A Happy Quilt and a Happy New Year in Jackson Hole

We had a terrific family get together for New Year's, with my sister and her family joining my crew in Jackson Hole. We were blessed with brilliant days, perfect for enjoying winter sports, taking in amazing views, and spotting wildlife.

On an absolutely freezing afternoon we drove up to Colter Bay to ski along the Hermitage Point trail.

Note Eva's Nordic style sweater, the one she knit over last year's Christmas break.

Apparently the cold was too much for most skiers -- we had the place and all the spectacular views to ourselves.

Mount Moran

Wildlife spotting was especially easy this year. With relatively sparse snow cover in the valley, part of the elk herd hung around open fields and neighborhoods instead of going into the National Elk Refuge as usual. On several consecutive mornings we awoke to find hundreds of elk surrounding the house. 

It was fun to watch the youngsters scampering and kicking up their heels.

I finished this quilt just in time to present to my sister for the home she recently moved into.

With its bright colors and happy prints it was great fun to work on. I custom quilted it on my long arm machine with a bold flower design that is appropriate for my sister's 1960s-era home.

Wishing everyone all the best in 2018, whether you are snuggling under a quilt at home or kicking up your heels somewhere around the globe!

Westering Women: Reaching the End of the Road

Last January I committed to participating in Barbara Brackman's Westering Women block of the month project. I am pleased that throughout the year I managed to stay up to date and completed each of the twelve blocks not too long after Barbara posted the patterns.

I stuck with traditional prints for these blocks, hoping to use up some of the accumulation in my stash. Although it looks like I've not made even a small dent in my stash, I am happy with the resulting blocks and look forward to putting it all together. If I use generously sized sashing and wide borders it will be big enough for a twin bed.

The route many pioneers followed to the west traversed Wyoming, so here are a few photos from my holiday trip to Jackson Hole, Wyoming. We saw quite a lot of wildlife, just as our predecessors must have done over a hundred years ago.

These elk were on the National Elk Refuge just north of town, so it seems a bit like cheating to have taken photos of them.

This cow moose and her calves (there was a second just out of the frame of this photo) were noshing on branches of this tree. I am always amazed by the kinds of things moose eat and find nourishment from.

I also think they have really cute faces!

Now that I am settled back into a bit of routine after the holidays I have lots of other projects, quilting, knitting and embroidery, in the works and hope to post about them a little more frequently than I did in 2016, so please check back soon.