All God's Critters Got a Place In The Choir (really long, boring post)

Including Sasquatch!

It has been a very full and emotional two weeks (MIL's passing and funeral, and then my 60th birthday and Thanksgiving on the same day).  
When all of the busyness subsided, I attended the class for the "Legendary" quilt by Elizabeth Hartman. I had signed up for it just before things got crazy.
Jenny was our teacher. She was very sweet and fun--she is also the daughter of a former classmate. (When did everyone else get so young??)  Here she is posing with her quilt.

We were the second class Jenny had taught for this quilt and we determined we were the remedial group. She said in the first class everyone got Sasquatch and one tree made--and they all came without their fabrics cut. 

In our class of three, two of us came with fabrics cut, and yet we each only completed the Sasquatch block. The other gal had to cut her fabrics, and leave for a doctor's appointment in the middle of class, so she had an excuse for not finishing more.





Look how fun--one of the gals was making hers a "Yeti" quilt. He was a tone-on-tone white, and her background was black. Very clever. She was making the trees blue.





Had a chance to sew tonight and finished up one tree.
I am just so proud (and relieved) that so far all of the raindrops are going in the right direction! I have never made a quilt this large with a directional background fabric prior to this one.
I am pondering whether or not to make a random 2 or 3 trees just one strip shorter than the others.  What do you think? Would it look strange? I've just never seen such a uniform forest before.
This may have to go on the back burner now, until after the holidays. I have Christmas things to do. :)


While we are on the subject of trees, I am getting closer to an actual little quilt from Kevin's mini tree pattern. I am working on the sixth block, and I can't decide if that will be it, or if I will shoot for nine.

Regardless of the number of blocks, I think this red from Primitive Gatherings will be my sashing.

DH and I finally had a quick birthday getaway. We went to IKEA for the first time, took in the Loveland Living Planet Aquarium in Salt Lake (I highly recommend it if you are in the area), visited a quilt shop, a favorite restaurant,  a favorite ice cream shop, and we took in the lights at Temple Square.
So I want to show you a few favorite critters.

The bearcats, which are neither bears or cats. Long thick tails on these creatures.



An exotic pheasant variety--the feathers all had a sheen, like the shiny part of peacock feathers. Beautiful bird.












The penguins were so fun to watch. Though slow and waddly on land, when they jumped in the water, they could swoop back and forth across the pond, and leap up into an arc before gracefully, and rapidly diving back in and swooping across the pond again.


 

There was also a petting pool where you could feel the spongy surface of the rays as they would glide past you. I think I did it four times. :)







I was treated well for my birthday. My daughter has started making barn quilts and I was thrilled to receive this from her.

And a few of my blog friends sent special surprises.

 Heartfelt thanks to Mary, Kris, Julie, and Doniene. Also thanks to Barb for the very fun eCard, and to Annie (no blog), whose calligraphy makes any card extra special. I hope I haven't forgotten anyone. The past couple of weeks have been a blur!

I had wanted to make something for my belated birthday drawing, but there wasn't time. I included a little ornament, but that was all I could muster. Take a peek at the goodies.

Did you notice that there is an item for each decade I have lived? But I will probably ruin that by throwing in some of my handcrafted soap when I package it up. If you are interested,  leave a comment.  You may also want to mention if you are interested in any of the following.

I was the recipient of a car trunk full of unwanted fabric from my quilt retreat buddy recently. I have shared much of it here and there. I had hung on to some myself, including a couple of small bags that I thought I might use somehow. Now I am facing reality and letting them go.

#1-- An unfinished project made with Moda's Aster Manor line. No pattern included, but an experienced quilter could figure it out, if they wanted to make more of this same block. There is a a little yardage, part of a jelly roll, and lots of charm squares.

#2--No sewn parts to this bag. It is all from the Rites of Spring line by Moda. There are a couple of  pieces of yardage, a few strips, lots of 2 1/2" squares, and charm squares. If you like purple and green together, this is a nice group of fabrics.

#3-- This last bag is full of homespun wovens. mostly squares and small pieces of yardage, but the pile in front is random scraps. If you are interested in this, I would appreciate it if you would be  willing to split the shipping costs with me. It will probably fill a large priority mail box, and with all the above items being shipped, too, it is adding up.

 

So here are the options. If you are interested in any, please specify. I will draw names before my next post, and I don't think the next one will take quite as long as this one did.

Sorry for the length of this, but there is one last photo I want to share. Two days before Thanksgiving, as I was driving away from my Mom's house, I got to the corner and saw this.
 
There were a dozen wild turkeys trotting across the street--in the crosswalk! I figured this was the great escape before they became the honored guest at Thanksgiving. So crazy to see this in the city limits. We have wild turkeys where I live, outside the city, but this is the first I have seen of them in town. I sent it to a news channel and this was the weatherman using it to introduce his forecast for Thanksgiving.
My thanks to everyone for their condolences and prayers over my MIL's passing. I cannot respond to all of the comments this time around, but I want you to know your words were appreciated. 
If you have read this whole thing, you probably need a nap!
Until next time,
Janet O.

 Drawings Now Closed