Wyoming Breezes

I'll admit that I talk to myself, but seldom in public. At least, I don't think that I do. With many people wearing ear buds, it's sometimes difficult to tell if they are talking on the phone or merely to themselves.  Do you talk to yourself?

Not all of the public art (murals) in Laramie are large and commanding. Some are small and hint at something larger than themselves. This mosaic is on the west side of the alley between Ivinson and Grand.  It's made with bits of tile, broken mirrors and pottery shards.  On a side note: I received the first dose of the Moderna vaccine last Thursday. Other than a sore arm on Friday and a red patch the size of a fifty-cent piece at the vaccination site, I didn't have any side effects. I'm scheduled for the second dose next month. 

Silver Lining hat in progress February 2021 Like nearly everywhere in the United States, it's been cold and windy recently. I don't usually like wearing hats, but I have enjoyed wearing the Silver Linings hat I finished in early February. The double layers cut the wind and keep my ears and head warm. I highly recommend the pattern and the hat.  I cast on another Silver Lining hat with more scrap sock yarn. I have enough of the variegated yarn that I plan to knit with it throughout, but change the alternate yarn to a different solid at the halfway point.

American Dream 60 x 74 inches Quilt of Valor #199 The center panel and the fabric with words were donated by Jean F. from Iowa . The pattern is Reflections by Mountainpeek Creations. Patterns for horizontal panels are difficult to find, so I was happy to discover this pattern about three years ago: I like how this simple pattern draws the focus to the panel. The only change I made in the pattern was shortening all the vertical, focus strips by 2 inches.  Other Quilts of Valor I've made with this pattern are High Ridge Crossing and Nature's Call .

I'm willing to bet most people have worked on at least one puzzle during the pandemic. I put so many together during December that I burnt myself out. I may tackle another one yet this winter, but not just yet.  I prefer to work on 1000 piece puzzles, and I don't particularly like to assemble puzzles of just a pretty scene. I want puzzles with a lot of variation, color, and visual interest.  What kind of puzzles do you prefer?

close up of an abandoned threshing machine This old threshing machine was located on my brother's farm. I can't remember if it was there when he bought the farm or was moved there afterwards. It sat on a windswept hill surrounded by other abandoned farm machinery abandoned threshing machine Many of you may not know the purpose of this large machine, but it was the predecessor of the modern combine. The crew who worked with the thresher was large, and it was a dusty/dirty physical job.  Mom told me that Dad travelled for a couple of years with a threshing crew before they were married.  an old family photo of a thresher at work. separating the grain from the straw

Fireworks 58 x 70 inches Quilt of Valor #198 Fireworks ' center medallion was an orphan project sent by Jo K. in Iowa, and I turned it into a Quilt of Valor.  I altered the   Stars N Stripes  pattern by Villa Rosa Designs to  accommodate the orphan medallion, and I'm very pleased with the result. 

an orphan medallion  39 x 39 inches In December I adopted orphan quilt projects from Jo K. in Iowa. She sent thirty, double churndash blocks that I assembled into a Quilt of Valor  and the orphan medallion pictured above. The medallion was made using the Fireworks pattern by Susan Fuquay. I've had the pattern for years, but it never progressed further than the "someday" list.  Whoever made this medallion used a fabulous assortment to fabrics. I think they add depth to the piece.  Tomorrow, I'll reveal how I turned this orphan into a Quilt of Valor.

Have you received the vaccine yet? Appointments are being made here for individuals over 75, and supposedly next week those over 70 can make appointments.  I don’t anticipate being eligible for an appointment until late February or early March.  Hopefully, the virus’ grip on the world can be  under control by late summer. 

Unity 61 x 74 inches Quilt of Valor #197 Unity is a fraternal twin to Diversity (posted last week).  To answer questions from last week:     •  the HSTs are 9.5 inches unfinished or 9 inches finished     •  I started with 10 inch squares and cut them in half diagonally before sewing the HSTs  It's a quick and easy quilt to make. Mimi J. awards Unity to a veteran Soda Springs, Idaho  September 2021

QOV bound and ready to be bound January 2021 For over a year, the Quilt of Valor queue for volunteer longarmers has been long. So long, that it was discouraging and downright frustrating to get quilts finished. In June, I sent seven unquilted QOV to a Idaho coordinator who said she had access to a local longarmer. Since then, I've been continuing to make QOV and holding my breath that the problem would be worked out.  In early January, I was finally contacted by a woman in UT that was helping with the logjam of tops to be quilted. The request I submitted in November was up for pairing. Those quilts (bound and folded on the table) were returned to me two weeks ago. The two QOV on the sofa were returned from another longarmer on Friday. I quickly trimmed them and added the label and binding.  Three additional QOV are now at a longarmer in WA. When they are returned, I will send these seven QOV to a coordinator so they can be presented to a veteran. I sincerely hope the logjam ha...

January 2021 The Silver Lining hat come off of the needles on Friday - two days before my end of the month goal. This was a mindless knit but the helical stripes kept the knitting interesting. This hat was knit with four different sock yarn scraps, and I am very pleased with the results.  two hats in one or possibly four hats in one Once one end is tucked inside the other, a variety of options become available: pink hat with rolled ear brim pink slouch hat with no brim blue hat with rolled ear brim blue slouch hat with no brim This pattern is a stash or scrap buster which makes it a keeper in my opinion. The pattern can be found here .