TBQ

Finally.

As Hubby and I were walking down the aisle a little over 10 years ago our entire bridal party shouted out FINALLY! Sheesh, we hadn't been dating that long (6 years). Well, that's how I feel now. Finally, I am done with two major deadlines. Finally, I am outside enjoying time with the girls in the summer heat. Finally, I am able to look at my son with clear eyes, just in time to see all that drool. And finally, I am able to quilt. FINALLY!

I've got a stack of quilts just waiting for their pass through my Pfaff. I would love to say that they will all get done this summer, but I'm more realistic than that. There are gin and tonics to be drunk, peach pies to be made, neighbours to hang with, and those kids who need more attention than the slip and slide can provide.

Up top I'm working on a special quilt, but it is intense to work on for both the emotions and the quilting. In the pile TBQ (to be quilted) are our anniversary quilt, a Cosmic Burst baby quilt, and a quilt top I picked up for a song. I'm not sure why, but I really, really want to get all these quilted before I move on to anything else. Do you ever do that? Have quilt stacked up in one part of the process? Or are you a start to finish kind of person?

Updated: I found 3 more quilt tops to be quilted!

100 Things to See

Billed as The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth, The Calgary Stampede made its annual mark on our city last month. Until this year we'd kept the knowledge of this spectacle under wraps. Thanks to school friends, however, we were bombarded by the begging. So we succumbed and took the girls for a few hours this year.

The rodeo would have been awesome to go to, but we couldn't get tickets. That means the greatest outdoor show is the parade of fake cowboys and nasty, skanky outfits. Oh, and the midway and the food and the agricultural events.

Then there is the Western Oasis. Walk through the trade show to a different sort of place. Air conditioned, softly lit, water features everywhere, and a gathering of Western themed artisans. Think lots of horse paintings. A lot of them. Tucked in the corner is a quilt show, just a small one. And in the center of that show was the Calgary Stampede Centennial Quilt.

Months ago I helped a neighbour make a block to mark her experience with the Stampede. We put together this righteous rodeo clown. Well, of all the submissions it made it into the quilt. Proudly on display, the quilt marked the 100th anniversary of the Calgary Stampede. And I've got a tiny piece of it.

In other Stampede news we took in some food and some rides. And, of course, checked out the barns with the horses, pigs, and show cows.

(That's my Morgan with a Morgan horse.)

Custom Pillowcases

The first slip of paper out of our Summer Fun Jars under To Make was Pillowcases. I gave the girls 3 choices:

... Pick fabric and we'd sew pillowcases.
... Write then embroider their names on pillowcases.
... Go to town with fabric markers on plain pillowcases.

Shockingly, they picked the colouring option.

(That's a drawing of a tiger quilt on your right.)

Over the course of a week they drew, they coloured, the signed, they went crazy on two cheap pillowcases I picked up at a big box store. The fabric markers I already had, leftover from the days when I would colour all my quilt labels. Like most of our crafting I let them be, with little direction. This was their project, not mine. I believe in setting them up and letting them do what they want.

 Now, at night, they curl up with their personal artwork. It's pretty darn cute.

High Tea at the Banff Springs Hotel

In an effort to keep both myself and the girls focused - just a little - this summer I brought in the Summer Fun Jars. The idea comes from Merrilee at Mer Mag. Hers are vastly more pretty than ours are, and a brilliant use of Pinterest.  Function rules here with my impatient girls. Two jars: To Do and To Make. Six slips of paper in each. Sunday night pull to plan for the week.

This week our To Do draw was High Tea at the Banff Springs Hotel. A fancy dancy tea party, complete with tiaras, sparkly nail polish, high heels (for me), and a tower of treats. Plus, a change of scenery and an adventure through a castle.

(Future blogger? She's drawing our food.)

Making up a game because the Croquet set was nowhere to be found.

Grandma was lucky to join us for our trip.