HORSE CHARITY QUILT FINISHED

Between gardening, baking pies, judging Horse Shows, looking after critters and everyday life, I have finished the charity Horse Quilt. I used fabrics that would compliment the horse border and I am really pleased with the way it turned out. I said I would post pictures when I had it finished, so I had my DH hold it up outside this morning for some photos. He agreed to it as long as he didn't have to be in the photo, so I told him he could hide behind the quilt. I made a label for it also, and I called the quilt "For the Horses". I quilted it with variegated thread that matched the fabric colors. The pictures don't do it justice......it looks so much better in real life.

Finished Quilt

A close-up of the border and fabrics

Quilt label

STRAWBERRY RHUBARB PIE

I just took this strawberry rhubarb pie out of the oven. It smells amazing. We are FINALLY getting some rain today, there is a thunderstorm going through right now. We have been so dry here, so we really need some rain. I am taking a break from the garden today and working inside. Baking and quilting.............it doesn't get much better than that :)

Have a great day!

~Janet

Home made strawberry rhubarb pie....yum!

PRIMITIVE CLYDESDALE

This morning I was out in my gardens really early and at around 7:30 am, my friend Gillian pulled into my driveway with all of her gardening tools. She was here to help me garden. What a sweetheart. We accomplished so much today, she even trimmed up some of my trees. She also brought me this hand made primitive horse that she made and it looks so much like our "Dolly" who just recently passed away. I just love it! Thanks so much Gillian. We worked in the garden until lunch time, then I made us some grilled tuna and cheese wraps with apple, walnut, and cranberry salad on the side with a glass of my home made lemonade.  I am so glad that we worked early, as it got to be in the 90's after lunch. Gillian and her husband have a Primitive shop in Hensall, Ontario www.pinesamplerfurniture.com They make some great primitive furniture and Gillian makes gorgeous mohair bears and these primitive horses.

Close up of big white face, just like our Dolly had.

It even has an old quilt for the saddle pad.
I love it!

GARDENING

I have been trying to get my gardens in shape. It's coming along, slowly, but surely. I found out that I have  2 broken toes and 2 cracked ribs after my fall a couple of weeks ago, so I am working slow. I'm not one to just sit around doing nothing with an injury. I have one side of the house all finished, and I have to get the other side done. If I could only get them in order, I could keep them up. It's just "getting" them in order. Every year, I have friends that tell me they will come and help, but they never do. I think they realize how much garden I have, then back out. I am eliminating a couple of them, so I can just concentrate on the others. I have been busy digging up and moving perennials. It is supposed to get really hot later this week, so I am outside working around 6:30 each morning.

Iris just starting to bloom

Hollyhocks, Hostas and Iris

Kit was supervising my gardening after we got back from our walk in the woods

Kit loves to sit in the sun.
She is such a cutie!

Kit giving Sydney a kiss

Sydney resting after his walk in the woods.
He is still missing Dolly.

HOME FROM A GREAT HORSE SHOW

I just returned home from judging a great APHA horse show in Lloydminster Saskatchewan. Over 12 hours traveling today to get home and 12 hours Friday to get there. Left Lloydminster at 6:30 am this morning and drove four  hours to Edmonton, Alberta, then flew to Calgary, Alberta and from there to London. I was home by 8 pm. I am exhausted. It was a two day show with over 105 horses competing in all different events. I judged for 22 hours in  two days. Some great horses and competitors. I really enjoyed it.

Some great APHA horses in the show

A QUILT FOR A GOOD CAUSE

I am making a quilt and donating it to be raffled or auctioned to raise money for The Canadian Horse Defence Coalition in their effort to ban slaughter in Canada and help those horses most at risk through their Horse Protection Initiatives. I wanted to put a nice border with horses on the quilt, but didn't have any fabric with horses on it, so I called up Shirley from the Marsh Store Quilt shop and she said she had some. Shirley gave me a great deal on the fabric too, seeing it was going to be made into a quilt for a good cause. Thanks so much Shirley! I have everything cut out, now I am starting to sew it all together. I will post a picture when it is finished.

Wishing everyone a great day.

~Janet

Fabric for the horse charity quilt

KITTEN AND CHICKS

Today our cat Izzy gave birth to one little black kitten. It looks just like our cat Sambo that we lost last year. It is such a sweetheart, eating well. Izzy seems to be a great mother. Our chickens are also growing like weeds. So DH and I are grandparents.

Izzy with her kitten

The chicks are really growing. We still have 24.
We didn't lose any

FABRIC ORGANIZED

My fabric is now all nicely organized in my new cupboard. It was hard getting it all in the picture, as it is six feet tall. It is all organized by color, so now I know what I have and it is all easy to see and get to. Boy, I have a lot of fabric :) I also made a sign to go above. My fabric shows up great in the color of the cupboard. It was made by Pine Sampler Furniture in Hensall, ON. They make some great primitive furniture. http://pinesamplerfurniture.com
Now I just need to find a small table to set up my sewing machine.

My cupboard and the sign I made to go above it

Bottom half of cupboard

Top of cupboard

THANK YOU

Thank you to everyone who left comments of condolences and for all the emails I received after our "Dolly" passed away. It means a lot. It has been a hard last few days for DH and I. Our Australian Shepherd "Sydney" is also at a loss. He was Dolly's guardian. She was his horse. He used to lay in the pasture for hours, just watching over her. He used to herd her in when it was time for the horses to come in for the night. Now he is roaming around the farm trying to find her.