Cobbercrest Indian Jones returns home

This is our Indy!  He has been on the dog show circuit this summer with professional handler, Laura King.  What a great team they have made.

Indy is a two year old, male, Australian Shepherd, who we bought as pet quality.  His two brothers were sold to show homes.  Both brothers failed to grow up and be show dogs for very different reasons.  Last summer Indy hurt himself and the vet suggested that we contact our breeder as the vet thought Indy was something special.  After a visit with the breeder, Tim Preston, who was very pleased to see how Indy had grown into a handsome dog, it was decided to contact a handler.  It took some time to meet up with the recommended handler, Laura King, but the results have been great success.

Indy currently has 12 points, with one major point.  He currently only needs one more major win and he will have earned his champion status. Once he is a champion, he will be living at home and hopefully be doing some breeding.

Yesterday I picked Indy up at Laura's home and brought him home for a vacation from showing.
My husband didn't know Indy was able to come home and the look on his face was priceless last night when he spotted Indy in our yard.  It has been really hard on my husband letting his dog be gone for long periods of time. 

Australian Shepherds make great family pets.  We have two full size Aussies and one miniature Aussie.  We have Harry Potter, Indy's older brother, who is certified as a pet therapy dog.  It is our hope and dream to get Indy certified also.  I would love to be able to visit the kids at the St. Francis Hospital in Peoria.

Stay cool! Its a good day to hide out in your sewing room.

Yours in quilting,
Terry

Beginning in Alaska

We have spent two days in Alaska and we haven't been eaten by a bear or rammed by a moose.

Pretty good, don't ya think?  What have done you ask?  We have flown 6.5 hrs across this nation with a lot of fire fighters on our plane.On our descent into Fairbanks, the stewardess told us not to be alarmed as there were some forest fires we would see on our approach.

Everything went smoothly on first day in Fairbanks.  Royal Carribbean met us at luggage area. Our bags arrived safely and we were whisked away in a motor coach to the Wedgewood Resort.  Our tour guide, Darren, aloud us to get settled in our room and then return to the lodge for a quick orientation of excursion options.  We were starving since there was no meal on the plane.  We ran over to the Golden Bear Restaurant for a quick meal and then headed for bed.  It was now 2am our home time but 10pm Alaska time.  This reminds me of going to Las Vegas and the first day is a killer.

We could sleep in and then meet the tour at 9:45am for our first excursion to University of Alaska Museum of the North.  You can take a self-guided audio tour and there is great movie explaining living in Alaska.  After after a delicious soup and sandwich lunch at the Fudge Pot, we had renewed energy to hike through downtown Fairbanks.  We walked through the little business district shops and avoided any purchases in the jewelry stores.   But it sure was fun to drool and window shop.

 We headed over to the arch of antlers along the Chena River.  Then we visited the Morris Thompson Cultural Center.

After boarding the bus in the afternoon, we headed up the mountain to the Gold Dredge #8.  We panned for gold and rode the narrow gauge railroad to the Dredge while receiving a narrated history lesson on the mining for gold during the gold rush.  Rod and I panned $52 worth of gold.  Rod bought me a locket with our gold nuggets encased.

Our last stop of the day was at Pioneer Park for the Salmon Bake dinner and show.  The food was good and we were ravenous from the hard work of panning for gold.  The variety was delightful and relaxing finish to our day.  Just a short ride back to the hotel and we are ready for bed.

An early day tomorrow.  Suitcases out the door at 6am.  7:30 am we depart for the train depot and we will be on our way to Denali National Park.  Toot, toot, all aboard!

Yours in quilting,

Terry

Lost Is Found

Don't you just hate it when you loose something?  I had misplaced our camera since a family wedding.  I was really starting to sweat it, that I had truly lost it.  Tadah! Found it. (sigh of relief)
Now to make sure all the photos are downloaded, and need to order prints of the wedding.

Been trying to get as many things off my TO DO LIST as possible.  Made a quite a few phone calls, helped a friend return tables she borrowed for a party, went out for lunch, entered quilts in the local county fair, and did laundry.

I have been working on planning two retreats.  One was planned for late Sept. but it appears the date is a busy time for many.  The response to our emails has been disheartening.   Therefore, we have decided to cancel the retreat.  The second retreat is the Covered Bridge Quilt Guild's Annual Autumn Quiltaway.  It will be held Nov. 15, 16 and 17 at Pilgrim Park Church Camp.   We still have openings if you want to join us.  Pam Hughes, from Expressions in Thread in LeClaire, IA, will be our guest
teacher and vendor for the weekend.

Today was a good day.  How was yours?

Yours in quilting,
Terry

Aiming for Accuracy

I have been following Aiming For Accuracy on the www.quiltinggallery.com website.  Just click on the button and then scroll down to see each block and the tutorials provided.  I found about 7 fat quarters at the Chicago Show in June.  Those fat quarters were calling to me and just a vision on they would work for this pattern.  I also won a contest on naming the summer sewing program at the Peddler's Way in Washington, IL.  They sent me a gift certificate and I used it to buy the solid black needed for sashing and fillers in the Aiming for Accuracy quilt. Block 1 below:

Block 2:

 

Block 3, part 1:

 

Block 3 completed:

 

These blocks are big and beautiful.  The pattern is well written and my accuracy is right on. Enjoying the process from start to finish.

 

Yours in quilting,

Terry



Easy Street Arrives Home with Ribbon

Well color me pink!  I was so excited when the UPS man stopped at my house today.  Easy Street arrived home in good shape.  Look what came with it.

So excited to see the ribbon.  Along with the ribbon was the judges comments.  The judges were Dawn Cavanaugh and Maribeth Schmitt.  I really appreciate the feedback they both gave.

There are several more places I would like to enter the quilt. Now that it has returned home safely, I will start investigating more places to enter it.

Yours in quilting,
Terry

Monday's Design Wall blocks

Earlier I posted my August fabric choices for Country Threads BOM.  Now I have sewn the blocks and would like to share them.

The golden/cheddar fabric on the 12.5" block looks really bright but its just an illusion in the photo.  It really is a country color.  On the 6.5" block I used four different scrappy neutrals.  I am trying to use up old Thimbleberry fabrics in a drawer and these scraps worked perfectly.
Eight months of blocks completed and waiting for the finish.  The backing is bought and ready, too.

Now moving on to my BOW (block of the week) from Quilter's Garden.  Today we can pick up the final pair of blocks to complete our covered bridge wall hanging.  Stay tuned that may be tomorrow's post. 

Yours in quilting,
Terry

What I'm Working On

I have been working diligently on the free Block of the Month offered by Country Threads.  The August block is available now.  Here are the fabric choices I have made from my scrap drawers.

So now its time to mark the squares and finish cutting a few more pieces.  Then let the sewing begin!  Stop back later for a view of the finished blocks.  They don't take long to make. :)
What are you working on currently?  Leave me a comment.  I'd love to hear from you.

Yours in quilting,
Terry

Pieceful Gatherings Quilt Shop

I will teaching at Pieceful Gathering Quilt Shop on Friday, October 11th and Saturday, October 12th.  The quilt shown below is Stash Buster strip quilt.  There are a large number of lay outs for this quilt.  I chose the zig zag for the manly quilt.  I have also done it in an asymmetrical diamond.

Join me for this all day class on Friday, Oct. 11 from 10:30 to 4pm.  You can swap strips with the other students or purchase a kit.

 

 

The quilt below is the Two Hour Couch Quilt by Country Threads.  Do you need a quick quilt for a child or your favorite man.  This quilt comes in two sizes and goes together quickly.  You can have it sewn and quilted for a holiday gift.  This class is Sat., Oct. 12 from 1:30pm to 4:30pm. 

 

I will also be teaching beginning machine quilting on Sat., Oct. 12 from 10:30am to 1:00pm.  The class will give you basic machine quilting skills in time to finish your holiday projects.

View the Fall class schedule and what's going on at Pieceful Gatherings Quilt Shop at their website www.piecefulgathering.com.  Tell Carrie and Katie that Terry sent you!

Yours in quilting,
Terry

Show Time...Continued

The rest of the story.....

On Wednesday, Kathy Olson and I drove up to the Machine Quilting Today show to see my quilt hanging in the show. We were about to leave and I stopped to say thank you to Patricia, who was one of the show organizers, and she told me I needed to stay for the awards ceremony.  They had been trying to notify me by email but it kept bouncing back.  Kathy and I had at least two hours to wait, so we went to the restaurant and shared an appetizer while visiting.

During the Awards Ceremony I received third place in the Everday Use Category.  The ribbons will be hung on the quilts to Thursday morning.  Unfortunately I did not get to see the ribbon on the quilt.  I am hopeful that one of my longarm friends will take a picture of the quilt with the ribbon on it.

Thank you to Bonnie Hunter for the great quilt pattern and all you do for quilters around the world. thank you to Cathy Kieser for ongoing inspiration, sharing of fabric, and sharp eyes for twisted blocks.  Thank you to everyone for your support and encouragement.

Above is the email I sent to close family and friends, including Bonnie Hunter as she is the pattern designer.  Below is her response and support:

"So happy for you!  Your quilt is just great....and I love the Every Day Use category --- that's where all of my quilts fit, and I am happy with them there!"

Yours in quilting,
Terry