tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36553310474209815272024-03-05T18:14:45.000-07:00The Nickel and Dime RanchTwo retired high school teachers from Southern California move to a 100 acre ranch in rural Northern New Mexico. Why the name? This place nickels and dimes us to death, but we wouldn't have it any other way.Bridgethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06057947365589446443noreply@blogger.comBlogger437125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3655331047420981527.post-10959584570343966862020-03-30T13:36:00.001-06:002020-03-30T13:36:30.153-06:00Retiring to the Frontier Part 3 and a Fond Adios<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgodac4hvCthkk03sStZHtKQhA18_udxvbiXknNIrxRdoqhCyedT1OCkYILtT2gB_HAa9u1jEz8u0OWXcDQe1116ncSzxozWNds7h92QA4ri6RT3SNNWvvqlMKFzRBXrJ2H_3Q-zD58t_Q/s1600/IMG_1478.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgodac4hvCthkk03sStZHtKQhA18_udxvbiXknNIrxRdoqhCyedT1OCkYILtT2gB_HAa9u1jEz8u0OWXcDQe1116ncSzxozWNds7h92QA4ri6RT3SNNWvvqlMKFzRBXrJ2H_3Q-zD58t_Q/s640/IMG_1478.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Liza Jane</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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I wanted to finish this three part post by talking about Northern New Mexico culture, but I've realized that there are multiple cultures here and many of us have picked up ways of living from all of them.<br />
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It's an appreciation of heritage, of having a connection to this place for hundreds of years. Our friend Ernest Martinez' family goes back to the 1800's. We live on a ranch that was once owned by his grandparents.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ernesto Martinez</td></tr>
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It's a reverence for spirituality, be it organized Catholic religion or a celebration of just being part of This Earth.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuBNmpdNzdgZ-Fe9hHKUgZO4modRq0Lma5rQzjnsOy_CANKi609gNWCEz59Hk2WqJxPy2Q3dsE0sQOcFBxTXv2nADbwmgHazVQveoi5PfyejZBzNYYzHw-SQptbRnICDcC9vAQOLjNwoM/s1600/Santa+Rita+Church+Lucero.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="823" data-original-width="1600" height="328" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuBNmpdNzdgZ-Fe9hHKUgZO4modRq0Lma5rQzjnsOy_CANKi609gNWCEz59Hk2WqJxPy2Q3dsE0sQOcFBxTXv2nADbwmgHazVQveoi5PfyejZBzNYYzHw-SQptbRnICDcC9vAQOLjNwoM/s640/Santa+Rita+Church+Lucero.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Santa Rita Catholic Church, Lucero, NM</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Good Friday Pilgrims</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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It's a sense of community, whether it's making a quilt together, voting, or celebrating Summer Solstice.<br />
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It's doing it yourself, self reliance, and an appreciation for the animals that sustain you.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtzjhwVeF1Tq-DiYwBqqKIbS0nNA7nWwheKX31qCaduXmbObLH3JpJZyPyK0yxv9gNnyzUpGV-6wtiz5UvZNOUMMtj4QsVo6IO92SNx7UvRqoJ1ycGDE9JWe4GMPaJ2TKtybXmJ6lauWk/s1600/0-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="709" data-original-width="532" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtzjhwVeF1Tq-DiYwBqqKIbS0nNA7nWwheKX31qCaduXmbObLH3JpJZyPyK0yxv9gNnyzUpGV-6wtiz5UvZNOUMMtj4QsVo6IO92SNx7UvRqoJ1ycGDE9JWe4GMPaJ2TKtybXmJ6lauWk/s640/0-3.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tom staking the bridge after a flood</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bridget doing something rare: Feeding the stock<br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">It's growing your own food, but also relying on a little help from our friends, trading this for that, sharing seedlings, and seeds, and know-how.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">It's about water: What sustains our animals, our crops, and us.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">And it's about <i>querencia: </i>The way we are connected to a particular place and its landscape. It's home. And when you're away from it, you want to be there. And this is now our home.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">I hope you've enjoyed following our lives for the past 10 years, watching us adjust to a new community, a different landscape, and a new way of life. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">But we are not disappearing. If you'd like to follow us on Instagram, look for @bridgetNM510 where we will still be posting about life here at The Nickel and Dime Ranch as well as any quilting shenanigans I might be getting into. Love, and cheers, and thanks for reading, </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">Bridget and Tom</span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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</script></div>Bridgethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06057947365589446443noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3655331047420981527.post-61233282368901914092019-09-11T12:23:00.000-06:002019-09-11T12:23:41.441-06:00Quilty Pleasures-Russell by Carolyn FriedlanderWell, this blog has been asleep since December, but really, I haven't been sleeping. I've been busy starting quilts and finishing too few of them. But my plan is to finish one quilt a month, and I'm ahead of schedule since Russell is finished.<br />
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I started it in 2018, so finishing in 2019 isn't too bad, for this ADHD quilter!<br />
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Russell is throw sized (there are other size options with the pattern), 40" by 47" or thereabouts. The fabrics are from my stash and my local quilt store, <a href="https://www.threadbear-nm.com/" target="_blank">ThreadBear</a>. Quilting was also done there, by Michael Siewert, my local go-to long armed quilter.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjagvMC_x8-Z7PI22hTT_Tb3SnkT0e8DxUgGsieXA5S7kO2GspKH-t6i-cG06aBYWZGY5GQonlBRbKkdVg1kKDqiXv4NJygKJPdGXWAJcU8XdP1W8jELuwR2d8kan7VztJhsTZZEer3JFM/s1600/Russell+Quilt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjagvMC_x8-Z7PI22hTT_Tb3SnkT0e8DxUgGsieXA5S7kO2GspKH-t6i-cG06aBYWZGY5GQonlBRbKkdVg1kKDqiXv4NJygKJPdGXWAJcU8XdP1W8jELuwR2d8kan7VztJhsTZZEer3JFM/s640/Russell+Quilt.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thanks to TJB for being the quilt holder.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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Backing is also from ThreadBear, an early Art Gallery print in total harmony with the quilt's colors.<br />
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I asked Michael to quilt with two layers of batting because I want to display this quilt above the door to our bedroom, which, as you can see, is way up high.<br />
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Here's a close up of the quilting, an all-over panto.<br />
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This was a challenging quilt to make, and many thanks to Ann Siewert at ThreadBear, who made the quilt first and was able to explain the nuances and pitfalls as I paper pieced it.<br />
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I'm thinking of re-launching the blog, but still in the thinking stages. Let me know what you think.<br />
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Did it matter in the long run? Well, kind of. Let me give you the low down on what we looked at and whether it actually mattered.<br />
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Crime: It was important, at first. When we looked at the crime rates for our county, it was higher than New Mexico's which, in turn, is higher than the United States' averages. It looked like a hotbed of criminality! But when we took into account how small in population our county was, it wasn't that big a deal. In 2016 our county had 4, 550 residents, and the violent crime consisted of five aggravated assaults and fifty burglaries, larceny and car thefts, no murders or rapes. We could live with that. Folks with vacation cabins sometimes experience break-ins unless they hire a local guy to keep an eye on their places and an old guy in an area about 30 miles away had some bad felllows break into his house and rob him a couple of years ago. Our own place was a vacation home and before we bought it, the home and garage were broken into twice. The burglars were caught and most of the stolen goods were recovered. That said, we are not complacent. There is a drug problem here and so we keep our home secured and don't advertise when we go somewhere. We have someone keep an eye on the place to ensure its safety. I rarely see local police, (except when I am speeding).<br />
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Education: We wanted to know something about the schools, not because we had children, but because often a school is a reflection of what's going on in an area. An 85% graduation rate is what we found here, but that doesn't take into account that only 22% of the students are proficient in reading and 14% proficient in math. 100% of the kids are considered economically disadvantaged. A neighbor whose daughter was the valedictorian of her graduating class ended up taking remedial math in college because she didn't pass the placement test at the University of New Mexico. A recent problem occurred when the county superintendent was found to have falsified his transcripts, a letter of recommendation and credentials to get the job. I have encountered several residents who drive their kids 30 or more miles to Angel Fire to attend high school and others who home school.<br />
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Average Income: We looked at this to see if we'd be able to afford living here on our retirement savings. Household income is just $21,000 and the poverty rate is 20%. Although income is lower than both the New Mexico and national averages, home ownership is at 76%, which is higher than the averages. People inherit homes and land, and if the home is falling apart, there's either a rudimentary fix or they'll pull in a used mobile home, a travel trailer, or something else one can call a home. Unemployment is 5%, with agriculture and forestry being where most of the jobs are, which don't pay much. We were told that if we were coming to retire, that was a good thing; if we were going to take someone else's job, well, that was another thing and we might reconsider. Since we are retired, it's all good.<br />
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Ethnicity and Population: We wanted someplace small and not growing, which is what we got. Population here is going down. Someone said we could maybe adopt some Syrian refugees and they could open a restaurant. I wonder how Syrians would do in a county that's 85% Hispanic. We are doing fine, although at first it seemed weird to be a minority. Some long time residents have done what old time non-Hispanic settlers did years ago, which is give their children Spanish sounding first names. Carlos White, Diego Mueller, and Cielo Kagan are some names that mix it up. I kind of like the idea. Most of the people born here will tell you that their families are from the original Spanish settlers who came along with the conquistadores. The Spanish they speak is interesting. It's not Mexican Spanish, but Spanish whose roots are in the 14th and 15th centuries, combined with words from the Pueblo natives with whom they intermarried. Everyone code switches when they are talking, even many English speakers, which is a whole other level of cool. Now we are used to being a minority and it's no big deal.<br />
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Hospitals: A retired lady who moved here recently with her husband was matter of fact: "I figure that if one of us has a heart attack, we will probably die." Well, I hadn't really thought of it that way, but she is probably right. The closest hospital is 48 minutes away, and that's not counting how long we might wait for an ambulance. A couple years ago there was an additional sales tax levied for ambulance services, but they are understaffed. Calls go unanswered and someone died because the only driver scheduled couldn't leave because he had two small kids to watch and no other driver on the schedule. So I guess we don't count on an ambulance if we are hurt. I had an anaphylactic bee sting reaction, so we drove to the hospital after I gave myself an Epipen shot. The hospitals are fine and have figured out that if they can't fix it, a helicopter will take you to Albuquerque. We have a good local clinic for minor issues, and specialists one, two and three hours away. We usually spend the night if the drive is two or three hours, for a fun medical getaway.<br />
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Groceries: There was a small market 12 miles away but it has closed. The closest grocery store is WalMart which is 35 miles away. If we are desperate, there's Allsup's (a gas station mart) and Family Dollar, where I was happy to find the lemon juice I needed for drying my apple crop. Something new, though: Los de Mora, our local grower's coop, has a farm store open on Monday and Tuesday afternoons. They sell veggies and fruits in season, are starting a bakery, and have USDA lamb and beef cuts in the freezer. We are excited about this and hope to see the little store grow and grow. It's significant that people have gardens, hunt elk and deer for meat, and generally grow or gather what they can for their families. That doesn't preclude the occasional trip to Wal-Mart, a grocery store in Taos, Trader Joe's, or Costco. It's just not an every day thing.<br />
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Weather: We were done with unending 100 degree summer days and the other seasons that felt like summer. We wanted seasons, but with sun. Vermont has 157 days of sunshine a year; Santa Fe has over 300 days. It also has snow, something I'd never experienced for more than a couple days up in the California mountains. And winters are cold. But I justified the cold this way: there are just so many articles of clothing one can remove in hot weather, and it still feels hot. With layers of the right clothing for cold weather, it can feel warm even when outside. I'll gladly trade a cold winter for a moderate summer. Yes, there is ice and snow sometimes, but the good thing about being retired is we don't have to drive in that bad weather every day. Home, looking out the window as it snows, is just fine. Being able to grow a garden without the sun burning it to a crisp is also a big win.<br />
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Guns: Most people here have guns, but it hasn't contributed to a spate of murders. Gun owners here are liberal and conservative, Democrats and Republicans, and like most country folks, consider guns to be tools for hunting and/or for home protection. One friend told a story of her women's group having brunch outside at her place one spring morning. A couple bears walked up nearby, so she grabbed a shotgun and shot, scaring away the bears. Then she calmly put the gun down and inquired if anyone needed more coffee.<br />
(I said it's the frontier. )<br />
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After considering the matrix, we realized that many of the items we were looking for weren't as important as it was just to live in the country, to breathe fresh air, and to not worry about neighbors close by. Yes, some things give us pause to reflect, but at this point we aren't too worried about living in the frontier. Drone grocery delivery and driverless cars will be something to look for in our future.<br />
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</script></div>Bridgethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06057947365589446443noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3655331047420981527.post-78014917474771413742018-10-18T16:02:00.000-06:002018-10-18T16:02:54.036-06:00Retiring to the Frontier: Part 1Our friends back in Southern California have said they couldn't see themselves moving out of state to someplace completely new and at first I couldn't, either. I'd spent all but my first five years in suburban Orange County, California, a childhood, adolescence and young adulthood filled with trips to the beach, to shopping centers (and later malls), a five to fifteen minute drive to whatever I wanted or needed. Orange groves dotted the landscape between postwar housing tracts, and that was all we needed.<br />
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Moving to rural inland SoCal in our mid twenties for T's first teaching job took some adjusting. Farther from the beach, from stores and from our friends, it was now a 37 mile drive to college, where I was finishing my degree and teaching credential. but getting to Orange County was a smooth 30 minutes on a good day, not that big a deal. We liked living in our little yellow house on the hill, looking out over the citrus groves, red tailed hawks circling overhead, the manic sounds of coyotes howling and yipping into the evening darkness. We were spoiled for country living.<br />
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By the time we were ready to retire, our country life had been spoiled. Horsethief Canyon Ranch and Sycamore Creek housing developments moved in where citrus groves had been. I missed the scent of orange and lemon blossoms on my drive to work, and my 12 minute drive to work became 30 minutes, then 40 minutes, until finally I planned for an hour just in case the freeway had a problem. It took forever just to go grocery shopping, fighting the traffic, finding a parking space, waiting in long lines. Errands took hours. Cars clogged the roads. We were living in the fastest growing area in the country. Where it had always been hot in inland SoCal, now it was also humid since the new homes had grassy lawns with automatic sprinklers watering nonstop. And I don't do hot and humid very well.<br />
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So we knew it was time to move, looked around, and found we could afford to live in New Mexico, a place we had visited so often it felt like home. It helped a lot to have Southern California Edison purchase our little home for a project that has never been completed.<br />
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Our new 'hood is census designated as "frontier, " which means we're far from hospitals, food sources and jobs, with around three persons per square mile.<br />
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This is the first of three posts introducing our frontier and how we adjusted to a different culture, found new people and became much more self reliant.<br />
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You may have seen the <a href="http://northernnewmexicoranchito.blogspot.com/2011/05/quilty-pleasures-wednesday-our-lady-of.html" target="_blank">Lady of Guadalupe quilt</a> I made after taking an epic class on Liberated Quilting hosted by quilting buddies Gwen Marston and Freddy Moran. (Click on the link above to get that story.) <br />
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Anyway, I still had some Our Lady panels in my stash (and have started another quilt that I hope to finish this winter), so that's where I started. Since this quilt was improvised, there was no clue what the finished product would look like, just starting in the center, working border by border.<br />
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Here's a look at the quilt. I built around the center, got bored with that and decided to add details at the top and the bottom.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheG_GLq6895BkPdEt5IGjwfTURZWkg27WSgYVFarFc9CHjRjtAAvARBx6jkWd8s4gPk-TrGxSoN6E8L6KeiGMZZ-m3Wn2smHhCxlE3_hPMESjVKP3wN3914LQGqO_uIQLFgq7jg2AKcS8/s1600/LadyGuadalupitaQuilt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1017" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheG_GLq6895BkPdEt5IGjwfTURZWkg27WSgYVFarFc9CHjRjtAAvARBx6jkWd8s4gPk-TrGxSoN6E8L6KeiGMZZ-m3Wn2smHhCxlE3_hPMESjVKP3wN3914LQGqO_uIQLFgq7jg2AKcS8/s640/LadyGuadalupitaQuilt.jpg" width="406" /></a></div>
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Here's a close up of the different layers I added around the center panel. Because I wanted this quilt to be finished quickly, I made strategic use of interesting fabric rather than piecing each border. Freddy Moran, whose quilts have a plethora of fabric and color, likes black and white borders in a busy quilt so our eyes can stop and rest. For reference, the half square triangles are 1.5 inches finished. I'm not sure about the orange and rose fabric touching each other, but it's done and a small matter. At least that's what I'm telling myself.<br />
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Look at the quilting Michael at ThreadBear did, the rose and leaf quilting pattern echoing both the roses in the red border and and the general flower motif I repeated throughout the quilt. Oops! Don't look at that stray white thread. Oh, you looked, didn't you?<br />
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Towards the top of the quilt is an arch of Gwen Marston's Liberated Stars. I made the stars first and worried they would get lost in the bold colors, but by placing them at the top, they become a focus motif. Liberated stars are free pieced, no measuring the stars' points, so each one is different. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiig-q8lGUJ5C92rVPZyUAKHppeXuoDrQRnFvcGd61jaJJ0qkbstugTWVGmHwplxJiuP4ApDsohzti16gFcXAkklr2KGTeV-cIv16cufH8b84OPMxR9oVijeIHOXIuF47JrUbJGwBeazjI/s1600/LadyGuadalupitaLibStar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiig-q8lGUJ5C92rVPZyUAKHppeXuoDrQRnFvcGd61jaJJ0qkbstugTWVGmHwplxJiuP4ApDsohzti16gFcXAkklr2KGTeV-cIv16cufH8b84OPMxR9oVijeIHOXIuF47JrUbJGwBeazjI/s640/LadyGuadalupitaLibStar.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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At the quilt's bottom, I used Gwen's Liberated Basket technique to make flower pots, the flowers from an old Kaffe Fasset fabric. Gwen has used these same pots in one of the Lady of Guadalupe quilts Freddy and Gwen made for their book <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Collaborative-Quilting-Freddy-Moran/dp/1402730438/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_14_img_2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=ZEVMXFQ46MEW90VY2T30" target="_blank">Collaborative Quilting</a>.<br />
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An aside: If you haven't seen <a href="https://www.quiltfolk.com/" target="_blank">Quiltfolk magazine,</a> please do. This issue is about the Michigan quilt community and features an article about Gwen, my quilting hero and a national treasure.<br />
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The backing fabric is Alma y Corazon by Alexander Henry. Love his fabrics and am grateful for Ann at ThreadBear, who made a bee line to this exact fabric, knowing it would be perfect.<br />
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As I was making the quilt, I thought about a student I taught in Corona whose mother had gifted me years ago with a beautiful white crocheted sweater and later, after I had retired to the mountains, sent me a cozy hat and scarf to ward off the cold. I've always been so grateful for these gifts because, well, it was a parent who wanted to show me I was valued, and her son Juan went on to become a teacher, too, which is even better. So I sent her the quilt, now named Our Lady of Guadalupita. The name? Guadalupita, NM is the closest village to our place so it makes perfect sense since that's where I made it.<br />
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It looks like Mrs. Rosa Salgado likes Our Lady of Guadalupita, so I am glad to have been able to make her just as happy as I was receiving her gifts of love.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript">
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We have crazy apples this year, so apple juice, canned apple pie filling, dried apples, and who knows what else will be preserved. This is one of three different trees, so I look at them with love and also with dread. It's lot of work to put up all these apples, but worth it when I don't have to buy something at the store. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyx_hQdtz-W0aFpFanBrATnloEqF6omDWMWQegKk4wpGPVKgXe7MGfF9gcGl39VCYqaaiIMJZdRjAHsxy9Erkmm8OAVtX6HaNNrl0g5vDlJmWnYM_OQxYdKo-sZbOc0sin7v3UhxT7nmw/s1600/Delicious+Apples+2018.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyx_hQdtz-W0aFpFanBrATnloEqF6omDWMWQegKk4wpGPVKgXe7MGfF9gcGl39VCYqaaiIMJZdRjAHsxy9Erkmm8OAVtX6HaNNrl0g5vDlJmWnYM_OQxYdKo-sZbOc0sin7v3UhxT7nmw/s640/Delicious+Apples+2018.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Red Delicious Apple Tree</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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Last week we had friends over for dinner: chuck roast, potatoes, country style green beans and a cucumber and tomato salad. I realized later that the only thing we'd bought from the store were potatoes. That's a good feeling.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqFQTKUrqRAcnEXLSkHC_TdxuKAtAKTJBBlYmlmintvdGUTBDRzQmI0-YpEODIGdnZfcqYhZTmTy9Ft2V7swFx2q4_ZpnY7u6bXQm3dlNPaL2jo6mVOzwofmY1WWUye6XIfCimFfzzqUI/s1600/harvest+2018.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqFQTKUrqRAcnEXLSkHC_TdxuKAtAKTJBBlYmlmintvdGUTBDRzQmI0-YpEODIGdnZfcqYhZTmTy9Ft2V7swFx2q4_ZpnY7u6bXQm3dlNPaL2jo6mVOzwofmY1WWUye6XIfCimFfzzqUI/s640/harvest+2018.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This stuff was grown inside our Growing Dome</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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Although the grama grass grew well this past summer, look at that dry dirt! Let's hope for snow.<br />
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This isn't about fall, but just an update on the new pup, Liza Jane. She's a crazy nut, enjoys fetching, and likes to be out and about exploring the ranch, digging holes, and thinking about what it might be like to herd four legged ruminants. Here she is contemplating the neighboring yak herd.<br />
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I am still amazed at the changing seasons and don't think I will ever tire of it.<br />
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Summer is almost gone: Nights are cooler, leaves are turning, and a successful monsoon season is drawing to a close. That said, it's time for a big old catch-up session because I haven't been writing and there's much to see here in Northern New Mexico.<br />
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We've been here for 8 years now and even though there were a few bets that we wouldn't last, here we are.<br />
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So let's get to it.<br />
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We still have cattle, but it's a rotating cast of characters. These guys were Regis and Phil(bin). Tom named them; not I. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2ISNjmjDc44ezk-f9edp-R7Em9og7eQD7d0v05UzxkIwXpN26hUILLztcXkpmGyRYGnvVXYbHigma6vmkrSkjBKnIEqUAElFyBmkWkzStmEvTZIcKqVJ2lDmgye7HqkC_omphyphenhyphenjk6M0Q/s1600/Regis+and+Phil%2528bin%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2ISNjmjDc44ezk-f9edp-R7Em9og7eQD7d0v05UzxkIwXpN26hUILLztcXkpmGyRYGnvVXYbHigma6vmkrSkjBKnIEqUAElFyBmkWkzStmEvTZIcKqVJ2lDmgye7HqkC_omphyphenhyphenjk6M0Q/s640/Regis+and+Phil%2528bin%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Regis and Phil(bin) are gone now to the great pasture in the sky and we are grateful to them. </td></tr>
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Our new pup, Liza Jane, has been a handful. We went from exceedingly polite Ms. Pearl to a bossy tornado. This is a rare puppy pic of her lying still.<br />
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Summer gardening was successful. I think having a canine tornado keeps the bunnies from eating too much.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaRqOF4ne4pV9smTTBbnXVxH47LMD06WGbYuQiB6PJw3fhab4xjUrRGZU7iq63prN8zietMyRh7ypgWkMGJl2oEs0SjJqAtCHIFr8FOkfMZiKfIFMW0OIFa_u0C40OhCWWjbJQZchcd-Y/s1600/Raised+Beds+2018.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaRqOF4ne4pV9smTTBbnXVxH47LMD06WGbYuQiB6PJw3fhab4xjUrRGZU7iq63prN8zietMyRh7ypgWkMGJl2oEs0SjJqAtCHIFr8FOkfMZiKfIFMW0OIFa_u0C40OhCWWjbJQZchcd-Y/s640/Raised+Beds+2018.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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This was early in the season. We had asparagus, green beans, kale, carrots, strawberries, sugar snap peas, and there's some broccoli I'm hoping will weather the upcoming cooler weather. The kale was especially pretty. I even froze some and I will tell you how another time. I used this kale for Zuppa Toscana. I found a <a href="https://www.geniuskitchen.com/recipe/olive-garden-copycat-zuppa-toscana-38298" target="_blank">copycat recipe</a> for this Olive Garden favorite and it was yum!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHKC97DLMt0Lw_7izESht65CbdHfPj3TWAV9UVjVUPhwORoymaaInzzRgo899E6I7UqfdG_PLyEcnp1bsPxtP0Nyx19NyWcAqKlZBemutmG__rq3wtMPqoXScJf2bS6vwDBzcjIXRL7QE/s1600/Kale+2018.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHKC97DLMt0Lw_7izESht65CbdHfPj3TWAV9UVjVUPhwORoymaaInzzRgo899E6I7UqfdG_PLyEcnp1bsPxtP0Nyx19NyWcAqKlZBemutmG__rq3wtMPqoXScJf2bS6vwDBzcjIXRL7QE/s640/Kale+2018.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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Inside the Growing Dome we had a good season, too. Up here at 7200 feet it can be iffy for tomatoes and indoor gardening solves this problem. This year I grew five plants: Golden Jubilee, Black Cherry, Chocolate Sprinkles, good old Early Girl and Brad's Atomic Grape. All did well and I froze some, made a <a href="https://food52.com/recipes/61714-tomato-cheddar-galette" target="_blank">tomato and gruyere galette</a>, and sometimes leaned over the sink, salt shaker in hand, and ate them like apples, juice everywhere.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgljXOpUQjMHEFhb-6UOoQF7QZ5E7apEXQYQwPPtDQFSNZVFX0dt0rZUSdIvetjBB5hyphenhyphen4ZFLTIYJQ835IpBzH86-OCAvry-5pM9YMMUVEKYbKsJR4bnpWh64K_VFnSg3TRboz_Ino6-2o/s1600/Tomatoes+Grown+Inside+2018.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgljXOpUQjMHEFhb-6UOoQF7QZ5E7apEXQYQwPPtDQFSNZVFX0dt0rZUSdIvetjBB5hyphenhyphen4ZFLTIYJQ835IpBzH86-OCAvry-5pM9YMMUVEKYbKsJR4bnpWh64K_VFnSg3TRboz_Ino6-2o/s640/Tomatoes+Grown+Inside+2018.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tomato Plants Growing Like Crazy</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjRwhW3C9v_GCoYqhuHpfDA38F2FC83B4G0Q_GYioMeIDpNXyyLj9ueOn8EAdGYxc0ORgWp2x6U4YStpr-0PMmeGrIP8KvlDG__JdhnipDOkYLPsAXxj2IV5JWR5M5TjHLenwqhLpR79g/s1600/Cukes+and+Green+Beans+2018.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjRwhW3C9v_GCoYqhuHpfDA38F2FC83B4G0Q_GYioMeIDpNXyyLj9ueOn8EAdGYxc0ORgWp2x6U4YStpr-0PMmeGrIP8KvlDG__JdhnipDOkYLPsAXxj2IV5JWR5M5TjHLenwqhLpR79g/s640/Cukes+and+Green+Beans+2018.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Straight Eight Cucumber Plants and Burgundy Green Beans</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii070JQkY0e6uYWh1AZ2RFiM7wF2yvaOOlZvy4UGGQZ1hIPO0hnNu5t7mvoFrqh7oJ_Gm1A_zdmHNzHD9iPVnfddNogifkYnF5F2n5oJX7OlwELTd4Ad3rN3x8MjXsjTQ54gSRsuAh4jA/s1600/Tomato+Harvest+2018.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii070JQkY0e6uYWh1AZ2RFiM7wF2yvaOOlZvy4UGGQZ1hIPO0hnNu5t7mvoFrqh7oJ_Gm1A_zdmHNzHD9iPVnfddNogifkYnF5F2n5oJX7OlwELTd4Ad3rN3x8MjXsjTQ54gSRsuAh4jA/s640/Tomato+Harvest+2018.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Few Tomatoes</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Tom has been cutting up a cottonwood tree that split in two.<br />
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We really don't need firewood because last winter was so mild, we didn't even touch the artistic wood piles I made.<br />
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And he chopped thousands of thistles, which are noxious, invasive weeds. I don't have any photos of that.<br />
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I set up a sewing area on the porch. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMpHQh1BtUz_k6VlyOI5Se8TdKpqUomEoZzS3pMAYWmkIRG5OVZgJ0jhfNNN1vL1r9MEIZTUPGVhV0NRxOfoTVrWDMf0M7ZZTKaReMxqNGLsCIYBlpsEi5E9fxDMTs6UQqNydVSkJNz7c/s1600/Sewing+on+the+Porch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMpHQh1BtUz_k6VlyOI5Se8TdKpqUomEoZzS3pMAYWmkIRG5OVZgJ0jhfNNN1vL1r9MEIZTUPGVhV0NRxOfoTVrWDMf0M7ZZTKaReMxqNGLsCIYBlpsEi5E9fxDMTs6UQqNydVSkJNz7c/s640/Sewing+on+the+Porch.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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Here was my view:</div>
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There was a field trip to Santa Fe's Botanical Gardens.<br />
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And to the Santa Fe Opera, twice! It was my first time experiencing opera and I loved it. People have tailgate dinners here, so we did the same. The big difference was our tailgate had road dust inside and out, and just as I was taking the photo, there was a wine mishap, but you get the idea. <br />
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<br />
I think I'm growing up. Opera? Wow. <br />
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It's always nice to come back home, though, to our little bubble.<br />
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See you next time!<br />
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</script></div>Bridgethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06057947365589446443noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3655331047420981527.post-74264788833929554022018-09-14T08:29:00.000-06:002018-09-14T12:26:29.395-06:00Ms. Pearl Has Gone One reason I haven't posted much lately is because I had sad news and didn't want to face it. We are accepting it finally, though, so here goes: Ms. Pearl has crossed The Rainbow Bridge and is at The Big Party in the Sky. Her kidneys had been failing for several months and even with special food, she kept declining and there was a point where we realized she wasn't having fun any more. <br />
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Ms. Pearl was half Labrador retriever and half Australian shepherd, which
meant she possessed excellent retrieving abilities and spent much of her
time when there were guests shepherding them, circling the crowd, imploring everyone to
please, please stick together. "Pattie, my sister in law once said, "Why won't that dog lie down?" I told her, "She's keeping us together."<br />
<br />
She was an excellent retriever, too, Tom's hunting buddy, always ready for hunting. On her last turkey hunt, Tom and Pearlie were sitting on a hillside, calling a lone turkey across the valley, but the big bird didn't seem too keen on seeing who was making turkey noises. As Tom often does, he nodded off and took a little nap, his dog right next to him. Tom felt a nudge at his knee and woke up to see Pearl point her nose at the turkey, now walking their way. Tom said it was if Pearl was saying, "Hey, stupid, wake up! There he is!" She was a good hunter to the end.<br />
<br />
It's always devastating when a dog has to go, and when a dog has been in your family for thirteen years, it really is like a family member has left. We knew we wanted another dog, though, so started looking for Aussie-Lab rescues on the internet. We saw a few likelies in Colorado, but they wouldn't adopt to New Mexico. New Mexicans must have a bad track record with dogs. In fact, many rescues and shelters in New Mexico send their dogs to Colorado for adoption. So Colorado was out. There were some Lab mixes in Arizona, but they wanted us to go to Arizona to spend a few days with the possible dogs we found, which is a good idea so one can see if they are compatible, but just too much red tape for us. We kept looking, though. And looking. But back to Ms. P.<br />
<br />
Our Ms. Pearl was probably the smartest dog we've ever had.<br />
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She herded cattle. Well, sometimes they herded her.<br />
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<br />
She was a world class cuddler.<br />
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A good friend to Miss Bonnie. Bonnie was her frenemy.<br />
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Loved to swim</div>
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and the snow <br />
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Was a good traveling buddy, although in later years after a traumatic drive through thunder and lightning, she needed drugs.<br />
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And she was the best hunting partner a man could ever have.<br />
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Why do we have pets when they die so soon? I guess Will Rogers says it better than I can.<br />
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"The misery of keeping a dog is his dying so soon...but, to be sure, ..."if there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die, I want to go where they went."<br />
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Did we get another dog? Yes.<br />
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But winter is over.<br />
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And it was spring for about three days before the weather jumped into summer mode, just like that! Summer here has an average temp of around 82 degrees, and that's where it is right now. I'm stoked.<br />
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These two quilts were finished this past winter, but languished for months waiting for their binding. Some of my quilty friends love binding and will sit in front of the television to get it done, but I just want to watch the danged show, which is also why I only have 3/4 of a sock knitted.<br />
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So I started these a couple of years ago, having two little grand nephews in mind, with a <a href="https://ohfransson.bigcartel.com/product/preppy-the-whale-pdf-quilt-pattern" target="_blank">Preppy the Whale </a>pattern by Elizabeth Hartman. After piecing about six Preppy blocks and realizing I'd need 54 whales for two quilts, I said, "Forget this!" and put them away. There had to be a faster way to get these quilts done. A few months later I found <a href="https://ohfransson.bigcartel.com/product/preppy-pod-pdf-quilt-pattern" target="_blank">Preppy Pod,</a> also by Elizabeth Hartman, and leaped for joy. Loved making those gigantic whales at the bottom of each quilt! (Believe me, these quilts are square. The wacky wind would not cooperate!)<br />
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The fabric for the whales came from scraps, well, all but the large green whale, whose fabric came from <a href="http://www.threadbear-nm.com/" target="_blank">ThreadBear</a>, my LQS.<br />
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<a href="http://www.threadbear-nm.com/" target="_blank">ThreadBear</a> also supplied the sea creatures and sharks backing fabric. It just went perfectly.<br />
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Michael Siewart did the quilting honors, choosing a circles pattern since well, bubbles.<br />
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Binding fabric is this Kaffe Fassett Collective swirly something or other I found in my stash. It works well for multi colored quilts, doesn't it? (Apologies for not taking a close up of the binding!)<br />
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I've had some fun making Elizabeth Hartman's animal design quilts and there's one more to bind, but not whales. Maybe I will practice multitasking and watch Barry whilst doing the hand sewing.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript">
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Chopping thistles is hard work, and Tom tries hard to get the Scotch thistle population under control while sparing native thistles which provide nesting material for our local birdies.<br />
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So let me say not all thistles are bad, but those Scotch thistles are.<br />
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A while back I made a Fancy Forest quilt designed by Elizabeth Hartman, and I loved making the thistle blocks. Fancy Forest doesn't have its binding on, so I will let you see that one another day.<br />
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But those thistle blocks seemed fun, so I used some random fabric here and there, with a Moda Grunge Basics Olive Branch Green background, to make a kid-sized quilt. It's embarrassing to say that the top was completed over a year ago, but other projects were calling, so it waited. And waited, patiently. If they were real thistles, they would have proliferated one hundred fold!<br />
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Anyway, here's Fancy Thistles and thanks to Tom for holding it up. I like these thistles.<br />
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If you click to make the photo bigger you can see the quilting by Michael Siewert of <a href="http://www.threadbear-nm.com/" target="_blank">ThreadBear in Las Vegas, NM</a>. Love the leaves and vines pattern, so apt for the piecing.<br />
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Icing on the cake: This quilt won Second Place at the Colfax County Fair's quilt show for the small quilts, two makers, division.<br />
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Cheers!<br />
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I guess I'm the stranger because dang, where have I been? Let's blame it on winter. I guess I just don't feel like I have enough to share with you, so why be lame and bore you?<br />
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But spring is finally here and the days are gorgeous. <br />
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I've been stacking wood. Lots and lots of wood. It's good exercise, so don't feel sorry for me. This morning I started my fourth woodpile and suspect there will be one more after Tom finishes splitting the logs he has cut.<br />
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But let's get to the cool stuff. I actually made something and finished it, too! Not finishing is a "Paralyzed Perfectionist" thing where lots of projects are almost, but not totally, completed. It just might not be perfect, so that fear of completion is real. Right now there are four very cute quilts waiting for binding, and they'd be done! So lame, yessirree, but I am working on it.<br />
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The bag is called the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHRS7Tux18E" target="_blank">Sew Together Bag</a>, pattern by <a href="https://sewdemented.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Sew Demented.</a> The Chicken River Modern Quilters hosted a class at <a href="http://www.threadbear-nm.com/" target="_blank">ThreadBear</a> a couple weeks ago taught by the extremely patient and highly talented quiltist from Albuquerque, Becky Welch. The twenty students had a good day with several completing their bags right there in class. I had to take mine home to finish because, well, sewing machine problems.<br />
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So here are some photos of my completed bag. Every bag I've seen using this pattern is cute!<br />
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The fabric I used for the outside is from Windham fabrics and designed by Carrie Bloomston. <br />
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I think it's called Basket Weave. The main zipper is extra long, and the ends are anchored to the bag's base, so it acts as a handle.<br />
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Because the zipper is extra long, the bag opens wide.<br />
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I had so much fun choosing the zipper colors. I wanted them to be very "zingy." The blue lining fabric is Avantgarde designed by Katarina Roccella.<br />
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This will be my new traveling sewing kit. Check out the pocket lining. I can't remember who the designer is here. But I purchased all the fabric, the pattern and zippers at http://www.threadbear-nm.com/<br />
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If you look in the background of this photo you can see The Blessed Mother, keeping an eye on me. Who knows what trouble I might be getting into next?<br />
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Tom's been busy getting our wood cut and split for <i>next</i> winter. We are being efficient, which is how we do things here at the Nickel and Dime Ranch--not.<br />
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Normally we just wander around the place, look for dead trees and downed branches, cut them up and that's it. The wood is dry and we're ready to go. This stuff is still resinous, smells like the wonderful pine it is, and will need to set awhile to be ready for next year.<br />
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We could have just pitched the split wood into a pile like this. It would have dried nicely just as it is since our humidity is sometimes as low as 6 percent. Here's an example of how dry it is here: Sometimes the wind blows so hard it sounds like an airport or like ocean waves on a crazy day. Miss Bonnie the cat must have had a traumatic weather incident and didn't want to use her litter box on the enclosed porch, so we recently found six small desiccated cat poops behind the closet door. No odor, hard as rocks. That's how dry it is here.<br />
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Anyway, my job is to stack this wood, and someone suggested a round woodpile. I did a little research and found several videos and articles about holzhausen, a German-style woodpile that looked pretty cool. So, why not?<br />
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The pile is about 8 feet across and I started with some wood to mark the circle.<br />
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Then I started going round the circle. <br />
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This reminds me of something prehistoric man would make. The center gets filled with wood, too, helping to stabilize the outer wood.<br />
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Here I am throwing wood into the center of the woodpile. It's good exercise, kind of like my own CrossFit gym. <br />
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As I build up the wall on the outside, I add more wood to the middle.<br />
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It's kind of pretty, don't you think?<br />
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Ms. Pearl has had a day, so she needs to rest after all that supervision. Next month will be her 13th birthday! <br />
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I suspect we have enough wood for more than one holzhausen, but we will see how this one goes before I commit to another one.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript">
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Yes, this is misguided thinking on my part because there is always something new and I just needed to get out there and find it. And we have new stuff right here.<br />
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Like this pile of wood:<br />
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Since we arrived seven years ago this coming March, we've been gathering wood from the property, nothing alive, just dead and downed wood, and it's been enough to keep our home nice and cozy. We are running out of dead wood, though, and don't want to cut down any of our trees. So we called a local wood supplier who has a contract with the Forest Service to thin trees and he was glad to sell us this load of logs.<br />
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Tom has been busy cutting and splitting the logs. There are about six cords of wood there.<br />
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Ms. Pearl supervises. She is good at that. Also sleeping on the couch. She's good at that, too.<br />
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The new steers, Regis and Phil (Bin) and Jimmies Fallon and Kimmel drop by to see what's going on. <br />
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They like to play the log rolling game. That's Jimmy Fallon. He has a bigger head than Jimmy Kimmel.<br />
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Tom gets the work done. Ms. Pearl's job is to look noble.<br />
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What's my job? I'll let you know next blog post.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript">
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Finishing in a timely manner is another matter, altogether. I am a paralyzed perfectionist, so finishing means I must accept any mistakes, real or imagined, if the task is complete. So there it sits.<br />
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That's why there are about 15 neatly stowed away project boxes illustrating this petrified perfectionism. But I'm working on it.<br />
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This photo was taken a little over a year ago, when I had almost all the blocks complete.<br />
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Other, more juicy projects intervened, so it isn't until this month that I finally finished my Scrappy Trip Around the World quilt. It's from a <a href="http://quiltville.com/scrappytripspf.html" target="_blank">Bonnie Hunter tutorial.</a><br />
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I have to say it was quite the stash buster, but of course there's always more where that came from.<br />
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It's queen sized, with enough to cover the pillows and to have a ten inch drop off the sides. <br />
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The batting is bamboo, something I haven't chosen before. The quilting was done by Michael Siewert at <a href="http://www.threadbear-nm.com/" target="_blank">ThreadBear,</a> my local quilt shop in Las Vegas, New Mexico. If you don't live nearby, you can mail your quilt to them and they do an excellent job. I chose a widely spaced, loopy design because I didn't want the quilt to be too heavy.<br />
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The backing is 108 inches wide, by Kaufman.<br />
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The binding is scrappy and machine stitched because it's going to be used a lot. I used <a href="http://cluckclucksew.com/2013/01/machine-binding-tutorial.html" target="_blank">this tutorial </a>by Cluck Cluck Sew. In a perfect world, the stitching is unobtrusive on the front, and I am still working on that.<br />
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So even if it's not perfect, it's done and I love it and it's on the bed.<br />
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Well, not totally lazy, but blogging has taken a back seat. Priorities. Work on that.<br />
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What have I been doing this summer?<br />
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Sitting on the porch, watching this little feller grow up. Miss Bonnie almost killed him, but he shook it off and survived. Bonnie is still patrolling the perimeter of the porch, just in case Little Bunnyboy gets careless.<br />
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Watching Mr. Robot while the lawn grows is an afternoon must. The rain has been amazing this year.<br />
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I've been outdoors a lot, pulling weeds and tending The Potager, which is a fancy way of saying The Garden.<br />
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We had asparagus and strawberries early in the season. Grasshoppers ate the shallot sets and the garlic was small this year since the rains started late.<br />
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The tomato plants look great, with lots of green ones, but the picking has been slow with all this rain and the clouds. Hope reigns, though, since we a few moisture free days forecast. And those tomato bags may be my saving grace since we can take them into the Growing Dome if it gets too cold.<br />
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The climbing purple green beans are thriving, an homage to my dad who loved showing off his purple green beans. When they are properly cooked, they turn green. Magic. "Purpipple." He liked to say that.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyyexaJe5PhrVH0E-Wm_-B731M-VNnYhs_4yCkYRoQbrLznet0XW-Xb7ZAkwmwGpo96gdRpoN2Ioj8Ms4CBgqD78p6AwCzEbNYm723JPQc9s83EqmhoZupEG19lgWo9GDI_M_KmQOMqzY/s1600/Purple+Green+Beans+Climbers.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyyexaJe5PhrVH0E-Wm_-B731M-VNnYhs_4yCkYRoQbrLznet0XW-Xb7ZAkwmwGpo96gdRpoN2Ioj8Ms4CBgqD78p6AwCzEbNYm723JPQc9s83EqmhoZupEG19lgWo9GDI_M_KmQOMqzY/s640/Purple+Green+Beans+Climbers.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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The steers are growing large and still curious. Here's St. Thomas, saying hi.<br />
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We've had time for dinner with friends.<br />
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And I've been tidying up the fabric and sewing area. This is an ironic pic, don't you think? You may recognize this best selling book.<br />
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There are a few finished quilt tops and a couple quilts finally quilted, but minus their binding and a load of unfinished projects, but isn't that how it goes?<br />
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Next post will be quilts. Yep.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript">
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<br />
So the three girlfriends (AKA The Supremes) along with our four steers (castrated bulls used for meat), can really wreak havoc. The term "Bull in a china shop" is real: cattle are big, curious, opportunistic galoots. Check out what happened when <a href="http://northernnewmexicoranchito.blogspot.com/2011/10/growing-dome-update-its-not-pretty.html" target="_blank">another bunch got into the growing dome.</a><br />
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This morning I was troubleshooting the drip irrigation system, finding leaks and digging up the hose to determine what needed to be done. Like many people with ADHD, when I am concentrating, I am in <a href="http://www.additudemag.com/adhd/article/612.html" target="_blank">hyperfocus mode</a>. So I was in my own little world when all of a sudden I felt hot breath on the top of my head. When I looked up, I was eye to eye with St. Thomas, the brown one. He's a nice boy, but he's getting very big!<br />
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The cattle have an entire creek full of fresh mountain water, but that water leak in the drip line was just way too interesting and before I knew it, I was surrounded. So I turned off the water, closed the gate and went inside, hoping they'd go away.<br />
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They didn't. They decided they liked it just where they were.<br />
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Don Everly, one of the girlfriends and Ace Frehley were polite squatters. They didn't attempt to smash any plants and were perfectly happy under this pine tree.<br />
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St. Thomas, Phil Everly and Girlfriend 2 decided they liked this patch of chamisa. It's the last plant to flower each year and signals that fall is coming. I think the cattle were there because it is supposed to rain today--check out the rain clouds gathering. When it's fixing to rain, flies start biting and maybe this was their way of keeping the flies off.<br />
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St. Thomas is hilarious. He just buried himself in the chamisa and at first all I could see was his big old head.<br />
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The picture of contentment.<br />
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Also looking quite comfy is Girlfriend 3, guarding the grand entrance gate. Before she lay down, she gifted us with a big pile of poop on the driveway and Tom stepped in it.<br />
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<span id="goog_1088894255"></span><span id="goog_1088894256"></span><br />
<span id="goog_1088894255">We like to keep it classy at the Nickel and Dime.</span><br />
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<span id="goog_1088894255">Until next time.... </span><br />
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I was wondering if after all these months you'd like to meet<br />
To go over everything.<br />
<br />
Thanks, Adele.<br />
<br />
Yep, it's been awhile, and I am sorry, but also not sorry because I've been concentrating on being healthy, visiting doctors and wondering what the heck was wrong with me. It started this past summer, a weak, shambling, dizzy, heart pounding, hurting-in-every-joint, mentally confused and depressed kind of summer. I was very scared and had many blood tests to figure it out. All was negative except for a slightly low normal B12 number which my local physician's assistant pronounced as normal. After a little reading, though, I learned that low normal B12 for people over 55 may signal a deficiency. Hmm.<br />
<br />
After all that I can say I am well and what might have been Lyme disease/something autoimmune/rheumatic/hemochromatosis or what ever else I've been Googling on the internet has boiled itself down to a plain old Vitamin B12 deficiency and osteoarthritis. So after taking the B12 in megadoses and beginning a keep-the body-moving regimen, I'm much better and ready to forget all this nonsense.<br />
<br />
So let's catch up and go over everything so far this winter:<br />
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We've had snow, more than ever since we moved here. Z came for a visit around Christmas time and we did a little hiking. Isn't it just like Californians to go for a hike while it's snowing?<br />
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Then it snowed some more and melted. Then it snowed some more and that one lasted for a couple of weeks because it was cold. Last night it snowed again and it's absolutely gorgeous. Tom went walking around this morning before the sun came up and then decided to plow the driveway. Ms. Pearl likes to ride in the Polaris Ranger, but doesn't like the whirring sound when the plow goes up and down and bails out of the vehicle.<br />
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That's it for today. Hope you like the pics.<br />
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For my quilty buddies: I have one top finished and another one almost there. This will be the Year of Finishes. Yep, it will.<br />
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Tom shot all the photos.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3E9EuMZ7PVS-usYinLnXkdyE7IKT6Bz1V29hsJhLcR4XwmAkkYRJCzPQBWdFsFcGX1tRM66lrUTzAhsmdOste0Llx2pCb7U3Ppbhgb_m2o9UfnIVRRIdwVeM8G-s0QSykXNXFxnPoZg4/s1600/ZandBHiking.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3E9EuMZ7PVS-usYinLnXkdyE7IKT6Bz1V29hsJhLcR4XwmAkkYRJCzPQBWdFsFcGX1tRM66lrUTzAhsmdOste0Llx2pCb7U3Ppbhgb_m2o9UfnIVRRIdwVeM8G-s0QSykXNXFxnPoZg4/s640/ZandBHiking.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Z and B hiking in the snow-That chubby person is wearing lots of layers, just so you know.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEXtYlOW9snJLaYwbOeo1RsbmW1m0q5qChZwF5rGeBouLsJR4IMyDqQzYTL2NNcvKdn3jxXjbOMZqqBZ2IK1VyiINv0epGmTXTu-AvpxZnPWOB-Yaut0QIchtN7dAJIqFZi476VNBgYXk/s1600/BeaverDamOurPlace.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEXtYlOW9snJLaYwbOeo1RsbmW1m0q5qChZwF5rGeBouLsJR4IMyDqQzYTL2NNcvKdn3jxXjbOMZqqBZ2IK1VyiINv0epGmTXTu-AvpxZnPWOB-Yaut0QIchtN7dAJIqFZi476VNBgYXk/s640/BeaverDamOurPlace.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Snowy Beaver Dam</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1XazDw9ouoAixa5Bhp1785RM53s-VCmQZNHXp-OflhFQgpO2nOtyFetk_odVGmCu7t9osO5QJb1n29mqQ62f3LQN4h5vkTO45Pz4iDdXwn8OGC3G6e09EmEXETuVjQ1M4GZu4zg_8Etk/s1600/Cabinand+Woodpile.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1XazDw9ouoAixa5Bhp1785RM53s-VCmQZNHXp-OflhFQgpO2nOtyFetk_odVGmCu7t9osO5QJb1n29mqQ62f3LQN4h5vkTO45Pz4iDdXwn8OGC3G6e09EmEXETuVjQ1M4GZu4zg_8Etk/s640/Cabinand+Woodpile.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cabin Before Sunrise</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs-OPoFuiMIyPVwduZvXeG_Kv-wrSGnZjqIaskVIeQYNGmVdzF4e_hPdG3WL9frs1nMh04PQ794FJJUUfDFvALXf-NOqjzfuzU6BrpqgaJPyLLHCjDM-WL7ktwySBAJAc89bLGCb4TkdE/s1600/FrontGate.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs-OPoFuiMIyPVwduZvXeG_Kv-wrSGnZjqIaskVIeQYNGmVdzF4e_hPdG3WL9frs1nMh04PQ794FJJUUfDFvALXf-NOqjzfuzU6BrpqgaJPyLLHCjDM-WL7ktwySBAJAc89bLGCb4TkdE/s640/FrontGate.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Front Gate of Nickel and Dime Ranch</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTlYsoKVTQHZsjpbY5ggezkuoE8Kt2PR-eX89X12CnR6FDtFwyUxOkesCtp5PmtWliN9pwsrXjBRCuWU16f12Mg1aK3iJCBoFrxZMt5R_DLHSKsasSQeVlItBGAFPVXcrj882TwH67BPU/s1600/GardenAsleep.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTlYsoKVTQHZsjpbY5ggezkuoE8Kt2PR-eX89X12CnR6FDtFwyUxOkesCtp5PmtWliN9pwsrXjBRCuWU16f12Mg1aK3iJCBoFrxZMt5R_DLHSKsasSQeVlItBGAFPVXcrj882TwH67BPU/s640/GardenAsleep.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Sleeping Garden</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGD3_mtM7ApareriUmyKmlyUil-xjGPlJI42nbj9jbMOwUSwl5uNo6fMqLVSGuWj3235525Rb_bjrp9PYNob3i0CsTG2aAYitAUIslKNJEQpi0n4JT0ur4RozB45Hd9PYyTkuOWMenkfo/s1600/rimrockinsnow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGD3_mtM7ApareriUmyKmlyUil-xjGPlJI42nbj9jbMOwUSwl5uNo6fMqLVSGuWj3235525Rb_bjrp9PYNob3i0CsTG2aAYitAUIslKNJEQpi0n4JT0ur4RozB45Hd9PYyTkuOWMenkfo/s640/rimrockinsnow.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Snowy Rimrock</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEksPGftzybLZ11jmAW_m_jyfQ8B-pOKoggUCHTJBGFFdE-n1t0RRUl-RVy2afbctCSDaxbqIAhHRwQMVBHf4FW1SGuLseam0e56TiF23rA3zr6MHBkeKlQxtK4HSe1gOK7OyB9ut75MM/s1600/sheepherdrewagonsnow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEksPGftzybLZ11jmAW_m_jyfQ8B-pOKoggUCHTJBGFFdE-n1t0RRUl-RVy2afbctCSDaxbqIAhHRwQMVBHf4FW1SGuLseam0e56TiF23rA3zr6MHBkeKlQxtK4HSe1gOK7OyB9ut75MM/s640/sheepherdrewagonsnow.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sheepherder's Wagon-The Sheepherder is Out</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf-xyvREYESrZzZvll38WnmIyJGkZRlYk4KoVtL1G_gKSqxn4_jWPE8K2UnG77t_lVD0Qn1gf7mqsBH6NU2FpimLp3PseYRxZLbC72HyYWmkHezYua30G_PMsvDV8VXJ_TFe-CUg-v3CQ/s1600/SnowDomeRimrock.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf-xyvREYESrZzZvll38WnmIyJGkZRlYk4KoVtL1G_gKSqxn4_jWPE8K2UnG77t_lVD0Qn1gf7mqsBH6NU2FpimLp3PseYRxZLbC72HyYWmkHezYua30G_PMsvDV8VXJ_TFe-CUg-v3CQ/s640/SnowDomeRimrock.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Growing Dome and Rimrock</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEcFH3Mi75t-rdQk4y8oxy_9I8wWdNprMUez8N6_8uFX-ul0b8EXIAqg5_ac8NPTaoz8NVRExsiYBXM88Xxm0CM8NwsMabYDiZVFasqwc4mPDH2Da44PGeF55StXulcjiTKsqhCKCu5b4/s1600/WintryLandscape.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEcFH3Mi75t-rdQk4y8oxy_9I8wWdNprMUez8N6_8uFX-ul0b8EXIAqg5_ac8NPTaoz8NVRExsiYBXM88Xxm0CM8NwsMabYDiZVFasqwc4mPDH2Da44PGeF55StXulcjiTKsqhCKCu5b4/s640/WintryLandscape.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking West</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9d4wgZhxKjWaTl94Yqv-u-wZM2dsF4nJ9mVVYUzxkCtdSwPYmFEoLZvAvFW4QyCItJ22mj0FsuEJlzU5Ql0IXrE4Hhnf_rSf1g54Vy-y_-Ay0jo8piT3AwzIvidhE8P6EdIfde2PNi1A/s1600/woodpileinsnow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9d4wgZhxKjWaTl94Yqv-u-wZM2dsF4nJ9mVVYUzxkCtdSwPYmFEoLZvAvFW4QyCItJ22mj0FsuEJlzU5Ql0IXrE4Hhnf_rSf1g54Vy-y_-Ay0jo8piT3AwzIvidhE8P6EdIfde2PNi1A/s640/woodpileinsnow.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Snowy Woodpile</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_4vKjq2Eu4c4Yqf2SUsoDPqWmTb8PO77WDSe9lpnHVcQLEPGrGD5pN7Vx43M6JAep0ghde8veOOZNSzHcNSiMMcnUJrqcdaJFdyyW2TjdAdpuvdjWxpJ7tnccebSgNxKQB_-81St-apM/s1600/MPisPlowing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_4vKjq2Eu4c4Yqf2SUsoDPqWmTb8PO77WDSe9lpnHVcQLEPGrGD5pN7Vx43M6JAep0ghde8veOOZNSzHcNSiMMcnUJrqcdaJFdyyW2TjdAdpuvdjWxpJ7tnccebSgNxKQB_-81St-apM/s640/MPisPlowing.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ms. Pearl is Plowing</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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A few years ago I drove to Albuquerque, three hours away, to attend a Jacquie Gering workshop on improvisational quilts. It seemed like a logical next step since I had taken a several classes with Gwen Marston, one of the original improvisationalists with her Liberated Quilting techniques. This is my Jacquie Gering inspired quilt.<br />
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I love this stuff. Just saying.<br />
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So anyway, I dorked around and procrastinated for quite some time, but finally finished it last year.<br />
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Here's a full shot. It's definitely a wall hanging and I've added a hanging sleeve to the back. Don't you love that background fabric? Keep reading and I'll tell you about it.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAq2b22j_V5g7ZYI9QaluixMYMAGpx9SPFBmXPMLvXEROxd4oNK-DrWzBr2oBTl3pJ1H6zqO8Bj5fsQ7QcKoJPDMRl9wdXFIyNJb9W30oi1FLWCEPBh61LYsvYSDsqjX0socF4YCRiqns/s1600/Modern+Grunge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="476" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAq2b22j_V5g7ZYI9QaluixMYMAGpx9SPFBmXPMLvXEROxd4oNK-DrWzBr2oBTl3pJ1H6zqO8Bj5fsQ7QcKoJPDMRl9wdXFIyNJb9W30oi1FLWCEPBh61LYsvYSDsqjX0socF4YCRiqns/s640/Modern+Grunge.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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As you can see, it's been folded away. Look at those dang creases!<br />
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Here's a detail photo so you can see the quilting and one improvisational block. I started this block by fussy cutting a flower for the center and built from there, adding the white fabric square, some turquoise around the center and a reddish brown to complete it.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7GaFvhSfCE-cWUfF5c5r1orHylqQgoih0JM6DlsWQEjHDwIIwBgH8QLjnpcIRB-XjH0BK1tpalnT764i_oMqUyQQSwgeEnA0aIgGWnc0VgYno2men4CdCkZEuFrGL9VzvepNSsFGaxbU/s1600/modern+grunge+detail.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7GaFvhSfCE-cWUfF5c5r1orHylqQgoih0JM6DlsWQEjHDwIIwBgH8QLjnpcIRB-XjH0BK1tpalnT764i_oMqUyQQSwgeEnA0aIgGWnc0VgYno2men4CdCkZEuFrGL9VzvepNSsFGaxbU/s640/modern+grunge+detail.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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I used my Bernina's Number 4 stitch which creates this serpentine quilting pattern. To keep the quilting on the straight and narrow, I used a walking foot and its width to keep the rows (semi) regular, along with some painters' tape. Every twelve inches or so, I laid some tape down to ensure that I was not listing to one side or the other with my quilting rows.<br />
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Here's the back, but I am sorry I don't know the fabric's name. The background fabric's name is Grunge Basics by Moda. The color is Pool.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAJqypxEExFEIDvbV0YosfBx_2LC64ntm4y-XeHtl1jrDKmrMxhy3D4_HVauLpwYY8vpaaMDBYLXEHFlRohxEqBnmBYaKu7-1yrkTYbQPWrsKH99TDUxgozDLgNWBJGy22FnK5fYt6rbo/s1600/modern+Grunge+back.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAJqypxEExFEIDvbV0YosfBx_2LC64ntm4y-XeHtl1jrDKmrMxhy3D4_HVauLpwYY8vpaaMDBYLXEHFlRohxEqBnmBYaKu7-1yrkTYbQPWrsKH99TDUxgozDLgNWBJGy22FnK5fYt6rbo/s640/modern+Grunge+back.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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When I make an improvisational or Liberated quilt, it consumes me. I think about it; I have dreams about it. This is when I realize what an artist feels when making a painting, a sculpture, a book movie or play.<br />
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I guess I'm a sometimes artist.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTRT6c8VG9aTcaFt7vwgj8XqWc6nhivMUO5sVuTqPOHYa-Rw8NDcY7Bu8r-uL8ytrHlSl23OTB1gvVM5riTqJFjcgG3cObv3B1ERM7tzeVPU8mktSWg1ROpWeStyEfNGeSN5QaM0qCREI/s1600/bev%2527squilt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTRT6c8VG9aTcaFt7vwgj8XqWc6nhivMUO5sVuTqPOHYa-Rw8NDcY7Bu8r-uL8ytrHlSl23OTB1gvVM5riTqJFjcgG3cObv3B1ERM7tzeVPU8mktSWg1ROpWeStyEfNGeSN5QaM0qCREI/s640/bev%2527squilt.jpg" width="452" /></a></div>
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And I promised a closer look, so here we go:<br />
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The individual block is called Nine Patch Straight Furrow. You can see there are two light fabrics, a medium and a dark. The light shading is subtle. That's what we were trying to achieve.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA9Jsi4D22hdJxmNvr33qtEhvDq8e-owaiUwmqECgb3VS2T2_VFQlh4lvkwiJgGsOXE6BceeK9cpI3n7wed42NoaukI2qp7e5l5y3JvJppfSOsnJlhuDtEw8ohST7tzwVWmR6Sn6JXOgY/s1600/ninepatchstraightfurrowblock.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA9Jsi4D22hdJxmNvr33qtEhvDq8e-owaiUwmqECgb3VS2T2_VFQlh4lvkwiJgGsOXE6BceeK9cpI3n7wed42NoaukI2qp7e5l5y3JvJppfSOsnJlhuDtEw8ohST7tzwVWmR6Sn6JXOgY/s640/ninepatchstraightfurrowblock.jpg" width="532" /></a></div>
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The block came from this book:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXwQV3G6kS6JpexRIbeC182DzKEWioUqMF4IrTnLA2wsABSyjoBisHFPeLej9OZWRRpD2iQxGQi5ODe_L4GCOBk3U-Yb4JKvtdXAwxrAHtwGMTkluaKdJTF2juSZjQvOgudTLxM70bPjM/s1600/QuiltBlocksBook.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXwQV3G6kS6JpexRIbeC182DzKEWioUqMF4IrTnLA2wsABSyjoBisHFPeLej9OZWRRpD2iQxGQi5ODe_L4GCOBk3U-Yb4JKvtdXAwxrAHtwGMTkluaKdJTF2juSZjQvOgudTLxM70bPjM/s640/QuiltBlocksBook.jpg" width="478" /></a></div>
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I purchased my copy at <a href="http://www.threadbear-nm.com/" target="_blank">ThreadBear, my local quilt shop.</a> I'm linking up to their website because they do web orders and because shopping local is my first step when looking for something I'd like, quilty-wise.<br />
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Here's is one block, close up, so you can get a sense of the subtle shading and texture created by using two "whites" or lights. We used a white on white dot paired with Moda Grunge Basics Mint. Yes, there is a touch of minty green in this white. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPZaEE1IcC4uq6p18EXsk6u30JvlaF0sDZcuKMm0AAQKfY7ED1Gx91RQK_dFDOW1_JXcWYrlBgetYZ-_Ebzv2zdFubc5JgTCT5yK18WyRTfh9DfjbE7b8oMbUWkUoapS4tgMszRs1Ck0Q/s1600/closeup+of+block.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="618" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPZaEE1IcC4uq6p18EXsk6u30JvlaF0sDZcuKMm0AAQKfY7ED1Gx91RQK_dFDOW1_JXcWYrlBgetYZ-_Ebzv2zdFubc5JgTCT5yK18WyRTfh9DfjbE7b8oMbUWkUoapS4tgMszRs1Ck0Q/s640/closeup+of+block.jpg" width="640" /> </a></div>
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ThreadBear is now accepting quilts for long-arm quilting, so that's who quilted it. I love how the pattern is centered and reaches out to the block's sides and corners. (Just so you know, I work there once in a while, but didn't receive any compensation for mentioning them in this post. I am just so happy they are near--well, for me, 29 miles near.)</div>
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We knew what colors our friend loves, so left it up to the individual quilters in the group as to which fabrics to use. It shows how well we work together that all the blocks look great together.</div>
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And it's amazing how a traditional block can be made new by using fresh fabrics in a contemporary setting. </div>
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Today I'm posting how it looks from afar.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrsMhyphenhyphenxWtE4R_FYV2y6duf2ViQiZjexNmAWfyJFLXvbMmOrx4iVIQwPjwt58KJhyphenhyphenxQ5qPsIw22sf5Ekm_5VI4k2iRnfwRYrPkI5kC7pXwlUlAG0mvCtPV8ZDH_DCPU39zoBZuG16YowgE/s1600/bev%2527squilt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrsMhyphenhyphenxWtE4R_FYV2y6duf2ViQiZjexNmAWfyJFLXvbMmOrx4iVIQwPjwt58KJhyphenhyphenxQ5qPsIw22sf5Ekm_5VI4k2iRnfwRYrPkI5kC7pXwlUlAG0mvCtPV8ZDH_DCPU39zoBZuG16YowgE/s640/bev%2527squilt.jpg" width="452" /></a></div>
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And a Behind the Scenes look at Susan on the left and Linda on the right, holding the quilt up on a very windy afternoon. Check out the flying hairdos. Susan is our newest member and drove two hours from Trinidad, CO for the meeting. Our other new member is Jane Ann, who was taking photos.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOk6_3Bdqq_NaFT97_u5iCnJmmLm8fS_l5PXTdIgpB4tJzv2bldJvSwymC1ht4lbKjBcechMJ_YYd7iio-wx-w6xRMwDT55AzePdwNlp2xLj6_XPPC3lwl_V6DKivnycnc06Rw7TAU4O4/s1600/behindthescenesbev%2527squilt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOk6_3Bdqq_NaFT97_u5iCnJmmLm8fS_l5PXTdIgpB4tJzv2bldJvSwymC1ht4lbKjBcechMJ_YYd7iio-wx-w6xRMwDT55AzePdwNlp2xLj6_XPPC3lwl_V6DKivnycnc06Rw7TAU4O4/s640/behindthescenesbev%2527squilt.jpg" width="392" /></a></div>
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Don't you love the setting? It's a traditional block, but modern quilting likes to take the traditional and add something new, like this off center design with white negative space.<br />
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The photo was taken in the alley behind Thread Bear, our local quilt shop in Las Vegas, NM. That rock wall is historic old, which is older than old is. This area dates to 1835 when the Spanish were in charge.<br />
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Next post: A closer look at this quilt and how the blocks are made.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-XSSxKl9JYPLjRvm560CyaTWGK3K0GRmqWYh2udQqXUczETUs0-rYzsNaotHLQikO2qhLs6G6TthqsdPykWd2xW9h4htvBvVbloHbQU9aeTdJ5Dy4C2-SrT7IFFUxbhRxBTmNO1GvtKQ/s1600/modernlogcabin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-XSSxKl9JYPLjRvm560CyaTWGK3K0GRmqWYh2udQqXUczETUs0-rYzsNaotHLQikO2qhLs6G6TthqsdPykWd2xW9h4htvBvVbloHbQU9aeTdJ5Dy4C2-SrT7IFFUxbhRxBTmNO1GvtKQ/s640/modernlogcabin.jpg" width="634" /></a></div>
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It's from a book called <u>Modern Designs for Classic Quilts, </u>by Kelly Biscopink and Andrea Johnson. Ann's Rows and Furrows layout is the one depicted on the cover, and it looks gorgeous!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWeF9oOQiy_zm3rCTc9dVuZGjAwtNOLCkISzrmKEgBPcT9ZHw7Ynvafx2Z-fQUHdDmfMt1506DZ4kZ1Pur5_p5u11v0doWA10qAtutGBoFBkWYtZdgsE-kXZEPhU4FVzK7zP7cYjMjbso/s1600/20151106_084749.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWeF9oOQiy_zm3rCTc9dVuZGjAwtNOLCkISzrmKEgBPcT9ZHw7Ynvafx2Z-fQUHdDmfMt1506DZ4kZ1Pur5_p5u11v0doWA10qAtutGBoFBkWYtZdgsE-kXZEPhU4FVzK7zP7cYjMjbso/s400/20151106_084749.jpg" width="308" /></a></div>
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I am a fan of traditional designs made modern and this book has some great ideas. One design in the book is a flying geese quilt with lots of negative space. I think that's a perfect idea for this half square triangle panel I've been looking at for over a year.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHT9c3Fwl3tMeYBJDvRb-PMCiZo7QGjV_lkPNt-XY5Fp9hilQAsBYvmz-Wz_QFXqo0IXvCP7d0pMrHI1bN5eAKkHrDmar_0D2xj1YlxOb0TTelzTqcMxHK8CVnb0PxjAqm7SQLWktyubc/s1600/designwallandsofasewingroom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHT9c3Fwl3tMeYBJDvRb-PMCiZo7QGjV_lkPNt-XY5Fp9hilQAsBYvmz-Wz_QFXqo0IXvCP7d0pMrHI1bN5eAKkHrDmar_0D2xj1YlxOb0TTelzTqcMxHK8CVnb0PxjAqm7SQLWktyubc/s640/designwallandsofasewingroom.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3655331047420981527" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a>I can see this panel surrounded by black, with a few more Amish-looking half square triangles here and there in the negative space. Okay. I've talked myself into something.<br />
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Bye!<div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript">
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These Northeaster Green Beans were perfect for our cool mountain summer. Here's a photo of the kitchen garden around the end of July. The beans were already to the top of their trellis. In the past weeks, that twelve foot row of green beans at the back of the garden have gone over the top and back down again. I've picked about 11 pounds of beans so far and they're still going strong.<br />
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As you can see, they are a flat bean with no strings, tender even when they grow looooong. I decided to skip blanching (dipping them in boiling water for a short time and then sticking them in cold water) the beans. I followed <a href="http://anoregoncottage.com/freeze-green-beans-without-blanching-video/" target="_blank">this excellent video </a>tutorial and when winter comes, I will know how it all worked out.<br />
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And I even labeled them. <div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript">
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You can't have this:<br />
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Have a Happy Sunday!<div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript">
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The members made the blocks from Tula Pink's 100 Modern Quilt Blocks book and chose City Planner as the setting. The quilt's size is between full and queen.<br />
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Tickets are $1 each or $5 for 6. Email me for more info if you'd like to buy some tickets.<br />
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