Crazy Horse Quilt Runner: Week 15

This was my first official "border" week.  I can tell it is going to go fairly quickly - much faster than working on the interior of the rug - but maybe a bit less "fun" than hooking the animals.

The border of the rug is made up of tongues and a simple leafy vine.  Here's a close-up of a partially completed vine.  The background color here is the purple/plum, which is one of the 7 background colors used in the center of the rug. 

 And here is a close-up of tongues.  After I saw these pictures this morning, I decided to try varying the background color around the border.  I've already established the purple/plum behind the vines.  I will put the rust background behind the tongues on the long sides (i.e., the 7 shown below, and again on the other side).  Then on the short sides I'll use my red.  The background on the short sides actually wraps around the corners - so that will look cool.  Oops, I've photographed my tootsies!

I am going to change the two short ends to incorporate Susan's design for adding her initials and the year as shown in this smaller version of the rug.  (See 2005 on the left side, and Susan's initials on the right side.)

Right now, this is how the two short ends on my rug are drawn.  I will remove the center three (or maybe five?) tongues and switch to the design shown above.

Wanna see a few more prairie fire shots?  Mike took these and said I could share them with you...

 I love the sky in this one.

 Love this one...

 Burning ring of fire...

 Very soon, the hillside will be as green as the field in the foreground.

Springtime in my front yard...

 I just realized I posted the 2010 version of this photo last year, right after I started this blog.  Time seems to be flying by!!!

Happy Hooking Everyone!  Enjoy this glorious spring weather (which has been a little "hit or miss" around here!)

Crazy Horse Quilt Runner: Week 14

Hi Crazy Fans.  Week 14 was interrupted by a trip to the legendary Flint Hills here in Kansas.  For a few weeks in early April the tallgrass prairie is burned to make way for the new baby grass.  This is not just a little field somewhere out in the middle of Kansas - this is thousands of acres of grasslands in the shape of rolling hills.  It is a photographer's paradise!  (I've placed a few of my photos below.)  I only mention this excursion now as My Big Fat Excuse for not getting more accomplished this week on my rug.

I did take the rug with me, knowing I would have a few hours here and there to hook while Photo Mike was out with his Photo Buddies looking for smoke... because where there is smoke...  well, you know the rest.

And now...   the center of the rug is complete!!!

I gave it a critical eye this morning as it was lying there on the floor to be photographed.  I think it needs a little splash of turquoise somewhere in the vicinity of the dog and rabbit.  Those two rust-colored shapes just under the rabbit may be converted to turquoise.

The last bits of background to be worked were in this general area...

Now I've got to get busy on the border.  Next week I'll show you my idea for adding my initials and the year to the ends of the rug.  Actually, I should not call it my idea!  You'll see.

Here are a few of my prairie fire shots taken with my little Canon camera (I just looked at the front of it and it says Power Shot SX 200 IS).  I will try to talk Photo Mike into letting me show you some of his shots next week.

This next one looks like it was taken on another planet far far away.

My favorite... 

Spring means garden clean-up here at my house.  While it definitely qualifies as Hard Work, it is not quite as terrifying as preparing the tallgrass prairie for the next growing season!

Happy Hooking and Happy Everything Else Too!

The Tallgrass Prairie

We spent a delightful, but smoky, weekend in the Flint Hills.  Mike participated in a hands-on workshop to experience the prairie fires - from behind the camera lens.  I hope to show you a few of his fire photos soon!

Traveling down the turnpike on Saturday toward Emporia we saw these wonderful muffin-clouds.  In my experience, there is often a tornado right around the corner from these babies...  but we were able to escape!

 

We stayed in Cottonwood Falls at a great B and B called Stonehouse 1874.  It was here we met Lucy and Ethyl (oops... this should be Ethel!).

Lucy and Ethel are European Cream Retrievers.  (Think American Golden Retriever - but European and Cream-colored!)  They live at the B&B and they are beautiful.  Billie, the owner of the B and B, will be raising more of these dogs - they are pretty rare in the U.S. now.

Mike spent his day and evening out in the fields with the fires.  I dropped him off at the Flying W Ranch bunkhouse.  The porch columns were all carved like totems.

Some of the photographers stayed overnight here at the Bunkhouse...  here's the bath house.  Seeing this made me pretty happy we had a room at the B and B!

The sky was very beautiful out there at the bunkhouse.

While Mike was running around jumping through fires and trying not to melt his shoes, I spent some time in Cottonwood Falls.  There were lots of fun things to see!  These photos were taken at an old antique shop.

Check out the tricycles mounted on the side of the building.

Remember these?

And these??

These guys were so gorgeous.  Mike got much better pictures of them... maybe he will share some with me for a future post.

You always feel a little bit like you've gone back in time in those wonderful old towns in the Flint Hills - and being behind a car like this on the road makes you totally believe it!

I am always on the lookout for old stone houses.  This one in Cottonwood Falls definitely caught my eye!  I thought it was in remarkably good condition...  turns out it is brand new!  It is just great!  Just one block off the main street.

Here it is from another angle...

This is the Buck Creek Ranch on the way to our B and B outside of Cottonwood Falls.  This one is definitely old... the real deal!!!  Fantastic...

Traveling north on 177 toward Council Grove is the Lower Fox Creek School.  It has been carefully preserved.  A real jewel.

May 1882.

The prairie all around the schoolhouse had already been burned.

Leaving the schoolhouse and driving north to catch I-70, we saw many fields being burned.  I liked this photo because of the contrast of the two sides of the highway.

And of course, we spotted another old stone house... this one abandoned.

This collie was so funny.  She was not concerned about the fire at all... but she was very concerned about us!  I think she was trying to warn us to get away.  Just like Lassie!!!

We drove through Council Grove - which was along the Santa Fe Trail.  My favorite thing was the old store.  Last chance for supplies between Council Grove and Santa Fe, New Mexico!!!  That is a long, long way!

The store had a great slogan...  Last chance for beans, bacon and whiskey.  Apparently those were the food groups back then!

The Flint Hills are studded with redbud trees and they are beautiful right now.  It was fun to come home to these which grow right outside my office window.  Ahhh... "there's no place like home."