Foto finish-Wildlife

Foto Finish-Wildlife

So I went on a little kayak trip today on Mom and Dad's lake.  I met this guy when I trapped him with my crab net.  As you can see he was not so happy with me.  The following pictures were taken with my iphone 3gs and are better then I thought they would be.

Bottom of the turtle. 

Funny thing is on the way home I had to stop and move a box turtle from the middle of the road.  But I forgot to take a picture.

This is a video of me releasing said wildlife and explaining why the lake is so low.

My usual feet (very muddy) and kayak bow shot.

One of the exposed stumps. worn smooth by the water.

This tree is usually floating just under the water.

This stump is just off the ladder from our dock,  It is fun to stand on when its in about 4.5 feet of water

This is Princess Jasmine or Jazzy Girl as I like to call her.  My Dad's baby who I freed from the basement to frolic with me down by the lake.  There was a lot of wildlife to see off of the dock

small water turtles

large snapping turtles

blue heron

sand pipers

ducks

Canada geese

bass

minis

giant carp

And here is the trash I collected. 

I could only speculate on the axe head laying in the remains of a formerly submerged stump.  Was it once stuck in the tree?

And here is me with my (muddy)feet up, in the sun, with a strong breeze, reading my book, with Jazzy Girl purring at my side.

And one last picture of wildlife

a ladybug on the dock.

Keep dreaming...Colleen



Some more wildlife and another Big Gull Lake, Canada picture this time
with Grandmother.  I was a little doll!





Moda Just One Star or two

I have had the fabric ready for a month and finally finished them.

keep dreaming...Colleen



My Grandfather and I with my first fish in my still favorite place to be-
Big Gull Lake, Ontario, Canada.  Ain't I cute?



Lost in flickr land

Ok I have been AFAQ (away flickring and quilting)!  I have been busy discussing these beauties

Yes its Denyse Schmidts new collection at Joann's DS Quilts Picnic

and Fairground.

I have been gabbing with the other addicts enthusiasts at this flickr group.  There is all kinds of good gossip going on as well as updates on where to find the fabric.

They had all 21 at th Joann's in Winston-Salem, NC though I could only see about 19 today, but I didnt go searching.  I also saw the bolts above at the store in Greensboro, NC. 

*****

I hav also been blocking on my swap blogs.  From my online bee Block Swap Adventure.  These are the ones I have been sent so far.

I love them!  Im thinking by the end of the year this may become my camper quilt.

I also recently sent this one to Sunny of Cozy Cottage. 

She asked for a basket block and I filled the basket with wool felt violets I cut with my Westminster dies used in my Sizzix Big Shot.

*****

I recetly picked up this cute little porcelin box with violets. 

It is without a lid but that's ok because you know it will make a great pin cushion.

*****

**BTW I was supposed to be sewing tonight but we have severe weather again including tornado warnings so i am down stairs with the news.  At one point they said "cloud rotation N of 421 in Lewisville moving toward Robinhood rd and Meadowlark RD"  and I was up like a shot and ran to the front door-that's were I am!  The neighbors came out exactly the same time and we all looked up and around.  We could see the dark clouds swirling abouve but luckily it was too wide and not formed enough to funnel.  I went with the laptop/tv receiver installed into the downstairs abthroom.  Mom called from far away and asked if I was in there! LOL she knows me so well!  Still warnings but it doesnt look like anything else is coming near me so Im going up to get ready for bed. 

Oh when I was in the bathroom I had trapped Kalli in with me.  She kept crying and I thought she just wanted out and then she peed on the floor!  LOL what a night!

Keep dreaming...Colleen



I made a pillow for Pat (see previous post) too.



Here comes a big fuzzy bunny

I have been obsessed with wanting to make the eggs I saw on retro mama's blog.  So I made these lovely eggs

 

Then I decided to make a basket.  I found this tutorial at maya*made's blog.  I started to make it and then decided to completely design my own basket with a felt liner. 

 I wish I had put something stiff in the interior but I like it.

  The eggs looked good in the basket but I thought something was still missing so...

I added a fuzzy bunny.  I modeled him after a peep bubbles container I have on my desk.

You might wonder at the purple theme.  I did not make any of this for me.  Sunday instead of Easter dinner at my parents house we are invited to friends.  The wife's name is Pat and she has an extreme type of ALS.  We are so happy to be able to share the holiday with her and her husband.  She can no longer eat or talk and is getting weaker.  Purple is her favorite color and I wanted to take her something she could see and touch.

Keep dreaming...Colleen



Mom, Emily, me, sister Kelly, and  participate in the ALS walk a few weeks ago in honor of Pat.



Pat pinned to Mom's back.



And the new winner is....

I had to pick a new winner for my March Stash Giveaway. 

True Random Number Generator

Min: 1

Max: 67

Result:

14

Powered by RANDOM.ORG

I picked #14 Diane!  Congrats Diane!  Send me your mail address and I will mail it right out. 

Keep dreaming...Colleen



Photoed this hexie quilt at the Stone Mt Country Store.



Foto Finish-flowering trees

I know what you are thinking, where is the tree?  When I saw the topic-Flowering Trees-I immediately thought of this picture.  Do you notice the pink petals everywhere?  My neighbor had two beautiful flowering pink ornamental cherries.  Every spring the one closet to my patio and garden would rain petals down until my patio and garden were a sea of pink.  Above my late cat Opus was always a little scared and confused by the fragrant pink petals.  Sadly my neighbor rented their townhome and the person who moved in tried to trim some of the branches.  They ended up letting the tree open to disease and it died.  The other tree's petals don't reach my garden.  So no more pink spring rain.

Keep dreaming...Colleen



My Dad's Ram pulling their Coleman camper
at the end of our recent camping trip.



Playing Catch up

So I need to play a little catchup.  I have had a lot to blog about the last three weeks but have not seemed to have the time or energy to do so.  So I will just throw it all out there in the order I can find and upload the many pics I have taken.

First I need some advice on the relay quilt.  This has taken longer then I planned because you can never really plan for life.  I had 150 5" squares sent to me from Australia for the quilt.  They blue and green purple.  I want to use them for the border.  I laid them out along side the star blocks and think they go well.  What do you think?

I could even make it double as I have plenty of squares.  I will use some on the back too.  I need to make two more star blocks-one in memory of my grandmother and one in memory of my grandfather.  I have already made one in memory my dad's mom and in memory of the mom of a student at my school who I knew.

*****

I also received the most amazing quilt from The Bella Modiste for the DQS10!

She included some fun fat quarters, that I am even now contemplating using. 

It is amazing how well it fits me.  Everytime I look at it I imagine myself kayaking through the reeds on my favorite lake in Canada.

She even put in the blue dragonflies that are everywhere there.

*****

My dad made the comment a month or so ago when I had stopped by, where is his mug rug?

I made this one for mom because she only had a Christmas one,

 and I had made my sister this one for her birthday to replace her Christmas one. 

So...

I had to make this one. 
Monkey wrench pattern with tool fabric and blue plaid shirt like material.  If you look closely the wood print has nail heads quilted on it and looks like a deck-my dad loves to build things and just built another deck.  And...

this is the back!  Red sports cars...he always wanted a red Corvette!

Ignore the wonkiness-the stretch of the blue plaid and the freakiness of my Kenmore was messing with me.  It seemed to fit Dad anyway!  And do you know mom said today he wants to know why his is smaller that mom's?  I should point out I made him the biggest Christmas stocking and isn't that more important?
*****
My wonky Kenmore reminds me, I got lucky last week and ...

bought a Babylock Sofia!  Yeah!  Isnt she pretty?  Well 1/2 yeah as it is in layaway, but...wait to you hear the deal I got!  Its a couple of months old and the person who bought it decided she needed to upgrade and relaly did not use it.  It does a little embroidery, which is all I want to do.  Most importantly for me is it will machine quilt!  The price was about half the regular price with all warrenties intact and free unlimited classes and help from my LQS!  Yeah! 

*****

I received this lovely block in March for the Block Swap Adventure from my second partner Brenda. 

I love it!  She really made the perfect block to go with the other three!

I have decided to be optimistic and designate these blocks for the quilt I want for my future camper.  The colors, and the animals in each block make it perfect for that purpose.  BTW I accidentally sent a thank you to my April partner!  LOL!  She did!  That's what happen when you double up one month and are in too many swaps!

*****

So that catches us up a little.  I still need to blog about Bee Creative, Stone Mountain treasures, and more...

****
Oh in case you missed my last post,
I made the top 100 in the Accuquilt Barn Quilt Designcontest! 

 Please go here and vote for my design.  I am listed as Colleen Y.

Keep dreaming...Colleen

Today through driving rain and wind Mom, dad, & I
checked out a local RV open house-free food-yum!

OMG I made the top 100!!!!!!!!!!!

My Barn quilt block design made the top 100 in the Accuquilt Barn quilt design contest!!

Ahhh!!!!!!!!!

To help me have a better chance to win you can vote for me Colleen Y. here at the voting page http://www.accuquilt.com/barnquilt-top100 . 

Its called Amish Star Power.  I'm from PA and have always been influenced by their quilts and use of color.  I wanted a twist on a traditional Sawtooth star pattern with a bolder and more modern color pallete.  I also wanted a block that would stand out in a large format on the side of the barn.

Im the first in the 11th row.  Please vote for me by liking me!  Pass the word!  Get your friends to vote!

Keep dreaming...Colleen

My DQS quilt-this is my on top of the world right now!

Red and White Quilts

If you haven't heard of or seen the Red and White quilts from the American Art Museums show "Infinite Variety"  check out this slide show.  The story behind this amazing collection can be found here and a video of the installation of the exhibit. 

And here is a video of the exhibit.

I love the title "Infinite Variety"  definitely defines us as quilters.

Keep dreaming...Colleen

Kalli liked them too.

Foto Finish-Family

Cat Patches asked for shots on family and I immediately thought of this photo.

From left to right are my sister Kelly, My Grandpa Jack , my mom Sylvia, and my dad Glenn.  This was taken about 3 years ago in our favorite place on earth-Gull Lake, Canada.  We have been gong there since I was 3 years old.  What I love about this photo are the expressions of the faces framed by the beauty of the sky and water.  It always makes me smile.
*****

Check out other family photos at Cat Patches blog.

Keep dreaming...Colleen



Another classic Canada fish shot-a pike-and the beautiful lake behind.