Wyoming Breezes

Free Willie Western Region Oddball Baby Blanket started March 2012 Free Willie began its journey in Texas last month. It will travel many miles before it is ready for a newborn. Caron Simply Soft (soft green) and Garter Steps stitch were used for my section. Update: May 23, 2012 Update : August 26, 2012

Make a joyful noise unto the Lord Christ is Risen!  He is Risen, indeed! Alleluia! Easter Blessings to you and your family.

Nagasaki, Japan April 1980 Spring is a delightful time in Japan. Nearly every city has gorgeous parks with flowering trees and picturesque walks. It was fun to wander and discover more beauty was just around the corner.

Today I want to share some health/exercise sites that I am currently using or have used. All of these sites are similar in that they require free registration (you can determine how much you want to share) and they track your daily exercise and/or food intake. Some send motivational emails, reward coupons, or daily reminders. SuperTracker - affiliated with My Plate. This is an excellent exercise and food tracker. I particularly like that I can save favorite exercises/activities, making it easier to track my level of activity. This tracker will also send motivational emails if you make that selection. I have one complaint about this site: it doesn't remember log-in; thus, I must enter my password, etc. every time I want to enter data. Start Walking Now - affiliated with the American Heart Association. If you live in a more populated area with walking trails, this site will help you find them. Unfortunately, it doesn't list any trails in my area, but I do like the activity...

Thomas and Friends , a Western Region Oddball Baby Blanket, was started in February 2012 and has travelled to Idaho, Texas, Minnesota, and Wyoming. The blanket will now journey to Ohio. Each knitter signed up for a specific color, representing Thomas and his friends. Thomas - blue Percy - green Clarbel - yellow Toby - brown James - red Harold - white (border) Update : May 30, 2012

Stanford Mendicants Lander, WY March 29, 2012 Last Thursday I attended a Stanford Mendicants concert, and it was delightful. The concert program stated, "Stanford University's oldest male a cappella group, The Mendicants, is known for 'heaping spoonfuls of boyish charm' ( Stanford Daily , 2002) and has an extensive repertoire of classic, pop, contemporary and jazz favorites. Group members donated their time to tour the Rockies during their spring break, including spending four days in Lander, WY. While in Lander, the group worked with choir students in grades 7 - 12, performed for the Lander Middle School, sang at the Rotary, and performed for k-12 students at Wyoming Indian Schools."  This young man (Alex C.), a bass, added a lot of personality and animation to "Little Red Riding Hood." Without a doubt, every time I hear the song, I will think of Alex and the Mendicants. To get an idea of the group's talent watch the following video of ...

Forever Honored Quilt of Valor 58 x 68 The center medallion came from the Pat Sloan pattern "Valor Tribute" which is free on the P & B Textile site.  A pdf of the pattern can be found here . Forever Honored is number eleven in the 12 in 2012 Quilt of Valor challenge . My deepest gratitude to my friend Sue for embroidering and donating the blocks for this quilt. Update: August 15, 2012 This quilt was shown on Alycia's blog today and will be wrapped around an American hero soon.

Major Don Deaton, Nancy Stearns, JoAnn Deaton Robert D. Edgren High School Junior - Senior Prom chaperones Club Mutsu (Officer's Club) Misawa AFB, Misawa, Japan Spring 1980 One of the duties of a high school teacher is to chaperone student dances, and the largest event every year is the Junior-Senior Prom. I have attended over 35 proms in my life: two of which were in Japan. ( Four of the proms were ones that I attended as a student. I attended a small high school and freshmen and sophomores could also attend prom. Years later, serving as a chaperone myself, I came to appreciate my own teachers more.) The two years I was in Misawa, the dance and after-prom activities on base were held in the Officer's Club (Mutsu). Very little decorating was done for the dance. After-prom activities included movies, games, lots of food, and more music until the wee hours of the morning. For the chaperones it included lots and lots of coffee and a great deal of patience. The Razorbac...

Mistletoe and Holly started January 4, 2012 finished March 2012 Even though the grass is starting to green and the trees are budding, Christmas arrived at my house this week in the form of an Western Region Oddball Baby Blanket. It was started in Washington and has traveled to Canada, Oregon, California, Texas, and Wyoming. My knitting buddy, Cheryl will add the border. I added the last section (shown on the right) to Mistletoe and Holly, using the Purled Ladder  stitch and Caron Simply Soft (Forest Green). The blanket was knit on size 9 needles. Update : April 10, 2012

Riverton, WY March 26, 2012 Wind speed 55 - 60 mph with gusts to 70+ mph If things weren't tied down or secured on Monday, they were probably in Nebraska on Tuesday. Between the persistent winds, strong gusts, and blowing dirt on Monday, driving conditions were terrible if not downright dangerous. Visibility was significantly reduced as the following photos illustrate. Riverton Main Street looking east March 26, 2012 Riverton Main Street looking east March 27, 2012

According to my "plan," this Quilt of Valor is easily coming together: I am happy with the pattern. It is hard to see from this photo, but I used quite a few of gMarie's 2.5 inch squares for the wings of this center medallion. Some are visible just outside the tiny red frame. The top is nearly finished, so if all continues to go well, I can show the whole top tomorrow.

My friend, Sue gave me another set of embroidered, ribbon blocks. I made Ribbons of Valor from her first set, but this quilt is going to be very different. I have a plan. . . Come back tomorrow and the rest of this week for updates.

Southern Japan April 1980 I did not write on the back of this photo, so I am unsure where it was taken. All I can think of now when I look that this beautiful landscape is the tsunami that came ashore last March. The coastline in this photo is very similar to that of the Sendai area, and the unforgettable video images of the tsunami rushing ashore keep playing through my head. Even though a year has passed, the impact of the tsunami on this region and its citizens will be felt for decades. Please continue to pray for them.

Everyone needs a pat on the back or a kick in the rear from time to time. For me, it is the posts on the Daily Motivator . Sometimes, I feel like the author can read my mind or knows what is going on in my life because 98% of his posts are appropriate for the kind of day I am having. I read the daily posts on my Google Reader, but you can easily bookmark the site, too. Spend some time browsing the other features on the site: Motivators archive Monthly Motivators Inspiring Images  (note the "next" button to view more images) Special Features Inspiring Videos (click on the tab to select one) Hopefully, you will find pleasure, support, affirmation, and motivation from this site - I certainly do.

In January, Alycia posted a photo of this panel, and I commented on how attractive it was. Alycia and I decided to swap panels, and I was amazed at the beauty of these eagles when I opened the package from her. The panel is large, and I pondered how to feature it in a quilt. Did it need other blocks around it? Should it be off-set on the top? Finally, I decided the panel was too lovely to have other elements create a distraction around it. I allowed it to shine on its own. Eagle's Flight  is #10 in the twelve  Quilts of Valor in 2012 challenge . Thank you, Alycia for this awesome panel.  Eagle's Flight Quilt of Valor 55 x 66 inches Update: May 26, 2012 Alycia posted this quilt on her blog today. It should be wrapped around a hero soon. Alycia posted a photo of the person who received Eagle's Flight , and the presentation can be seen below.

Because I liked gMarie's 36-patch blocks with the embroidered words so much, I split them into two different sets (check out those in yesterday's post, too) and paired them with her nine-patch blocks.  Each of the twelve "word" blocks is unique. The fabrics she chose are really gorgeous, and these photos do not even begin to do them justice. In an email, gMarie said, "I was looking at those fabrics and just couldn't help myself. I just had to put the patch blocks together."    She continued, "While I strongly dislike quilting, this is a very worthwhile cause, and one I couldn't pass up. I hope our combined efforts give someone comfort." Even though she claims to dislike quilting, her blocks were spot-on accurate and crisply pressed. Working with her blocks was a joy. Thank you gMarie for making the blocks for Words of Valor I and II. It was a pleasure working with you on these two quilts. Words of Valor II Qui...