4 years in the making

Did this quilt really take me that long? YES!
My friend, Kristen (aka The 'Perfectionist') found this pattern, went to Rupert to find the fabric, and talked me into making this beautiful quilt. We went to Porter's in Idaho Falls and watched a demonstration on how to applique these flowers on the border using freezer paper. I was so clueless watching Kim Dehl trying to show us how to do this that I took Kristens's restless baby and said "you listen and then tell me later, I'll wrestle Tagg. That should have been my first clue to ABORT MISSION!
So a few months after we decided to make this quilt, Kristen moved to Bancroft and I moved to Arco. I took my half of the material and packed it in a box. The next spring, I got it out and sewed the inside portion of this quilt. That was the easy part.
Every summer, I go to Bancroft to join Kristen and her kids for swimming lessons. I have hauled my quilt there for 3 years and worked on it all three years.

The problem was that Kristen had the nice sewing machine that did the perfect little zig zag with the tiny charcoal (invisible) thread. So I could not do this on my machine. We traced all the leaves, flowers, etc. on freezer paper. Then placed a small amount of fabric glue on it and stuck it to material. Then cut out the shape 1/4 inch bigger than the pattern. Then cut out the material and snipped around it to fold it under and iron the edges down. While this may seem crazy (and it was) it was perfect and beautiful. Once you iron it to the quilt and stitch around each individual piece, you cut out the freezer paper by cutting a hole in the back of the quilt and pulling it out. The finished product is uncomparible to any applique I've seen. All the edges are turned under and flawless (Kristen's a little more perfect than mine...). It took us 3 summers to complete the applique..with little gliches here and there. One summer I think I broke Kristen's machine...a few repairs later and we got it done.

This winter I got it quilted and just today finished binding the edges. Now I need to go shopping for some bedding to compliment it.
I am so glad to have finished this and I was saying that I would probably (ok, not probably...NEVER) do that applique again. And Kristen replied..."Oh I will". She's crazy and amazing. 7 kids and has it together and still manages to do everything perfectly.

The rest of the day...

I love this pic...waiting for the candy.
More cheese it pics of Mia.
Mia's first experience with sparklers. We went to the Drive In to watch the fireworks and have a burger. We chilled on the grass and waited for it to get dark. After the great fireworks, we watched the movie "Wall-E". Hmm....what to say about that movie. Let's just say that I was the only one awake after about 1/2 hour into it and I was wondering why I was still up? Faren and Avery bailed. I know it got great reviews...but I'm wondering why? There was no talking in it for the first 45 minutes or so....
We loved our day. It was a great way to celebrate Independence Day. I loved that Kristen and Larry and came up and had a big breakfast with us. We also had a yummy BBQ at Avery and Faren's and swam in their pond by their house. We also enjoyed a nap after cracking out at 5 a.m. It was a very relaxing day and we realized we could have fun on our own but also kind of sad that we broke tradition for the first time in our married lives and didn't go to my mom's and celebrate.

The 4th in Teton Valley

We had to get up early to watch the balloons launch...a little too early for me. Mia didn't mind waking up before dawn though...here is her famous "say cheese" face.
Ok, maybe she was still a little tired still.
It was a sight to see. I was amazed at how close together the balloons were and that they were touching and it was still ok to get off the ground. There were no fences or barriers. We could walk right up to the basket and look inside and up into the balloon. We could feel the heat coming from the blowers. It was really fun to experience.
The parade in Victor was also fun. We're waiting for it to start.

4th of July Festivities

This is what I saw out my window this morning when we got up. Every year Teton Valley hosts hot air balloon races and every year since we moved here, we've been out of town. So this year, we decided to stay home and take in the festivities. They must be practicing up for tomorrow.

My girls went running over to our neighbor's yard. Indee came back after they had got the balloon deflated and put in the trailor and asked me "Mom, can we stay for water and Pepsi?" Pepsi at 8 a.m.? to a girl who already bounces off the walls and doesn't need sugar and caffine to help with that? I said "sure!"

It's summer right?