Las Vegas

I spent a few days in Las Vegas to start off Winter Break.  It was my first time to Vegas and I enjoyed it.  A little busy with some interesting characters, but a fun trip nonetheless. 

The purpose of the trip was to go to the NFR.  Going to the NFR was the perfect end to the rodeo season, especially, since we spent a lot of time at rodeos with Erin over the summer.  It was fun to see the cowboys and cowgirls finish up their seasons.  The trip was also the perfect start to Christmas break.  It was great to finish up school and get a way for a bit.

Welcomed upon getting off the plane.

Excalibur Hotel and Casino at night.

Rodeo time!

The NFR contestants during the opening ceremony.

 

This momma polar bear at the Bellagio was made of 10,000 carnations!  The lighted fountain shows were also pretty outside the Bellagio.

View of the new bridge from Hoover Dam.  It looked cool from the helicopter, even though, the ride was scary!

We went to the Las Vegas Motor Speedway and drove around their lighted displays.

 

We all enjoyed the trip and the rodeo.  We enjoyed it so much that we hope to go again next year!  

 

 

Christmas Quilts

Last year I did a post about all the little Christmas projects I accomplished.  This year the list of projects is a little shorter as I attempted one big project that I have dreamed about doing for some time...Christmas quilting!

Originally, I was going to make one big Christmas quilt.  However, it turned into two, which I really believe to be better.

So here is how one quilt turned into two:

I went to the fabric store at the end of September and bought some of my favorite Christmas prints.  I got started on the quilt and as I laid out the blocks I became really unhappy with the look of it all.  After some thought and almost jumping ship, the great idea of making two quilts instead of one struck me.  I loved the idea because it meant I could keep a quilt and give the other to someone else. 

The lucky and very special recipient of the quilt I made to give was Rachel.  You may recognize Rachel from other posts and pictures.  I decided I wanted her to have the quilt because she is so crafty and thrifty.  She inspires me in my projects.  I just knew she would love her quilt and enjoy it forever.  I'm still also very timid about my quilt work and am afraid it may not be perfect.  I, however, knew that Rachel would appreciate my effort and be impressed regardless. 

Take a look at how cute Rachel is with her quilt in her house. 

 

 

Thanks for sending the pictures Rachel!

 

My quilt is the same pattern as Rachel's but with black Christmas prints and the same green.  Both quilts are really cute, but my one and only picture is not where near as cute as all of Rachel's!

 

 

Merry Christmas!

 

 



Since I Haven't Blogged in a While

Since I haven't blogged in a while, I'll just post some pictures so everyone can see what I've been up to.  Since school has started (that's right I'm in school again), I have been going to class, studying, riding Daisy, and quilting.  Every once in a while I throw a little something extra into my day, but school consumes my time and the commute just takes away even more time from each day.

So as many of you know Buzz is a big helper.  He spends a lot of time with me in my room while I study.  Sometimes he does the computer work while I read on my bed.  So glad I have the help of a cat to tag team my school work.

 

I'm taking two classes at Big Bend.  Anatomy and Physiology and a Nursing class.  A and P takes the most work and time.  I spend most my time studying bones, articulations, cellular respiration, nerve structure, muscle, connective tissue, etc.  It's cool stuff but it's a large quantity of information to learn.

 

A few weeks back on October first I post this picture on Facebook.  Well today I can say that I have two Christmas quilt tops done and ready for the long arm.  Fifty blocks later.  Take a look!

 

This is the green with black Christmas prints.  I think I will be keeping this one and giving the green and red one away.  Any takers?

Like I previously mentioned Buzz is a big helper.  If he and I aren't studying, we are quilting. 

 

My mom got me to start this little turkey wall hanging project over the weekend.  So far I only have the pieces cut and laid out.  When she and I both have ours done, I'll post a picture of both of them.  They are pretty darn cute so far.  We are excited for this project as we are going to be trying some techniques and stitches we haven't yet tried.

October wouldn't be October without a little pumpkin carving!  This is how I finished this weekend (besides blogging).  This is suppose to an owl.  I see the owl then I don't.  So I understand if you don't see the owl.  Sure is hard to believe that Halloween is Thursday.  That means this weekend starts Erin and I's birthday month and Thanksgiving and that just takes us to Christmas and rolls us into a new year.  Time is a flyin'!

 

Now that I have written this post I realized I sound more like I sew all day everyday, but I don't.  I wish I did, though.  I really do go to school everyday.  Sewing is just so much more fun!

Jelly Roll into 1600 Quilt

Using a jelly roll to make a 1600 Quilt is easy!  Check out this YouTube video to see for yourself!  It is a 1600 Quilt race where the winner sewed the quilt top in 35 minutes! 

• Jelly Roll:  Forty 2.5 inches by 44 inches strips of various fabrics from a collection.  These can be found already bundled at fabric or quilt shops.
• 1600 Quilt:  a quilt made using a jelly roll; it starts as 1600 inches because the strips from the jelly roll are sewn end to end to begin with.

I was not quite as fast as I lack experience, but I will tell you it was not hard.  I did not spend much over two hours making the top, which included cutting salvages off and ironing seams.

Here is the 1600 Quilt I made using the Enchanted Pond jelly roll.  I am excited to say someone will be receiving this quilt as a Christmas gift!

Instructions for Making Quilt Top:

1.  Cut salvages off of both ends of every strip.
2.  Sew strips end to end right sides together until all strips are sewn together making one long strip.  The sewing of strips can be done in any pattern you wish.  I did my randomly, but I would suggest that you have an idea of how many of each color you have so that you can get colors evenly distributed.
3.  Iron seams; this make your next seams flatter.
4.  Cut off 22 inches from one end of the long strip; this allows for various lengths of strips to appear in your quilt top.
5.  Now you will be taking the ends right side together and sewing your long strip into half of its length.  Essentially, you are folding this long strip in half.  Folding this much fabric in half is tough unless you have acres of space.  So all I did was find my ends and sew.  Yes there was some twisting, but I kept pushing them back until the end.
6.  When you are almost to the end, cut the loop that has been created.  Finish sewing the seam.   Remember to back stitch when starting and finishing seams.  When you open up your fabric after this seam, your strip will be two strips wide.
7.  Fold your new strip in half right sides together and sew.  Again, near the end, cut the loop.  Now your quilt is four strips wide.  When doing this step, there is less fabric to be managed.  Therefore, it is possible to organize fabric into neat piles so that twisting is avoided.
8.  Repeat step seven until your quilt is about a nice lap size rectangle with horizontal strips.  It takes folding the strips in half five times to get a finished top. 
9.  Press seams.
10.  Follow Heirloom Creations 1600 Quilt Tutorial if my instructions do not make sense to you or if you need to read it another way. 

 Left:  The various colors and prints that make up the Enchanted Pond jelly roll.  Middle:  The pile the long strip makes.  Right:  The top of the quilt.

Backing and Quilting the Top:

1.  Lay backing down with right side against the floor.  Smooth out. (Some cutting and sewing may need to be done so that you have a wide enough and long enough piece of backing.)
2.  Lay batting out on the wrong side of the backing fabric.  Smooth out.
3.  Lay the top of the quilt on the batting with right side up.  Smooth out.
4.  Keeping layers smooth and flat, use safety pins to pin all the layers together.  Start in the middle and work your way out.
5.  To make quilting the top easier roll up one end of the quilt about half way.
6.  Using seams as guidance and beginning near the half way point of the quilt, sew along the top and bottom of the strips.  You will be sewing long straight lines that go from one edge of the quilt to the other.  Look below to see this and see what part of the foot of my machine I lined up with the seam.  With my foot lined up where it is, I was sewing about 1/8" off of each side of the seams.  Keep repeating this over the whole quilt.

Make Bias Tape and Bind:

1.  Remind yourself that I do not like cheating on this step by reading my opinion in my Chevron Wedding Quilt post!  
2.  Follow Perfect Binding Tutorial for how to cut strips for the bias tape, sew the strips together, iron the bias tape, and attach the bias tape to the quilt front.  I started with strips of fabric that were 2.5 inches wide; this makes for binding edges that are a little over a half inch wide.
3.  Hand sew the bias tape to the back side of the quilt to bind.  Here is where I mean do not cheat.  Machine stitching will leave the front and back looking messy.  So take the time and hand sew with a Hidden Ladder Stitch (YouTube tutorial) that goes quite quickly once you get the hang of it.  I realize the woman uses a little pillow to do the tutorial but you will be doing the same thing with your bias tape.  You just will be folding your tape over to the back so that the edge of the quilt is in the center fold.  Then you will slip your needle from the back of the quilt through the other fold.  Tip...use the line of thread from sewing the binding to the front of the quilt as a line for keeping your bias tape fold, ladder stitch, and binding lined up. 

Good luck with your next project!  Remember, if you have questions for me, ask!

More Rodeo Shots

Last weekend Erin and Daisy represented the Colorama Rodeo in Ritzville.  It was fun to actually go into Ritzville.  Sure we knew where the gas station and McDonalds were there, but now we have actually been into town.  It is small and cute.  The parade was the shortest yet, but it was the first time we have staged at an airport (at least that is what the folks called it).

The rodeo part of these queening trips we go on is what I enjoy most.  I also really like capturing pictures at them.  For this particular rodeo, I set out with a goal of capturing a certain shot and I got it.  I wanted this shot because I got it from a different angle early on in the season and wanted to take advantage of seeing this team in action again.  So here's the shot!  It is the back shot of Jacob Stacey steer wrestling while younger brother Caleb McMillan hazed.   These two are two of the most fun cowboys to watch.

At Ritzville rodeo, Caleb was a pick up man except for in bull riding because he rode a bull.  He also hazed for Jacob and team roped with Jacob.  Besides the steer wrestling and team roping, Jacob rode a bronc, hazed, and was a pick up man during bull riding.  These two are cowboys!  Not only do they compete but they also help out at a rodeo!

The front shot looks like this, and I took it in Grand Coulee during the Colorama Rodeo.

 

So enough about cowboys...cowgirls also exist at rodeos.  Check out Erin and Daisy doing their run in in Ritzville.  They looked good as always.  Daisy always amazes us by how well she does in the arena.  You can see it in her eyes how much she loves rodeo!

The entertainment at Ritzville was on fire!  After all, this drill team had fireworks firing off the tops of their flags during their routine.  How cool is that?  Cool!  What was also cool was how their horses were so calm and used to carrying live fireworks around.  It was great!

 

Watch for Erin and Daisy in the next couple weeks as they hit up a few last events before handing the crown on!

Chevron Wedding Quilt

I'm happy to announce I bought fabric and finished my first quilting project in less than three weeks  a couple weeks ago.  I will not be keeping this first quilt of mine as it is a wedding gift for Tanner and Becca!  Congrats you two!

Early on in the summer I decided I wanted to make a quilt.  Then I decided making one for their wedding gift would give me a reason to actually get serious about getting a quilt done.  Becca kindly agreed they would enjoy a quilt and I asked for their wedding colors, which turned out to be browns and turquoise.  I browsed online and at stores but never really liked anything.  Then two days after being home from our Tulsa Trip, I had had enough of not sewing or finding fabric so I headed to the Fabric Patch in Ephrata...I fell in love with all the fabric and found the perfect ones for the quilt.

Now back up...I had picked out a pattern, Zig Zag Chevron Quilt, for the quilt weeks before I ever bought the fabric.  Yes, the quilt is more browns and blue but that is because none of the turquoises with the browns I had chosen made me happy.

This quilt ended up being very fun and easy to make, and I am completely in love and happy with the finished product.  If Tanner and Becca don't like it, I hope they give it back to me!

Now here are some pointers I have for making the quilt, and be sure to use the yardage, measurements, and tips given here Zig Zag Cheveron Quilt.

Lay your fabrics out in a few different orders to see which combination you like best.

Once you've cut your sewn together strips into squares that are roughly 5.25" by 5.25", lay out the WHOLE quilt.  Be sure to check that your zig zags match up and flow.

I found that sewing all the squares into pairs to start with made it easy to keep my zig zags from getting off.  To sew these pairs together, I started with the square in the lower right hand corner and sewed it to the square above it and to the left.  Once I had pairs, I sewed pairs to pairs until I had long angled strips.  Then I started in the bottom left hand corner when I sewed the long strips together.  At this point, I pinned all seams together to keep corners aligned.  I also found it helpful to sew out from the halfway point of these long strips to keep less fabric from being pushed around; this also kept my seams matched up.  To keep fabric manageable, I sewed strips together until I got to the middle of the quilt.  Next, I began sewing strips together starting in the upper right hand corner.  This way I had two halves to sew together and spent less time wrestling large amounts of fabric through and around my machine.

Preparing for quilting:  I laid out the backing with the right side against the carpet.  Then I layered the batting and quilt top on top of that.  To keep everything secure I pinned large safety pins at every bottom point of a zig zag in every other Chevron.  Start in the center of the quilt when pinning so that you can work any wrinkles out.  Also work your way out from the center when doing the quilting.  I did a really simple quilting by sewing in the ditch of every single zig zag. 

If you're not familiar with making bias tape or putting on binding, check out the Perfect Binding Tutorial.  One thing, tough, on sewing binding to the front of the quilt.  If your binding is 1/2" wide, stop sewing the binding to the quilt a 1/2" before the corner of the quilt.  If it's 3/4" wide, stop 3/4" from the corner and so on.  Please be sure not to cheat on the binding portion of your quilting project!  It is okay with me if you machine stich your binding to the quilt front, but please hand sew the binding to the back of the quilt.  It will look so much nicer if you do!  This Tutorial will get you on track to properly hand sewing the binding.

End product!

 

Sorry if something does not make sense to you.  I did not make the quilt with the intention of doing a step by step post on it; however, I enjoyed this project so much that I wanted to share it.  Please ask questions if you need something cleared up!  I'll do a better job taking some pictures during my next project...so watch for that!

Tulsa Trip

The last 13 days of July were spent on a trip to Tulsa, OK.  We went out there so Erin could show her horse, Chuck, at the American Buckskin Registry Association Worlds Show.  It was quite the trip and adventure. 

In fact, this was the longest road trip I'd ever been on.  We made it to Tulsa in three twelve hour days.  It was quite the haul.  Day 1 was good....we went from home to Billings, MT. 

Day 2 was good until we started getting emergency weather warnings for tornados by the Denver airport.  Of course the warning came in the midst of the time frame for the length of the warning, and with pouring rain, lightening, rainbows, and swift wind.  It was wild.  Everyone just starts pulling off the road and parks under underpasses.  We made it to our destination safe and sound that night which was wonderful, but the weather was stormy through the night.  Day 2 was Billings, MT to Limon, CO.

Rainbow after the first round of the storm in CO.

Where does one "stay" while traveling with a horse?  Well the answer is Equine Motels.  Yes, those really exist, and then the humans camp in their living quarter horse trailers.

Day 3 of traveling was also good, especially, because it ended in Tulsa!  I picked up Kansas and Oklahoma as new states visited, too!  It was in Kansas, though, that the humidity set in.  When we finally pulled into Tulsa, it was mid evening and HOT!  I sweated like never before while we unloaded the trailer, set up in the barn, and set up camp.  It was like the first time I'd sweated enough to feel the cooling benefit of sweat. 

Welcome to OK!

The pre-worlds show started on Tuesday with Erin and Chuck picking up one ribbon.  Wednesday through Friday were the days of the Worlds show that Erin showed on.  She showed about two classes a day.  That doesn't sound like much except that Chuck had to be bathed each morning and ridden each night to prepare for the next day's patterns, which made for long, stressful days of getting everything done and making sure everything was perfect for the level of the show. 

The hustle and bustle of the stall barn during the week.

 

Erin showed Chuck in eight classes at Worlds and brought home six Top Ten placings.  One of those placings was a third in showmanship.  As a pair, they showed their showmanship pattern well together and did a really good job.  We all cried when they announced Erin and Chuck had gotten third.

Showmanship pattern.

Tenth place in Youth Trail.

 

Waiting for results after Youth Western Pleasure.

We of course got teary with all her placings.  Some of you may not know this, but going to the Worlds show has been Erin's dream for at least three years...maybe even four years.  She originally was working toward this dream with HotRod.  She wanted to go in summer 2011 but it was decided she and HotRod needed to work a little longer together before going.  She was set to prepare for and go during summer 2012, however, HotRod passed away.  That left her without a horse to take that year.  Luckily, though, she got Chuck in March 2012.  Chuck came to Erin as a horse who had been to and placed at this same World's show as a yearling and two year old in 2010 and 2011.  When Erin got Chuck in March 2012, there was not enough time to prepare for Worlds 2012 and be successful.  That meant Erin's dream got postponed by a year once again.  But it came true this year and they were incredibly successful when one considers all the work, time, lessons, and ups and downs she's faced while reaching her dream!

One of the cool parts of the trip for me was getting to meet the woman who owned and took Chuck to Worlds before he came home to our house.  Her name is Emily and she was showing her newest yearling at Worlds this year.  I absolutely loved visiting with her and letting her know how happy we are that she had raised Chuck for us because, even though, he isn't HotRod, he sure filled that empty space and has helped complete Erin. 

Us with Emily and her little filly Poker.

 

Another great part of the trip was eating out at Ted's Café.  It's a Mexican restaurant that another family at the show suggested we try.  It was great.  Each person got their own salsa bowl and homemade tortillas before ordering.  For dessert, everyone gets a sopia.  Then to top it off they get you your drink to go when it's time to leave!  If we ever end up in Tulsa again, we will be eating at Ted's.

The craziest part of the stay in Tulsa was the flash flood storm early on in the week.  There had been lightening for hours before, but at 11:30 things just got different.  Then all of the sudden the thunder, wind, and rain amped it up.  It was the wildest thunder shower storm I'd ever experienced.  The trailer shook with each clap of thunder and the rain came down in such dense sheets that I couldn't even see the motor home parked five parking spaces away from us.  Yes, I've experienced storms of the sort before, but none have been as windy or lengthy. 

We packed out on Saturday morning and left early Sunday morning making Sunday Day 1 of traveling home.  The stall barn and grounds had become a ghost town and it was a little eery leaving after all the time we had spent there.  The trip home was easy going.  Kansas was foggy and rainy the whole way.  We made it to Cheyenne, WY that  night and stayed at the Terry Bison Ranch.  It was a fun setting but very touristy with guided horse trail rides, buffalo herds, and camels roaming around. 

Stuffed buffalo at the Terry Ranch.

Stuffed jackalope at the Terry Ranch.

 

On Day 2, we travelled from Cheyenne, WY to Whitehall, MT.  Along this part of the trip we had fun stopping in Sheridan, WY at Tom Balding Bits and Spurs.  We know of Tom and his work because his sister lives out here on the Royal Slope near us.  In fact, for my graduation from high school his sister gave me a rowel keychain customized by Tom with my initials.  Besides key chains, he makes some beautiful bits and spurs.  I mean so pretty that I just wanted to buy them to look at because I would have too hard a time putting one in a horse's mouth!

We made it home at about 1:30 in the afternoon on Tuesday, our Day 3 of travelling home.  It was sure nice to be back in Washington (because after this trip, I LOVE my state even more), see our house and horses, and be on "solid" ground after so much time cruising down the road. 

Horse Wonders

Horses are amazing!  They are smart and can do great things.  They can also make you wonder "why are you doing that?" and "how did you get yourself into such a predicament?"

Here are such examples.

Daisy manages to get her ears out of her fly mask several times a day.  When she does this, she is funny to look at.

I was getting Daisy saddled last week.  I guess I took too long getting the bridle because when I came back to her she was sleeping and had to rest her chin on the hitching post.

 

Chuck likes to eat his grain out of a bucket from someone's lap while they sit in a chair.  Well I didn't have time to bucket feed him.  So I thought sitting the bucket in the chair would suffice.  I turned my back and turned back around to find he'd spilled grain everywhere but managed to keep the bucket up right as it fell to the ground.

This blanket on Chuck was in good condition when we put it on him after riding.  By the time we got to the house and looked out the window, he'd done this.  How?  We don't know.  Good became destroyed and unusable.

 

Horses...