keep me busy, but I did have my friend Jan, who came and rescued me from long days in the hotel. Now I have just about everything I need….  So here is to another year!!! Not sure what I will blog about this coming year, but tell me is there some aspect of South Africa you would like to know about?

cr-GI-progressive-compI have finally found some time to be in the sewing room. DH has been home for a month… and I don’t know where the time went!!! I completed the June UFO, #8 from the UFO Challenge at Judy Laquidaras Patchwork Times. There really wasn’t much to get done. I finally just decided to be done. This top came about while I lived in Grand Island NE. The guild sponsored a ‘Progressive’ Round Robin. Our beginning instructions were to make 5 blocks of different sized, of which only 2 could be the same. I made the cranes and the coots. The next step was to arrange the blocks, the third and 4th were adding borders. I am not happy with the fish in the pond… but it’s been a UFO for too many years. I think the quilting will be by machine… on next years list though.

I  also finished Mays UFO, #9. If you recall I didn’t get it done because after I had figured out where I wanted this to go… I had to order fabric. I ordered on May 15 and received it exactly 1 month later. I don’t know what the malfunction was, but you can bet I won’t order from them again. But on the bright side I really like the way it turned out. It has a luminosity the reflects the center… and now I get to contemplate the quilting. Any ideas?

cr-PR-RR-comp

The next UFO is #2. It will be a challenge… to complete. I know what I want to do… but I am really uncertain on how I’m going to accomplish it!!! If you want to see what some of the other finishes for June were go to Judy’s page.

And of course what would my post be without some nature? Today in the back yard cr-Lapwing-Ploverwere 2 Lapwing Plovers, and adult and a juvenile. The adult (mom) would really put up a warning (a very high pitched cheep) every time I moved, and the little guy didn’t pay her much mind at all. Actually coming within 10 cr-juv-lapwing-ploverfeet of me. Mom on the other hand stayed a good 50 feet away at all times.

More Later-

Beth

6 comments:

  1. I love both these quilts -- absolutely striking. I'd quilt that quilt with orange/purple and green variegated thread (f there is such a thing) and I would do little flames licking out from the center. I'll send you a link if I see what I mean out there on the web or I'll send you a photo if I can find one in my stash.

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  2. Both quilts are wonderful. I especially like the medallion quilt with the bright on black. Very striking!

    Those plovers are fun. Are they big birds? They are tall - long legs.

    The Fourth of July is always a happy summer break here. It must be odd to be into fall for the Fourth. A couple of years ago, we were in a tiny town in Colorado - Wallsenburg - and the owners were probably Pakistani. We enjoyed watching their non-English speaking family shoot off fireworks in the motel parking lot. Always love to see your posts. Jean

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  3. Love the cranes and coots! DH still teases me endlessly whenever we see a coot, because I once hit one (and killed it) with my car, and was so distract that I couldn't drive. I'm still that way... I was a vegetarian when I met him, but it's funny how life turns out... me marrying an avid hunter... No more vegetarian, but thank goodness DH doesn't hunt ducks!;-) Good luck with your UFO's. I still forget your season are opposite. It's too hot to quilt here!! I'd love to hear more about the people of S. Africa! So intriguing!

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  4. Beautiful quilts and congrats on finishing 2 UFO's! That is quite an accomplishment.

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  5. Those quilts tops are bee-u-ti-ful. The Cranes and Coots is my favorite

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  6. Beautiful!! two great finishes, well done.

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