Thrashing Around

It's unusual to see thrushes in our area, and at first glance that's what I thought these were.  But I got out my trusty bird field guide and discovered that they are Thrashers!  There seemed to be quite a bit of grooming and a bit of a tiff over something I couldn't discern.

And then the stink eye from the bird on the right to the one on the left.  She (?) doesn't seem too concerned!

Did you recognize the tree that fell over and was helped back up?  It's still there!


Okay, that's enough for now.  'Til tomorrow...


Blissful hugs,
Sharon


P.S.  I am listening to The Thief by Clive Cussler and Justin Scott.

Impressive Student Finishes

Lori M. from the Watkins Glen area brought in her finished--and I do mean finished!--In Baltimore Style quilt.  Hand appliqued by Lori, with top and bottom panels designed by Lori, this is absolutely stunning.  It was hand quilted by Amish ladies, and Lori added additional borders to make this quilt rectangular.  I also like the nine-patch effect achieved by using the pink background under the cutwork blocks, with the chocolate brown under the vases.  Great job, Lori!

My BFF Cindy triumphantly holds her finished Crazy 8s quilt top!  She did a great job and is justifiably proud.  She has since added borders and it is off to the machine quilter.  Yahoo, Cindy!  You did it!  (As an aside, I think it is too funny that the platter displayed on the refrigerator behind her looks so like a halo!  Trust me, she's earned that and more!)

That's it for tonight.  Spent some quality time massaging all six horses today--they were way happy!  In the coming days I have some finishes of my own to show and a big reveal--stay tuned!


Blissful hugs,
Sharon

Here's Looking at You...

Tweety!

The Princess and the Pea

Otherwise known as Callie and the pile of quilts.

Blissful hugs,
Sharon

The Mighty Queens of Mitering

Ten months and many hours of hand applique later...these lovely ladies are setting their tops.  Today they learned to miter by using an attic windows set to frame their blocks.  You can see quite a variety of the blocks represented and the stunning color selections they made.

Here we have Beth, Judy (who looks like she is wearing the Statue of Liberty crown!), Judy E, and Rose, and seated, Gale and Addy.  

And Rose (again!), Karen, Kathy and Susan.  And Addy (again!).  Kathy had the biggest grin ever--she is so proud of being able to miter accurately and easily.  I bet she grins in her sleep tonight!  Addy is grinning because she is finally breathing again....

Two of our ladies were absent but I will share their blocks/quilts when they are ready, as well as the finished tops from these ladies.  This was such a fun class--these ladies made it so special.  


I have been properly chastised about my lack of blog posts, so I will try to do better.  Believe it or not, this post took me over an hour by the time I downloaded and changed the pictures, downloaded them to the blog and wrote this.  Mostly wait time for downloading.  Blah, blah, blah...and a boohoo for me.  Okay, I'm better now!


Blissful hugs, my friends,
Sharon


P.S.  I am listening to four Iris Johansen books in a row--and I'm up to the last one.  They are Chasing the Night, Eve, Quinn and Bonnie.  Each has ended with quite a cliffhanger, so I am glad to be doing them one after another...and hoping the last one is not another cliffhanger!


Stay cool!  


P.P.S.  After classes are over, I realize I should have taken pictures.  That's why there are no pictures from the hand quilting classes in Canada, nor for most of my classes.  My only defense?  I can take pictures or I can teach--obviously I cannot do both very often.  

Oh, Canada--Part 2

Courtepointe Quebec Quilts Salon 2012 was held at College Andre Grasset in Montreal, Quebec.  This beautiful stained glass window graces the entrance.  We had sunny weather almost every day so it was breathtaking.

It was so exciting to be called "Professeur" on the nametag!  So that I wouldn't get the big-head, students called me Sharon.  

It was an all-star cast of teachers from both Canada and the United States.  On the left side, front to back:  Elaine Quehl, Joan Shay, our hostess Sharon G., Bonnie McCaffery, Vikki Pignatelli.  On the right side, front to back:  Yours truly, our other hostess Randi, Pamela Allen, Dominique Ehrmann (partially hidden), and Wendy Butler Berns.

And Elaine took this picture from the other end of the table and now you can see Dominique, between Wendy and Pamela.  We were a pretty somber group!  NOT.  

I've known some of these ladies for years and others were met for the first time in Quebec.  It's so fun to have time to sit and chat and catch up.  Here is a list of websites where you can learn more about each of these very talented, wonderful ladies:


Pamela Allen:  http://pamelar2.homestead.com/quiltythings.html  Pamela is the 2012 Quilt Teacher of the Year through The Professional Quilter magazine!


Wendy Butler Berns:  www.wendybutlerberns.com.  Art quilter extraordinaire.  And a great sense of humor.


Dominique Ehrmann:  www.quilteusequebec.com.  Check out her 3D quilt!  I saw it in person and there are no words to adequately describe it.


Bonnie McCaffery:  www.bonniemccaffery.com.  Bonnie is known for her painted faces and her Fantasy Fabrics techniques.


Vikki Pignatelli:  www.vikkipignatelli.com.  Author of two books, founder of Sacred Threads Quilt Exhibit, maker of breathtaking quilts.


Elaine Quehl:  www.equarelle.ca.  Elaine is a quilt artist, teacher and dyer.  Check out her site!


Joan Shay:  www.petalplay.com.  3D flowers and more are yours with Joan's Appli-bond technique.


Sheila Wintle:  www.wintlequilts.tripod.com. Sheila focuses on creativity and color in her work and classes.


Ladies:  It was my pleasure to meet and/or reunite with each of you.  Quilt on!




And Nicole sent this picture of me showing what happens to your fabric when you cut LOTS of Dresden Plates!

It was a wonderful trip--where we decided that I am now up to 40 words of French!  Merci beaucoup!


Blissful hugs,
Sharon

What I Did Last Weekend

Last weekend was spent at Wild Ridge Farm in Oxford, NY, learning the Masterson Method of horse bodywork (www.mastersonmethod.com).  I bought the book and DVD in November of last year and had started doing a few of the simpler techniques on my own.  The horses loved it and I wanted to learn even more.  It was very exciting to find a location closer than Connecticut or Kentucky.

Here is our happy group on the porch of the barn!  This farm is unbelievable--great facilities, indoor ring, stalls to dream about.  Marie Riley was our instructor and Doris was her assistant.  Tons of fun and information.

Most of our time was spent working on the horses.  Several people were able to bring their own horses and were generous enough to allow others to work on them.  Each of us worked on five or more horses over the two days.  Here's Phil working on one of Shelley's horses.  Yes, we really do get them to put their heads on our shoulders as we massage the poll.  With the Masterson Method, the horses tell us where they have tension and we can help them release it.  Sound weird?  It's truly magic, especially when you see the results of your work almost immediately.

Here's Valerie (on left) with Jack and Marie (right).  You can learn more about Valerie and her farm on her Facebook account; look for Valerie Turner with the picture of her riding a horse. Wild Ridge Farm is a center for Natural Horsemanship Learning and Training.  Having seen her working her horses under saddle and at liberty, I can say she does an amazing job.  Check her out!

Here I am with Piper, owned by Phil and Sandy from Canada!  I worked on Piper quite a bit and we developed a rapport.

And this is Sylvia, Piper's herd mate.  I learned to do legs forward and legs back on her!

And here we are doing the wave.  I learned so much over those two days--and I have been using those techniques at the barn.  Can we just say that the horses are verrrrrryyyyyy mellow?

Tomorrow I'll finish the tale of the Canada trip.


Blissful hugs,
Sharon


P.S.  I am listening to Chasing the Night by Iris Johansen.

House Finches, Part 2

There must have been at least four babies in the nest, but only one had not flown the coop when I took this picture.  Imagine this:  You are standing on the seat of a rocking chair in your Crocs with the camera extended as far above your head as you can get it.  Aiming is dicey to say the least.  So all the pics with more babies were blurry.  Drat....

And here's proud papa.

I had intended to post last night, but the power went out at 9:02 pm and was off for several hours.  I haven't forgotten about finishing the Canada trip story, plus I have several student show and tells to share.  And the story of what I am doing this weekend!


Blissful hugs,
Sharon