Wyoming Breezes

Chief Standing Bear by Benjamin Victor Eagle Bronze Foundry Lander, WY May 2019 It was a treat to see the Chief Standing Bear statue at the Eagle Bronze Foundry before it was transported to Washington D.C. and revealed in the National Statuary Hall in September. I didn't know the impact that this man had on the civil rights of all Native Americans until I returned home and did some research. Some information about Chief Standing Bear can be found here and  here

twenty-eight empty thread spools 2019 Even though the actual spool count is lower this year, the 2019 spools were larger than the previous two years (see links below), and thus, contained more thread. I'm happy that I was able to make twenty-one Quilts of Valor and five quilts for the  Laramie community for donation in 2019.                     2018 spools                     2017 spools This morning, the bobbins for my machines are wound and ready for 2020.

close-up "Butterfly" by Marie Watt Denver Art Museum November 2019 "Butterfly" by Marie Watt was an interesting piece of textile art. I was amazed at the sheer number of jingles that it had attached. zooming out to include part of the textile section of "Butterfly" by Marie Watt "Butterfly" was constructed of reclaimed wool blankets, satin binding, thread, cotton twill tape, and thousands of tin jingles. It was created in 2015. "Butterfly" by Marie Watt Isn't this an interesting and unique piece. I can't imagine making all those jingles. Traditionally, jingles are made from chewing tobacco lids and adorn Native American jingle dresses. If you want more information on jingles and jingle dresses:           Jingle Dress Dancing          Jingle Dress - Wikipedia         Jingles & Lids (for those who don't want to chew the tobacco)

holiday cross-stitch stitched in 1991 May your Christmas be Merry and Bright!

ceramic nativity set made by Brenda M (my niece) in 1977 This is one of the first Christmas decorations set out each year. I found the display box a few years ago.  I love how the mirror reflects those gathered in front of the manger and how the star on the door shines down on them all.

northern Idaho via Facebook

December 2019 The scrap sock yarn bin is EMPTY. One of my 2019 goals has been accomplished nearly two weeks before the end of the year. This year, I was able to knit seven (7)  Sockhead Cowls from the small balls of scrap sock yarn. Vera , thank you for telling me about this wonderful pattern.

Tiny Tree Quilt Along Temecula Quilt Company December 2019 The directions for the eleventh block and the finishing instructions were posted on Saturday, and by that evening, the tree was finished. I assure you the tree is straight (again my camera angle is askew). The colors are pretty true to life. I probably should have fiddled with the block placement, but I followed the finishing diagram. This small project was a delight to sew and used tiny bits of fabric. Brenda suggested charms could be added to the tree. She also suggested the tree could be used as an advent countdown, which I think is a great idea and one I will probably pursue. I haven't decided if I'm going to hand quilt it or do some simple machine stitching for quilting. The directions for the Tiny Tree Quilt Along can be found here .

Winter Mystery QAL 60 x 72 inches Quilt of Valor #171 The final clue for the mystery QAL was released on Wednesday and looked like this . . . final clue to the Winter Mystery QAL The final design didn't appeal to me, so I began playing around with the blocks in the middle section. an layout idea that I considered Even though I liked this layout better, it still was not pleasing to my eye: it looked disjointed. When I saw  Cindy's photo , I knew that was how I would sew the blocks together. This was a fun and quick mystery.

from Facebook (click image to enlarge) If you could choose only one day, which one would it be? I'd choose the first day - one long arm quilter.

Christmas Puzzle Challenge Day 7 2019 I'm trying a "new to me" Christmas Countdown activity this year, and so far I've been having fun with it. Each day of December, I reach into the 500 piece puzzle box and grab 20 pieces (500 divided by 25 = 20 pieces each day). Since this is the first time I've worked on a puzzle this way, I decided a 1000 piece puzzle would be too large and frustrating.  The photo shows my progress as of December 7, 2019 when I had a total of 140 pieces. The goal of this activity is finish the puzzle by Christmas Day, adding 20 pieces each day. It's been a fun way to countdown to Christmas.

top section is the completed clue for Hour 4 bottom section is the completed clue for Hour 3 December 2019 I don't know how these two sections will be used, but I'm guessing they will be attached to each other as shown. The remaining stack of blocks contain quite a few red HSTs, and some blue ones, too. I can't anticipate how Alycia is going to incorporate the remaining blocks - that's why this is a Mystery Quilt Along.

Day one through six blocks Tiny Tree QAL Temucla Quilt Company December 2019 Yesterday, I spent some time getting caught up on the Temucla Quilt Company Christmas Quilt Along. A few years ago, I enjoyed working on their Twelve Days of Christmas mini quilt  (the clues are still available), so I knew I would enjoy this one. Each block in the photo is 2 3/4 inches square. They are all perfectly square, but my photo angle shows some of them a bit askew. I rarely work with tiny fabric bits. I don't know what the finished project looks like, but I'm assuming it's a Christmas tree. It measures 12 x 14 inches. The clues up to this point can be found on the following links. The rest of the clues are released daily.     Fabric Requirements     Day One     Day Two     Day Three     Day Four     Day Five     Day Six

So far, I've managed to avoid the holiday Hum Bug. I bought a small tree at Goodwill, placed some other decorations around the apartment, and have used the Advent wreath and devotional book every night since December 1st. As I write this post, Christmas carols are playing on the laptop and the virtual fire is streaming on Netflix. my small and humble tree December 2019 Have you escaped the Hum Bug this year?

last of the scrap sock yarn December 2019 Sunday evening, I finished the scrap yarn cowl, started on November 20th . My goal of using all the small balls of scrap sock yarn by the end of the year is within reach. The black (upper left) will be used for the bottom and top cuffs, and the other colors will be used for the striped body of the cowl. I'm happy to have this goal within reach. three days progress Here's my progress as of last night. The stripes are 1 inch each, and they motivate me to keep knitting. I hope to have enough yarn for two stripes each. I'm weaving in the ends after knitting two stripes. This cowl knit with the last batch of scrap, sock yarn should be finished next week. Have you accomplished your 2019 goal(s)?

Boat at Low Tide Claude Monet Denver Art Museum Denver, CO November 2019 I love the composition of this painting: the large, masted boat makes a dynamic impression against the city background.

four rows sewn together Clue #3 November 2019 The Winter QAL Mystery is starting to take shape. Last week's clue involved sewing four rows of the quilt top together. I didn't anticipate this design, and now I wonder how the rest of the HSTs will be used. I've used the living room floor for a design area until last week. I found a large, new, flannel-back table cloth at Goodwill for $1. A few push pins near the ceiling were used to hang the table cloth; now, I don't have to crawl around on the floor to lay out quilt blocks.  It's not technically a design wall, but for apartment living, it is the next best thing.