Summer...

Otherwise known as the season where you hit the ground running...

8 short weeks of sun and fun!!

As you can see...

Summer has arrived with all the flowers blooming!

I realize I have been a very bad blogger....

But in my defense...

I have been super busy with seeding and getting cows to pasture.

The cows are usually gone around May 5th 

but

 with such dry conditions there was no grass yet.

Thank goodness for the last few rain storms!!

I hope Thursday's storm is the last for the summer!!

This photo was taken by Jeremy Russell

 of the possible tornado

 on Thursday near Estevan,Sk

With crops in and the cows finally gone.....

The garden seeded....

My 50th Birthday celebrated with family and friends...

Spoiled with gifts of fabric and this amazing bench made by Chantel

My sisters and mom made a list of the things that make me special.

It was pretty cute....

#29 Can get a weeks worth of work in 2 days.....

 Brenda King?? Were you talking to my family???

I loved #31 and 32...

31 - I am an animal whisperer....

and

32 - I can castrate a pig....

Justin's piglets were not whispered when #32 was in use last week.

Also not something I usually put on my resume.

Now you know... the secret is out!!

I haven't had a ton of sewing time.

It's a good thing I bought a big machine as Lucy can be 'close'

I did give Amy Ellis' pattern Hyperspeed a try...

I have to say my version has failed Amy miserably....

I thought the blocks would work...

No contrast what so ever- 

I am going to have to use this as a back or add some kind of snazzy border!!

Sorry, Amy!!

But on a brighter note...

My Ricky Tim's exchange quilt arrived on Friday!!

This was made by Gwen Mitsche of Wisconsin.

She made a mini bargello as her rendition

of

 the Canadian Rockies 

to

the open Plains.

She did hand quilting and bead work which is hard to see in the picture.

Thanks so much, Gwen!!!

This was my exchange quilt for her.

I made a mini wedding ring quilt.

This quilt is only 20" square 

 and

 has 72 rings!!!

I used bias strips to make the rings stitching down both sides of each ring.

This is truly international as the blue is from Hawaii 

and 

the green is from Bali.

The intersections were too small to piece so I used little sequin flowers 

and

beads to tie it all together.

My free hand machine stitching definitely needs improving.

They really do not flow like I would have liked 

Practice...practice...practice....

It was a fun project.

 I love thinking outside the box!!

Hope she loves it!!

Christa