High Dining

We took our dining experience 750 feet over the heart of San Antonio this past weekend. The revolving restaurant gave us a 360* view of the city. It was a memorable experience. We planned our reservation so we'd get back in time to see the Green Bay Packers' heartbreaking loss. It was a beautiful afternoon and though the kids wanted to see the panorama by night, I think it was pretty to see by late afternoon sunlight. The website offers a panoramic 360 view if you're interested in seeing it: http://toweroftheamericas.com/360.html The tower is the second largest of it's kind in the United States. It has interesting history, having been built and opened in time for the 1968 World's Fair: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tower_of_the_Americas

Fractured Chronicles

I received Wendy's "Drummer" in the mail. Here is a photo of her original as well as the part of the pattern I will work on. I'm waiting on Carrie's "Geisha" and hoping it will be in my mailbox today!

Chronicles of a Fractured Quilt

Carrie in Delaware, and Wendy in Colorado are joining me in a Fractured Quilt Robin sponsored by Pat Sloan's online quilt swapping group. We have each chosen a photo or picture to be divided into 3 parts. Each of us will take one part of the photo and transform it into quilt art! I'm going to chronicle this journey on my blog, and of course I'm bringing Throughbreds and Threads together!!

For my piece, I've chosen a photo of the late great John Henry. He's a legend in the race world and there are many websites out there if you're curious enough to look into his background.

The first order of business was to transfer my photo into pattern form. I actually used a different version of the photo above that my friend Sophie cropped for me. I went to a copy shop with the photo and had them make a transparency overlay. I used an overhead projector and enlarged my piece to 33x26. I used a gridded posterboard to make division into 3 parts easier.

I learned some things in the process, and needed to change a few elements on my pattern. I decided to omit the lead chain off the halter, it seemed that it might be too complicated/challenging to ask someone to do. Perhaps she'll add it in, but the overall appearance is good without it. I was able to make some good divisions that will make sewing the three individual panels back together in a coherent design easier.

I'm really looking forward to beginning and will post when I get my partners' photos and patterns! Stay tuned........

What's Old Is New (or when you least expect.....)

I saw this old potting shelf laying out in someone's yard for trash pickup. I had commented to my daughter that I'd like to have it, and then thought nothing more of it. I came home from work yesterday to a nice suprise. My daughter and her boyfriend went back and asked the owners if they could take it. They loaded it up in my Suburban and brought it home one afternoon. They painted it, finished up the wood on it and set it out on the back patio for me! The picture is crooked, thanks to my hasty photography. The shelf stands straight and true! It was the nicest surprise I've had in many years!

Good Morning Miss Daisy

Before the coffee is brewed, while it's still dark out and my brain is still foggy with sleep, Miss Daisy will call out her "Good morning!" followed by, "Where's the food?". She's as constant as the sunrise and sunset. She hears stirring in the house and she'll start each day. She has a sweet and very playful personality. She loves to tease the horse, tease me, and runs around excitedly while the boys jump on the trampoline. Contentment is found in this goat.

Logan, the Sky Angel Cowboy

With over 5,000,000 hits on this YouTube clip, I suppose I am the last person in America to listen to this message from a 13 year old boy in a small town in Nebraska. If you haven't already experienced this, I highly recommend it.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=zCdZwitrNoY

I think you'll also enjoy this message from Logan's mother:

http://www.ksbj.org/eblogs/morningShow/

It is very moving, I learned a lot from a clip just over 2 minutes. Let me know what you think!