Sterling Goes To The Capitol

(That's like "Mr. Smith Goes To Washington.")  Jan Litton's son, Sterling Small, (Jan is my cousin in Billings) at 28 years of age was elected to the Montana State House of Representatives from HD 41 (that's in the eastern part of the state) for this two-year term.  So I decided I better come check on how he's doing.  Besides I've never sat in on the Legislature in session, so that sounded like a really good idea.  Besides that, I will be attending the Lincoln Day Dinner tonight at which Michelle Bachman will be the keynote speaker.   Hmmmm.

 I started off visiting the Hearing Room for the Business and Labor Committee of which Sterling is a member.

 He took me down to the floor of the House Chamber so I could get a photo of him at his desk.  Very handsome and official looking.

 This is a view from the Visitors Gallery of the House Chamber in session.  The mural/painting is a very famous C.M. Russell and has interesting stories attached to it.  (You have to come visit the Capitol!)

 The voting board all lit up showing the member's votes.

 Jeff Welborn is speaking on the floor.  Jeff represents the District where we live.  He was introducing the Dillon Junior Fiddlers who performed during the session - but I lost the photo.  Dang it.  It went off somewhere.  It's certainly not here anymore!!!

 Guess we don't need these anymore. . . .

 We have an incredibly beautiful Capitol building.  Here follows some of the colorful details from the main hall. 

 This is a view directly up into the center of the Capitol dome.

Moose Munch for Molly and Polly!

Drin has a moose cow and calf who have decided that the hay she feeds the horses is pretty darn good, so they are there like clockwork every morning when she feeds at 8 a.m.

 Hungry horses - waiting!

 Mama Moose - Polly

 Baby Moose - Molly

 Drin and Polly - too close?

Morning in the Grasshopper.

Quilts! Winter Work

What better to do in winter when there is about three feet of snow on the ground than spend my days in my work room.  What I found in my work room was a stack of finished quilts.  So if they're finished, why are they stacked in my work room???  Well, sort of finished.  Finished except for the binding on the edge of each quilt.  I won't tell you how long they've been stacked there.  Suffice to say, they were rather dusty!  So I decided that I would not touch a new project until I finished what I had already started.

They're done.  And here they are!

 This is my Wild Dog quilt.  It was fun doing, but had a LOT of handwork with all the applique.  When I finished it I took it to Laura Heine in Billings.  Laura is an internationally known quilt artist and fabric designer.  The back of the quilt which shows off her work is very much a work of art.  I'm not sure which side I will display!

 I absolutely fell in love with this red with orchids fabric, so then I had to find a pattern which really showcased it.  I think this worked fairly well.

 This was a really fun project.  My mother, sister and I got together, brought our collections of Asian/Oriental fabrics which we shared, and spent two days together cutting and sewing.  We had a great time and each had a lovely quilt top when we were done.

 This was just for fun.  I love bright, colorful, funky and fun and I like this pattern.

 My quilt buddies and I got together last fall and spent a day working on this pattern for our Christmas quilts.  WOW.  They are all so different!  We had fun.  This is my version.  Wish you could see the others!

 The flowers in the center of this quilt are origami (folded-fabric, 3D) flowers.  This was a "round robin" quilt I that was done by our quilting group at the quilt shop in town.  I also had this quilted by Laura Heine - another work of art on the back!

 Just for fun!

 This was another group project day.  We all did the same pattern with our own selection of fabrics.  It's amazing how different they look with different fabrics.

But now I have a huge problem.  This is my quilt cupboard - it is FULL.  What on earth am I going to do with all my newly (really!) finished quilts?  It's a problem.

Oh well.  I'll probably start a new one anyway!  I had lunch with my quilt buddies today and we planned out our winter projects for this year.  NO.  When I have finished them I will NOT leave them stacked ANYWHERE without binding.  Never again.   ;-)

Welcome February!

My quilting buddies came to lunch today, which gave me the perfect excuse to set a table and buy flowers!  My first bunch of tulips this year.  I do love tulips.  Hmmmmmmm.  Maybe I should make a tulip quilt!  And of course, February is the "love" month, so red was my color.  We had a delightful winter interlude with brilliant sunshine reflecting on our deep winter snow cover.  Perfect day.  Must be quilting season!

MEMORIES

One of the most awesome moments of my life.  The birth of Caleb.  Nine months ago.  One of my forever favorite images.