Although it's hard to tell at this distance, this is the quilt face for my latest quilting project - a Chinese folk art for my friend and former lab assistant Auggie Cheung.

It's not my first quilt, but the first one we've taken pictures of.

I have always done patchwork or pieced quilts until I started making quilts for my grandkids.  For Koral and Ivy I did French Canadian and German folk art drawings in fabric markers.  Then I quilted snowflakes on Koral's and flowers on Ivy's.

That was a learning experience!  

I've decided I need to choose - artwork and tied quilts or hand-stitched quilts.

Right now I'm exploring the possibilities in these cultural heritage quilts.

Auggie's gets sent off to Cali before she goes back to China this summer for a mission for her Chinese Baptist church.

Now my next project is Liane's quilt including Mexican and French Canadian folk art.

It isn't perfection by any means...but when I talked to Auggie just a few minutes ago, she said she was mostly excited to see it because I made it for her (it only took 2 1/2 years!).  

So the value is in the effort I think.

I really do think it's beautiful if not perfect!

If you're wondering, I free-hand it, using folk art images I pull off the internet and interpreting them.  Mistakes happen along the way - especially because I don't measure or plan anything in advance.  It's an evolving work.

It's worth mentioning that I found myself more willing and available to work on the quilt lately since I have a back injury that has kept me down for awhile and made it impossible to get outside for any real landscaping/gardening.

Farmington Bay

I have been craving the outdoors - and ironic since I'm in one of the most magnificent states in the Union for outdoor recreation and sightseeing.
Carl and I did go with friends for a cookout in Big Cottonwood Canyon a while back and love being in the Wasatch Mountains (just outside my window to the East - about a 15 minute drive). On the way down the mountain we literally almost ran into a bull moose! Came within about 6 feet!

This last weekend we tried something a little tamer - a 25 minute drive through gorgeous countryside to Farmington Bay. It's similar to Upper Newport Bay (Back Bay) in Cali but massively bigger, and the salt source is the Great Salt Lake.

We went to see the Bald Eagles but their nests are being protected so we can only get back on foot which we weren't prepared to do that day. We'll be going back this weekend. We did see some cool birds on the 2 miles or so we walked off the dirt road. Mostly Canada geese but also Northern Harriers and lots of waterfowl. Sandhill Cranes and Great Blue Herons have gigantic nests on poles made by the wildlife conservationists - which are often also the hunters here in Utah.

ELFIE!

Ok...it's been awhile but I'm planning to get caught up!
Here's our newest rescue - a purebred mini schnauzer registered as Princess Jane. She lived with what seems to be a very nice family that just got way too busy for her and she wasn't a priority. We think she was fed with the 2 heelers they had which meant she got what was left - if anything. A dog her size should eat about a cup of dry food a day so she wasn't even getting that! She weighed just 9 pounds which is at least 3-4 pounds underweight.
But in the 1st 4 days we've had her she's put on 2 1/2 pounds!
She is a very balanced dog as far as her temperament goes so my plan is to certify her as a therapy dog. Once we're a certified, registered therapy team, we can go into Primary Children's Medical Center, and hopefully Huntsman Cancer Center too.
Meanwhile I continue to expose her to things that she'll be evaluated on like ability to pass through crowds undestracted, comfort with lots of handling which can sometimes be agressive (my grandkids:), loud sudden noises (Ivy:), auditory, visual, and olfactory distractions, and willingness to be walked away from me by a stranger.
Interestingly, these are all things that are not typical of things dogs have been bred for centuries to do, so it all depends on the training and socialization. That's why the certifying agencies require I have at least 6 months with her to adequately assess her.
It's not like I needed one more thing to do - it's just that dogs feed my soul!
I'll keep you posted!